Tesoro Laid Off ALL of the Factory Staff

[Terry Soloman]

I just got off the phone with Carl Isdal, lead technician at Tesoro for many years, and he has CONFIRMED that Vince did in fact lay off everyone on the factory floor this morning -- with no warning. Vince Gifford lied to me point blank. My sincere apologies to DownAndOut!!!

 

[Honeyman]

Holy stuff! Should I hold off ordering a detector? The lifetime warrenty was a major selling point!

 

[GB1]

i was going to buy a mojave should i not

 

[DOWNANDOUT]

i have no clue on detectors for repair at the factory or warranty situation no one their to fix em

 

[MRS GOLD]

Holy stuff! Should I hold off ordering a detector? The lifetime warrenty was a major selling point!

Yup! I think you should hold off. Just talked with vince a minute ago about a Tesero Sand Shark my husband has had box up for awhile to be sent off for repair. He said we should send it off right away and maybe they might have time to get to it , but it didn't sound good! If not it would just be sent back. who knows probably at our expense? so much for warranty.

 

[digger27]

i was going to buy a mojave should i not

I own a 7" coil Compadre, and a Mojave.
That Compadre is old I am at least the third owner and there might have been more than that.
Their products are generally built like tanks so I never worried about it or buying used.
If this us true...and I say IF, there will no longer be a lifetime factory warranty available.
Duh.
On the other hand there have been others that do know how to repair these things out there...if they can get parts.
Don't know what to tell you, if manufacturing is curtailed that means a future limited supply and prices may go up because the Tesoro faithful will still want them.

This is shocking and upsetting news if true.
I have mine and I am not all that concerned about service but I know this will be an issue for many thinking about buying both old and new models.

We need more info...I doubt Tesoro will address this if it happened, they always did keep things to themselves.
The truth is out there and we will find out soon enough.

 

[Slowtaknow]

A very sad day indeed

 

[HighVDI]

Dang, such a wonderful product they put out too. Hope they can sort it out.

 

[Carl-NC]

Sorry to hear the news. Even though a competitor, I've always liked Tesoro and the Giffords. Visited many years ago when Jack was still there, he and Vince gave me a lot of their time discussing detectors and even showing me prototypes in development.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

i was going to buy a mojave should i not

The Mojave is so inexpensive, there's almost no risk, if the company dies the detector will still work. I'm sure you can get $200 of use out of it in a year and then it doesn't really owe you anything if it dies down the road.

 

[Terry Soloman]

All we can do at this point is hope this is temporary, and say a prayer for those who lost their jobs. Prescott is not a huge town, and jobs there can sometimes be very hard to come by.

 

[DOWNANDOUT]

YOUR SAD IM OUTOF A JOB LOVED WORKING THERE

 

[Rick K]

Thanks Terry, I’m sure posting this brought you no pleasure.

Prescott is doing pretty well these days (my sister “summers” there) and I suspect that the staff can find good jobs promptly - I doubt Tesoro was paying much above the going rate anyway.

Nobody likes getting the “chop” however - happened to me once and I still feel it.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

YOUR SAD IM OUTOF A JOB LOVED WORKING THERE

First, really sorry to hear about the unfortunate turn of events, and I hope you'll be able to find something soon. I've been through this myself, and ironically I always land in a better position with better pay then before, there's light at the end of the tunnel, I can assure you, although I personally know it can be painful in the interim.

Can you offer any insight into what happened there?

 

[Kace]

i was going to buy a mojave should i not

Gold Boy and Honeyman...My Opinion Is Definitely Do Not Buy A New Tesoro of Any Model. I see used ones one CL a lot at much reduced prices.

I'd really look at other brands and get a comparable detector. You're not going to get a valid warranty right now unless or if this gets straightened out. Look at DownandOut's post... He worked there. Terry said he was lied to.

Just Beware...Good Machines..But even those have issues at times.

DaO..I'm Sorry you lost your job

Terry..Thanks For Posting This

WOW!

Kace

 

[ZR2guy]

I hate to see anyone lose their job; been there myself and went back to school at age 47 and got a degree. it's a knock down punch in the gut for sure but you have to get up and move on. At the same time, shame on the leaders/owners of Tesoro; they have had a lot of time to "catch up", update their products. Old school looks and technology become nothing but nostalgic. Nothing wrong with sticking to your guns, but sometimes you have to get better guns. Again, very sorry to hear about this. Good Luck to you DaO.

 

[Terry Soloman]

In my opinion, it was not the technology that led to this, it was lack of marketing and communication. When James Gifford left the Company, outreach and marketing also left.

 

[Possum]

YOUR SAD IM OUTOF A JOB LOVED WORKING THERE

Our prayers go out to ya "DOWNANOUT", hang in there sir, like Terry said, hopefully this is temporary and you'll be back to work soon. Take Care and God Bless you and yours!!! "D"

 

[Iffy Signals]

Sorry to hear downandout

 

[digger27]

In my opinion, it was not the technology that led to this, it was lack of marketing and communication. When James Gifford left the Company, outreach and marketing also left.

We have been saying that for years.
Time is long gone when you could get by with just a few ads in metal detecting magazines.
They haven't added much to their Facebook page since 2014, they had that Cazador debacle and pulled back out of most forums and social media when they got flack about it.
If you called them Vince, Alan Cannon, Carl when he was there and others were happy to talk about and talk up their products but for the life of me I can't understand why they didn't understand this is the 21st century...not the middle of the 20th.
I thought it was strange when the father died and the brothers took over...and then the one brother left the company.
In most companies making decent money when the older generation dies off family members rarely leave.
Again, hope they get it together but Vince's head in the sand attitude about promotion and firing a lot of people out of the blue with no warning doesn't make me respect his common sense or attitude about much else.
Maybe they can hire someone smarter, better and keep the company going somehow.
If not they had a nice run.
I will grieve but I still have my two Tesoros and a couple of other detectors too so I will survive.