Black & Decker US

I own a small business and decided to standardize our tools to all one manufacturer for interchangeability and ease of use. We selected DeWalt.

As with any business the end of year is when you purchase tools so at the end of 2017 I purchased a DeWalt DC608K 18 gauge Cordless Brad Nailer for over $350,00. I worked fine for the limited time I used it and started to malfunction late in 2021 just four years from purchase.

I contacted DeWalt via their website and completed a "tune-up" repair service and shipped the nailer to Stanley Black and Decker in York Pennsylvania. A week later the item was shipped back to me with a hand written note "I am sorry - We no longer repair these".

I called the Service Center and spoke with a representative who told me that he did not have any parts for this item. I asked if an item four years or less does not have any parts is a standard and he said no but the nailer he could not repair due to lack of parts.

I called customer service and was connected to someone in the Philippines. They were very hard to understand and after 12+ phone calls was unable to get ahold of anyone in the US. I sent email and got a response from a person at the Company HQ in Towson Maryland, which stated just tell the Service Center to send the call to the US. I was connected with a repair center in Queens NY! I spoke with a representative there and he confirmed that they don't have any parts for that model and that less than four years is not right to not be repairable.

Another hour this morning attempting to contact someone at Towson without any luck.

Bottom line poor customer service and reliability. I should have gone with Milwaukee.....

Black and Decker used to make good tools years ago, but has had declining quality issues for decades now.
My current issue is for the Black and Decker 20 volt lithium ion battery cordless weed whacker model #LST300.
Pros: Light enough at a little over 5 pounds that even a grandma like me can manage weed whacking. Battery life is 20 – 25 minutes in thick weeds, the old NiCad Back and Decker battery life was about 10 minutes in thick weeds. Easy to assemble out of the box.
Cons: After just 3 months the tabs that secure the spool cap sheared off with the tabs embedded in the spool housing and the cap and trimmer line spool thrown out at high RPMs, narrowly missing my face. I took it back to Lowe’s and they do not report this defect to the Consumer Safety Commission nor will they replace it or give store credit since it has been more than 90 days. They referred me to a toll free Black and Decker customer service number, but I was unable to get through. I plan on reporting this defect directly to the Consumer Safety Commission myself.

Total crap power tools and everything else they make. I have never owned anything from this faulty brand for more than 3 months before it broke. I haven’t purchased any of there products in years, in fact, so long I forgot how crappy they are. Well, a recent purchase reminded me after about 3 months when it fell apart. That’s it with them, never again.
Guys — spend the money and buy a reliable cordless drill or whatever from a more reputable brand like Makita or DeWalt (which is actually a B&D brand).
Ladies — don’t sweat your man at the Home Depot when he’s trying to buy the more expensive weed whacker or other lawn gadget. Get the quality one, it will be cheaper in the end.