Great Customer Service Experiences

Very fine gesture by Ruger. And now you've passed the story on to us.It pays to be customer friendly.

Thumbs up Ruger. I'm buying one of these in lilac as a surprise for my wife to use at the range.

Always good to share

Customer services is SOOOOO important to me. It really makes a company stand out. 3 recent egood xperiences.

Bersa - Sent me an e-clip in two days, no charge, just gave them my serial number - no receipt hassle, etc.

Glockparts - wondered what the delay was on shipping my Ultimate Trigger Kit (took advantage of the Memorial day special). They explained they got slammed with orders, told me where I was in the queue and refunding muy shipping costs for the inconvenience

Frog Lube - Larry and Stacy so like my review of their product, they emailed me asking for my shipping info and sizes so they can send me a T-Shirt and a hat...

Many years ago, I ordered a Tikka rifle from Bud's. A few days after my order was placed, I experienced pancreatitis and was hospitalized for a week.

When I finally got home and was able to call them, they reshelved the returned rifle without a hassle.

Another Ruger story.

When the LCP came out, I bought one of the first ones with a low serial#. When I got it, I sent in the warranty registration because that's what I do.

About a year later they had a recall to fix an issue when dropped. My LCP worked great from day 1 and I carried it daily so I never sent it in for the recall. A few months later I got an email from Ruger asking why I never sent it in for the recall. I told them I was fine and don't drop my guns. They asked for my phone# to call me to discuss it.

When the CS guy called, he asked why I never sent it in and I told him it was my daily carry and didn't want to be without it for an extended period of time. He assured me that if I sent it to them on Monday (at their expense), I'd have it back by Friday the same week. So I sent it in and it was back to me on Thursday. They received it Tuesday and mailed it back Wednesday. It also included a new mag and a Ruger cap.

I was impressed and very happy.
Ruger earned my business with this experience.

Ruger done great by me twice. Once on the LCP and another time on the LCR. When S&W did Walther warranty stuff they did great by me twice also. Replaced a broken slide release on my PPS in less than a week and completely replaced the whole gun on my P22.

Silencerco

After limited usage, I somehow dinged the exit hole of my recently obtained Specwar 556 suppressor with a bullet strike. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but it could have been my fault.

I sent it back to Silencerco and within about 2 weeks had a brand new looking suppressor back at no cost other than my shipping it to them.

My next suppressor will be a Silencerco product.

Haven't had many needs for customer service but, the one time that I did send something to Ruger, they exceeded my expectations.

Ruger is awesome. They treated me well also. I have one for Winchester:

I bought 900 rds of WWB 9mm when I bought my sr9. Unbeknownst to me, sr9s and wwb doesnt mix well. Couldnt get through a mag without a jam. Most other brands ran fine. Emailed Winchester, a nice fella called me the next day and sent me a UPS slip. Long story short, he quickly sends me 1000 rds (I only sent him 900)
AND upgraded it to FN in the silver boxes. (FN is an upgrade to me). This was smack in the middle of the ammo panic when their were one box limits at my LGS.

Now that I have more experience under my belt, I wouldnt buy a bunch of ammo without trying it in my gun first. It really wasnt even their fault, since it would probably run in another 9mm... but apparently they must get some WWB complaints.

I've only contacted Ruger once over the years. One of my grandsons brought an old 10/22 that he had acquired to me that wouldn't eject . It was missing parts and I told the nice lady that answered the phone my story. When I asked her if she was ready for my CC information she told me there would be no charge. Good company.

On the other hand I recently bought a Rock Island 1911 that drops the mag with every shot. Faulty mag release is the culprit. I have given up on contacting them and will replace the part on my own dime.

Kel Tec has awesome customer service as well. I initially had some issues with the extractor on my new p3at. They sent me a new one with no questions asked and said if it didn't fix it they could get me a label to ship it back for them to work it out. The new part fixed it.

I also emailed them to ask if a flat spot that had developed on the recoil spring guide was normal. They confirmed it was but sent me another free of charge just so I would have a spare. Love Kel Tec and their products (the ones you can find, anyway).

I just had to send a brand new Kimber Pro Raptor 2 in. All in all their CS was very good. I even got a free magazine for the trouble.

--When I had my LCP and sent it in for the recall, it was gone one week...this at the height of the recall.
--When I had a problem with my Para C6, I posted on the 1911 forum. Para's head of QC apparently monitors the boards, because he sent me an email asking me to send it in. I told him I had bought it used, so it was out of warranty. He said, no problem, and they fixed it anyway.
--I bought an S&W M296; the prior owner had apparently tried to clean it with an aggressive chemical, and as a result a good chunk of the finish was removed. I called S&W and they said to send it in and they'd have a look and give me a quote on refinishing. I did. I didn't hear back for a week or so, so I called back. It was already on the way back. Complete refinish, free of charge.
--Kel-Tec repeatedly sent me parts for my P32, two P3ATs and P11. (Unfortunately, I never got any of them to function 100% and ended up selling each at a substantial loss with full disclosure.)
--When I bought my Kahr PM9, it had the "barrel peening" issue that afflicted a certain S/N range. I called Kahr, they asked me to send it in. I asked if I could just send in the "top half", and they approved that. I sent in slide, barrel, recoil spring assy. Kahr replaced all of the above, including a new set of Trijicon night sights (my original slide had the Big Dot, and they did not have a slide machined for that...no problem, I could not stand the Big Dot anyway).
--Speaking of Trijicon, I have sent in a slide with sights mounted. They replace the tritium vials for a reasonable price. No chance of damaging the sights or the vials knocking them out or in, and no upsetting the adjustment.

I have a Rock Island Armory 1911 FS (basic government model) that had the front sight fall off during recoil after about 800 rounds downrange. The firearm had been decent buy for the money, although although the factory finish on the feed ramp/barrel throat was a bit rough and it had some trouble digesting FMJ, let alone anything else.

I decided I did not want to try my hand at hammering in a replacement tennion style front sight and contacted RIA. RIA's customer service was well beyond my expectations. I immediately was able to print a shipping label and was able to send the firearm back to RIA. When it returned (ahead of RIA's predicted fix-it time) with a new sight I was happy to notice that the factory gunsmith had also done a nice job improving the feed ramp and barrel throat. It now happily eats everything I have tried to feed it, and I have increased respect for Rock Island Armory.

The gun was a POS, but SIG-Sauer stood behind it, eventually sending me a new one. I did pay for shipping it the first time, but none after. On other occasions (for a different gun) they have sent me small parts at no charge.

By of all people, HK

I had a used HK USP 40 that I carried and used in USPSA and IDPA. Well at one match it broke a trigger spring. The darned thing got raspy and then the trigger pull gradually increased, and after the last stage I couldn't safe it. Upon following procedures and checking it I found the bad trigger bar.

Well no one would work on it. They are too complex (and they are). I had to send it in. I called and spoke to Travis, the head of their customer service. I told him it was my prime carry piece and asked how long it would be. He did not know and could not say. I braced for the worst, and sent the pistol in on a Monday.

The following Thursday it was back. I figured they refused it, but when I opened it there was a list of what they did--complete rebuild except for the barrel. He even had them do a trigger job. I was absolutely stunned, and called to thank him, and tell the story every time I can, especially to those "We're HK and we hate you" types.

Dan

When I bought a used Kimber Compact CDP in 2003 the night sights were dead but I called Kimber and they replaced them for free. I was very happy with their CS.

Walther was awesome. I got a PPQ and had an issue with the slide lock. I called them. They paid for the shipping and had the gun returned to me within a week of receiving it. Can't ask for more than that.

I bought a used Charter Arms Target Bulldog that was missing one of the screws for the adjustable rear sight. I called Charter with my credit card in hand to order a new screw. They sent me a new one, no charge, including them picking up the postage.

Can't beat that.

Ruger has also given me good service. They once repaired a 30-year-old gun at no charge. The last two Rugers I've bought new (SP101 in 2001, LCP this year) functioned flawlessly and needed no repairs, which is the way I really like it.

One thing to watch for with Ruger is modified or aftermarket parts. If you send the gun to them these parts will be replaced. This includes any action parts you may have polished.

S&W, Kel-Tec (needed it far too often ). GemTech, RIA, Charter Arms (current management), Burris.

I shoot my S&W, RIA and Kahr guns the most by far, so they are where I have the most experience with needing support.


Worst experiences:
Chiappa, EAA, Kahr (was good six years ago, not currently).

Ruger's been great for me too.

I recently bought a used SR9. It had the old pre-recall trigger in it. I figured no big deal - its basically a free mag. I also noticed some slight peening on the barrel hood. Nothing too major, and if they'd said it was normal wear I would have been fine with that. I figured if it was going back to the factory anyways though I'd mention it so that they could check it.

When I got my gun back, not only did it have the new trigger and extra mag, but they replaced the entire slide. New barrel, new recoil spring, sights. etc. The whole top end was new.

Certainly more than was needed and more than was expected, but very much appreciated. This gun makes my 5th Ruger (SR9, P95, Standard .22, LCP, and a 10/22), and I doubt it will be my last.

Blade-tech....

In the late 2000s, I had a small screw pop out of my Blade-Tech Kydex holster.
I contacted the firm & they quickly mailed me a free set of different screws for the holster.
That's great customer service.
www.Blade-Tech.com

Years ago I bought a Simmons Pro Hunter 4-12x40 rifle scope at a garage sale. It had no cross hairs. I just used it as a spotting scope for a few years. Thn I contacted Simmons about it . They said to send it to them on my dime ($18). They sent me back a brand new one and it helped introduce me to the wonderful world of coyote hunting. Then, once I complained on line to Wendy's because they could never get the sauce right for my kids' chicken nuggets. They mailed me a whole slew of free coupons. And that Wendy is HOT!