Is Markham still in business

[BJN644]

My grapple is supposed to arrive tomorrow, the original date was Friday, I called and called and finally got a hold of someone and they said they are a day behind. I have seen on other post that there were some personal problems going on but they are still in business.

That probably doesn't help you much and I'll post if my grapple isn't here tomorrow and we can see where we can go from there. The one thing about about paying with a credit card is you are covered from fraudulent vendors.

My grapple arrived today!

I encorage you guys with orders pending to keep calling, I know it was tough at times for me to get through but when I did Melissa was very helpfull and nice to talk to.

As for the grapple, wow! they call the one I ordered a light duty, this thing is built like a tank.

 

[BJN644]

Here are some pictures of the grapple in action.

 

[IslandTractor]

Nice looking grapple.

I did notice one thing you may want to watch out for. The upper grapple arm is quite wide and while the rock you have is held by the side of the left tooth, if the rock was a little off center you might have closed the grapple with the rock hitting the cross piece before hitting either of the teeth. That could potentially have bent the cross tube.

I'd never thought about that as an issue with the somewhat wide upper jaws that Markham uses. It almost looks like they could have put in an intermediate tooth with bracing to protect that tube. That would not be hard to do yourself if you are planning to do a lot of large rock moving. I don't think it would be an issue for brush or wood.

(Edit: On second thought, I guess that the midpoint of that cross piece is exactly under the hydraulic ram so the force of the ram would be directly on the tube which would tend to limit the potential for bending the tube. Not sure if the ram has enough power to actually crush it. It still seems like you'd try to avoid having anything like a rock hit the tube rather than the teeth.)

 

[Lunk]

My Grapple and Toothbar took longer than expected, but they were very accommodating, and Melissa added in the spacer tines for nothing. I think part of the issue is that their business is growing faster than production allows.

I've used both items a few times now, and the workmanship, and the function has been great!

 

[Snickers]

Well GOOD NEWS :Melissa answered the phone this am and explained the issues that had come up. For good customer service they need to maintain reliable communications with their customers, so hopefully these kinds of problems will not occur in the future.
I was informed that my grappler will be shipped today, so hopefully will receive it in about a week----will keep you informed.

 

[foggy1111]

I'm glad to hear that Markham is open for business. Seems a shame that rumors get started quickly via the web.....if they aren't true. The custom welding business aint exactly insty prints....maybe a little patience is in order??? The business climate these days is tough enough. Markhams seem like nice folks to me and have good products from everything I have seen and read....and from judging from my tooth bar. Service from them has been top notch too in my case. Go Markham!!

 

[CHDinCT]

Well I called them about a month and half ago and sent e-mails asking for a quote on a 48" toothbar (they don't give list prices so you have to call to get one) and never heard back from them. So, the money went to something else. I may consider ordering a TB from them in time if they get their communications issues worked out. By all accounts, they make great products, but the customer communications side does not seem well cared for right now for whatever reason.

 

[randy1969]

im in 100% agreement w/CHD.after several attempts to contact them i bought a rankin tooth bar.

 

[wedge40]

I understand the reasons (Well sort of) but when they were having problems filling orders last year, about this time I think. Melissa started to post here and give a status of everyone's hardware and when it would be shipped. Then they were told to stop using TBN for business. It's too bad they cant set something like that on their website, so people can check the status. I know from my experience they were great people work with.

Wedge

 

[pitt_md]

I understand the reasons (Well sort of) but when they were having problems filling orders last year, about this time I think. Melissa started to post here and give a status of everyone's hardware and when it would be shipped. Then they were told to stop using TBN for business. It's too bad they cant set something like that on their website, so people can check the status. I know from my experience they were great people work with.

Wedge

I'm not a business man/woman but it seems strange that they would not want to use this forum to generate business. As I recall they generated quite a lot intrest in their products in here.