It has been difficult to post this review, but after 4 years of being treated like a second hand customer, the time has come to share my experiences. Foothills has the potential to be a decent company, yet they refuse to acknowledge even the most basic customer service shortfalls. We purchased a used Hurco VM20 from them 5 years ago. After a year, we wanted to add a Big Kaiser 80,000 rpm air speeder to our machine. We were told that adding an M code would be no problem. After constant requests to have the M code and solenoid installed for a year, we turned directly to Hurco headquarters. They did not help us either so we returned to Foothills and requested support, but they ignored us. Our tool probe was installed in a location on the table where the cable had been mangled from hitting the Z way cover before we received the machine. We had requested a quote to replace the cable the day the machine was installed on our floor. Needless to say, we never received a quote. Fast forward three years when the cable broke completely. We told them our production was at a halt because we needed to probe for lights out machining so they ordered a new unit and exchanged it for $1000. We specifically asked them to install it so the cable would not hit the Z way cover as before. They installed it exactly the same and within a month the cable was broken again! Talk about infuriating : Now we need new way covers on the X axis one was broken internally when we got the machine and the other sustained damage recently due to our own user error. We asked for a quote 2 months ago. Our request was ignored so I requested a quote on a new machine. Frank was here in a day but did not tell me he was stopping by so I missed him. It would really help if they would notify me before stopping in so I can actually meet with the sales/repair guys. So he schedules a time to come in and the first thing I tell him is that we need our machine fixed before we can discuss quoting a new machine. Get this...he still doesn't give me a quote for another month on the replacement way covers. I just got the quote from the office and they stated, "Due to your payment history, we request that you pre-pay for the way covers before we order them." Okay, that's fine, I have no problem pre-paying. But I DO HAVE A PROBLEM with you telling me there's something wrong with my payment history. My previous invoices that did go unpaid were paid in full PROMPTLY once your company stopped ignoring me and ACTUALLY FINISHED THE WORK. Ironically, we were also ordering a 4th rotary axis and driver card with installation from Foothills, but this is never going to happen. If I did order it, I would likely wait until 2025 to get it on my machine and by that time we would have sold it. I would rather source and install a rotary axis myself at this point. If you've read this review and need a Hurco service rep, call me as we've sourced service guys that are not associated with Foothills. Honestly, I was so excited to work with this company when Rob was my sales rep as he got everything done quickly, easily and with great support. Gone are the days when you could trust this company to do anything but collect the payment in advance. Update 06.27.2021 I've moved on to DMG MORI for my next 5 axis machine. While I have been verbal about my experiences with Foothills, I'm giving them a 3rd chance to redeem themselves. This was a two star rating, which I've made a four star considering the work was eventually done. I'm calling them out next week to have some repairs done and will update my review based on what happens next. We're spending $250k on a new machine and it will be from a different machine tool provider.
I purchased a Hurco vm10i from Foothills in fall of 2017 and have been very happy with the experience. The team there is very knowledgeable and are willing to help in any way possible, even after the machine is set up and running. I frequently ask for advice when machining something that I'm not familiar with and they are always willing to help. Great Mastercam support and they even host training a few times a month. The machine has been great but I have had a few minor issues, all were responded to in a professional and timely manner. Would definitely recommend Foothills to anyone looking for machine tools.
As we were building our manufacturing shop we found ourselves in the midst of a problem. We needed equipment and we needed it fast. We were pleased to find Foothills Machinery Sales was local, had the equipment we needed and best yet, they had great prices. They even worked a quick deal just before the end of 2013 so we could get the capital equipment into our shop before the new year. The staff at Foothills also went the extra mile after we purchased the equipment to ensure we had proper training and the tools we needed. We can't say enough good things about Foothills Machinery Sales, except that they will be our first stop when looking for anything else for our shop.
Customer service is the absolute worst! Installed a DRO and did not put the scale covers on. Took weeks to get the parts delivered for the install!
