Chiappa went cha-put

[TennJed]

You should not have to wonder. Phone calls are easy , and greatly appreciated by the anxious customer.

Hoping for the best , and standing by with the rest of this gang , 'Ski.

phone calls are easy to make, but getting someone to answer on the weekend is not so easy

 

[Waveski]

I was referring to the fact that it would have been considerate of the vendor to contact the customer and inform him as to their resolution to the problem , rather than keeping him guessing as they have. If I were in charge of Chiappa C.S. I would be doing whatever I could to avoid the kind of speculation which is taking place here. A courtesy call goes a long way.

 

[Pelo801]

Well I did receive my gun back today, like the UPS email stated. Chiappa did replace the breech shield. But. I don't think they reassembled the gun right. The cylinder doesn't lock up right, the trigger won't pull or advance the cylinder, and getting the cylinder to release is near impossible.

So very disappointing.

I emailed them a big long speech about poor customer service, high price point vs consumer perceived value, the power of the Internet and word of mouth, yadda yada. I also asked them to finish the repair or replace the pistol and also to pay for shipping both ways this time.

The saga continues

 

[OilyPablo]

Wow. And I was hopeful Chiappa would do right.

 

[Pelo801]

I really wanted them to make it right too. I really liked that gun. I think the concept is a good one, not some gimmick.

 

[Rex B]

Someone should tell their CEO to Google "Chiappa Customer Service".

 

[HankB]

The cylinder doesn't lock up right, the trigger won't pull or advance the cylinder, and getting the cylinder to release is near impossible.

Sounds like they may have hired the same people that Colt had when they allegedly tried to fix my 1911 Government Model Jammamatic some years back . . .

 

[sappyg]

Sounds like these revolvers have a limited lifespan. After 10,000 rounds you need a new one. That's assuming Chiappa is around that long.

Sorry for the OPs problems but appreciate the insight.

 

[Waveski]

I was hoping for the best. Unfortunately , based on the experience of a close friend I am not too surprised. Also - based on that experience , the friend was persistent AND insistent , and eventually got his Rhino problem resolved. It took several tries , and access to a manager at Chiappa C.S.

Stay the course , and best of luck.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Wow..... That really sucks man. Truly sorry for your troubles.

Well, that does it for me. Chiappa is a no go for me unless there is a major turn around on their customer service. Maybe not even then. Too bad, a rhino was on my long term list, but not anymore.

 

[REB]

never mind, I didn't see the whole thread

 

[beag_nut]

If I may be so bold:
One of the few things which can get the attention of a manufacturing company (or most companies, in general) is publicity. The other of the few things is a concept known as "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Having worked for a MAJOR household appliance manufacturer (as a master repair person) in the past, and whose wife was in Customer Service for the same company for a while, I can say without qualification that bad publicity, and dissatisfied customers, are the worst conditions for any company to endure. They will do whatever it takes to make the bad publicity and angry customers go away, or keep quiet. One sees this almost daily in local news reports when an entity is criticized for not rectifying a problem, or ignoring a bad condition. Magically, often the next day, the problem is cured! Now, as firearms enthusiasts, we are not able to get much "good press" from local or national "liberal" news outlets. BUT, we can make our voices heard as consumers.
I propose that all of us do whatever we can to complain to Chiappa about the crappy response to the problem the OP had with his revolver. I hope he can give us the Customer Service email address he has been using. Then, we can each send off an angry email to said CS explaining how none of us would EVER purchase a Chiappa offering OF ANY KIND, until the OP was made whole again.
Plus, this entire "problem" or "transaction" should be sent to the other firearms forums, to be cited and repeated there, and asking the viewers of those forums to "chime in" with their own views about how awful Chiappa has been, directly to that company.

 

[Pudge]

I was debating between a 2' and 4" Rhino, but after reading this, I think I would feel better about spending my money differently.

 

[Pelo801]

Beag_nut, I appreciate the insight.

Here is their email if anyone wants to write to them
[email protected]

 

[Pelo801]

I received my pistol back from you today.

While I appreciate your attempt to repair it, I am positive that the repair is incomplete. The breech shield which was broken was replaced, however I don't believe the pistol was reassembled correctly. The cylinder does not lock up correctly and it is near impossible to release the cylinder as well. This also causes the cylinder rotation to be inhibited when pulling the trigger.

The lack of communication on the part of your company gives me a lot of hesitation on whether or not I want to buy any further products from you. I emailed you last Thursday, the 26th. I received a prompt reply, which was appreciated. In your reply you stated my gun was to be looked at on Friday, the 27th. I asked to be kept updated. Later that day I received an email from UPS stating I had a package coming from you, but no update from you personally. This left me the whole weekend in the dark. I feel this very impersonal behavior is not very professional.

To open the package from you today, only to find my gun still not functional is very disappointing to say the least. For a company with a higher price point, I feel to maintain the higher price point by a consumer's perceived value, the customer service must back up the product. Otherwise from a consumer standpoint the value just is not there.

As I mentioned in previous emails, I have been sharing this experience and will continue to do so on several gun forums and many other social media sites. I will tell you the majority of the responses I have received share my disappointment for the way this was handled.

I would like you to finish the repair on my pistol or replace it, as this is a pistol I really enjoyed owning and shooting. I would like to extend the opportunity to you to redeem yourself in the extremely subpar manner in which this was handled, by you offering to take care of the shipping this time.

Here is a copy of the email I sent them after my gun was returned

 

[Pelo801]

They sent me an email this morning with another return authorization number and also with a printable shipping label for UPS. I sent the gun back again this afternoon.

Hopefully they'll make it good this time

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Well..... Here's hoping I guess. I'm home waiting for a repair job to be returned to me right now.

Come on Fedex!!!!

 

[Rodentman]

I have a 4" Chiappa 357. It was suffering from light and off-center primer strikes, or rather I was so suffering. I had my GS send it back since it was bad out of the box. I got it back in worse condition.

Sent it back again and they replaced the hand. Apparently it was out of time. It works now but doesn't instill confidence. I shoot 38spl but am reluctant to shoot the mags, most of which I reload to full house for the Coonan and the other revolvers are fine with that. But that Chiappa just gets light stuff.

I didn't squawk at their CS but in retrospect I feel the $ could have been better spent and consider the purchase a novelty/mistake.

I hope the OP's problem gets resolved.

 

[jlr1962]

A former employer that had purchased the company that I had worked for for 7 years had terrible customer service. Their solution to bad public opinion and reputation was for each salesperson, office employee, tech... everybody, to go on yelp and post reviews. They asked that we make 5 reviews each. That involved creating 5 email accounts each, and reviewing several other local businesses as well. They lost all of the profitable accounts of the company that I previously worked for. There are companies that hide bad internet info as their provided service. I never did do the reviews as asked. I was out of there in less than a year. Mutual parting of ways.

 

[Erich]

Pelo801, I bought the first Chiappa Rhino to hit my state back in December 2010 after Mas Ayoob told me about the remarkable way they handle recoil. Having read this thread, I wanted to say that I really admire your handling of the situation, and to express my most sincere condolences on the entire mess. I wish you the best of luck with a successful resolution; I'd love to read soon that Chiappa USA has made this right by you.

Thank you for keeping us informed.

Just thought it would be nice to have a couple happy Rhino photos in this tragic thread:

 

[cxm]

Handling Customer Relations Departments

If I may, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions on how to deal with customer relations departments. I was head of customer relations for one of the ten largest retailers in the country for six years (and most of my hair fell out!!! )

First, don't make threats... it just makes people dig their heels in and circle the wagons...

Second, (and I note you did not do this from what I could see) tell them what you want and why you think you should get it. I found that one of the easiest ways to fix customer problems... I would ask them "what would you like us to do to satisfy you?" Often they wanted much less than I was willing to do and wound up saving the company money. If you want a new gun ask for one. If you want it fixed tell them that...

Third, if you are not successful a polite letter to the CEO can help. Address the letter to the CEO/President by name and mark it "EYES ONLY." It is probable that will get it at least to the CEO's personal assistant or secretary.

Fourth, the CEO's secretary can solve LOTs of problems... don't assume she is just a secretary. A simple call from the secretary to a department head saying something like 'The Boss wants this resolved muy pronto' resolves LOTS and lots of problems behind the scenes. At a minimum the CEO doesn't want to be bothered by customer problems and he very probably does not want name floating around in public discussions.

Fifth, Be nice... try to establish a rapport with the reps... get them to sympathize with you... ask their advice... people like that... and it frequently opens up avenues of action you have not considered.

And don't under value persistence ... Lots of time becoming a polite pain in the butt will get you what you want just so they don't have to fool with you any more... basically they find it easier to give you what you want rather than listen to you.

FWIW

CHuck

 

[Pelo801]

Erich, thanks for the positive words. With the level of frustration I've been feeling around this, I feel like I'm doing pretty well in how I handle it.
Btw, those light colored grips look really cool.

Cxm, I've been doing my best to be persistent and continue to be a light pain the butt. I will keep contacting them weekly to try to keep updated. Because at this point I doubt they will keep me updated. Hopefully they'll make it right this time.

 

[Erich]

Hey, I think you're doing very well. And after all you've been through, they ought to give you a set of the wooden stocks. (They look pretty and they're good for carry - they don't hang up on cover garments - but they're notably less pleasant than the standard rubber stocks when firing the gun.)

Keep up the good work, amigo, and hang in there.

 

[Rodentman]

Here are the light and off center strikes I was getting:



And the gun:

 

[B!ngoFuelUSN]

1. Choice of particular metal/metallurgy is indeed a design issue.

2. Re customer service with Chiappa. Best advice is, as always, "remain calm." Approach them quietly but firmly. They'll probably take care of you. Use the heavy-handed approach and they'll lawyer up quick.

Yes this is an important point. Getting aggressive or threatening on the phone will just have them dig in their heals. And their response, although not nearly as comforting as I would have hoped or expected, did imply that they would reconsider after they received it. If you go this way (and I recommend that you do), I'd first consult Davidson's, accompany your inquiry to them with a lot of photos, and also enclose a copy of those same photos with the gun when you return it to Chiappa. It would be a subtle way of saying, 'I have the 'negatives' and if you don't pay up I'll circulate them across the web'. Just don't come out and tell them that.
And I'm glad the OP is OK. That could have been a far bigger disaster.
Some years back I considered buying one of the longer barreled Rhinos but just thought that it looked unduly complex, and also thought that such a new design would be better done by a German or American gun manufacturer. Personal bias I guess.
And I've been planning on buying a Chiapps .44 mag lever gun. A takedown model. But your service experience (so far) has me wondering if I should just go another way.
B