When Glowforge goes out of business- Resolved

which they surely will based on their terrible customer support and design flaws, what will happen to our machines? Mine’s already a brick, but will every one else’s machine also be a brick?

The firmware was released early last year. (In case it becomes necessary.)

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Two years of happy forging away here, along with about 18,000 other owners. Not too concerned about that.

Response time could be better, but based on the small number of support cases posted in this forum, I can see why they don’t need much in terms of tech support staff.

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As someone with extensive experience in customer service and high level corporation management at a Fortune 500 company, good customer service, good response times is half the battle. YES, a great product matters, but I’ve seen many companies fold because of poor customer service. Customer service should be the START OF EVERY SINGLE THING A COMPANY DOES. A company won’t always get it right, and I understand that, but responding with urgency, showing empathy for your customers, and giving them world class service is controllable, and it’s disappointing to see glowforge fail on these key foundational tenets, especially when the reason they are here is because kickstarter customers took a chance on them.

Not a Kickstarter product. You have posted in Problems and Support which opens a ticket. Are you reporting a specific issue or just venting?

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yes, specific issue. Poor customer service and a question about what will happen to my glowforge if by some chance I can get it up and running again since they are oblivious.

I meant kickofflabs

I thought you were kidding. But now I see you might be serious. I’m afraid Support is not made up of psychics. You’re not going to get an answer about some hypothetical situation and what one of your tools might do in that hypothetical situation.

I own an awesome 2005 Saab 9-3 Convertible. When I bought it I certainly didn’t ask what might happen if Saab stopped making cars. (I mean… Who asks things like that?) They, in fact, have stopped making cars. And a great thing happened because of it… the 3rd-party market opened WIDE up. I can get parts for it right on Amazon at great prices!

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Well, they can re-state the facts - that Jules shared above. A version of the firmware was released last year.

Someone would have to develop software or drivers to work with it - which has been done over on another forum. They’d probably be able to sell it.

That said, I’m not counting on needing it. GF seems pretty solid to me.

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I’m afraid I can’t agree with you on this one and I find your statement unfair and unfounded - there have certainly been several unfortunate GFs out there that didn’t go right but my own interactions with Support have always been pleasant, prompt and as expected. With over 18,000 GFs out there the vast majority of owners haven’t reported a single thing - positive or negative.

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Tom,

No I think my question was very fair based on the fact you have to come to their website to operate the machine. Do you need SAAB to be in business to operate your car? It was a valid question that I received an answer from @eflyguy , there was a firm update last year that I was unaware of that.

Unfounded for you, but not me. We all have different experiences. Hopefully I Can get this figured out and be a happy glowforge customer. I Don’t want to be unhappy. I want to love my glowforge

I think you misunderstood. But as long as you’re satisfied with your understanding, we can put an end to this thread. Have yourself a wonderful evening.

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To be clear, the firmware is updated frequently. They keep adding features on a regular basis. That’s one of the things that makes this product, and their cloud-based application, so wonderful.

… and there’s a lot more to come.

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What is there to misunderstand? They issued a firmware update last year god forbid anything happens to the company so users can hopefully develop a new way to use the machine

Well said, Tom. Not so very long ago, I co-owned a 1969 Saab Sonnett II of which less than 2,000 were ever made. Jump ahead a few decades and no Saab dealership we approached had ever seen one and most of them had never heard of it. But it is amazing what 3rd party mechanics and providers could actually do…

If your GF does not work and you want a refund, contact GF and they will help you out. Making vague and negative comments with no concrete info on your problem won’t get you ahead, or too much sympathy. if you have a problem, what have you done to correct it or get it corrected?

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Rand, you know how many times I’ve called and emailed? A then one problem after another. First the door hinge completely became disconnected from the hinge lid, like I was holding it in my hand. Glued it back and it came off again after letting it sit for 48 hours clamped in 70 degree climate control. Now the wide lense camera is just black. I was told to calibrate it and I keep getting the error “your glowforge is busy” for the last several hours. UNPlug it and plug it back in after 15 minutes and same error. This has all been explained countless times. I know you’re so happy with your glowforge, I want to be, but please ask next time what I"ve done to fix the problem before you assume I didn’t. Have a goodnight, I’m done with

I had a 98 SAAB 900 SE, bought it used after reading much about what to look for. And I loved it! Fortunately had great mechanics and put well over 100k on it myself, but my business needs did outgrow it, and since I couldn’t manage 2 cars, I had to let it go… and still miss it. But I also miss my 90 Miata–was one of the first in town to get it one, and loved having a convertible (and akin to my Dad having had an Austin Healey Sprite at about a the same age. Though the Miata didn’t stall at stop lights–no Lucas electronics :wink:)

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Still wrong. :wink:

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If your machine is bricked I’ll take it off your hands for few hundred bucks. (I’ll pay shipping as well of course.) I know it’s probably a lot less than you paid for it, but if it’s just a paperweight at this point and you want to get rid of it, let me know.

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