Does customer service factor in your handgun purchase?

[TennJed]

Ok this is kind of a piggyback off of my other poll, but like I said I work in customer service so I fnd these types of questions interesting.

under normal circumstances (I know sometimes a purchase may come up that breaks your "rules") purchasing a handgun, does the manufacturer's customer service rep. play (what you would consider an important) role in making up your mind?

It does for me. There are too many quality firearms being made by comp. with good reps (ruger, kel tec, ect) to support comp. with spotty customer service (Taurus, Karh, ect).

 

[WC145]

Yes! I won't buy a gun from a company known for poor customer service.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I have heard that Taurus' CS was lousy.
That has turned me off many times when I saw a Taurus at what would have been a good price!

 

[TennJed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have heard that Taurus' CS was lousy.
That has turned me off many times when I saw a Taurus at what would have been a good price!

Couldn't have said it better myself. That hits what I was trying to get across. Even though they have a "lifetime warranty" I have heard/read to many bad things to (so far) pick up a Taurus. Lifetime warranties are only good if they are backed by a cust. friendly company (IMO)

 

[earlthegoat2]

I dont care about the customer service of the company I am buying a specimen of.

I do a good inspection and if anything goes wrong I can fix it myself. I understand not everyone can do this but this makes it so I dont have to rely on the manufacturer.

Im usually buying long out of production stuff that manufacturers wont service anymore anyway.

 

[MMCSRET]

Product reputation is the deciding point for me. I have never bought a product, vehicle, machinery, tool, gun or anything else, during the first production cycle that it is on the market. Warranty does not make a product good or bad, but it can sell a bad product to unsuspecting buyers. Taurus and High Point are the only firearms companys that I am aware of that have lifetime warranties transferable to followon buyers of used guns. I will buy a used Taurus before several other makes and that is because I have never had a problem with a Taurus but I have had problems with other makes, new and used.

 

[yhtomit]

Agreed with MMCSRET's first sentence: I want the product to be good, so I never have to care about customer service. I know guns have moving parts, that all things mechanical eventually fail, but ... well, one of the advantages of not having infinite time or money is that it's blessedly hard for a range-plinker like me to test the limits of modern firearms without spending more on ammo than I can afford

However: I have a few guns from a handful of companies, and I'm glad that they're mostly ones with stellar reputation for customer service, because one day I'm sure it'll happen that I need it.

And the only gun I have from a company with a *bad* reputation for CS (which I have never had personal experience with, and may be much better than "everyone knows") is a model about which I've never read of bad experiences. (Witness Elite .45ACP).

timothy

 

[gbran]

I have and have had many handguns over the years and have only needed customer service twice. Once for a Kahr and once for a Taurus. Kahr was great, Taurus was lousy.

 

[JTQ]

In general, yes. However, there are some exceptions.

Some higher end pistols have a reputation for poor customer service, such as HK and in the past Ed Brown (Brown's current reputation is very good). However, both have such a good reputation as far as quality of their pistols go, it is unlikely I would ever need their customer service. In the case of the Brown, the 1911 has been around so long, I could find a competent 1911 gunsmith to work on my pistol without ever going back to Brown.

On the other hand, it does make a difference with lower tier guns. Ruger has had some problems with recent releases, but I have every confidence in Ruger's customer service that they will fix it. Likewise, the Gen 4 Glock's have had some problems, but I'm confident Glock will sort it out and if I have a problem they will fix it without cost to me.

However, while the EAA Witness series has a fairly reliable performance reputation, and is in the same price range as Ruger and Glock, it has such a poor customer service reputation it would have to be an incredible deal for me to buy one.

 

[mrbro]

Yes. It may not decide what brand I do purchase, but it will determine what I don't spend my money on.

 

[PabloJ]

No. I only buy second-hand professional grade stuff. It is tested and guaranteed by my local gun shop. I do not go for new or used "Mickey Mouse" guns. When I buy quality electronic equipment first rate costumer service and or department is of paramount importance.

 

[isc]

On of the things I love about keltec is that their CS is so good. I have ordered accessories and upgrades fro them and they are very helpful. I've never had to send anything to them for repair, but I'm confident they would do any work free or very cheap, and do a great job.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I don't base my decision on the reputation of the maker's customer service, I base my decision on the maker's reputation for the product I'm looking at.....Basically, I figure if I'm buying a good product to begin with, it will be unlikely I will have to deal with customer service.

 

[buck460XVR]

Warranty does not make a product good or bad, but it can sell a bad product to unsuspecting buyers. Taurus and High Point are the only firearms companys that I am aware of that have lifetime warranties transferable to followon buyers of used guns.

Customer service and warranties are not the same thing. Ruger for example gives NO warranty whatsoever on new guns. Zip, zero, nada. But they have great customer service and stand behind their products in a top notch way. Used to be one usually found out how good a companies CS was when they needed it . Nowadays, with the internet, if you can weed out the BS, it's easy to find out how well a company stands behind their products.

 

[Rexster]

Yes!

Of course, I value a reputation for out-of-the-box reliability more highly, but responsive CS is right up there, too.

 

[atblis]

Yes. If you actually shoot your guns, you will need parts and or service eventually.

EAA gets absolutely none of my business. They are bloody awful. Rude, condescending, and incompetent.

I am also somewhat lukewarm on Beretta. They get a little bit of a pass as compared to EAA because I believe Beretta actually cares about delivering quality products.

 

[cwp3420]

Atblis,

When I first read your post, I thought you said they were rude, condescending, and IMPOTENT. I had to go back and read it again. Maybe they are impotent and act out towards customers because of it.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

It is far preferable to not need the customer service, but if it does have quality control problems, or needs parts or repairs later in its life, good customer service is also necessary.

 

[goon]

It definitely does. I've owned a lot of guns that have had problems - so many that when I buy one I expect to need customer service.
Gun companies just don't seem to make them in such a way that I won't have problems.
Case in point - my new M&P9 full size, which is my second M&P (first was sold off because it was unreliable) has a couple issues that need fixed. It's going back to S&W to get fixed. My GP-100, which I totally love, also had to be returned to Ruger for service.
At this point, I won't buy a gun from company that won't stand behind it.

 

[M2 Carbine]

CS definitely factors into whether I buy a company's gun.

I put off buying a Ruger LCP because my dealings with Ruger CS in the past have been so bad.

On the other hand I have bought 6 Kel Tec guns, and will buy more, because their CS is terrific.

There are companies that I have dealt with and now I wouldn't have one of their guns at any price. As mentioned, EAA is one.

EAA gets absolutely none of my business. They are bloody awful. Rude, condescending, and incompetent.

And that's their good points.

 

[SigP229R]

Not usually because I have only ever returned one firearm to the manufacturer and that was for their service plan. I did at that time though get excellent C/S.

 

[Effigy]

When I buy a gun, I generally do so expecting that I will never need to deal with customer service. That may not always be true in reality, but that's the goal. If a company is notorious for poor customer service I would think twice about buying from them, but that's just as much because it makes me doubt their quality standards as it is from expecting hassles from CS.

 

[JustinJ]

I suppose all else being equal if one company has good service i'd pick it over one that doesn't. However, the likelihood of needing customer service is a much bigger factor. In an emergency bad guys aren't gona wait for me to call the manufacturer. Everyone i know with a taurus tells me about their wonderful CS experience. That is why i'll never buy one.

 

[doc2rn]

No I only buy quality guns and use reputable gunsmiths. Never had a good run in with CS, ever.

 

[lobo9er]

I have heard that Taurus' CS was lousy.
That has turned me off many times when I saw a Taurus at what would have been a good price!

Had taurus 380 (nice trigger!)extractor would miss about everyother to every bullet they had it back to me in 2 1/2 weeks! super fast! but then I was having light primer strikes!