emory
Member
Wanted to share with you guys my recent experience with S&W customer service:
6/11 – I was at my local indoor range, 40rds deep into a 50rd box of Federal 180gr FMJs when I got a squib load: Pistol went "piff", action failed to cycle, no hole in the paper. I dropped the mag, ejected the case, stripped the pistol, and saw the bullet stuck in the barrel. The gunsmith on site knocked it out with a few whacks and a brass punch. I decided to play it safe and take it home and inspect it rather than finish my session. I'm glad I did. The frame was fine, but there was a ring around the bore about an inch shy of the crown that would not go away even with a very vigorous brushing. This mark was hair thin, but visible to the naked eye, and I could feel it with the tip of a toothpick. Although a crack seemed unlikely, I decided to send it in to S&W.
6/13 – I called S&W customer service and explained my problem. The rep explained that he couldn't give me a shipping label because it wasn't a warranty issue, but to follow the instructions on S&W's website and send the pistol in. He said they would check it out and if the barrel was cracked, they would bill me for a new one. The part runs about $75.
6/30 – I wrote them a brief letter explaining what happened and asked them to check the bore for cracks. I included my credit card info and told them to bill me for parts and labor and to go ahead and replace the recoil spring since I had 1,600 rounds on the original. I included the letter, gun, and magazine, as well as the removed bullet and empty case into a box and sent it UPS to the customer service address.
7/3 – UPS tracking confirms delivery at S&W.
7/9 – I called customer service to make sure they got the box and to get a status report. They looked it up by serial number and said it was sent to repair on 7/7. (7/4 was a holiday) I am told to expect about three weeks, so I tell myself that I am not going to call until 7/28.
7/22 – I come home from work and there is a FedEx box waiting for me. The shipping label was printed on the 18th. They replaced the barrel, included a new recoil spring, cleaned and lubed the gun, and didn't charge me a penny. They did keep the bullet.
So in summary: I called customer service twice. I never had to wait on hold. The people I spoke to were polite, knowledgeable, and they sounded American! They gave me a very reasonable estimate of how long I should expect for a repair and then they beat their own estimate by a week. They replaced damaged parts and provided an extra part free of charge, despite my stated intention to pay for a problem that was clearly caused by the ammunition.
I am very, very pleased with S&W customer service.
I have to admit that I was dying to post about this while I was waiting to get it back, but for some reason I decided to be patient and see how it all shook out first. So that's how it went. Here's some pics of the squib:
6/11 – I was at my local indoor range, 40rds deep into a 50rd box of Federal 180gr FMJs when I got a squib load: Pistol went "piff", action failed to cycle, no hole in the paper. I dropped the mag, ejected the case, stripped the pistol, and saw the bullet stuck in the barrel. The gunsmith on site knocked it out with a few whacks and a brass punch. I decided to play it safe and take it home and inspect it rather than finish my session. I'm glad I did. The frame was fine, but there was a ring around the bore about an inch shy of the crown that would not go away even with a very vigorous brushing. This mark was hair thin, but visible to the naked eye, and I could feel it with the tip of a toothpick. Although a crack seemed unlikely, I decided to send it in to S&W.
6/13 – I called S&W customer service and explained my problem. The rep explained that he couldn't give me a shipping label because it wasn't a warranty issue, but to follow the instructions on S&W's website and send the pistol in. He said they would check it out and if the barrel was cracked, they would bill me for a new one. The part runs about $75.
6/30 – I wrote them a brief letter explaining what happened and asked them to check the bore for cracks. I included my credit card info and told them to bill me for parts and labor and to go ahead and replace the recoil spring since I had 1,600 rounds on the original. I included the letter, gun, and magazine, as well as the removed bullet and empty case into a box and sent it UPS to the customer service address.
7/3 – UPS tracking confirms delivery at S&W.
7/9 – I called customer service to make sure they got the box and to get a status report. They looked it up by serial number and said it was sent to repair on 7/7. (7/4 was a holiday) I am told to expect about three weeks, so I tell myself that I am not going to call until 7/28.
7/22 – I come home from work and there is a FedEx box waiting for me. The shipping label was printed on the 18th. They replaced the barrel, included a new recoil spring, cleaned and lubed the gun, and didn't charge me a penny. They did keep the bullet.
So in summary: I called customer service twice. I never had to wait on hold. The people I spoke to were polite, knowledgeable, and they sounded American! They gave me a very reasonable estimate of how long I should expect for a repair and then they beat their own estimate by a week. They replaced damaged parts and provided an extra part free of charge, despite my stated intention to pay for a problem that was clearly caused by the ammunition.
I am very, very pleased with S&W customer service.
I have to admit that I was dying to post about this while I was waiting to get it back, but for some reason I decided to be patient and see how it all shook out first. So that's how it went. Here's some pics of the squib:
