SeamasterSig
Member
Two weeks ago I ordered a “gold bead sight” for my 629-3 from S&W (Gold bead sight part no.). Something didn’t feel right about the order. Maybe I had ordered a pinned sight instead of the drop-in sight for a Classic/DX model. I had my doubts. A second call to S&W within a couple of hours on the same day clarified that the sight I had ordered actually had a brass bead, aka a “gold bead”, and it’s the one most people order apparently. If I wanted an actual 14k gold bead, that sight is around four times as expensive. Not sure whether there would be a practical difference between brass and gold or whether it matter enough to me to pay the higher price, I decided to cancel the order until I made up my mind. No problem, I was told. The order was cancelled.
Or so I thought. A little over a week later, I received a padded envelope from S&W containing the sight and some strain screws I had ordered at the same time, which I was told would be sent separately. The customer rep was even so friendly as to send the screws to me free of charge. Awesome! I still don’t know how the brass bead compares to the genuine gold bead, but I decided that the brass one is enough of an improvement over the red ramp that I might as well keep it. Even though the sight blade is the same width as the red ramp blade, the bead itself is somewhat narrower, which allows a little more light on either side of the bead looking through the rear sight. Also, despite having a nominal height of .243 inch, I measured it at .248 inch, or 0.001 inch shorter than the red ramp on my 629, which is probably negligible. Great! I shouldn’t have to readjust the rear sight. The only problem was that it leaned a bit to the left. Damn! I knew something was wrong from the beginning: I had apparently ordered the "Pisa" version of the sight. I could compensate with the rear sight, but why should I have to? I set it aside for a few days, because I was busy.
Then earlier today I noticed that S&W charged $41 and some change to my Visa, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting based on the price of around $22 the sales rep originally quoted and what he told me shipping would cost ($6-something). Actually, I had written down $22, but remembered it costing $29, so I don’t know which is right. Either way, it doesn't add up. The invoice included in the package was curiously devoid of any numbers, so I decided to call S&W to ask for a breakdown of the charges and also to inquire about exchanging the sight. The first person I spoke to told me that I had been charged $13 for priority shipping. What the - ? OK, moving on... was my order cancellation actually in their order history? Enquiring minds want to know. Oh, “after a certain amount of time, the orders just get sent out” he tells me. It’s an automated process you see. Even though I had spoken to a human who assured me that the order was cancelled, technology carried the day. Chalk one up for the machines. OK, I’ve gotten over the fact that the order went through. I’ve got other priorities now. Just like the order process at S&W, time marches on. All I want to do is exchange this part now.
The guy then tells me I need to talk to “Returns” and puts me on hold for a couple minutes. Then the next thing I know I’m talking to the same customer rep with whom I placed the original order. Apparently, he has meanwhile been filled in on my inquiry about a breakdown of the invoice and decided that the best defense is to go on the offense. A nice role reversal, considering that I’m the customer with an issue and he’s the customer rep who’s supposed to smooth things over – at least that's the way things worked "back in the day". I must be getting old.
I requested priority shipping, he says, getting right to the point after identifying himself. And I thought I had been transferred to “Returns” to discuss exchanging the product... He is very meticulous and takes careful notes, he says. The shipping was $15, I'm curtly informed. We discussed this, he insists rather firmly. We did? It’s not a normal process and has to be OK’d. Gosh, I’m sorry he had to allegedly go through all that (mental note to self: priority shipping at S&W requires the approval of a supervisor; next time send flowers and a Thank You note). I don’t remember saying that the order was ‘urgent’, but this one-sided conversation had rapidly devolved into a case of “your word against mine”, even though I hadn’t actually protested anything yet. Since I couldn’t produce any evidence to refute the customer rep's claim, I say it must have been a misunderstanding. I’m skeptical, but I can live with it. It’s only a few bucks. Well, more than just “a few”. $15 or $13 or some other imaginary number. Either way it doesn’t add up to $41.33. But I decided I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. In retrospect, I seriously regret that approach. I’m pretty annoyed right now and should have dealt with it directly at the time. It's not like me at all to back down so easily, even when I'm not looking for a fight. But back to the conversation: Let’s discuss the defective part, shall we?
I explain the defect and ask about the return/exchange procedure. At this point, the conversation segues from “contentious” to “snarky”. Didn’t I get a “return and exchange slip” with the order? Well, yes, but what about a shipping label or RMA? The guy says he doesn’t normally provide them for this sort of thing. I am to simply drop it in an envelope with the return slip and S&W will refund the amount if I want – but not the priority shipping. That money is gone, he says. They already paid it to Fed Ex. “I see”, I say. Well, not really, but whatever. I just want to skip ahead to the part where I have a non-defective sight and I’m happy about the transaction. What about the envelope – it came in a padded envelope. Did he recommend returning it the same way? No, a regular old envelope will be fine. And as for the shipping... It should only cost a stamp or two. Put an invoice in the envelope for the amount. Yeah, right. I’m glad we clarified all that.
Now I have to wonder, though: How is it that something that should only cost “a stamp or two” to return to the manufacturer cost around $15 +/- to ship to me in the first place? It only weighs 0.156 oz, probably only double that with the two strain screws, including the little zip-loc bags, and it’s not as if they beamed it to my living room. It actually took over a week to arrive. That’s not what I call “priority shipping”. Did the extra money cover room and board for the donkey all the way from Springfield, Mass. to the Suncoast? And now that I think about it, the envelope was delivered to my mailbox. Since when does Fed Ex do that? Or is simply a case of the post office delivering the package “the last mile” for Fed Ex?
Yep: that call was definitely routed through the Twilight Zone... And nope: I don’t think I’ll ever be ordering anything from S&W again unless it’s one of those parts you can’t get anywhere else and I can’t live without it. Has anyone else ever had a similar experience with Smith & Wesson?
Or so I thought. A little over a week later, I received a padded envelope from S&W containing the sight and some strain screws I had ordered at the same time, which I was told would be sent separately. The customer rep was even so friendly as to send the screws to me free of charge. Awesome! I still don’t know how the brass bead compares to the genuine gold bead, but I decided that the brass one is enough of an improvement over the red ramp that I might as well keep it. Even though the sight blade is the same width as the red ramp blade, the bead itself is somewhat narrower, which allows a little more light on either side of the bead looking through the rear sight. Also, despite having a nominal height of .243 inch, I measured it at .248 inch, or 0.001 inch shorter than the red ramp on my 629, which is probably negligible. Great! I shouldn’t have to readjust the rear sight. The only problem was that it leaned a bit to the left. Damn! I knew something was wrong from the beginning: I had apparently ordered the "Pisa" version of the sight. I could compensate with the rear sight, but why should I have to? I set it aside for a few days, because I was busy.
Then earlier today I noticed that S&W charged $41 and some change to my Visa, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting based on the price of around $22 the sales rep originally quoted and what he told me shipping would cost ($6-something). Actually, I had written down $22, but remembered it costing $29, so I don’t know which is right. Either way, it doesn't add up. The invoice included in the package was curiously devoid of any numbers, so I decided to call S&W to ask for a breakdown of the charges and also to inquire about exchanging the sight. The first person I spoke to told me that I had been charged $13 for priority shipping. What the - ? OK, moving on... was my order cancellation actually in their order history? Enquiring minds want to know. Oh, “after a certain amount of time, the orders just get sent out” he tells me. It’s an automated process you see. Even though I had spoken to a human who assured me that the order was cancelled, technology carried the day. Chalk one up for the machines. OK, I’ve gotten over the fact that the order went through. I’ve got other priorities now. Just like the order process at S&W, time marches on. All I want to do is exchange this part now.
The guy then tells me I need to talk to “Returns” and puts me on hold for a couple minutes. Then the next thing I know I’m talking to the same customer rep with whom I placed the original order. Apparently, he has meanwhile been filled in on my inquiry about a breakdown of the invoice and decided that the best defense is to go on the offense. A nice role reversal, considering that I’m the customer with an issue and he’s the customer rep who’s supposed to smooth things over – at least that's the way things worked "back in the day". I must be getting old.
I requested priority shipping, he says, getting right to the point after identifying himself. And I thought I had been transferred to “Returns” to discuss exchanging the product... He is very meticulous and takes careful notes, he says. The shipping was $15, I'm curtly informed. We discussed this, he insists rather firmly. We did? It’s not a normal process and has to be OK’d. Gosh, I’m sorry he had to allegedly go through all that (mental note to self: priority shipping at S&W requires the approval of a supervisor; next time send flowers and a Thank You note). I don’t remember saying that the order was ‘urgent’, but this one-sided conversation had rapidly devolved into a case of “your word against mine”, even though I hadn’t actually protested anything yet. Since I couldn’t produce any evidence to refute the customer rep's claim, I say it must have been a misunderstanding. I’m skeptical, but I can live with it. It’s only a few bucks. Well, more than just “a few”. $15 or $13 or some other imaginary number. Either way it doesn’t add up to $41.33. But I decided I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. In retrospect, I seriously regret that approach. I’m pretty annoyed right now and should have dealt with it directly at the time. It's not like me at all to back down so easily, even when I'm not looking for a fight. But back to the conversation: Let’s discuss the defective part, shall we?
I explain the defect and ask about the return/exchange procedure. At this point, the conversation segues from “contentious” to “snarky”. Didn’t I get a “return and exchange slip” with the order? Well, yes, but what about a shipping label or RMA? The guy says he doesn’t normally provide them for this sort of thing. I am to simply drop it in an envelope with the return slip and S&W will refund the amount if I want – but not the priority shipping. That money is gone, he says. They already paid it to Fed Ex. “I see”, I say. Well, not really, but whatever. I just want to skip ahead to the part where I have a non-defective sight and I’m happy about the transaction. What about the envelope – it came in a padded envelope. Did he recommend returning it the same way? No, a regular old envelope will be fine. And as for the shipping... It should only cost a stamp or two. Put an invoice in the envelope for the amount. Yeah, right. I’m glad we clarified all that.
Now I have to wonder, though: How is it that something that should only cost “a stamp or two” to return to the manufacturer cost around $15 +/- to ship to me in the first place? It only weighs 0.156 oz, probably only double that with the two strain screws, including the little zip-loc bags, and it’s not as if they beamed it to my living room. It actually took over a week to arrive. That’s not what I call “priority shipping”. Did the extra money cover room and board for the donkey all the way from Springfield, Mass. to the Suncoast? And now that I think about it, the envelope was delivered to my mailbox. Since when does Fed Ex do that? Or is simply a case of the post office delivering the package “the last mile” for Fed Ex?
Yep: that call was definitely routed through the Twilight Zone... And nope: I don’t think I’ll ever be ordering anything from S&W again unless it’s one of those parts you can’t get anywhere else and I can’t live without it. Has anyone else ever had a similar experience with Smith & Wesson?
I was pissed and told the jerk I was talking to to give me his supervisor and of course there was none. I then tried EVERY avenue to contact a corporate head and called back and got the same jerk I had talked to before? I then again asked for a supervisor, this time a woman who proclaimed to be a supervisor, to this day I do not believe she was, but she took care of the problem I had after I explained I was going over the customer services head directly to cooperate headquarters. She even sent me a S&W hat for my troubles, which pretty much calmed me down, I have to say it was very stressful dealing with customer service to begin with and after to many phone calls and dealing with a jerk, who should NOT be a customer service representative, I was finally satisfied. Apparently they are a separate entity working for S&W that need to be RE-TRAINED in customer service.
