I wish it wasn't so but the pictures tell the truth. I sent my shield to smith and Wesson for a slide repair and they sent me the slide back with a noticeable chip in it! How does this this happen!? If I send a gun back for repairs I don't want it back needing more repairs it's ridiculous. Thankfully I have proof, I took pictures before and after I sent the gun in. To add to the problem they also messed up my sights pretty bad. I don't care much for it because I can replace the sights at any time... I want to send it back in but there's no telling if it will come back worse! I'm scared to, what should I do guys!? Ill post the before and after

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You mean that tiny dent visible in the second photo?

My, but I can't believe you're bothering to fuss. I would just chuckle and move on. It's not as if you have anything other than a utility grade tool there - if it were a fine Registered Magnum, you would have a beef.

What do you expect they would do for you?

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Now go make God proud...

Are you talking about the ding on the front lower rail of the slide?

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

I'm assuming the damage is the teeny tiny nick in the second picture and the writing rubbed off on the sight in the third picture?

Not ideal, but it's not destroyed.

What am I looking at ? Is that small ding on 2nd photo ? I couldn't find anything on others. Are you planning on using your shield (carry/range) if so I'd say there's gonna be more of those.

As others....I only see that tiny thing in the second picture.

Nightmare? Wow! I'd thought they took your gun, sold it to the guy in Las Vegas and now the feds are at your door. That's a nightmare!

Also where did they mesh up your sights?

Since your new to guns don't worry that little notch does nothing. I've got guns that look like they fought in every battle of WW2 and they still work fine. Just like a dent in a fender won't prevent a car from driving that little notch wont prevent the gun from working

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Like the others, I see a tiny ding on the slide but the sights do not look "messed up my sights pretty bad"

What I see is certainly not a "Nightmare"

Was the problem you sent it in for, repaired or not? Some kinda explanation of what we are looking at/for in each pic would help. If the slide is now working, I wouldn't be happy about the chip, but would probly live with it rather than giving them a second chance to REALLY mess things up. A letter/e-mail/phone call sounds in order, for whatever good that might do. If it were an older nicely blued steel gun, you would certainly have a real beef. (not to diminish yours). Thought your OP was gonna say that relatives can be shipped.

I can see why in the bigger picture it does not matter because the gun operates but it just seems real Un-professional to send a new gun back with dents and scratches that were not there before

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I see no scratches on the slide. Are you talking about the words being rubbed off on the sight?

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I would do nothing, it is barely noticeable.

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M&P 9, Shield9.

I guess I'm no help, I don't even see any damage.

Go shoot it and enjoy it! I see nothing in any of the pictures that I would waste a half second of my time fretting over.

If it’s not a valuable collectors gun, it should have wear and tear, to include holster wear on the slide. It’s a tool to use and enjoy, not a Picasso.

I'm still looking.

on the dove tails

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I'm going to side with the OP here.

I don't care if the pistol is a dime-a-dozen polymer frame semi or not. The damage may be minor, but it shouldn't have happened.

If I'd taken a pistol of mine to a local gunsmith, and it came back with damage (no matter how slight) that wasn't there before, we'd have a somewhat heated discussion. I'd either want it made right, or I'd want some money knocked off what I paid for the work.

Seeing how it's the factory doing the damage, and if their goal is customer service and satisfaction (as it should be) they should make it right, even if that means replacing the slide and the front sight.

Where the problem might arise is the OP proving the damage was done by the factory. It could easily be one of those he-said-they-said sort of things.

I sent them before and after pictures so there should be no problem there! its plain to see its all the factory's fault

You're sliding two parts against each other

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is a chip along the slide

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I know its not a collectors gun or a expensive gun or a very nice gun but does that mean it has no worth and they're allowed to mess it up and not take care of it? I don't know I guess its just me but thanks this made me feel a bit better

From the title of the OP, I thought someone had mailed an Elbonian mail order bride to him, postage due....

Did I miss something? Did you mention precisely what the original problem was?

Kaps, you said you have "before and after" photos - can you post some of the before photos of the same area?

I ask because that little "ding" is so tiny I have to ask, are you sure it wasn't there before and just wasn't noticed?

I have to agree with the OP here a little bit. Pride of ownership and all that stuff.
Just because it's a common low cost gun made for everyday carry doesn't make it any less valuable to him, after all.

But on the other hand if I had a problem with a repair at the Factory I would try and resolve that problem directly with them first. Posting it on here would be a last resort thing for me.

And it does look to be a small problem

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"I gots to know"

I'm still wondering what the "slide repair" was. Is it possible they put your sights on a different slide?

Yeah sure! I already posted the sights earlier in the thread if you want a better angle let me know.
ill send the slide ding right now

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In the second and fourth pics you can tell that whatever dinged it moved some metal.

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"I gots to know"

Surface rust( or so it seemed) sent pictures in and s&w told me to send it in, easily could have fixed it myself (with the help of YouTube or gunsmith)and regret not doing because these extra damages are nothing compared to it. I was just trying to be safe and make sure I didn't get a bad slide. For a new gun I was real disappointed in smith and wesson(still am). It's a shame honestly because as an American I love supporting American companies.

Good lord you're talking about a $300 dollar firearm here. I can't see much of anything in your pictures. If your planning on holster carrying this piece, and actually practicing with it it's going get blimishes. Seems like OP is making a way bigger deal out of it then what it should be. Just my opinion, to each their own.

I wouldn't have been too happy either. It's poor workmanship plain and simple. The least that wanna-be gunsmith could have done was own up to his/her mistake and replace the slide with a new one.

I suppose I would also shrug the damage off.

Howsomever (not a real word, but I like it); I refuse to belittle a fellow forum member just because he didn't want to shrug it off.

It's his gun, maybe his first, and he has a right to be upset.

I can see both sides here.
Obviously, this shouldn't have happened, the gun should've come back in the identical condition it was sent in. No argument, fair enough.
But,that being said, this about as miniscule an issue as I could imagine. In fact, I'm kinda surprised the OP even noticed any of it. I know from experience how modern digital photos grossly exagerate and enlargen the "blemishes". So, up close and in person, I'm sure these are virtually un-noticable (and not within a light-year of being a "nightmare").
Shrug it off, let it go, and move on.

...I think I see it!...wait...no...never mind...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

...sent my Colt in for warranty work...this is what I got back...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

I do take issue with the idea that if he sent a rare collectible "Registered Magnum" he would have something to complain about. No, he would no longer have the gun he sent in. It could never be returned to what it was. No repair would make it the same gun. Repolish it, reblue it, nope. In this case it can be corrected. The factory can return it as it was. He has a right to complain. Little nick or big nick it is still careless workmanship.

Why are forum members poking fun at the OP about this, or making light of his problem and what he perceives as poor workmanship on the part of Smith & Wesson?

If the factory can mess up the outside, they could just as well mess up something on the inside and the gun's owner wouldn't even see it.

Again, the gun type and its price are immaterial here, in my opinion. You send a gun in for repair, you have a reasonable expectation of getting it back with repairs properly done, and done without the factory messing up something else in the process.

Properly executed repairs are a basic tenet of good customer service. What's so hard to understand about this?

Well, I hope they fix it to your satisfaction but if this is a nightmare to you then you are a lucky man indeed.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Probably shouldn't have happened but once you actually use it a few times, lay it on a work/shooting bench and insert/remove it from a holster a few times it'll look a lot worse. It's a tool, not a pristine work of art.

I'm mainly a Smith defender here, but what's right is right, they need to make amends if they did it.

I sent a Colt SAA in for a poor job on the front sight and they returned it with a ding in the top strap. I sent it back, they replaced the gun.

Another Colt, a repro S70 in stainless came with a few light scratches on the top of the slide. I let that go in that instance.
Colt needs to package their guns better, too many loose objects banging around in their boxes.

I'd see what Smith says.

While it's certainly minor, it should have never come back like than. Obviously a mistake at S&W, it either got dropped or bumped against something it shouldn't have. I make similar mistakes, but when the repair shop does it, they should correct it. Major or minor makes little difference. Most likely the employee who did it, knows they had an issue.
On the other hand, what did the package look like when you got it? Was there any damage at all to the box? I ship lots of stuff USPS, and FedEx, damage happens for sure.

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Certified NRA rifle instructor

No way around it, it was definitely packaged like this. the box was prestine and smith and wesson even put it in another box with some cushion in it.

I agree with those who post in favor of the OP. It may not be "nightmarish", but if S&W damaged the gun, it's on them and it shouldn't have happened. Back to the new car comparison; If your new and pristine car or truck went back to Chevrolet, and came back with a scratch or dent or misaligned drive that wasn't there when they received the vehicle. Would that be OK ?? No way

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John

im getting a lot of backlash for using the word nightmare. Sorry guys just trying to keep things spooky for Halloween xD , it is october after all. If I could rename the thread it'd be oops by s&w

It could have been worse for sure, but that's never a response you should hear! To the people poking fun, it's understandable I'm not mad... I just expected more from a reputable company. I'll let you guys know how/ if smith and wesson makes good on this.

I guess I don't see a nightmare here. I see a very small nick that might have been caused by the slide work, or possibly caused from something in the mail system piercing the shipping box in transit, or caused by the person re-packaging the slide for return to customer. Might very well could have been damaged after it was inspected.

I get it, you aren't happy with the returned slide, I wouldn't be either. But I don't see the need to come to this web site & bad mouth S&W over an accidental nick.

You need to discuss this with S&W not the readers on this web site as WE had nothing to do with your problem & we sure can't change it.

Please call S&W & discuss the issue with them, (my guess is they will bend over backwards to help you out).

S&W is the one to help you on this, not us. We didn't cause it, & truthfully most of us don't care.

This is why I feel it's so important for gun enthusiasts to be able to service their guns themselves. Or at the very least, be able to disassemble and examine the parts while knowing what correct is.

One won't fully understand it until they make the effort, but the above quote is so true and there gotta be a lot of them out there.

I've found quality issues popping up with frequency dating clear back to the late '60s on Colt revolvers. Read online though and their quality gets portrayed as something mythical. The current prices reflect this flawed assumption too.

Flaws are a part of any mass produced item. However, there are steps one can take to avoid those examples or at least get them corrected quickly. Instead of going about none the wiser until something breaks.

Good luck OP.

To be honest, people can see that little ding in a hi-resolution photo after being told exactly where it is, and I’m sure you inspected it very closely after receiving it back from S&W, but I’m confident that whoever repaired your gun didn’t put it under a magnifying glass and normally they don’t. Now that you identified the problem, they will most likely replace the slide.

I just wanted some input, i simply wanted to know if this is common and what to expect from smith and wesson. If someone comes across reading this in the future it might help them out, make an informed decision. I'm not going to be the first one to send their gun in for a repair, people should know what to expect. As far as bad mouthing I can see how an accidental nick on the slide could happen, understandable. The sights on the other hand look like they were beat in. That's just bad workmanship. if you don't care then poke fun and carry on but I wish I knew this was a possibility before hand and wish I saw a thread like this. Again if s&w makes good on this I'll let you guys know

Is it April 1st???

In principle, I'm with Watchdog, but I am having a heck of a time seeing what the discussion is about. So far, I'm not convinced that it is worth the trouble to find out. I mean, if the government owes you a $1,435.76 tax refund, and somehow sends you $1,435.67 instead, what would YOU do about?