I agree and that issue recently. GF supported me tried to find out what happened but was told from the shipper in Louisville exactly what i already knew, a tracking number was provide and the material was in the process of being shipped. I think the supplier prints the labels before they even process the order, thus they run out and don’t bother to communicate to anyone including GF about what actually happened. I don’t print a label until after the order is processed and ready for shipment to ensure the product is actually ready to go…
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The odds are very good if you do not read the the technical stuff or pay attention to the rules. You can break the machines in an hour if you do stupid things. Those who know what they are doing are still on their first machine.
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You may have spent $6000.00 but how much has GF spent on you and your 7 other machines over the last 9 months, I would say a lot more then $6000.00.
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Well then if you have plenty of money then as you say, “go buy something that’s serviceable by the user.”
Pretty darn slim…
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I agree! It seems to me that Glowforge would have just refunded him the price he paid for the machine. If in fact if they really replaced 8 machines to this person, they went above and beyond to make him happy.
In the auto business, there is a lemon law and in the 45 years in the business, I have only seen 3 customers getting their vehicle replaced or bought back.
I really believe he could have asked for a refund had they would have done that for him. It cost Glowforge far more to replace all those machines.
I am still waiting for my machine, so I have been watching all the video’s I can, so I know what I am doing once it arrives.
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I just looked up Golwforge on Google: According to the article I read, they started delivering machine in December of 2016 or early 2017. If this is true, it has only been about 3 years plus they have been building machines. This is a very young company in my opinion. If their sales continue at the rate they have been, it only stands to reason the customer support will have to increase. They will also have to make hardware improvements to keep up with other companies. If not, they will be left in the dust by all the other companies trying to copy their design.
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I think it is two things. 1) not wanting to follow directions and 2) just liking to bitch.
to not be aware of the improvements to the machine over time(crappy carriage wheels aside) boggles my mind.
I mean this forum is the first place I go when something isn’t right.
How else would I have known that the whiteboard/blackboard I was trying to work with was a completely different SKU that the one I had seen used, and @eflyguy had also used with the same level of success as the maker guy wherever he was.
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Totally agree, I think she also feels entitled…
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And put the exhaust fan on the outside, or make it possible to remove from the outside.
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Speaking of innovation, here’s one I don’t understand. Given the number of problems (and support posts) caused by bad wifi, why on earth doesn’t Glowforge provide a diagnostic indication such as a flashing button light in the event it can’t connect? I swear it would cut the number of support posts & emails in half. I know i’m not the first to suggest this, I just don’t get why they don’t do it.
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It would be nice. It would probably require a modified motherboard, possibly royalty or licensing fees. And they’d either have to stop production until ready to mass produce. Could you imagine the hullabaloo if they were coming out with a new model from all the people who just purchased theirs?
And while I am at it, re: Premium. Software companies often have trial periods. They tell you they are trial periods and when they end. At first GF Didn’t have the features in Premium, they put them out as beta, tested them (also common in the software industry). Then they announced a trial period and the price after trial, with a substantial discount if you sign up before end of trial. (also found in the software industry).
So everyone complaining about Premium needs to adjust their perception. They were beta testors, and knew that because you had to agree to the use under a beta license, as I remember. Then they were told it was a trial subscription and a price thereafter. So if they don’t want to pay the licensing fee, they should just continue on with their machines as is. Their speeds didn’t get worse, premiums got faster. And members of the forum were kind enough to point out where the could get the design features for like $49 a year. You’ve not been cheated of anything. Do I think $50 is too much. Yes, which is why I bought in at $15. Do I wish they had a separate price for the Fast Lane.? Of course, but being me I would probably get both because of the convenience of having it in the GFUI. So let’s all look at this like any other software agreement and enjoy our machines.
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I don’t see why it couldn’t be done with a simple firmware change. All of the hardware is already there. There is already a connection check in the boot sequence (documented on Openglow).
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Possibly
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I’ll add another:
- Lenses of different focal length
After having seen how finely detailed I can engrave with a 1’’ lens, the 2’’ one of the GF looks like a stonemason’s chisel next to a scalpel. Granted, a 2’’ is better for cutting, but that’s why I’d like them swappable.
Even a different head with a 1’’ lens would be great - and even doable with the 1.0… Dan made a big thing out of “replacement heads with different functionalities” at the time the head was engineered to be detachable…
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If you make a post about it in #problems-and-support, it’ll be counted as a feature request by staff and added to the hopper or as another vote as similar things have been suggested.
You do realize they would need to hire every call center in Mumbai to answer all the help calls from people who still don’t follow simple directions. If you read enough of these posts you will see that the majority of issues usually are operator error. Yes there are issues beyond the operators control but those people would still be clogging up the telephone lines wondering why their machine is smoky and the filter is only 3 months old, or the laser never cuts where it is supposed to when I place my engraving and then set focus, or I can’t seem to engrave on my stainless steel flask etc etc etc.
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I have dealt with other companies that print the labels first.
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pretty much every company prints a label before it’s shipped. the issue is how long it takes from when they print the label to when the box gets to UPS/FedEx/USPS. more responsible companies get it out same day or, if late in the day, next business day. but lots and lots of companies don’t. especially smaller companies.
that said, fulfillment houses shouldn’t have this issue to the same extent. that’s literally their job.
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I mean, it wouldn’t really work any other way… 
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Not well but it would. I’m sure my ups guy would appreciate the joy of being asked to randomly attach a string of labels to a bunch of blank boxes he’s already loaded on the truck. He’s cool like that.
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