DeWALT DC500 2 gallon cordless / corded vacuum

[qadsan]

Our Milwaukee M18 vacuum stopped working, so I bought a DeWALT DC500 a couple days ago.  The DeWALT web site as listed below shows this vacuum as being compatible with the DC9180 nano batteries which is all I have.  We sold all our XRP batteries earlier this year after moving to the nano batteries.

http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=6220

I quickly found out the DC9180 battery does not fit into the DC500 I bought.  Fortunately, the DC500 has a cord and we were able to put it to use.  I searched the DeWALT support web site and found that the DC9180 18v nano battery was not compatible with just a few tools and one of them was the DC500.   There's a note  that says to contact your local DeWALT service center to have your tool retrofitted for this battery.  I took my new DC500 vacuum to the service center.   They told me to take my new DC500 back to HD where I bought it,  I showed the guy at the service center my printout that says DeWALT will modify this tool to work with the 18V nano batteries.  He didn't want to hear anything about this and he was done with me as far as he was concerned.  I wasn't leaving and made it known that I wasn't happy and that this should be taken care of by them.  Another guy behind the counter took my paperwork to his co-worker and he told me the DC500 is not compatible with the 18V nano batteries and there was nothing they could do for me.

It was closing time and it was obvious to me that the guys in the shop wanted out there.  I went to push this issue up the ladder to get attention and one of the guys finally agreed to look into it a bit more.  They took the vacuum back and said it will be modified to work with the nano battery, which is all I was asking for.  Then they wanted to charge me money for this update even thought I told them I just bought it.  I provided my receipt to prove I had just bought this and they took my DC500 in for warranty update and said they'd call me when its ready.

Here's the link where I found the answer to my question about nano battery compatibility.

http://support.dewalt.com/cgi-bin/dewalt.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4055&p_created=1193323732&p_sid=6D2Ta*fj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9Nyw3JnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PW5hbm8*&p_li=&p_topview=1

I like the fact the DeWALT DC500 can also be used from 120vac.  When comparing the suction between our other Milwaukee M18 vacuum running from the battery and the DC500 plugged into 120ac, I'll have to give the nod to Milwaukee's M18 for having more suction.  The M18 also wins in my book for it's ergonomics because its flat top design allows for better storage in our trailer.  The M18 vacuum also has enough room in the battery compartment to store more attachments, unlike the DC500 which lacks any protective storage.

Once I get both vacuum's back, I'll do a better comparison between them to see how they compare with each other on battery power only.

Update March 12th, 2009

I called DeWALT for an update on my Vacuum and they told me they had to send it back for the update.  I was told not to expect my new vacuum back for at least 2 weeks and it could possibly be ~3 or ~4 weeks   

I called Milwaukee for an update and they have a new vacuum ready and waiting for me to pick up 

Update Friday March 13th, 2009

I received a call from Shannnon at my DeWALT service center who said my vacuum has been fixed and is ready to be picked up.  Wow!  What a GREAT surprise this was....or so I thought.  I shuffled my schedule around so I could get down to the service center today since they're closed on weekends.  When Shannon put my vacuum on the counter, I wasn't really sure if that was my vacuum because mine was brand new and just a few hours old and in pristine condition when I dropped it off.  The vacuum I was picking up had grease and smudge marks all over it and it was scratched up!  Also, the label on the back with the serial number on it was peeling off.  I didn't really believe this was the same vacuum I dropped off until I opened the battery door and seen the same white marks on the plastic that proved to me this was the same vacuum.  I commented to Shannon about this, but she said they didn't do it and said it was probably like this when I brought it in.  I told her this vacuum was just a few hours old when I dropped it off and it was brand new, but she refused to take responsibility for this and said they did not do this.  This is yet another strike against the DeWALT service center in Anaheim for the way they treat DeWALT customers like me.

Then I try to put a nano battery in the Vacuum and it doesn't fit!     

I look closer at the inside and it was quickly apparent they did NOTHING 

Then they told me the kit to modify my DC500 was not available yet 

Then I was told to take it back to HD where I bought it, but now it looks used with all the scratches and grease, etc.  And they apparently lost my receipt that I provided to them last time, so now I don't have a receipt to return it 

It went on and on like this for a while before they found another DC500 in for repair and the nano battery fit in that DC500 just fine.  After another ~20 minutes of standing around and waiting for them to stop servicing other customers so they could get back to my issue, they finally agreed to order a part and told me that should take about a week or two.  They asked me to take my vacuum back and they'd call me in a week or two when they get the part in.  A person referred to as 'JT' is who did the work on my DC500 and apparently JT can't read or doesn't give a hoot about DeWALT customers because the service order was perfectly clear as to what needed to be done, yet nothing was done to my vacuum even though I was told to come pick it up because it was no fixed.

I've had bad service before, but the service I have received so far from the DeWALT Anaheim Service Center has been consistently terrible so far.  I've been treated poorly and was basically called a liar regarding the condition of my DC500.  I was told it would take a month for repair even thought I just bought it.  I was told my DC500 was ready for pick up, but all I did was waste more than 2 hours of my time and 44 miles of driving only to find out NOTHING was done thanks to JT.  I was given back my vacuum with a much worse physical appearance than when I brought it in.

UPDATE on Milwaukee M18 Vacuum

A new M18 vacuum was ready for me yesterday.  I picked it up today and it's brand spanking new.  Wow!  I definitely applaud Milwaukee for their EXCELLENT service in this case and will be buying more M18 vacuum's as needed. I really like some of my DeWALT tools, but these recent experiences with my local DeWALT service center have further reinforced to me that there's more to a tool than just its performance.  A service center with intelligent people that treats people well and takes care of things quickly as my Milwaukee service center did is certainly worth something in my book.