S&W Customer Service - Excellent!
Back in post 3599, I mentioned some problems I've experienced with my 642 (my doing, BTW).
Before contacting S&W, I remeasured the cylinder gap and it was wider than when I first measured it: about .011-.012. This is in addition to the excessive side-to-side play in the crane caused by me tripping in my garage and wacking it on a step ladder on my way to floor (it was in my pocket at the time).
Anyway, S&W sent me a pre-paid shipping label. I dropped it off with FedEx at around 5 PM on 12/14. I got it back today, 12/23!!!
Both problems were addressed. To repair the play in the crane/cylinder assembly, S&W replaced the locking bolt. To correct the excessive cylinder gap, S&W replaced the barrel. The B/C gap now measures around .006. I would have preferred it to be around .004 +/- .001, but I can't complain. The only sad part is that I had a nice amount of holster wear on my original barrel, which gave the gun more character. Guess I'll just have to wear in the new one so that it matches the rest of the gun. Some fllitz metal polish in the appropriate spots might also do the trick.
So the gun is as good as new, and amazingly it took just over a week to do it, including shipping time! Gotta give S&W a big attaboy for a job well done!