RCBS phone

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firstg19

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Has anyone else had a problem with getting ahold of RCBS through the phone. I have been calling since last thursday and everytime i call i am number 20 or higher on the call list. i dont have time to wait on this (it seems to take 5-10 minutes just to move down 1 customer. Is it this way at every company due to the increase in reloaders recently such as myself?...just wondering if everyone else is experiencing the same thing
 
also...i want to note that this is not ment to bash rcbs in anyway. I love their products and I will continue to buy from them. I am just wanting to hear peoples opinions/experiences on getting ahold of reloading companies right now to ask questions/ receive service.
 
Yes, their service is the best in the business, but I can't imagine the increased volume of calls they must be getting in the time of reloaders gone wild.

I'd say just try calling at different times during the day and use a speaker phone. ;)
 
I have tried to call them too. Call 20 like you said. But the other day when i called, i think the guy picked up the wrong line. It was instant and i heard him tell someone he had more on hold. Good people and company. I've never had to wait when calling Hornady.
 
I had to call them once. I was number 15 (or so) in line. I had to wait about 20 minutes, but once I got someone, I was blown away. I had read many very positive experiences with RCBS customer service on here, and that had a lot to do with selecting them for the majority of my reloading equipment. Sure enough, when I needed them, I got the same top notch service I had read about.
 
Same here, waited almost 30 min. befor I got my call answered. Very good service once I got there. MAYBE, if enough of us E-Mail RCBS and let them know how we feel about the long phone wait , that poor lady at CS will get some help.
 
I have found that calling early in the morning is the best time, at least that has been my experience. They are on Pacific time zone.
 
I too experienced 3 or 4 15-20 minute phone calls before I received a "live person". It seems that a fine company like RCBS has trimmed their personnel to the bare bone just like so many other companies. However I've experienced the same thing with many other reputable companies also. ...must be a sign of the times! :mad:
 
Send them an e-mail. They usually answer them the next morning. Tell them the problem, the model number, and your mailing address in the e-mail and the response will probably be that it will be shipped that day.
 
Took me about an hour to get through and that was on my third long wait. Several times the phone simply went to busy. I tried at various times of day, didn't make a difference. At least it's a free call CONUS. I went through the value of an international phone card while I was in line.

When I finally got through, said no problems, would ship replacement part immediately. That was for a motor for a near new tumbler. That was near 6 weeks ago and still waiting.

RCBS service is not and never was always as good as people seem to believe. Usually they were excellent but every now and then they would want a defective part shipped back to them to prove it was so. That would be OK except they didn't pay shipping for returns. Shipping outside CONUS is often more expensive than the item itself. Made dealing with them uneconomic.

I suspect that the real reason that it is near impossible to get through to them now is not that they are laying off staff, but that through a combination of booming sales and poor quality product from China the need for warranty/service is exceeding their ability to meet demand.

RCBS used to be my go to company for all reloading equipment, and I buy a lot of stuff, having over 10 presses, 100+ die sets, 4 tumblers etc. Since the move to outsourcing production offshore my preference has changed and I spread my business.
 
Well, I still havent been able to get through on the phone, but I did email them, and they just responded with below:

HI ****, we'll send you the parts. Have a great day!


RCBS Technical Service
605 Oro Dam Blvd.
Oroville, CA 95965
1-800-533-5000
Know Guns, Know Peace, Know Safety
No Guns, No Peace, No Safety

Looks like the stories of RCBS's service is true, and the key to getting through is email. Thank you very much RCBS, you have a loyal customer.
 
Hornady has treated me at least as well as RCBS and I understand Dillon has a good reputation also. I have never needed to call on Lyman, Redding or Forster and I now have a good bit of their equipment. Lee is so so.

I can understand loyalty to a company that goes out of its way to repair or replace well loved and used products especially way past the "normal" warranty terms of consumer products, and yes I know RCBS does this. My first presses and dies were all RCBS and are still performing like new 30 years later.

My problem with the company is that in the last few years products purchased brand new were faulty and in some cases obviously so. Should never have been shipped out. If I was purchasing in a shop I could have detected these faults before purchase and bought something else. But like a lot of you I am purchasing mail order, sight unseen, in my case from overseas because it's the only way for me to get the range of product I want.

Under these circumstance my experience with RCBS has been less than stellar, have to argue with them re replacement because they want the faulty item shipped back to them. Now I can understand their concern regarding fraud or even failure to understand instructions but shipping again is prohibitive. Other industries accept digital photographs under these circumstances when the fault is obvious.

Given the hassles, why bother with RCBS, Lyman dies are getting better all the time, Redding and Forster are excellent, and Lee is so cheap that if you do get a faulty item, just chuck it.

Like I stated early, I believe the reason it is difficult to get through to RCBS is a combination of increased volume sales and a much higher proportion of faulty product because of outsourcing.

I am sure the other companies are also experiencing a surge in sales but no one is complaining that they can't get through to Hornady. Lee. Lyman etc.
 
Part of the problem with RCBS's long call times is that they are closed on Fridays.
That limits their customer service to 4 days a week. They also shut down for lunch every day.

Conversely, Dillon's customer service is open 6 days a week. Dillon also has a longer workday (7am-6pm). While RCBS has a 6:30 to 4pm workday.
Dillon doesn't shut down during lunch either.

Dillon provides 62 hours of customer service a week.
RCBS only provides 36 hours a week.
 
Yep, RCBS needs to step up. I called CCI and talked to them about primers. They said they are working 24-7 now trying to catch up. I dont think RCBS has added any hours to their work week. Have talked to Hornady on Saturdays. (with the right ext. #)
 
Maybe if everyone quits calling CCI they can concentrate on making primers.....ya think? Working there is probably like being at home with a thousand 3 year olds -"where are the primers? where are the primers? where are the primers?". I'm shocked nobody in customer service at CCI has brought an AK to work and gone postal yet.
 
My best luck has been calling them in the am. I have had my share of waiting time, but the earlier the better. Good luck
:banghead:
 
Maybe if everyone quits calling CCI they can concentrate on making primers.....ya think? Working there is probably like being at home with a thousand 3 year olds -"where are the primers? where are the primers? where are the primers?". I'm shocked nobody in customer service at CCI has brought an AK to work and gone postal yet


I dont think the lady I talked to had anything to do with the 'making' of the primers. She was just doing what she's getting paid for.....answering questions!
 
Yes I can only imagine working in the production of handloading equipment biz right now. They surely are turning a hell of a profit and thanking our government all the way to the bank. RCBS is an A1 company but sure they are backlogged with thousands and thousands of new reloaders screwin stuff up. I know I did when I started.
 
Oh and by the way, I have foolishly mess up some LEE equip in the last 6 months that they have replaced at their expense even when I offered to pay. Another top notcher
 
I sent them an APS hand priming tool to be fixed. I sent an email a couple weeks later to see if they got it, then I hadn't heard anything in a month. I then sent an email asking what the situation was and got a reply that the next day. They said they would send out a new one that day. I wonder if they forgot about me? Be sure to keep on top of them if you don't want to wait forever.
 
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