Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My wife went to Cincy Tool Rental on 8/26/2023 for a chipper shredder. The rental team member gave her a crash course how to operate. When he hooked it up to my truck he noticed the wires for the lights were cut so they wrapped the wiring around the frame and sent her on her way. The piece of equipment looked like it was past due it's check ups and had a lot of hrs on the engine, I wasn't too happy about the safety hazard of no lights. I started it up and engaged the clutch and saw smoke coming out of the engine area. I tried to put a 3/4 round branch but the auger pulled it in a little and just kept spinning while the branch didn't get pulled in. I shut it down and called the Cincinnati location and explained what the machine was doing and the team member talked me through the process it get it going and I told him there was smoke and I tried to load a small branch with the same results. The team member told me to call the ****** location and see if someone would come out. I called the ****** office and a team member there helped troubleshoot over the phone and he told me there were two bolts to unfasten and tip back the shoot and check if it was clogged. I was surprised to see that there was debris a lot of debris in it, the team member told me that should fix it he had to go, and I got my plyers and cleared it all out and put back together. I started it up and engaged the clutch and no smoke, so I tried to put a 3/4 diameter branch in it but it would only pull it in a small amount and I would back it out and try again but it wouldn't pull it in. I tried to call the ****** location at 5:20 pm but nobody answered, I let it ring until it quit. I was not able to get the job done, please look at reviews from this company and inspect the equipment you are renting. I was charged $430.45, so I called the corporate office and spoke to Tim, the regional manager, he said the company would split cost and I agreed. After I got out of work, he changed his story to 30% off.

  Business response

  08/30/2023

  This is a complicated piece of equipment if you are not familiar with how it works. We very strongly suggest to all customers that if you are not going to be the person using the equipment that the person using it be present when the instructions are given.  We gave instructions to the wife as she was the person that rented the equipment and her husband was not present. When the husband called the first time he admitted that his wife could not remember the instructions. However we then discovered that it was probably to late to help him when he called. The chipper had a brand new belt installed before she took the equipment out. It appears that when he tried to use it without hearing the instructions that he did not engage the clutch before throttling the machine up. If that happens the chute is filled with sticks and as clutch was not engaged which activates the fly wheel that the smoke coming out was due to trying to force branches through without anything "shredding" them. And after he called and was told how to clear it out it was to late the new belt was already ruined.  If he had called us when his wife told him she forgot all the instructions or if he had come with her and heard the instructions it would have been a different ball game. As far as the money goes we never told him we would give him half off. We offered 30% off the rental price of the item but he was not receptive to that. We also did not charge him any labor on installing the new belt that takes about an hour to do.  As you can see from the initial contract attached she initialed her agreement to pay for the belt if it was ruined in the event the equipement was used incorrectly.

  Customer response

  08/30/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *** ******
  

  Customer response

  08/31/2023

  I was directed to call Tim to help figure out a solution to figure out what a fair compromise would be for charges. I told Tim that I didn't feel it was fair that I was not able to use the chipper/shredder to complete my job even though It was in my possession over the weekend. Tim asked me who I contacted when I was having trouble and I told him I had contacted a different location than where the equipment came from, the ********* location I believe. He called the ********* location and confirmed I did call and talk to a team member. Then I called the ****** location where the piece of equipment came from and talked to a team member that informed me I needed to unbolt the shoot and clear any debris, which I did. However, the chipper/shredder still did not work and when I called the ****** location back at 5:20, nobody answered the phone even though I let it ring until it stopped and I hung up.

  Tim said, "what about splitting the cost"? "Would you be interested in doing that"? and I agreed, I said $250.00 is what it cost to lose a customer but I would split the cost. We ended the phone call.

  I got out of work around 3:30pm and called the ****** office and talked to a team member and asked if Tim had called to let them know the outcome from our conversation but Tim had not called. The team member called Tim and talked to him while I was on hold, the team member came back on line and told me Tim said he could only do 30%, that was directed from the owner, Don. I asked how can he tell me he would split the cost and then 

  Customer response

  09/01/2023

  I was directed to call Tim to help figure out a solution to figure out what a fair compromise would be for charges. I told Tim that I didn't feel it was fair that I was not able to use the chipper/shredder to complete my job even though It was in my possession over the weekend. Tim asked me who I contacted when I was having trouble and I told him I had contacted a different location than where the equipment came from, the ********* location I believe. He called the ********* location and confirmed I did call and talk to a team member. Then I called the ****** location where the piece of equipment came from and talked to a team member that informed me I needed to unbolt the shoot and clear any debris, which I did. However, the chipper/shredder still did not work and when I called the ****** location back at 5:20, nobody answered the phone even though I let it ring until it stopped and I hung up.
  
  Tim said, "what about splitting the cost"? "Would you be interested in doing that"? and I agreed, I said $250.00 is what it cost to lose a customer but I would split the cost. We ended the phone call.
  
  I got out of work around 3:30pm and called the ****** office and talked to a team member and asked if Tim had called to let them know the outcome from our conversation but Tim had not called. The team member called Tim and talked to him while I was on hold, the team member came back on line and told me Tim said he could only do 30%, that was directed from the owner, Don. I asked how can he tell me he would split the cost and then change the agreement to 30% or $70.00. I was told that Tim and Don talked about the situation and Don told Tim they would only do 30%. I called and talked to Don, he started out with his 47 years in business and 4 locations then all his chipper/shredders are rented out every day pitch. when I finally got a word in he said 30% was the best they would do. Then, he started bullying me telling me he makes $400.00 per hr and I was wasting his time and he had better customers to talk to and we hung up.

  Tim and I had an agreement to split the cost by half, I believe Don as a business owner has entrusted Tim to make decisions for his business and if that is not the case then Tim should be asking Don's direction before he makes agreements.

  Business response

  09/06/2023

  In the future it is important that the person that will be using the equipment be at the store to hear the instuctions and ask any questions they may have. We have already discounted the price of the new belt and did not charge labor on it. It is about 1 hour intall time. We will however also discount the price of the rental. The rental charge was $199 plus tax. We will refund $99.50 plus the applicable sales tax on that. However we ask that if that offer is accepted that this be ended and the negative review left on Yelp also be removed. 

  Customer response

  09/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *** ******
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩