# Reel Works Swardman Sharpening Service Experience 2022



## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

I've used Reel Works in the past for Swardman sharpening services when Reel Rollers handled the purchase of the service and the shipping process. Now that Reel Rollers is out of the picture Reel Works handles the entire process.

So I purchased the service on 4/21 thinking I was going to send it out before I left on vacation and would have it when I returned. I received a receipt for purchase but no shipping label. Contacted Reel Works during operating hours and left a message.

Called again while on vacation, twice with no answer or return call. Emailed on 5/2 and Anthony responded and sent me a shipping label, put in on the box and sent it out the same day.

The reel was received 5/4. On 5/9 I emailed Anthony to check the status of my reel and he said he would get back to me first thing in the morning because he was out of the office.

5/10 no response as promised and I sent out a email mid day, no response, called before closing, no response. Today is the 11th, no response.

No issues the last time, 7 days from shipped back to my door. I just don't understand the no response. It's been 20 days since this process started.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I think @Reel-Works is a member here.


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## killacam (May 4, 2017)

This is their busiest time of the year. Anthony and his team service over 5000 machines per year. I'm surprised you weren't able to get in contact with him as I can usually get someone on the phone. I do know that he works his butt off and does whatever he can to make things right though.


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## Theycallmemrr (May 16, 2019)

@LawnDetail Have you tried messaging him on Facebook?


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

killacam said:


> This is their busiest time of the year. Anthony and his team service over 5000 machines per year. I'm surprised you weren't able to get in contact with him as I can usually get someone on the phone. I do know that he works his butt off and does whatever he can to make things right though.


I completely understand that and I'm not knocking his company. It's just frustrating when companies don't respond especially when they give you a time they will. It is what it is.


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## latitude36 (Mar 27, 2019)

I think it's like everything else in today's world--shortages--understaffed etc. I talked to places in early March that were months out--pretty much told me not bring it in.


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

latitude36 said:


> I think it's like everything else in today's world--shortages--understaffed etc. I talked to places in early March that were months out--pretty much told me not bring it in.


Is this Reel Works your talking about in your comment? If so, then they should remove the "4 days or less" from their Swardman Reel Service description so customers can plan accordingly.


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## latitude36 (Mar 27, 2019)

If I had a swardman I would buy the extra reel.


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

latitude36 said:


> If I had a swardman I would buy the extra reel.


@latitude36 thats exactly what I did. They've had my reel since the 4th and haven't returned my emails. So with the weekend fast approaching and no idea when my reel would be returned I reached out to the one and only Lee Purcell. Communicated with him on Wednesday and had a reel on my front porch This morning. Big shoutout to Lee and the crew @ReelRollers for helping me out.


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## goblue0720 (8 mo ago)

@LawnDetail did you get yours sent back yet?

I ordered the service on May 25th. No response to emails. I've left 2 VM. I spoke with one person there (can't remember his name). He said that he'll let the guy know that handles those. That was a week ago. This JUST for the shipping label!


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

goblue0720 said:


> @LawnDetail did you get yours sent back yet?
> 
> I ordered the service on May 25th. No response to emails. I've left 2 VM. I spoke with one person there (can't remember his name). He said that he'll let the guy know that handles those. That was a week ago. This JUST for the shipping label!


Yes. I finally got my reel back. But there's a second chapter to my story.

After a couple weeks and no responses to my calls or emails I purchased another reel cartridge because I had no clue when I would get my original back.

So I finally get my original back and start the process of cleaning all the grease off the reel, I don't understand the excessive amount of grease.

The first thing I noticed was the bedknife was not a new one like I've received in the past. This was clearly a fabricated bedknife and the screws were stripped.

Now onto testing the bed to reel contact. No matter how i adjusted the reel I could not get consistent contact throughout the whole cutting area. 3/4" of the bedknife on the end never made contact to the reel, you can only go so tight.

So after spending a few hours messing with this thing I attempted to contact Reel Works again. After a week of emails and messages left with Clayton, Anthony finally contacted me. I explained to him the issues I was having and he said he would send me another shipping label to send it back to be fixed, that was on the May 25th.

This whole process started April 21st. I'm not knocking this company, I've used them in the past when Reel Rollers handled the payment and shipping. I always received my reel back within 7 days, reel operating correctly with a brand new bedknife.

When Anthony reached out to me he did explain that he has just been busy and this issue would be fixed. I understand and appreciate that. I just think it's good business practice to respond in a timely manner to customers inquiries and if your busy, and services are delayed, change the turn around time on your site so customers can plan accordingly.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

That's got to be frustrating…….I have two reels also. I would recommend in the future to send out your reel in the winter months if possible. I'm lucky that I only mow 2k/sqft. so a sharpening last the entire season. Good luck I hope this issue is not ongoing


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## sheiraas (Jun 6, 2019)

I also had the same bad experience. I sent off 2 reels to be sharpened. Getting the label took about 4 days from when I purchased it. I then followed shipping and it arrived to them May 3rd. I heard nothing for weeks. I kept calling and could not get anyone to respond to me. I then finally got a hold of someone and they told me one of my reels had been stripped and they were waiting for parts whatever that means. OK how about my other reel? I expected that it would be worked on in 4 days and shipped back as stated on their website. Nothing for weeks. Finally after numerous calls and waiting for callbacks I talked to another person. They told me the owner was out and would not be back for another week. I asked why my one good reel was not shipped out. He said he was not sure and would ship it out that day. Finally June 3rd exactly a month later I got one reel back. I had to adjust the reel big time as it was not cutting on the ends just as the other poster had commented. I have not got a call back from Anthony or anyone else about my other reel. This is very frustrating. I get its a busy season but you need to communicate with your customers.


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## goblue0720 (8 mo ago)

LawnDetail said:


> goblue0720 said:
> 
> 
> > @LawnDetail did you get yours sent back yet?
> ...


Wow! I just got off the phone with Clayton. He said he's going to get with the owner and ask him to prioritize this.

I had JUST bought a new reel too. Thank Goodness!!


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## atticus (Dec 30, 2021)

Dang, I just called today to see if they were busy and the guys said no. I dropped my swardman 6 blade off and he said I could come back and get it in 2-3 days. Hope I get a call..


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

Here is a photo of what all my past new bedknives have looked like.



Here is a photo of what my recent "new" bedknife looks like…… clearly not new.


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## calismic (7 mo ago)

New member here! After finding this thread in my hunt for answers, I thought it important to share our experience. My husband is the lawn guy, but I typically manage all the service appointments, orders, etc. We previously had our Swardman Reel sharpened through Reel Rollers (who I'm now finding out sent it to Reel Works?) and had excellent service. Reel was shipped and returned within 14 days. On April 12th we filled out the form on Reel Works site, made the payment and received our order number. In the order it specifically stated to wait for a shipping label and box. So we did.....2 weeks later still nothing. My husband assures me its busy season and they're likely being bombarded with former Reel Roller customers. So I drop them an email asking for an update. 2 weeks later still no response. So I call, I speak with Clayton I believe. I'm told that the owner is out of town and he will take down my information and someone will get back to me. May 23rd, still nothing. So at this point I'm getting impatient. I decide to send another email, drop a message on Facebook, AND call. This time I receive a voicemail box so I leave a message. No return call....... So today I again reach out starting with a phone call (the gentleman who answered this time did not provide his name). I was again told that the owner was out and was again told that he would take my information and someone would get back to me soon. I was practically begging at this point to please please please have someone call us back. This is the only place we can find to service our Swardman Reel and my husband would very much like to have it sharpened. He assured me the owner would get back to us. 15 minutes later I receive an email notification that my order has been canceled. I have now attempted to reach out AGAIN to find out what is happening but each time I've gotten nothing but the voicemail.

I see in this post that the owner frequents this message board. If anyone has any advise, recommendations, ANYTHING to get this reel sharpened I would very much appreciate it. Right now I have an email out to Reel Rollers in the hopes we can order a new blade as we're running low on options. If you know of any other company that will sharpen the blade, please share with this desperate wife who just wants her husband to enjoy his mow again!


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

calismic said:


> New member here! After finding this thread in my hunt for answers, I thought it important to share our experience. My husband is the lawn guy, but I typically manage all the service appointments, orders, etc. We previously had our Swardman Reel sharpened through Reel Rollers (who I'm now finding out sent it to Reel Works?) and had excellent service. Reel was shipped and returned within 14 days. On April 12th we filled out the form on Reel Works site, made the payment and received our order number. In the order it specifically stated to wait for a shipping label and box. So we did.....2 weeks later still nothing. My husband assures me its busy season and they're likely being bombarded with former Reel Roller customers. So I drop them an email asking for an update. 2 weeks later still no response. So I call, I speak with Clayton I believe. I'm told that the owner is out of town and he will take down my information and someone will get back to me. May 23rd, still nothing. So at this point I'm getting impatient. I decide to send another email, drop a message on Facebook, AND call. This time I receive a voicemail box so I leave a message. No return call....... So today I again reach out starting with a phone call (the gentleman who answered this time did not provide his name). I was again told that the owner was out and was again told that he would take my information and someone would get back to me soon. I was practically begging at this point to please please please have someone call us back. This is the only place we can find to service our Swardman Reel and my husband would very much like to have it sharpened. He assured me the owner would get back to us. 15 minutes later I receive an email notification that my order has been canceled. I have now attempted to reach out AGAIN to find out what is happening but each time I've gotten nothing but the voicemail.
> 
> I see in this post that the owner frequents this message board. If anyone has any advise, recommendations, ANYTHING to get this reel sharpened I would very much appreciate it. Right now I have an email out to Reel Rollers in the hopes we can order a new blade as we're running low on options. If you know of any other company that will sharpen the blade, please share with this desperate wife who just wants her husband to enjoy his mow again!


It appears this is the new norm. You are correct that when Reel Rollers handled the payment and shipping it went smoothly. Now it's nothing but a waiting game and poor customer service. Seems the same thing is happening to a lot of customers. I'm still waiting on a response from my returned reel. Reel Rollers may be able to help you out depending on what reel cartridge your looking for, Lee is awesome. If they don't have it reach out to [email protected] they have reel cartridges and share your experience with her, I know she would like to hear it. She was quick to respond to my emails and very helpful. Keep us posted.


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## atticus (Dec 30, 2021)

atticus said:


> Dang, I just called today to see if they were busy and the guys said no. I dropped my swardman 6 blade off and he said I could come back and get it in 2-3 days. Hope I get a call..


Dropped off on Tuesday, they said it would be 2 days since I'm local, so I asked if Friday would work to pick it up so I could have it for the weekend and the guy said absolutely not a problem. I called yesterday before I left to go pick it up just to be sure and the guy spent 10 mins trying to find my reel only to find out they hadn't started it yet.


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## lacrossekite (Aug 10, 2020)

I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago and got it back nice and sharp within a week.

Not saying others aren't having issues, but mine did come back as expected.


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## calismic (7 mo ago)

lacrossekite said:


> I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago and got it back nice and sharp within a week.
> 
> Not saying others aren't having issues, but mine did come back as expected.


For my own curiosity, did they send you a shipping label and box or did you use your own? We were never even able to receive a shipping label from them. I had asked if it was acceptable to send it using the box we previously had from Reel Rollers but never received a response. I would have been fine shipping it on my own if they would have just communicated with us.


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## lacrossekite (Aug 10, 2020)

They sent me a shipping label and I used the same box I got from Reel Rollers last year.


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

lacrossekite said:


> I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago and got it back nice and sharp within a week.
> 
> Not saying others aren't having issues, but mine did come back as expected.


What did your bedknife look like, was it a new one or fabricated? Could you you post a pic of it.


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## Reel-Works (Oct 21, 2021)

Hello everyone, this is Anthony the owner of Reel Works. First of all, I want to apologize to anyone that has had issues with the Swardman reel service!
Weather it has been connecting with us personally or a problem getting your labels or something else, I take full responsibility of the problems y'all are having!
I can guarantee that starting tomorrow morning, I will handle the issues! Please remember we are still getting used to this process as well…. We normally take care of our customers in person!
I will also, keep a better eye on the forum to see if there's other ways we can be better for all of our customers!
Thanks, Anthony


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## atticus (Dec 30, 2021)

atticus said:


> atticus said:
> 
> 
> > Dang, I just called today to see if they were busy and the guys said no. I dropped my swardman 6 blade off and he said I could come back and get it in 2-3 days. Hope I get a call..
> ...


Update: called today and was able to get my reel back. With a couple adjustments it cut just as good as new. Its going to get a work out over the next week or so.. don't really wanna do a hard reset, so I'm going to spend the next little bit working my HOC back down.


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

So I finally got my reel back after sending it back in because the reel to bedknife was not making consistent contact.

This is what I got.



In the photo I placed a level on the bottom of the bedknife. The bedknife is bent so much that almost a inch of the reel doesn't and can't make contact ( between the 2 arrows pointing down) and where the arrow is pointing up shows the gap between the bedknife and level shows the bend in the bedknife.

It was clearly noticeable as I was talking it out of the box. So I'm in the process of trying to get ahold of Anthony again. This is beyond frustrating and cannot understand it.


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## thelawnlife (9 mo ago)

LawnDetail said:


> So I finally got my reel back after sending it back in because the reel to bedknife was not making consistent contact.
> 
> This is what I got.
> 
> ...


Hope they make it right for you. I'd be quite frustrated.


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## LawnDetail (Apr 15, 2020)

It's being sent back and Anthony said he will personally look into it when it gets there. I appreciate that he's doing that.


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## lacrossekite (Aug 10, 2020)

LawnDetail said:


> lacrossekite said:
> 
> 
> > I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago and got it back nice and sharp within a week.
> ...


Seems new to me, just pulled the reel off yesterday to do some power raking and remembered this thread 😊


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