Wilson Stringing Machines Support (or lack thereof)

kblades

Semi-Pro
I've shared some of my recent experiences with Wilson CS within a few other threads, but thought I would make my own post for awareness. I just want others to be forewarned in advance if they are contemplating a Wilson stringing machine. I have owned a Baiardo L for 2.5 years now and back in April I started trying to track down a set of rails and the push down bases from the regular Baiardo in order to upgrade mine. I spent close to a month sending emails back and forth between Wilson and JC at that time.

First of all, the general Wilson customer service won’t answer questions about the stringing machines, they sent me to JC. JC doesn’t stock the parts, he suggested I reach back out to Wilson because he thought they could get them before he could. So Wilson ended up passing me off to another customer service team that services their B2B site. That team basically said they only provide support and sell parts to their dealer network. So not only did they not have them in stock either, but even if they did they refused to sell them to me because I’m not a pro shop.

So then I once again circled back to JC to let him know Wilson informed me he was my only option because they apparently route all the servicing of their machines through him. So he said he would place me on his backorder list since he didn't have them in stock. Fast forward to now, I've followed up with JC a few different times since seeing if he had any ETA yet. He is now telling me that they aren't expecting the base clamps until January at the earliest and he again suggested I reach out to Wilson to see if they could get them sooner (been there, done that, multiple times now).

In hindsight, I now have regrets purchasing a Wilson stringing machine due to the non-existant support. I couldn't imagine if stringing was my primary source of income and I had a machine go down and the delays were impacting my primary revenue source. I honestly expected the opposite, as one of the deciding factors in buying this machine was I was under the impression parts and service would be superior given how long they’ve been in production and sold by one of the largest retailers. I think it’s absurd they’ll sell these machines to the general public, but then turn around and refuse to offer any support or make parts available for them.

I know there's been several threads recently where people are looking for feedback as you're considering purchasing a stringing machine, so I thought I would share this experience for those of you to take into consideration.
 

jim e

Legend
My machine , a Pro Master, is identical to the older Wilson machine that was used in the 2006 and 2007 US Open. Mine was just a rebranded machine that Wilson had at that time. Years ago, Wilson still had their machine, my LCD screen went bad, I contacted Wilson, and I was told that they did not support parts, or service for their machine . Luckily Xtreme sports machines at the time also had same machine, a Pro Master rebranded with Xtreme name on it. They were able to send me the part, and I installed it. Wilson customer service was basically non existent. Xtreme is now out of business , and I know when my machine fails in future, I'm know I would not go with Wilson. CS is a big part of a purchase, that many do not think of until they need it.
 

Resmera

New User
I've shared some of my recent experiences with Wilson CS within a few other threads, but thought I would make my own post for awareness. I just want others to be forewarned in advance if they are contemplating a Wilson stringing machine. I have owned a Baiardo L for 2.5 years now and back in April I started trying to track down a set of rails and the push down bases from the regular Baiardo in order to upgrade mine. I spent close to a month sending emails back and forth between Wilson and JC at that time.

First of all, the general Wilson customer service won’t answer questions about the stringing machines, they sent me to JC. JC doesn’t stock the parts, he suggested I reach back out to Wilson because he thought they could get them before he could. So Wilson ended up passing me off to another customer service team that services their B2B site. That team basically said they only provide support and sell parts to their dealer network. So not only did they not have them in stock either, but even if they did they refused to sell them to me because I’m not a pro shop.

So then I once again circled back to JC to let him know Wilson informed me he was my only option because they apparently route all the servicing of their machines through him. So he said he would place me on his backorder list since he didn't have them in stock. Fast forward to now, I've followed up with JC a few different times since seeing if he had any ETA yet. He is now telling me that they aren't expecting the base clamps until January at the earliest and he again suggested I reach out to Wilson to see if they could get them sooner (been there, done that, multiple times now).

In hindsight, I now have regrets purchasing a Wilson stringing machine due to the non-existant support. I couldn't imagine if stringing was my primary source of income and I had a machine go down and the delays were impacting my primary revenue source. I honestly expected the opposite, as one of the deciding factors in buying this machine was I was under the impression parts and service would be superior given how long they’ve been in production and sold by one of the largest retailers. I think it’s absurd they’ll sell these machines to the general public, but then turn around and refuse to offer any support or make parts available for them.

I know there's been several threads recently where people are looking for feedback as you're considering purchasing a stringing machine, so I thought I would share this experience for those of you to take into consideration.

@kblades I was planning on making a similar post but never got around to it. I bought a Baiardo L earlier this summer and have had the same exact experience as you with Wilson CS. I was also looking to upgrade the Baiardo L clamp bases and rails with the gravity release style Baiardo base/rails.

After a couple weeks of sending emails back and forth I was bounced from regular Wilson CS to JC and then to Wilson B2B CS. JC was very helpful & responsive but gave me the same response that they were backordered. Wilson B2B initially refused to sell the parts since I was not an authorized dealer. I sent emails to Wilson B2B requesting to purchase parts a couple more times the next few weeks and eventually got a response to complete purchase with credit card on the phone.

Unfortunately, when the parts came there was an issue with one of the clamp bases. I agreed to send back the defective base and purchase a new one for replacement. After a few weeks the replacement never arrived and I found out that the CS rep failed to notify me that the part was backordered until January. After a couple more weeks of calling Wilson B2B, I was finally directed to a rep who was able to find me a replacement part.

In the end I was able to get the replacement part but only after 2+ months of following up emails & phone calls. I assumed that CS for a Wilson machine would be reliable/accessible compared to a smaller distributor, but I was very wrong. Looking back, I was considering the Alpha Ghost 2, Head, or Solinco machines. I kind of wish I went with the Alpha Ghost instead (nearly same price) since I have heard nothing but praise for their support.

TL;DR
While the Baiardo L has worked flawlessly so far, I would definitely not recommend purchasing one if you are not an authorized dealer or have access to the B2B site. Support/service is outsourced to JC Machines and new parts are very difficult to purchase directly though Wilson. If the CS/parts situation does not improve in the next year or so, I will most likely be selling the Baiardo L and moving on to a different machine with better support.
 
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