Here in the Puget Sound area, there are two welder repair centers. One in Kent Washington, the other in Seattle. I had a Lincoln SA-200 in the repair center in Seattle for 45-weeks! Had the generator from another SA-200 in the same shop for 35-weeks! Good thing I don't make a living with my welders!
45 weeks, are you kidding, that's not saying much for getting Lincoln welding equipment fixed local, redickulous.
Just today a fellow welder I've worked close with in years past stopped in at my job site to see how the weld process was going, got on to chatting about buying a 250 amp stick welder, told him I was looking at the Lincoln and the Miller dialarc, the only two I know of, that's out there and near hear with carbon arc gouging capability, he was telling me in a few choice words that he'd never deal with Lincoln again, said their customer service -------------- compared to Miller, he dealt with Miller several times and says their customer service has been top notch.
This is the second time I've heard this same kinda story in one month , not counting your story, another guy on my crew just bought a 252 Millermatic with push-pull mig gun, and had nothing but bad to say for Lincoln, I'm beginning to see a pattern here.