Jim, I know a lot of folks have been happy with other Laguna tools and the service they've gotten. The vast majority, in fact.
In this particular case, the guy bought a new model that ended up being a bigger lemon than usual in a model line that became known for having lots of problems. Then, Laguna tried replacing faulty parts with more faulty parts, and finally told the guy that the problems he was seeing with the motor and the variable speed controller were more than they could fix. I think he spent another year or so trying to return the lathe and get a refund. In the meantime, A Laguna service rep was caught red-handed posting praises of the lathe (and insinuating the customer was an idiot) under a pseudonym on the forum where this customer was doing most of his complaining. Really classless move. Probably not fair of me to to condemn the entire barrel as the result of one rotten apple, but at least in regards to their lathes, I do.