Menards just shipped me several defective buildings thru an online purchase, and they seem to make returns nearly impossible. Very upset. How to reach customer service for a return??
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Pick up the phone.
@rdj92807 posted:Menards just shipped me several defective buildings thru an online purchase, and they seem to make returns nearly impossible. Very upset. How to reach customer service for a return??
You can also e-mail Ray at Guest@menard-inc.com
Menards help center has multiple resources: https://www.menards.com/main/help-center/c-13774.htm
Their customer service is responsive and exceeds that of many other retailers.
If you have a local Menards, they have a customer support center that you can contact directly. If you order online and it was shipped to you, you'll need to go through their online support services. If you picked your order up at a local Menards, again you can call them and they should be able help you out.
Menards Customer Service is excellent. I’ve purchased a lot of train buildings online. Twice I’ve had issues, both times customer service took care of the problem quickly-absolutely no issues. I do have a local Menards
@rdj92807 posted:Menards just shipped me several defective buildings thru an online purchase, and they seem to make returns nearly impossible. Very upset. How to reach customer service for a return??
Never an issue with them, fast response and always”what can we do to make this right”.
Menards is not a train company, so while their customer service might be responsive and quick it isn't always what we want. For example, I purchased a car from them that had defective trucks and wouldn't roll properly. They were quick and polite when I emailed them and offered a refund, but it was a special limited edition light-up car and I instead wanted it to be repaired or replaced. Because they are not a train company (unlike, say Lionel or Atlas) they couldn't do what I actually wanted... help me make my train car operate.
So while their option (refund) was generous, it didn't help me. I would say their customer service was great, but their available options (in my case) were Awful.
I have a lot of Menards cars engines and buildings Had a problem twice. Emailed and taken care of no problem.
@BenLMaggi posted:They were quick and polite when I emailed them and offered a refund, but it was a special limited edition light-up car and I instead wanted it to be repaired or replaced. Because they are not a train company (unlike, say Lionel or Atlas) they couldn't do what I actually wanted... help me make my train car operate.
So while their option (refund) was generous, it didn't help me. I would say their customer service was great, but their available options (in my case) were Awful.
Menards' opening a repair center for cheap trains and rolling stock would put their train manufacturing department out of business. They are already selling this stuff at bargain prices. They have adopted the Wal-Mart model: return it for a refund or replacement during the warranty period, but repairs aren't going to happen on a $30 lighted car.
Heck even Lionel is doing this on their low-end stuff, the last Lionchief engine I sent in for a warranty repair was simply replaced with a new unit. Repair centers are reserved for high-end products.
Something to ponder is that maybe the warranty cost for high-priced trains from all of the manufacturers is built into the price. Perhaps that $120 box car could be sold for 40 or 50 bucks if they sold it as-is without a warranty. Technically, this is what Menards is doing but still offers a Refund or Replacement for a very reasonable price.
The very nature of this post leaves me wondering. You mean Menards shipped you several defective buildings? Was it a mystery box deal that usually involves imperfect products at a discount price? Was it an online deal from another source? Did you do a basic Google search for Menards customer service? And what do you mean Menards makes it hard for you to ship back items?
Please provide information about circumstances so we’re not all guessing.
Hi @rdj92807,
I see this was already provided above but the correct email address is guest@menard-inc.com. You can address the email to Ray.
I would also be curious to know what "several defective buildings" is. Please advise.
Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy
Thanks Mark. Ray did reach out to me. You guys are having a problem with the lighted signs on the Amtrak Train Station. A percentage seem to have a circuit board issue which makes the Amtrak signage extremely dim and barely visible at all. Some of the Amtrak stations I received, had nice bright Amtrak signs.....
@rdj92807 posted:Thanks Mark. Ray did reach out to me. You guys are having a problem with the lighted signs on the Amtrak Train Station. A percentage seem to have a circuit board issue which makes the Amtrak signage extremely dim and barely visible at all. Some of the Amtrak stations I received, had nice bright Amtrak signs.....
Thanks for your reply.
I'm glad you were able to get a hold of Ray and that he's working with you on a resolution.
Have a great weekend!
Mark the Menards Train Guy
I had a similar issue with that building, but it was actually the power adapter. I used the more powerful adapter and the lights worked perfectly but it sounds like you may have a different issue.
On February 21st I sent this message to Menards Customer Service using the guest@menard-inc.com. email address. Radio silence... A copy of my message follows. Feel free to offer suggestions. Sorry it is long winded; thank you in advance for your indulgence.
Hi Mark and the small but dedicated train customer service staff. Let me begin by stating I have 2 Menards Santa Fe locomotives and cabeese. Been running them for over a year and love 'em; no problems with engines, they run consistent, and I never run above 16 volts with my Z4000 and MRC Dual Power Transformers. Recently purchased two more - an AA set of Santa Fe. However, when I first ran them, the powered engine made odd whirrring noises and the nonpowered unit derailed at least once each time around the layout. I am running one of my other Santa Fe's on the same track pulling six lighted passenger and freight cars without any issues. I'm using Lionel Fastrack, with 031 and 036 curves and NO switches. Needless to say, I was disappointed and returned the AA set.
To my current concerns. While running one of my Santa Fe engines, as I turned my remote dial to put it in neutral, the engine went into reverse even though my 3945 remote was in forward. The engine continued in reverse even as I moved the dial even more forward. Nothing I did with the remote would stop the reversing engine, even when I powered off the remote. Powering off the transformer was the only way to stop the engine. Powered on and tried again with same result. Changed remote batteries, same result. Ok restarted the engine and connected with my remote from the second Santa Fe - guess what; it worked normally. Repeated this process a number of times and determined the remote was the problem. So, I went online to Menards and looked to order another remote but was greatly disappointed to find none - no parts for maintenance or replacement were listed. So, I basically had a nice engine that will not function without a remote - not cool. I run both engines on separate tracks each with their own remote, but I could no longer do that with one functioning remote. Sad. I did discover that either engine will run with whatever remote it "sees" first which works out just great if you have two functioning remotes. Out of desperation I took the nonfunctioning remote apart - carefully, located the variable potentiometer and sprayed it with WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner. Reassembled the remote and it worked normally, YES. But I am feeling a bit insecure knowing how easily my engines can transform into a paperweight.
SO, I really need a backup remote or two. How do I get one or two? If I purchase another Menards A unit (Union Pacific, Chicago NW, etc.) will the accompanying remote also work with the Santa Fe?
I would also like to know if there are gears INSIDE the trucks under the two engines I need to grease. If so, how do I access them. If you have a procedure, I would love to know what and how to do this. I oil the exterior nylon gears with Labelle 102; if that is wrong, please advise.
Thank you and the team for your indulgence. If someone wishes further explanation I can be reached or messaged at 608-963-////
Craig H.
Craig,
I have always found Menards Customer service people to be highly responsive to requests. They are not train people so they have no idea what you are talking about in your email. It's best to keep email requests as short as possible since the Customer Service workers have to wade through hundreds, if not thousands, of requests each day.
The email should simply have said "How can I get an extra remote control for the ______ engine I purchased on order _____?" If the answer is "none are available," then you can search auction sites or do a "Want to Buy" ad in this forum.
Regarding oiling and greasing a Menards engine, there are plenty of experienced people in this forum who can provide you expert guidance for that specific product.
@Bruce Brown posted:Craig,
I have always found Menards Customer service people to be highly responsive to requests. They are not train people so they have no idea what you are talking about in your email. It's best to keep email requests as short as possible since the Customer Service workers have to wade through hundreds, if not thousands, of requests each day.
The email should simply have said "How can I get an extra remote control for the ______ engine I purchased on order _____?" If the answer is "none are available," then you can search auction sites or do a "Want to Buy" ad in this forum.
Regarding oiling and greasing a Menards engine, there are plenty of experienced people in this forum who can provide you expert guidance for that specific product.
Well said. Many of us are concerned about being precise, and as a result we sometimes over-explain things. The result is "TLDR" - too long, didn't read. (I personally hate that term - seems rude and dismissive, but it exists. When I'd get such an email in my job, I would just call the person, but that doesn't apply to this situation.)
Make the request concise and clear.
Thanks for the advice; I was concerned about providing as complete an explanation as I could but as was mentioned, TMI. I will try again with 4 sentences or less. Thank yoou.
FWIW, here's my thought process; possibly TLDR / TMI. 
Who am I asking to take action? What specific action do I want them to take (one sentence; if more than one thing, use bullet points)? What is the minimum they need to know in order to take that action (probably just part number and how to contact me)?
Anything that doesn't contribute to those questions gets edited out.
(I wrote more but decided to edit it out...)
Having said that, it seems like there are a lot of threads and posts about contacting Menards customer service. Hopefully, @Menards is noticing it.
based on some of the good advice I have received from folks in the forum I will resubmit a much mote concise version. Thank you.
Hi everyone, A couple of weeks ago I ordered a Brewery from Menards and this was how it was delivered. It was packed with a few pieces of bubble wrap just loosely stuffed into the box and the photos shows how the parts are on the bottom of the box and the water tower was destroyed. It looks like it was on a shelf for some time as you can see in one of the photos the dust on the top of the box. Whoever packed the order seemed not to care but it was a disgrace. I did contact customer service via email only to be ignored. Luckily all the missing parts were in the box, and I did reattach them with super glue except the water tower that will be replaced with a 3D HO tower which is about the correct size for a roof top tower. I will never buy anymore train stuff from Menards as I feel they need to upgrade their customer service to follow up with and not ignore their customers.
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