wally
Member
In an effort to maybe put some pressure on companies with poor customer support I'd like to develop a thread reporting good vs. bad customer support experiences. Only for current companies, ignoring any issues prior to a management/ownership change which should be part of a turnaround.
Bad customer service starts with you having to pay to ship it back to them. For a handgun this will set you back ~$60 for FedEx or UPS or you need to find or pay a dealer to do it for you. The good starts with them sending you a prepaid return label.
Worst:
Chiappa -- I had to pay to return it, and they didn't fix it, took ~10 weeks.
Century -- warranty clock runs while at the dealer!
Poor:
EAA -- Had to pay to send it back for a cracked slide, but did fix it fast.
Kahr -- Had to pay to send it back (dealer paid), took months to fix.
Kahr -- Want me to pay, cracked frame rail, not sure its worth trying.
Good:
S&W -- Paid shipping, fast repairs even for my very high round count M22A
Kel-Tec -- Paid shipping, fast repairs but I use them too often
RIA -- Paid shipping, fixed it fast.
Charter Arms -- Paid shipping, fixed it fast.
"Lifetime" warranty is a plus, but loses most of its value if you have to pay shipping. Taurus comes to mind here, I've heard they pay and they don't pay, I've had good luck with my Taurus guns but none has seen heavy use other than my PT-92 and 9mm 1911, and none have broken yet.
"If you've never broken a gun, you just ain't been shooting enough!"
Good replacement parts availability (through Brownells, Midway, etc. or direct) will generally have me not bother finding out about the warranty (Buckmark Camper -- just bought the $10 part and moved on). If they send you replacement parts for free when you ask for the RMA its even better (S&W, Kel-Tec, Kahr, & RIA have also done this for me).
If they expect you to pay for warranty return shipping, factor this into the purchase price and generally any savings will evaporate.
My recent Kahr warranty experience will have me switching to S&W Shield for my CCW soon! My "have a gun" CCW already are S&W: SC360 J-frame and Bodyguard .380)
Bad customer service starts with you having to pay to ship it back to them. For a handgun this will set you back ~$60 for FedEx or UPS or you need to find or pay a dealer to do it for you. The good starts with them sending you a prepaid return label.
Worst:
Chiappa -- I had to pay to return it, and they didn't fix it, took ~10 weeks.
Century -- warranty clock runs while at the dealer!
Poor:
EAA -- Had to pay to send it back for a cracked slide, but did fix it fast.
Kahr -- Had to pay to send it back (dealer paid), took months to fix.
Kahr -- Want me to pay, cracked frame rail, not sure its worth trying.
Good:
S&W -- Paid shipping, fast repairs even for my very high round count M22A
Kel-Tec -- Paid shipping, fast repairs but I use them too often
RIA -- Paid shipping, fixed it fast.
Charter Arms -- Paid shipping, fixed it fast.
"Lifetime" warranty is a plus, but loses most of its value if you have to pay shipping. Taurus comes to mind here, I've heard they pay and they don't pay, I've had good luck with my Taurus guns but none has seen heavy use other than my PT-92 and 9mm 1911, and none have broken yet.
"If you've never broken a gun, you just ain't been shooting enough!"
Good replacement parts availability (through Brownells, Midway, etc. or direct) will generally have me not bother finding out about the warranty (Buckmark Camper -- just bought the $10 part and moved on). If they send you replacement parts for free when you ask for the RMA its even better (S&W, Kel-Tec, Kahr, & RIA have also done this for me).
If they expect you to pay for warranty return shipping, factor this into the purchase price and generally any savings will evaporate.
My recent Kahr warranty experience will have me switching to S&W Shield for my CCW soon! My "have a gun" CCW already are S&W: SC360 J-frame and Bodyguard .380)
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