I was a first wave batch 1 preorder. I have had an excellent experience with Langmuir Systems and my CrossFire Pro.
I went into this as an educated consumer. Timeline was planned but I understand startup company struggles/realities and expected that to float.
They made a value maximized product available to me that I would not have been able to purchase from a competitor. Quality of their product, competency of product development, and company interaction have all exceeded the cost savings that made this cnc plasma cutting platform accessible.
I’m very impressed with how the people working here have made a market for their vision and have been professional in every aspect of supporting my purchase.
Keith, I had to wait 6 weeks for my water table, and when I send them an email asking about it, they replied with attitude, the machine and the price it’s great but they need to work on their customer service, I having second thoughts about buying another product from them ever again
I’m not sure where I said I emailed you guys? I called 6 times over the course of this transaction leaving 5 voicemails. I received one reply about a month ago saying it’s on its way to ship out end of July. Communication is clearly a problem not with just me, all anyone here is asking is do better in that dept. I’m sure (hoping) the product is great.
…In other news, my THC is being held @ the post office upon customers request when it was out for delivery yesterday? Never had that happen
Box 1 as delivered. Nothing a can of paint can’t fix and I can live with a dented “arm”, but I sure didn’t pay for scratch and dent. Unless it fell out in the truck on both sides, no padding around tube ends or lead screws and the box ends?
UPS NEEDS AN ASS CHEWING !! TOO MANY STORIES LIKE THIS !
Yeah, the box is heavy but it should still be handled with a little bit of care. They were paid to get it to you undamaged. Find out the replacement cost of each damaged item (fixable or not) and bill UPS for damages.
Langmuir might even help with a pricing invoice or something. Get Em! UPS has got away with this for too long…
Getting greedy? That’s a great way for a company to be short lived. Sounds like you are too busy on new sales to give the customer service new and existing customers what they deserve. Here is what Jim Colt says about that. https://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?t=25898
I’m a 67 year old retired engineer who has come up with the money to finally buy a CNC plasma cutter. The CrossFire Pro was the only only machine I could justify spending my money on since the competing tables were so much more expensive. I ordered the machine in April and have read this forum everyday since that time. I have seen a great deal of frustration and worry by the members but they always stayed positive. This thread has gone bad. There are about seven posters who have purchased a Crossfire Pro who probably should not have gotten into this situation. They are being negative about customer service and are generally portraying themselves as victims. I believe the best solution for them is to return the table or sell it to someone who will use it and understand that problems and issues are part of the enjoyment that we get from fabricating our own parts.
My wife died in January, my kids are grown and this pandemic hit, so this forum has become very important to me. There are people on here that always seem positive and willing to share problems with the building or operation of the plasma table. They make fun of each other but always in a good way. I enjoy and look forward to the posts from Jame5, GunTruck1776, and Jamedhatch because they always share the problems and solution that they find. There are so many really good people on this forum that I hate to see a few discredit Langmuir and turn this into a gripe session for people who are not really looking for solutions but want attention. I would hate for potential buyers to believe what they are reading here.
Veal52 - thanks for the shoutout! Hope to get to know you better on the forums! I’m so sorry to hear of your wife’s passing. There’s a bunch of great folks on here, for sure - just let me know if I can help in any way!
I had a problem today with a lead screw and coupler and I sent an email today, Sunday! Guess what?! They already answered my email and are sending a replacement lead screw and coupler. These guys take as good a care of me as I hope I am giving my customers. I know there can be anecdotal problems that don’t reflect the overall customer service of a company. I have ALWAYS had prompt response to problems. Yeah there have been times when I wish they were more upfront about shipment delays but overall I attribute that to them doing all they can to get the product out the door. As far as I’m concerned and I realize I am only one cog in the wheel, that I consider their customer service second to none! I would and have recommended them with no reservations!
Victims? Issues should not be arising like this before even getting a product. There may be the difference between home hobby use and running a successful business… I purchased a complete CNC table so my machine be not one of the “issues of fabrication enjoyment”. If half of it were not here already I would have canceled my order and built a table by now… And a simple phone call/ email would have saved this whole thread from happening.
What? That there is an obvious problem and customers should be aware of who or what they are getting involved in? This isn’t “fake news” buddy if 7 valued customers are experiencing the same issues… I call companies like Miller or Hypertherm, and they answer a phone and get immediate solutions. I call small mom pop shops in my local, and they can answer a phone call willing to help. Why is is so difficult to ANSWER a phone call and talk to customers? That seems like the jist of things here and people would be overall happy with LS as a company if they worked on one area that is lacking. If this is not a problem why is there now lengthy post about it. It’s not a matter of picking sides on this topic, its about bringing light to an issue, in this case the service we expect, and fixing it. LS seems to make a great product, getting customer relations up to the level it needs to be at will make the company great itself and elevate it to something of long term success… Best of luck.
Langmuir Systems offers lifetime support for your CrossFire™ CNC machine. We are available via email during normal business operating hours.
Nothing about phone support. Yet you persisted 5 times to go that route, which seems odd given when you go to the contact link on the website you are presented with a contact form for email support.
They even have this right there:
Please note this is for purchasing only. For support and technical questions please see the Support section below.
I guess the question I have is “Why is it so difficult for people to FOLLOW simple directions?”
I’m sure you can put it on Craigs list and sell it easy enough for cost. Please post back the machine you build and the cost, keep track of all the hours you spend on design and component shopping. It will be interesting to compare.
I never intended this to be a gripe session, I was just looking fro some info as I was not getting any up until I posted this. Are you saying I was wrong for making this post? I wasn’t getting any information any other way, whomever had received my email obviously didn’t want to respond and it had been six days since I had sent it. If you dont want something to go public, maybe you answer your customers when they send you an email so they dont have to go find an alternative. That being said, alot of companies would have deleted this entire thread by now. Kudos to Langmuir for keeping it up and being upfront about it.
So your solution is for me to return my table? I bought it for a reason. I despise the “Victim mentality” that so many have embraced. I am not a victim and never plan to be one. I simply pushed for answers when I wasn’t getting any the conventional ways…
I am sorry to hear that and hope the best for you. My wife left about a year ago and I am a single father of four now, Life never seems to go the way we think… My therapy is making things, It has been about the only think that has kept me sane through this (other than my kids, they are awesome) I look forward to adding a tool to my shop that facilitates this hobby. I understand how important something like this is when your life changes drastically.
Bad feedback is just as important as good feedback. This was a failure on the part of langmuir in communication, While I am thankful for them offering this table and it was well worth the money, This is an area they obviously needed to address. After the answers I was looking for were answered, I simply tried to get the point across that this should be something addressed as to avoid this in the future. Taking (and applying) constructive criticism is an incredibly important thing for a company. I do think it is important for a potential customer to see all of the facts regarding a purchase. I would have like to have known how long it was going to take, how the items were shipped, etc. It would have helped me shape my expectations when I purchased the table and at least understood that what was on their website was optimistic at best.
This is something that I do not understand, I do understand brand loyalty, but some people have come to Langmuirs defense like they are your best friend and someone has just insulted their mama’s honor. While I do appreciate what they have brought to the market and am very thankful for the ability to buy an affordable plasma table, They are a business and are not giving tables away for charity. No one is above failure and I dont understand the “rally around our brand” mentality. If they have failed on some level and other customers complain about it, I think they should hear out their customers and try to improve. Why is my right as a customer less than yours? I paid for my table as did you. I am not going to try and say you are wrong for extolling the virtues of the company, I actually agree with you on many of those points, but I also have the right to point out a problem when it arises. Its like the apple vs android debate, You have customers and “fan boys”. I am not going to lower my expectations of customer service just because they have offered something unique to the market, They are still making a profit. Some of these delays were not their fault. The lack of communication and outright ignoring an email is their fault. You control what you can as a business and Communication is something they could control and could do a better job at, otherwise this entire thread would have never happened.
My third box shipped out Friday and is expected to be here on Thursday this week. I look forward to getting this thing put together and making sparks! While I have had my criticisms I do appreciate the work Langmuir has put into these tables and offering an affordable CNC plasma table to hobbyists like me. I hope this is the worst part of the process and wish everyone the best going forward.
That’s the majority from my experience over the past couple of years. There seem to be a few folks who have reported issues - I don’t know both sides of their stories so I tend to stay away from those threads. It’s not my or thousands of other’s experience so if true they’re outliers and don’t impact 90-something percent of folks. I try not to waste life-minutes on things I can’t change. If I were having the reported issues I’d be dealing directly or moving on. Too much I’d rather do than waste my time over a few dollars of savings.
Welcome to the group. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your Crossfire. I’d suggest taking a look at plasmaspider.com - lots of other good resources and their design forum has a ton of stuff to cut if you’re looking for more projects or inspiration. A $20 annual donation to the forum will allow you to download anything you find there.
My arm was dented the same way. Honestly not a big deal for me so I didn’t mention it. But this may be something they need to address in their packaging going forward.
I am a social , and yes I have a shirt that says it thanks Mamaturtle and Snow
I like to post good and bad, my latest “bad” was a help for a couple people…so win/win. And LS stepped up on the weekend and sent out replacement part.
I have been in manufacturing for 26 years, 15 as a machinist/tool maker, cnc mill,lathe, wire edm. As well as any other tool. Last 10 years I was purchasing manager as well as working with customer po’s , rma’s etc.
I know what my customers expect as the person making the part, checking the part and working with the customers hand on. I gave them that and they were happy, how do I know that?
The yearly customer surveys I sent out for iso, proved it as well as personal holiday cards
The last year I moved to quality manager, and deal now on a different level.
Why am I saying all this?
Because in my eyes they have given me the service I have needed, simple.
I call Friday at 14:00 commifornia time and need a part shipped out…I don’t expect it to go out ups that day, that would disrupt shipping and everyone in the chain…so Monday will be fine. (Shipping/receiving 5 years)
BUT my business won’t go under if I miss the machine 1 week.
Smurfos, I too am in Aus and have been trying to find out if we need to do anything re customs in advance or just wait till delivery turns up and they contact you ? Bit hard to find any concrete info about this.
Have you done anything yet?
Regards
Ric
Hey buddy, The items will be stopped at customs and GST on the value of the goods will need to be paid as well as customs fees before they will release the items. I am failry certain a company the size of UPS might have their on internal brokers that will deal with customs. I could be wrong ! You can appoint a Broker to take care of all of this for you. can be fairly $$$ tho. I am not getting too worried about any of that yet as my order still hasn’t been shipped.
, and yes I have a shirt that says it 
thanks Mamaturtle and Snow 
and need a part shipped out…I don’t expect it to go out ups that day, that would disrupt shipping and everyone in the chain…so Monday will be fine. (Shipping/receiving 5 years)