Ann The Gran Community

I had the same problem with my barely used 700II.

My problem is that I live in Northern Michigan and there is no dealer within 250 mi.To have a repair I had to ship it out($30.30 insured), so I shipped it to the dealer I purchased it from who is in Alabama. They told me it was a bad bushing and the part was on backorder. They have had my machine for two months and are not communicating. I am so upset with them, and I am wondering if I threw over $700. down the drain for this machine.

I have an eleven year- old Simplicity machine that was only out of time once , but it only has a 4x4 field.

I read all the reviews so the 700 sounded like a good buy, but I am not so sure now.

Although I have purchased four different machines and a lot of supplies form this dealer and they were great on sales, but I think this is a bad way to treat a customer. Nothing I can do but wait. I will never do business with them again. It would help if they would communicate.

Alice - I did not see your message and sorry for the delay.  If you have not found an answer to your question, please respond.

I hope you are having fun with your machine and if you need further assistance, please do ask or check my profile and email me. I love talking embroidery and always happy to help.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Mrs Yowder - The PE700 series is a good work horse machine. If you have specific questions, please post or email me. My email is in my profile.

I can see your anger through your words. Let us here at the Forum help if we can. Not everything has to go to a dealer.

It is difficult to help without specifics. I like to offer suggestions to try - and sometimes only a technician can repair a problem.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Thanks for a caring response.

The same thing happened to me as did to blevins 5733.  The machine froze and the error message camp up "The saefty device has been enacted". I went to the manual and it assumes that there is tangled thread in the bobbin area. (The hand wheell would not turn) I managed to get the needle out so I could remove the hoop. There was no thread tangled in the bobbin area. I have owned and cared for many kinds of machines over the years. My machines last a very long time because I have learned how to treat them. Anyway, I knew to remove the plate and inspect the bobbin case. No problems or roughness there.

I called the dealer I purchased it from. He told me it was probably a mechanical problem that he could fix and return the next day. As I stated, I am in northern Michigan and the nearest dealer is over 250 miles away, so I shipped it to the dealer I purchased it from who is in Alabama.

Two weeks went by and I hadn't heard anything, so I called and was told that it was a bad bushing and the part was on back order. The part was under warranty but I would have to pay labor.That was fine with me.

Two more weeks went by and I called again to see how much longer it would be. I think the repair person was just being smart with me because he said' I can take the part out of a new machine and fix yours." I asked how much labor was per hour and he said he would call me back. That was on January 25. No one has called. I sent two emails which have been unanswered. I asked what the part number was, when they expected it, and the hourly rate for labor. No answer.

I was surprised that this highly rated machine seemed to be so delicate. I am thinking that the part was probably defective from the beginning. and I suppose those things sometimes happen.

I am going to give the dealer another week and try to call again.

Is it resonable to have a repair take two months? I have not only missed Christmas gifts and Valentines gifts, I may miss St. Patrick's day too. :) On March 27 my warranty period is up. I hope that is not what they are waiting for.

The lack of communication is what  is really frustrating. I am on the verge of reporting them to the Brother Company.

I can see you have been working hard at seeing that your machine is cared for in a professional way.

I know that when I reported a dealership in southern California, I felt no one listened. I never heard from either of them. However, (I am not a cronic complainer) reported a dealership to Baby Lock and heard from both of them within 72 hours. The dealership had been neglecting the 'generic email box.

With time fleeting, call Brother asap. I can see you won't let them ignore you (I since have switched to Baby Lock). Call them every 2 or 3 days. I will never allow what happened to me at Brother happen again at any vendor. I recently spent a lot of time with HSN (Home Shopping Network) and finally got my $125 refunded.

I feel strongly that people have rights and you have been treated with a less than professional attitude.

I do encourage you to keep your cool, use polite words and terms and keep on them. Write down all you have done and do in the future. If it gets to a 'he said, she said," you will have your ducks in order. I hope to hear that you are getting results soon. Let us know. Get in touch with the Better Business Bureau, they are still in the business of fair business.

There is another frustrating thing about these dealers (all of them, not just Brother) because they keep the price of these machines a secret. I have often thought that we all need to find a way to bring a stop to this practice. They keep the prices artificially high by playing with these numbers.  I saw a machine that had a variance of $4,000 for the same machine. It is "whatever the traffic will bear."

I want them to make money but not sham one client over another. I want them to stay in business and they do have to make money to do so. Greed is another matter.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

You are certainly more patient than I. 

I would be speaking with the dealer and not an employee to inform him/her that if my machine is not repaired and returned to me by (give them 5 days), a letter of complaint will be going to Brother and to the Better Business Bureau.

Wow..thank you for giving me the courage to stir things up. Maybe there is such a thing as being too patient?

I spoke with one of the owners this morning and he is VERY upset with the employee who got smart with me, and was extremely apologetic for the way this has been handled. I don't think that employee is going to have a good day.

He promised that by tomorrow my machine would be fixed and shipped back to me or he would send me a brand-new machine! (Don't think they make the 700ii anymore, maybe it will be a 770, hehe)

Will let you all know the outcome.

GOOD FOR YOU! I do understand, I tend to fume as well.

I look forward to hearing about your results. You can be patient again, but by Thursday or Friday, I would give the owner a call asking how things are going (only if needed, of course).

As a business owner myself I have had issues too. I don't have employees but I can make mistakes too. I work hard to correct them. Losing money is not fun, but having a happy client is the overall result.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Getting excited about embroidery again!!( Dealer is supposed to tell me today whether he is shipping my machine or a new one.)

Now for the dumb question of the day.

I purchased a 503 10-spool thread stand to use with my 700II. I cannot figure out the thread path from the stand to the machine because you have to flip the top up to thread the machine I can see no way to have the thead not hit on that lid. I tried setting it on top of a box and putting way off to the right side, but you shouldn't have to do that.

Is there a way to remove the lid of the machine when you are using the stand, or what am I doing wrong.?

The lid is probably removable.  I have the BabyLock Ellegante and the lit snaps off and back on.  My dealer showed me how to do this.

How I remove the lid from my machine:  Open the lid.  On the left hinge side there is a pin.  On the right side the hinge is "U" shaped.  Slide the opened lid to the right and the pin comes out of the opening.  Lift the lid straight up to remove from "U" hinge.

Since Brother and BabyLock are from the same family, the configuration for removing the lid may be the same.

Never be too shy to get your "Irish" up!  I thank my 100% Irish grandfather for those genes.

I sit here on pins and needles....did you get your machine back?  Was it fixed properly?  I am going to have to ship mine somewhere on Monday and after reading your posts I am a little leary!!!  The problem I am having sounds just like yours but mine is a PE770. 

So sorry I took so long with the update! You should have giving me a nudge. :) I have just been really busy and thought about doing it and then would get sidetracked.

Well....it didn't take them but three days to have the machine on my doorstep after I threatened to send a letter to the BBB. That's what got some action.

I was at a real disadvantage being so far away. Apparently what happened was that they took the machine apart and then just shoved it in the corner. I think the story about the part being on back order was just that, a story. They put two people to work oiling, greasing, and testing it.

From what I understand, that error message can be caused by a number of things. It is simply a safeguard to avoid damage to the machine.

It could be a burr on the hook, a lint ball in the bobbin case, thread tangled somewhere preventing the wheel from turning, a bent needle, etc. I suspect that they had my machine for some time before I purchased it from them and the lubricants had settled and dried.

Anyway, so far it seems to be working well.

Again, I am so sorry for leaving you "hanging". I wan't really sure anyone was interested in my plight!

I would check all these types of things myself to see anything helps. If not, never try to "force" a machine. Maybe yours just needs  good professional lubrication.

Please let us know what happens, but try not to be a procrastinator like me! : )

Regards,

Martha

I am glad you are settled in this issue.

As you can see, a lot of things can go wrong. This does include a lot of places where things can go badly. 

For me, I have found that a lint both on the upper areas and especially in the bobbin case and surrounding spaces can and is a great place for dust/lint to hide. I suggest using (in so many problem areas) a flashlight in the bobbin area because the smallest of things can make or break a good sitch.

Make sure you are fair and patient but don't let things get out of hand. That seems reasonable to me!

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Thank you.

I had asked the same dealer to also send a roll of HydoStick stabilizer. I found a roll of stabilizer in the box; no wrapping or tag. When I went to use it I found it was sticky stabilizer. I called them and I am sure I was the last person he wanted to hear from that day : ).  To my surprise they next-day-air shipped the correct product at no charge. Maybe it is true that in some cases a little fear doesn't hurt.

I was thinking of purchasing a set of those mini vacuum tools to help clean the machine. I found them on Ebay.

Has anyone had any experience with them?

Like this one?  http://compare.ebay.com/like/120416240797?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=219162512716&crlp=1_263602_309572&UA=WVI8&GUID=e810384712d0a47a2fa14ea1ff9adae8&itemid=120416240797&ff4=263602_309572

I have had one for many years.  The are good up to a point.  Then I use a cotton tipped swab which grabs dust and lint in areas the cleaner cannot get to.

Thanks!

 I think I will order it. You cannot find them in stores anymore. They try to sell you the "canned air", which would blow the lint into the machine.

I usually just use a brush, or sometimes a regular little watercolor brush. But with this machine I want to be a little more thorough.

Let us know how you like it.  I agree about canned air and a decent vacuum would be great. However, like small irons, some of them are more like toys.

In fact, I had a toy iron as a child that worked really well, sure wish I still had it.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

I did not see Pattiann's note, WOW that is a great idea!

Pattiann you are such a wealth of knowledge, I appreciate you a lot!

I do need envelopes for my hankies that I sell to brides.  They must be about 5" by 5" and have room to put the hankie in, so it needs to have some 'give' to it. I had been getting (no longer available) a cardboard envelop that worked well.  The envelope needs to be bridal appropriate. For instance, it needs to be simple white and I really want linen.  Got any ideas?

Thanks!! Pat