EAA - Customer service???

[jrhines]

Just got off the phone with a gunsmith at EAA. One of my clients had the bolt of his IZH-35 literally come apart when he was shooting a bullseye match. I ordered a new bolt for him over the web, confirmed the order and informed him the part was on the way. The next day EAA e-mailed me a note saying they would not sell a bolt. I called about a dozen times (always voice mail) until I finally got to this smith. I asked why they didn't sell bolts and he said "Because we don't sell bolts!". Long silence. Then he said "WE don't have to give you a reason, we don't sell bolts!". I said I was trying to find out if it was possible to deal with them, or should I simply recommend that my client get a real gun to shoot with. And hung up. A few minutes later an EAA person called and repeated the same thing, would not give a reason, just they don't sell certain parts, if you want it fixed, send it back 'cause they could not guarantee my work.
Oh well, I suppose there lawyers have good reasons....

 

[wmenorr67]

More about the money. This way they can charge for the parts and labor involved.

 

[wingman]

Very poor customer service.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

Considering that the bolts come from russia,
and most of the production is going to making complete guns,
the answer might be that they just don't have a bolt to send right now.

With alot of the russian contract guns, the importer gets what is sent.
They may have to strip parts from a built up gun for warrenty repairs...

Robarm doesn't seem to know whats coming until just before it arrives.
When they run out of a particular caliber,
they really don't know what the factory is currently producing or when its going to ship.

maybe you can get a bolt from Walther:
http://www.geocities.com/drclem/IZH.html

more data
http://izh.petebrunelli.com/
http://izh.petebrunelli.com/izh35m-comp.html

 

[Jiml3]

I also have had a bad experience with them. A couple of years ago I called requesting a gun slide for a BTA 90. They informed me they didn't have any.
They could not help me as to where I might be able to purchase one. They
never sold that particular model, the previous importer did and therefore they
don't service or sell parts for it. Like your experience, they have a very nasty attitude. When it comes to customer service they are at the bottom of the list. I researched the address of the parent company and sent a letter regarding my the attitude of their present importer. What I got back was a
poor explanation and if I needed parts, to deal with them. A follow up letter included a list of the parts and a request for prices. They never responded.

EEA sucks, big time!!!!!!

 

[DragonFire]

I had a similar problem. I tried calling and emailing and never could get through to a live person or get any kind of response from them.

Pity too, I really like my gun, but will probably never buy any other product of theirs.


I'd rather have a terrible excuse than no excuse at all.

 

[DeputyVaughn]

Their sevice must have really fallen off. When my Witness broke an extractor after 45,000 rounds I shipped the gun to them and had it back with a new extractor, hammer trigger and sear, in 10 days. I did get a call from a rude idiot of a gunsmith that accused me of "working on my trigger". I explained to him that the pistol had processed 45,000 rounds of ammo and that the sear was worn not worked. I asked to be transferred to customer service and they said he was a good gunsmith but a real ***hole to deal with. Anyway they fixed my Witness and had it back in short order. This was two years ago.

Scott

 

[M2 Carbine]

Well I see they haven't changed over the years.

I bought a steel Witness Compact 45.
I liked it so well I bought the same gun in plastic when it came out.

Dangerous piece of crap.

I won't even go into the aggravation of sending the gun back multiple times and dealing with those butt heads.

They did let slip that the plastic frame "flexed".

When they kept telling me the problem was because I was using "hot" ammo, after I repeatedly told them I used only factory FMJ and light reloads.
I had it with them.
They were calling me a liar.



This sounds like the idiot I delt with.

"I did get a call from a rude idiot of a gunsmith that accused me of "working on my trigger". I explained to him that the pistol had processed 45,000 rounds of ammo and that the sear was worn not worked."



Well, he's costing EAA money.
EAA will never stock a gun that I will buy.

 

[Jim K]

Regardless of the "quality" of EAA customer service, the fact is that most gun companies have what they call restricted parts. These are usually parts whose installation can affect safety or functioning. Bolts are often in that category. A gun needing one of these parts must be sent to the factory or to an authorized repair station.

While this is common, it is not common to show those parts as available on a web site; they will usually be marked as restricted.

Also, the company may want to examine a broken part to determine the cause of failure and prevent future problems.

The obvious answer is to send the pistol to their repair facility, though from what I have heard your customer may grow old and gray before getting his pistol back from EAA.

Jim

 

[armoredman]

EAA service is one reason why I am retiring my venerable Witness - one of the first 500 shipped, and possibly the first Witness marked Tanfolgio 40 in the US.I have put about 12-15,000 rounds through it, and have had zero troubles, but I can't afford to have it break, and not be able to fix it due to crappy customer service. I dealt with EAA several times professionally and personally, and have had OK luck, but I could see the deterioration. Also, has anyone noticed the trend of EZZ to be fixated on Baikal and other Russian made guns, and let the Witness line slide? Look at what Tanfolgio actually offers, and wonder why EAA won't import them.....
Tanfolgio makes an excellent pistol, and I have been proud to be a flag carrier for them for years, but they need to find another importer.
Now, I am getting the original.
CZ.

 

[George Hill]

Add this to the reasons I will never buy a gun from EAA.

 

[Ranald]

EAA Customer service oxymoronic

I decided not to buy from EAA after an experience some years ago. I had purchased one of the then-new Tanfoglio-made Witnesses in .45ACP, and contacted EAA for extra magazines. After a long wait and 30 bucks each plus shipping, the mags were finally sent. Imagine my surprise when several weeks after they claimed to have shipped, I called only to find out I had "refused receipt" and returned them! They had gotten my address wrong and shipped them to someone across town.... who returned them.
Their customer service rep excoriated me and refused to re-ship unless I paid for shipping again.... Except it wasnt my fault THEY gave UPS an incomplete address... Well I told the guy that Id let folks know what kind of people I thought they were... whereupon he threatened to SUE me...
Anyway I got the mags finally. Pricey, but at least I had them even if they only held 9 rounds instead of the advertised 10. BUT it will be awhile before I let them into MY shorts again.

 

[DeputyVaughn]

Ajax grips sells original Witness mags for 17 or so dollars. They don't list the 45acp mags online but have them if you call the 1-800 number.

Scott

 

[Jiml3]

Customer Service is an oxymoron when used with EAA>

 

[jebaker]

Ok experience

I recently had to send back my .40 Witness for service. I wasn't looking forward to this because of what I have heard. I called EAA, they told me to bring it to my dealer to have them ship it back to EAA. I then called my dealer, who told me to ship it to EAA myself. I shipped it to EAA and figured I wouldn't see it again for a month. I had it back on Friday (The ups guy left it on my porch, even though it required a signature)