Customer Service Thread

[signal4l]

Midway USA has been great.

I purchased a case tumbler from them in the early 1990s.Last year I stepped on the on-off switch and shattered it. I contacted them in an effort to get the manufacturer's information so I could purchase a new switch. They told me there was a product recall about 20 years ago on that model. They asked me to return it for a full refund. I laughed a bit and said that 25 years is a pretty good service life for any product. I offered to pay for a new one myself. They insisted on giving me a refund.

[Wake27]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Forward Controls Design (Duffy). Awesome customer service - even on other manufacturers stuff.

Glad you brought him up, I actually forgot I reached out to him at one point. I had an LDFA that was catching after installing it. I just asked him about it and he sent me a brand new one. I'm not even convinced that it was the LDFA that was the problem, since it didn't happen in a different upper but that was awesome of him. Love his products too. EMRs are on all of my guns, LDFAs on all but the cheapest beater, and I have a 6315 and ATA floating around as well.

Some others that I thought of:

Brownells: I've been an Edge member for years and have used their CS several times, though never for any of their products. Getting a hold of them is always easy for such a big company and their return policy is great. I've definitely considered gambling on some of their in-house projects considering their CS.

Velocity Systems: I had a Scarab back panel that needed to be replaced because of a zipper issue and they responded and got a new one in the mail almost immediately. They didn't even have me send the broken one back to be examined. I've also had them make me custom mods to two or three pieces of their gear and they were great through that whole process.

[1168]

Black River Tactical has been very responsive to customer support related questions, particularly via Clint here. I’ve been happy with the products I own of theirs, as well as the support interactions that I have had both before and after purchase. I’ve been badly abusing (think wet sand) one of their barrels on a beater gun, and Clint has been cool about the whole thing, support wise. I will keep buying their stuff.

Elzetta has been very responsive to E-mail, and applied a .mil discount a day after after I had already ordered. Their stuff is hard to break, so most interactions have been “what light do I need for x application” or “are your lights rated for suppressor heat and muzzle blast?”.

Daniel Defense recently answered the phone and put me through to the right person for my question in a timely manner. Unfortunately my problem involves a secondhand barrel and will require a drill press to solve, but at least they were prompt and honest. Nothing is broken or damaged, so they had no obligation to replace anything.

Precision One ammunition has been very accommodating. I go to their outlet store when in the area, and whenever I’ve had a question, the owner has spoken to me in person, or called me back promptly. Dude always comes out to say Hi when I’m there. They’ve made custom competition loads for me (or anyone, 5000 rnd min purchase order), and made my 9mm min power factor 4” barrel 147 gr flat nose FMJ custom load a stocking item, so I don’t have to buy a whole run when I want it. I can buy 1,000 at a time instead of 5,000. They’ve also been responsive to the 2 issues I’ve had in like 20,000 various rounds fired. I buy PILES of ammo there, and you should, too.

Weapon Outfitters gave me a call to verify that I wasn’t a stolen credit card after buying some KAC stuff. In a time of rampant fraud, I appreciate that. They were easy to deal with and shipped my stuff promptly.

ATP Guns gives me like a dozen free range passes every time I buy a gun or do a transfer. I think the standard is 5, but the counter dudes don’t seem to know how to count. They also sometimes forget to charge me for range time. I haven’t paid to shoot there in like 2 years. I supervise and/or ride ambulances and fire/rescue squads in their area, and they frequently see me on duty, so that may be a factor.

[Wake27]

I love Vortex. I’ve dealt with their CS a number of times and have been very pleased every time.

1. MRDS - I don’t remember which, but I bought the wrong one to try on a pistol slide. Used it briefly on an AR before I realized it was the wrong one so it wasn’t even NIB, but they exchanged it for a refurbished version of the one I needed. Didn’t expect this at all but definitely sold me on them.

2. Crossfire - bought a used Crossfire RDS from someone on a local forum. Showed up dead, so they replaced it.

3. Razor - my razor landed hard on some concrete about a year ago. Initially I thought it was just the turret cap that was damaged so I explained it to them a got a new one right away. When I discovered the scope itself was damaged, they took care of me.

4. Switchview - when I took the switchview off of my razor to send it in, I must’ve stripped the threads because it wouldn’t tighten on the magnification ring when I got the fixed scope back. Of course, they took care of me.

Every single time, the response from their reps (if necessary) was extremely fast as was the turn around time on the product. The switchview arrived at their facility on Monday and was delivered back to me that Saturday, just in time for my first 3 gun shoot tomorrow. Obviously it’s not a complicated item, but that’s incredibly fast. Finally, I really appreciate that every single time, they’ve included a note with their findings and fix. I’ve had several items come back without anything, and despite trusting that the companies took care of whatever the issue was, it’s always nice to know for sure.


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[maximus83]

Some of the best CS I have seen is Rainier Arms. Awesome people to deal with.

Absolutely--local to me and probably the best place I've ever dealt with in terms of both their overall expertise, and their friendly service that will quickly resolve your issue or help advise on build options.

Others that have been excellent:
*Midway
*Sionics
*Primary Arms
*Fortis
*Sport Optics
*SWFA

[Firefly]

Operation Parts helped me swap a rail I got on accident for what I meant to get.

Like THE place for KAC for me since Boltcarrier quit.

[Arik]

Few years ago bought a used G21 that was having issues. Sent it to Glock. Got a call about a week later asking me if this was sentimental to me. It wasn't. They sent me out a whole new gun with new night sights and half a dozen mags.

[OH58D]

Out here in the rural West, mail order has always been a way of life. We can get deliveries by UPS and FedEx, but it adds a couple of days to the order. Instead, we have shipments held at the facility and we go and get them ourselves. My main gun related outfits I have done a lot of successful business with are:

Midway USA
Brownells
SGammo
J&G Sales
RatWorx (GB seller)

And yes, the Texas based "Pricier than Gold" (AKA Cheaper than Dirt). Despite being higher than a cat's back on items, I have found items not available elsewhere I was willing to pay a premium on, and they ship fast and reliable. In the gun world, mentioning their name is like using profanity in church, but a good cuss word once in a while isn't bad.

[Aries144]

Beretta, regarding an ARX100:

This occurred about two years ago. I have tried to keep it as accurate as my memory of events allows.

The rifle shot 5+ MOA best-case. All ball ammo, military or commercial, was 6+ MOA. This is from bag rests with a 5x optic, tested at 25, 50, and 100 yards. I tried rigging up an optic directly to the barrel to rule out barrel mounting issues and even bought a $450 spare barrel from Brownells, which showed no improvement at all. I called Beretta and CS Guy reassured me that they'd take care of it if the rifle wasn't within their specs. When asked, CS Guy finally let on that their spec was 4 MOA with military ball. Finally, I'm told they'll charge me a $70 shop fee if they determine there's nothing wrong with the rifle.

I send the rifle in, get charged $70, and get the rifle back missing its iron sights. Included are a note saying the rifle meets their specs and two Oehler target representations showing a 3.2"+ 5-shot group at 100 yards with 55gr Hornady VMax and a 3.0" 5-shot group at 100 yards with Tula 55gr. I firstly find both of these results suspicious, given the reputation of both ammo types, and a bit disingenuous since I was told the spec involved military ball, not commercial ammunition. I go to the range with several types of 55gr military ball and am unable to replicate anything like their results, still finding 6+ MOA with everything but some Prvi 75gr, which was a little over 5 MOA.

I get swamped with work and some very difficult family matters for a year, but finally come around to the rifle again. It's still under warranty, so I call Beretta and let them know I'm very displeased with the previous outcome. The CS rep sends me up the chain to talk directly to Mr. G. I tell Mr. G. that I'm not pleased with the situation and that the rifle still shoots 6+ MOA with ball after being charged $70, despite the printouts included with the rifle. I also mention that the ammunition listed on the test printouts was not military ball. Mr. G then takes on a forceful, patronizing tone and informs me that he has final say on warranty issues and that I'm free to send the rifle back again for evaluation, with the understanding that if they find nothing wrong, I'll again be charged $70. I politely inform Mr. G. that I find this unacceptable and want an exchange or a refund. Mr. G. becomes surprisingly belligerent and tells me I can send it in or not. I ask to speak to Mr. G's superior, and he responds "I'm as high as it goes." Mr. G. continues briefly, becoming even more rude, then hangs up on me before I can respond.

At one point during the call, Mr. G. actually attempted to verbally manipulate me into a submissive position by insinuating that taking a year to contact them after the initial return was somehow dishonest on my part, going so far as to ask what I'd been doing all that time, and then responding with sarcasm at my honest response.

At first, I felt disgust. Two days later, I began to feel angry. I tried to find another contact number or email, but found only their standard CS number, which apparently had Mr. G. at the top. I did discover on LinkedIn that Mr. G. was not only apparently at the top of the Customer Service chain, he was also listed as Beretta USA's head of production. The man had a direct conflict of interest with finding products faulty! Now I was furious.

Abandoning all hope of resolution, I decided to put in a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, wash my hands of Beretta forever, and write the ARX100 off as a total loss.

To my surprise, three days later I got a phone call. A man who spoke with a too-polite-to-be-sincere tone told me they'd received my BBB complaint and wanted to know if I'd like a replacement rifle or a refund of my purchase price to resolve said complaint. I informed him that, after this experience, I'd prefer a refund.

I stripped and thoroughly lubed the rifle, included all accessories, shipped the defective rifle back to Beretta, and received a check for the purchase price.

I'll never buy a Beretta product again as long as I live.

[Achilles11B]

RCBS. They’ve been quick to respond to my issues with either parts or information. I got in to their reloading gear on the recommendation that it was “grunt proof” and I’m staying with them because of their CS.