Sig Customer Service...or Lack Thereof

[MemLaw1234]

I had recently been considering purchasing a compact Sig 1911. About a week and a half ago, I called Sig customer service to ask them about a pistol that I had seen in a local gun store that was not listed on their website. I was put on hold at the beginning of the call, and the automated service told me that there were 7 callers in front of me. An hour later, I finally got to speak to a live customer service representative. Since Sig doesn't have a toll-free customer service number, I had to pay for this hour-long call myself.

A couple of days after that call, I ended up buying another Sig compact at another gun store that was also not listed on the Sig website. I had several questions that I wanted to ask Sig about this model, but since I didn't feel like spending the bucks on an hour-long call again, I decided to try e-mail. I sent the first e-mail about a week ago and have since followed up with two other e-mails, but I have thus far received no response whatsoever. I tried calling again this morning and again there were 7 callers in front of me at the beginning of the call. When those same 7 callers were still in front of me 15 minutes later, I hung up.

Now I understand that sometimes properly staffed customer service departments are overwhelmed by a high volume of calls, especially around the holidays, but to me it is absolutely inexcusable to be put on hold for an hour when there are only 7 other callers in front of you at the beginning of the call, especially if the company doesn't have a toll-free customer service number (like Kimber, Springfield, Wilson, etc.). I also think it is inexcusable for a customer service department to not respond to e-mails within a week. I think these things are pretty clear indications that Sig's so-called customer service department is woefully understaffed.....either that or they just don't give a damn.

So I have a dilemma. I still haven't shot the pistol that I bought, and I'm thinking very seriously about trading it in on another pistol made by a company with a customer service department that is both reachable and responsive. The dealer that I purchased it from said that he would give me what I paid for it towards another pistol. Why should I take a chance on a pistol, especially a 1911, if I'm not confident that the manufacturer is going to make things right, in an expeditious manner, if I have any problems with it?

I've had to use Kahr's customer service before, and it was outstanding. E-mails were always responded to within 24 hours, and the pistol that I had to send them to have repaired was returned within a couple of weeks. I e-mailed Wilson with a question the other day, and I got a response within a few hours. I just don't think that I'm willing to take a chance on a company that doesn't stand behind its product and take care of its customers.

Is my experience with Sig an isolated incident or have any of you had similar experiences? How about any good experiences with Sig's customer service department? Sorry if this has all been been covered here before, but I'm new to this forum. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[gudel]

People still pay for long distance? I haven't paid any long distance since 1998. It's called cell phone.

Bottom line: are you having a problem with the pistol or not? yes or no answer.

 

[silversport]

I have had to call SiGARMS Customer Service several times as well as send them email...I think you are right about the Holidays and I know that the SiG Service Plan (SSP) is selling like the proverbial hotcakes (P2XX series pistols get all new springs and pins, thorough cleaning and SiGLite night sights for $99.95 and shipping)...I agree that SiGARMS should have a toll free number but they don't...
I have called SiGARMS and waited over an hour on hold and called and waited moments...I have sent them email and had to wait about 24 hours give or take (next day anyway) to get a response...I would guess if you are waiting longer than that for email, send it again as I bet it didn't get through...also, be prepared for the customer service rep to have no idea what you are talking about as the Forums come up with names for these guns that SiG seems to cobble together but SiG actually does not catalog them or call them those names themselves (i.e...poor man's Equinox...very popular right now...reverse two tone GSR Revolution also popular) as some of these are also made, who knows when....has it been sitting in stock for months, years???
Anyway...I have had mostly outstanding service from SiGARMS Customer Service (Ray and Victoria) and a couple of times, less than that but still pretty decent...my suggestion is to keep trying and remember to be nice on the phone as many who haven't been nice seem to wonder why their level of customer service has been less than stellar...I hope you make a connection with them to your satisfaction and don't "cut off your nose to spite your face" by selling or trading a pistol you wanted enough to buy...
Good luck,
Bill

 

[varoadking]

SiG's CS leaves a great deal to be desired...my recent dealings with them have been horrific...

It wasn't always that way...only since the former CEO of Kimber took the helm. Figures...

 

[Correia]

So let me make sure I get this right...

You have a gun that has no problems. So you called customer service the week before Christmas. (when most of their people are probably likely trying to take vacation like every other business on earth) And you had to wait on hold.

Okay...

So now you're thinking about selling the gun you haven't shot, because you lost confidence in the gun because they had a phone backlog.

Man, that is damning.

I've gotten good service from Sig. (truth be known, I am a Sig master dealer) however I had to use their service well before I was one of their dealers. It took a couple of days for them to respond to my e-mail, but then they quickly put the replacement part in the mail, for free.

 

[Tim51]

Just remember, lots of people take vacation this time of year. Not an excuse but something to be aware of.

My experience with there CS was outstanding, granted this was two years ago. I have a P226 where the bottom of barrel was being gouged by the slide. After about 750 rounds, it was all exposed metal, not the typical smiley faces on SIG barrels. I called SIG and sent them some pics. They said to send the barrel. They looked into it and asked that I send the slide/frame. Turns out, they fitted a new barrel to a new slide for me, plus did a trigger job. Couldn't be happier.

 

[RichM]

With regards to e-mailing Sig customer service. When I sent Sig a quesiton about a mis-feeding P229 my first e-mail was replied to with an automated message stating that I needed to reply to that message in a specific way or my first message wouldn't go to a real person. :banghead:

I guess Sig has a real bad spam problem...

 

[diyj98]

Sig customer service department's reputation has been on downslide for a while now. It's not really anything recent.

 

[OH25shooter]

Most Sig owners, including me, agree the company CS has upgrading needs. If you read complaints from other Sig owners on the Sig site, you'll find the major PITA problem is crappy CS. Especially calling on the phone, then emails. Try asking any questions of concern on this site:

http://sigforum.com/eve/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=674608412

 

[MadMercS55]

In years past I've had excellent service from SIG including rebuilding some aged\used\abused P series pistols and getting spare parts. Lately I've noticed they have gone down hill slightly. Took me about a month to get a set of grips and some screws. Not a huge deal to me since I imagine they are aware of the downhill slide and hopefully will get it back to where it was and should be. I have had good response from them lately with E-mail, usually got back to me within 2 days.

 

[bluto]

Thank you Corriea for providing an accurate and humorous perspective to Memlaw1234's FIRST POST. I smell a troll.

I see plenty of this stuff over on Sigforum. Some of the complaints are hilarious: "My Sig, that I bought from a guy who bought it from a guy had a grip screw fall out and Sig wouldn't replace it for free. Their CS sucks!"

To be fair, Sig CS went through a pretty rough patch about a year ago but seems to be doing much better judging from my own recent experiences and those of many others who post. I think some of the "bad/declining CS" stuff is a hangover from that period. Sig has really invested a lot of effort to turn things around as a direct response to their customer's criticisms.

Fact is, no company is going to please everyone. The longest I've waited for CS to get to me is 15 minutes. Shortest is under 5. At least they tell you how many are ahead of you. You can always call back.

They worked on one of my pistols and the turnaround was phenomenal. I sent it overnight on a Thursday and it was returned, fixed, the following Tuesday.

 

[Kymasabe]

try posting your SIG specific questions over at the SigForum. There are some Sig nuts over there that know more about the models than you could possibly imagine. Plus, once you become a member and visit frequently, you can get in on some karma give-aways.

 

[silversport]

many of them are here too...
Bill

 

[jwerlc]

?

Am I in the minority here? I've never needed their customer service.

 

[..]

Take it back, Sig 1911's are notorious for being unreliable.

 

[51Cards]

Wow. It's been close to a year, but --- when I called about a couple of parts, I got em 2 days later, priority. Free.

Yeesh! Are things getting that bad?

 

[Rotorflyr]

One thing to consider when e-mailing anyone (especialy a company) for the first time is to make sure that YOUR spam filter is set so that you recieve a reply and it doesn't get caught in the junk filter.

Having said that, I don't own a Sig, can't speak for their customer service (though I find it odd they don't have a toll free #) but will say, customer service of most companies this time of year is likely to be less then stellar.

 

[m1009]

Sig 1911...

I purchased a Sig 1911 just a couple months ago, and have had no trouble with it! I love it, it shoots so well, and is extremely accurate. I also had contacted Sig earlier, a months prior to getting the 1911, with a problem I had with a P245. I'd owned it for about 2 years, and it never wanted to feed properly and would jam. I finally broke down and emailed, they emailed back and said to call, so I did. Got hold of a person immediately, they told me to send the pistol in and emailed me also, with an address and contact info. Got the pistol back within 7 days, and it was corrected, and they threw in an extended mag for my trouble, all at no charge! I took the pistol out that weekend, tried it out and it shot perfect! Used the extended mag, too!
I think you might have just had the holiday problems going on, they're probably really busy this time of year, and could also have had server problems. Give them another chance and see.
Again, I'm really happy with the 1911 I purchased, it's the Commander size and I really love it!

 

[gbelleh]

I have a CPO Sig 228 that needs to go back to Sig for an extractor problem. I have been trying to reach their customer service for the last few weeks. I work similar hours to their CS line, so I can't wait an hour on hold when I'm supposed to be working. Every time I call, there are 6 to 8 people in front of me. The longest I've waited is 25 minutes and had the same 7 people in front of me the whole time. I just hope I can get through to them before my 1 year warantee runs out.

I've tried email, and after over a week, I got the reply to call the phone line.

 

[51Cards]

I've heard that they're getting worse. Not a good thing. Maybe it's the new contracts? It's so annoying when success starts ruining a good company.

So far, I've gotten within-30-second call responses to Sig (for a replacement grip); Kel-Tec (recoil springs/guide rods); Ruger (incorrect MkIII manual and a replacement grip screw); Colt (mag/follower question).

I've been verrrrrrrry lucky ...

 

[Fun2Shoot]

I've heard that they're getting worse. Not a good thing. Maybe it's the new contracts? It's so annoying when success starts ruining a good company.

Right after the first of this year, I e-mailed the Sig service dept. and asked them to send me the latest Sig catalog. I told them that I had narrowed down my gun search choices and that a certain Sig handgun might be my next purchase if I could get more info on it. Did they send me a catalog right away? No!

I guess they don't need my $800!

I sent Sig Service an e-mail almost a week ago asking for a price quote to perform some work on my present Sig. I just needed a price and I would send the gun. Did they e-mail me right back with a price? No!

I guess they don't need my $150!

Hey Sig, you can take your New Hampshire factory and your uber(?)guns back to Germany if you can't take care of your American customers.