is it possible for an end grain cutting board to warp?

Our business in Indiana was a Sears-Roebuck franchise. We had to accept returns also. Some were straight out bogus and that cost me money. We had one farmer customer (lot of farmer customers, but this one in particular) who used his work boots daily in the hog pen. Naturally they rotted away quickly. He came back and we had to give him new ones every time. If I had set the policy he would have gotten rubber muck boots instead of the leather the first time he did this.
 
I say that the return and refund is the best thing you can do. I would also blacklist the customer - IF - your examination concludes abuse. Repair the board and resell it next year. Maybe you had a weak glue joint and didn't see it until it got a little use. I know your work and it's not likely - but maybe? Also, you should cover the return cost.

Your 2 choices

Refund.
You really don't loose. You are frustrated, sure. MAYBE the customer is satisfied that you responded to their liking and they are happy. You get kudos with that.

NO refund or replace.
You DO lose. You will bet bad rep and loose sales. You gain the one sale but loose others. Overall you loose.


Rockler - Amazon - others

They refund and replace. For that alone - they get some really good rep. People like companies that take care of the customer. When you do that you gain loyalty. Maybe even with this customer you have a good one that just needs a little tender loving care.
 
turns out i do have a return/refund policy set up by etsy, found that out last night. shortened the time down to one week after receipt of item from 2 weeks. funny thing, it has been 2 days since i sent the note to them about sending the board back for a refund, and not a peep out of them. could be they may not want me to see the condition of the board?
 
Keep us posted. :thumb: If it is a failed glue joint (even if caused by improper care by the customer), chances are you can re-cut the joints and glue it back together. I had a glue joint fail on a large end grain board I made a nephew years ago. I know he treated it right, but the combination of a drier climate (he is in NM and the board was made in California) and a suspected glue-starved joint caused it to open up. I re-sawed all the joints (so the strips would be equal width) and re-glued it. He's still using the board to this day.
 
in a way, it reminds me of something that i had seen at rocklers many years ago. when i walked in, the manager was talking to a group of people who were returning a table saw (this was quite a few years ago, mind you). as i knew the manager, i asked what was up, as he didn't look too happy. he showed my the table saw that had been returned. they had bought it not more than a couple of days prior, and said that it wasn't working right. the saw blade looked like it had been cutting through heavy nails, and there were deep gouges in the table, from what looked like something sharp and metal had gouged them. he said that it looked like they were cutting up a bunch of reclaimed lumber, or pallets, beat the daylights out of it, and brought it back, claiming that it didn't work right. he had no choice but to give a refund, even with the obvious damage.

I did a short stint with Lowe's a few years back...we had people bring back tools that were obviously dirty and well used, but they insisted there was something wrong with them... Lowe's return policy is no questions asked, so they got their money back (if they had even paid any money... we had several occasions where people just plain walked out of the store with new and in the box tools... one fellow set off the inventory control monitor at the door and when the clerk asked to see his receipt so she could disable the tracking device, the man replied, "Nope, I'm stealing this." and just walked away...

There are two Lowe's about 40 miles apart, we had a regular customer that would come in and "return overages" of stainless steel screws he had "bought" but had also "lost" the receipt... we in the hardware department was pretty sure he was stealing at one store and returning at another.... probably made a pretty good living that way.... ?
 
I see a glue line failure (like Ted said), but no warpage. Looks like the oil is gone, too. I'd almost bet that board went through the dishwasher.

In any event, in the interest of customer relations, a replacement or refund is in order, but whichever, make sure you get the board back so you can better diagnose what happened to it.

I agree dishwasher. Send them a new board if they are demanding money send it a be done as Larry said.
 
got the board back yesterday while i was at work. judging by the looks of it, there has been some abuse. there is a tiny bit of bowing in the middle, about 1/16" or so. both sides are oil starved, and the end grain, especially for the walnut, is raised to the point where the surface of the board is very rough, not the glass smooth original finish. it has not seen a coat of mineral oil since the day i sent it out. obviously it has been soaked somehow, as the bowing was caused by the wood swelling. also, it has an odd, vinegar-like smell to it.
 
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