Kel-tec told me 8 week turnaround

[2ndAmendmentDemocrat]

Over a month after sending my Kel-Tec PF-9 back for failures to extract at least once a magazine, I finally emailed them just to make sure they got it. I got several blunt, non-helpful emails from them, from which I gleaned that their turnaround is now 8 weeks. My Kel-tec will have then been with them for about 3 times longer than it spent with me. I must heartily disagree with many people who have posted on many forums about how good Kel-tec customer service is.

It would appear I am still in the market for a single stack 9mm auto with a track record even approaching Glock or XD (sigh)

Both Kahrs and the PPS look like they may be approaching, but not there yet.

 

[gofastman]

Thats a shame, I though Kel Tec was known for their excellent customer service.

 

[Stumper]

I sympathize with you but I'm glad that KelTec is advising a long turnaround. They are busy building my PMR 30's.

 

[huduguru]

Their quality is horrible and now their customer service too?
My experience with Keltecs(2 P-11's) is that they assemble them
with no quality checks(that's your job) and send them out the door.
I'd rather try the new Taurus 709(although I've heard Taurus is rubbish also).
I like the concept of the PF-9 though. Maybe Ruger will produce
one?

 

[Yo Mama]

It's a gun, it happens, and maybe we need more constructive comments.

8 weeks, considering all the guns bought during the holidays are ariving lately isn't bad to me. Remington told me 2 months for my 870.

Did you call them? You sent emails, but I've called with 2 repairs done and got fine CS.

 

[KBintheSLC]

Sorry to hear. My experience with KT's service dept was very good, but it is possible that there are bad eggs in even the best baskets. Just try and be patient, I am sure they will fix the problem.

 

[John Wayne]

My P3AT was absolute trash. Sent it back to the factory, had to wait a long time, and it still didn't work when I got it back. (I was having FTE and doublefeed problems once or twice every mag)

Had 2 Sub 2000s, one had FTE problems and the other had a magazine catch that chewed up magazines.

I really, really want to like Kel-Tec. They're an innovative company that makes affordable American-made products. But for right now, my policy towards them is: research the new Kel-Tec product, then wait 2 years for some other company to make a copy of it that actually works

 

[pcwirepro]

I got this from them over the holidays:

" Firearms are serviced on a first come first serve basis with Military and Law Enforcement receiving priority but.....I did asked our service dept if they could find some way to squeeze it in before we returned it as promised. I was told they would try.

Respectfully,
Customer Service"


I made a stink so they got it back to me in 2-weeks.

 

[Jed Carter]

8 weeks is about average these days, with all the downsizing and trying to maximize profits. Why should you expect more from Keltec? It is a sad fact that many of the best companies have sunk so low. QC, customer service and integrity may be a thing of the past, I hope the industry wakes up and realizes the customer should come first. Bad or nonexistant quality control, could get the wrong person killed, bad or nonexistant customer service could cause your company to go extinct. With me a manufacturer only gets one chance. Personally I would take the offending firearm to the next gun show and dump it on the first good offer. It would take a lot less time than 8 weeks.

 

[SOUTHPAW]

I carry my P3AT everyday. Bought it about 18 months ago and it has over 350 flawless rounds down range. I hate to shoot it, but I fire a magazine or two of FMJ and a mag of my carry ammo about once every 2 months to keep her limber...

Would love to replace it with a Seecamp though... The company is only a mile away.

 

[MachIVshooter]

While it's longer than usual for them (2-4 weeks is more the norm), it's not outrageous. They're busy. The company has grown very quickly the last few years, especially with the popularity of CCW these days, and moreso the last year and a half, since the Obama scare. They need a bigger facility and more employees, but for now they have to make do. They're trying to crank out thousands of units in 15 different models. If you've ever been party to the internal workings of a small business, you know how it can be when demand exceeds capabilities. Some things get postponed, others slip through the cracks entirely, and it can take awhile to get operations running smoothly again.

Just make a phone call now and again to make sure that it doesn't get put in the back of a high shelf by someone who was tearing their hair out that particular day.

 

[MCgunner]

Their quality is horrible and now their customer service too?
My experience with Keltecs(2 P-11's) is that they assemble them
with no quality checks(that's your job) and send them out the door.
I'd rather try the new Taurus 709(although I've heard Taurus is rubbish also).
I like the concept of the PF-9 though. Maybe Ruger will produce
one?

And, there are Ruger bashers on this board that say Ruger is crap... Some say Smith and Wesson is crap. As the owner of three Taurus revolvers I put up with it over Taurus most often.

I've got a P11 that I've carried for 14 yards, shoots 3.5" groups at 25 yards to point of aim. It's got 11K plus through it, my most often fired handgun except for .22s over the last 14 years. It's still goin' strong and I carry it more than anything else I have.

But, one sob story and they're all crap. Carry on. Nothing new here.

 

[CDW4ME]

I recently sent in a P3AT slide & recoil springs for replacement, was notified it would be about 6 weeks.

 

[2ndAmendmentDemocrat]

I agree with huduguru. I would love it if Ruger did with the PF-9 what they did with the P-3at. My LCP is my EDC until I save up enough for an XD9 subcompact

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Firearms are serviced on a first come first serve basis with Military and Law Enforcement receiving priority ...

I can see this for a LEO's privately purchased backup pistol or something, but military? What Kel-Tec firearm is used by the military?

 

[JoeShmoe]

My P11 has been back at the factory for about a month now. The slide locked up as tight as if it were welded there.

I'm in the same boat as others, in that I really want this gun to work for me. Will see what KelTec does about it.

 

[JohnBT]

The guys at Kel-Tec gotta go turkey hunting too.

Or fishing. Have you looked outside? It's beautiful this time of year.

John

 

[Girodin]

Maybe they're busy still too busy trying to get the RFB that was supposed to be in production a year ago to full production.

The huge turn around times either speak to the demand to have these things serviced or the low priority placed on doing it by kel tec. Interesting since these things are pushed as carry guns, I hope people have another gun before they send off their CCW for 8 weeks. OF course having an unreliable gun is not much better.

Kel tec (and I've owned a handfull)= cool designs poorly executed.