would you own a handgun by a company known for horrible customer service?

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Doogy

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I've read reports by people praising the customer support and turnaround times by some manufacturers, while I've also heard the laments from others that seem to be often heard about other gun makers. The first thing that comes to mind with the latter is the seemingly horrid service that HK gives to their US civilian customers.

Would you buy a higher priced handgun from a company that is widely accepted (or seemingly so) as being very poor in customer service and turnaround times?

just a thread for discussion.......
 
I wouldn't, but given that I'm too poor to be in the market for a higher end handgun anyway, I guess it's not a problem I've encountered.
 
Mostly not, but I still buy some brands, like Ruger, who gave me terrible CS.

EAA was so bad that I gave away a EAA 45 Witness Compact. Last week I was looking at some guns and as soon as I saw that they were EAA I put them down.

You mentioned HK. I wouldn't pee on them if they were on fire.
I have a 9mm HK P9S in the junk box because HK won't send me a couple parts. After HK hanging up on me four times, someone finally said you have to order parts from a authorized HK dealer. Trouble is the only authorized HK dealer around won't order HK parts because he says they are too big a pain in the butt to deal with.

So, yes I will not buy guns from companies that give terrible customer service.:mad:
 
Anyone would. No one would.

Both are valid statements. If your over-riding factors are features and caliber that only have a single source, you will likely go to that source.

Case in point:

Acceptable Caliber: 10mm
Features: Doube stack, condition 1 carry, no grip safety, true SA trigger.

Guns that meet the criteria: Bren Ten, EAA Witness.

Given the option between Dornaus and Dixon customer service (they have been out of business for 22 years) and EAA, I will take EAA.

However, if my criteria were more along the lines of 40 cal or greater, DA/SA with decocker, 8 rounds of more in the magazine, I can promise you the EAA Zastava would be removed from the list early.
 
I try not to and have made non-buying decisions based on poor customer service and generally poor behavior on the part of segments of the gun industry.

On the other hand, if you carry that practice anywhere close to the extreme, you will end up like Young Goodman Brown sitting at home with nothing to do while the rest of the villiage dances with the devil in the cold moonlight.
 
Customer service won't matter when the zombies come! :neener:

Seriously though, I wouldn't own a gun from a company with bad customer service. I like to own guns where I can either fix them myself or have a gun smith fix for me. I hate the idea of sending my guns through the mail.
 
Had an HK USPc. Tried ordering a mag. Placed on backorder for over six months. What an ordeal. No more HK.

(Besides, the crappy trigger was baked into the thing).
 
For what it's worth, there have been reports that HK is turning its act around. One example is a friend got a used P7M10 with a slight defect in the barrel. He sent it to HK for a tuneup and to see about the defect. They took care of him quickly, even finding a new barrel.
 
The quality of a company's customer service really only matters if the gun is likely to need repairs. Beretta has a reputation for poor customer service, but the 92FS and their shotguns are high quality so the likelihood of ever needing to contact customer service is remote. It's worth the risk of poor customer service when buying a Berretta but it is more of a risk with Taurus.
 
I've never had to use customer service for most of the guns I've owned. The two exceptions are S&W (who were marvelous) and Kahr (which was a nightmare).

I'll gladly buy S&W. I will no longer consider Kahr.

Some of it may be just superstition, but if I should need support on a product, I want to know I can get it.
 
A higher priced handgun...no.

I would figure that excellent service would be a part of the $$$ premium.

A lower priced handgun...yes.

Case example: I really like my PT1911. However, if anything goes wrong...I figure I'm pretty much on my own. No problems after 18 months and 'tousands of rounds.
 
I wouldn't say that I'd not buy it, but it is a great influence on my decision to not buy it. As far as "not for cheap guns", I don't think that makes a difference. Whether I'm spending 200 or 2000 dollars, I expect to get a decent product. $200 is a lot of money, and I don't want to waste it on something I could never use.
 
I have never had to deal with CS yet, I could of once for my Glock, but it was just a $2 part and mostly my fault so I ordered it from brownells with some parts for my 1911 while I was at it.
I have Contacted RRA before while I was using some of their parts for a AR pistol project, they were very helpful.
 
I would have to say yes, since I don't expect to deal with customer service much on a quality gun. On the other hand I have dealt with HK, Sig, Glock and Beretta and S&W C.S. (mostly upgrades, night sights and the like, a couple of problems) and they were all fine. If I had run into some horrible C.S. I might change my tune.
 
After years of saying I would not, I did, purchased a EAA witness match elite, so far the experience is good however rather then send it in for repairs I would select a well known smith and pay for it.

I am fortunate in that I have had good service from all other companies and there have been many in past 40 years.
 
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