Not trying to ruffle feathers, not trying to whine, or complain... but in my meager tenure of membership here, I have noticed a dramatic increase in negative posts.
- assaults on S&W quality, people, customer service
- assaults on S&W guns newer than 1986 +/-
I just wonder - with eager eyes, if this is just the nature of the forum, or whether there is validity to the increase. Although I don't have decades of experience to prop myself against when it comes to S&W equipment, but I can't help but know through general knowledge that Smith's are the best of the best in terms of revolvers. Surely, Colt and Ruger are right there, in the same exact echelon...
Of course there will be Chevy guys and Ford guys forever, but am I right to assume the recent increase to be just coincidence?
If not, that is a shame. If so, how about some more positive posts about just how awesome these guns are. About how it is fun to go to the range or farm with buddies. About how blessed we are to have this forum and others like it, to communicate how blessed we are to live in a country like this - with the rights, liberties, and privlieges that allow us to go spend our hard earned money on such things.
Just saying.
And let me apologize lastly, if I am speaking out of turn here... being such a newbie, maybe it isn't appropriate to post a message like this. Just trying to end my work day, reading about my new and growing passion.
Cheers.

Wait till the weather warms up and people can actually go out shooting...

I know my attitude will improve with a few nice Spring days.

Be reassured, you're just hearing from the squeaky wheels. Many of us just avoid commenting or participating in a lot of those threads since we don't care to contribute to chewing the same old cabbage. And it seems that many posters ( in my observation mostly newer posters ) have that personality quirk where their preferences, wants and proclivities are superior to the rest of the unwashed masses and we should heed their leadership and see the error of our ways. After all, they are all knowledgeable and are never wrong in their opinions . . .

After a while it's like the droning of a mosquito in your ear, you just try to ignore it and hope it goes away.

it's the nature of most forums. if you hang around (any forum) you'll figure out who to trust and who not to. attitudes and opinions are like...well you know. i have gotten a lot of good advice and knowledge from this site, so don't let a few bad apples ruin it for you.

Like anything else the more familar one gets with a product the more picky you can get. Also with the tough economic and social times we are haveing, haveing something to grouse about may help with ones temperment and mental well being. All in all compared to some other forums things here in my opinion tend to be rather civil. I myself may complain about a few things here and there but overall I have a cracking good time with my hobby and do enjoy shooting and the fellowship of like minded people. I try to look past the few irritateing things that occur and focus on the good stuff.

__________________
Stay safe people!

The number of complaining threads is up from years past. I think a big part of it is the frustration of the general population due to the economy and the totally impotent/defective government we've got right now. Everyone is just a little bit uptight for the moment.

__________________
Centennial Every Day

We have some that would cry if thier Ice Cream was cold, doesn't matter what the subject they will find something wrong with it. Can't build a fire without fuel, so most let the few cry and over look them. You are part of the best forum on the net, so don't give up on it so soon .

Hold on just a second here. This is a negative post! And the OP has only been here a month.

We freely air gripes on this forum. Its a healthy thing to do. Posters here often do have legitimate things they want to discuss, and we normally don't have any wet blankets putting the Kibosh on those discussions, nor should we.

__________________
Dick Burg

What Dick said :-)

Folks come to a forum to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly! Two of those are negative....

There are certainly a fair number of "negative" threads posted regularly, but I think those are far outweighed by the positive, enthusiastic posts that appear throughout a given day. For every anti-something post, there are dozens of others discussing the merits of S&W revolvers, new and old. And whatever the pro & con opinions, the wealth of information to be garnered on this site is staggering. Plus, some genuinely fine individuals to talk with, learn from, and even do business with.

no time to whine here

__________________
C & L

Hate to tell you sparky-buy February is the month to be negative.
Now that it is March we start to cheer up.. And do you know why???
March is National Frozen foods month-bringing families closer together with nutricious savory and tasty frozen foods!!!!!!! Ummmm good
NFRA | Annual Promotions

__________________
Forum consigliere

Well Cajun, You just made my day. I enjoy all types of frozen food products!

Thank you all for the reassurance, the discipline, and the ribbing. I look forward to the knowledge, comradery, and most importantly, more powder stained fingers.

Cheers S&W'ers.

You will have your share of whiners.

You will have your share of chest-thumpers.

You will have you share of know-it-alls.

Welcome to forum life. Take the good, and disregard the petty.

I'm sure your post was in jest, but I take it very seriously. One of my wife's and my favorite easy-to-fix foods is frozen whole okra, nuked in the microwave and seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. I'm sure that y'all C-A purists would consider that heresy, but we actually like it, so don't be badmouthin' no frozen foods.

__________________
Formerly Model520Fan

Right on!!!

__________________
WALSTIB

Get up on the wrong side of the bed?

__________________
'Merica!

Your should try the 1911 forum! Those guys are C A N T A N K E R O U S! They fight about everything, LOL

yesterday, today, tomorrow....................quality, reliability, accuracy........

And of course its not why our friend the esteemed Cajun is happy. He's happy because this is the month of two major events. OK, three if you count the first day of spring. Wait, 4 if you consider Fat Tuesday. And then there's St Paddy's day.

Its a lot going on in one month. 3 include drunkenness. What's not to like?

__________________
Dick Burg

So... Let me get this right... You're complaining about his complaining about all the complaining?

__________________
Centennial Every Day

You got that right! In March I thinkk of Smith&Wesson and Clarence Birdseye and the world makes sense again.

RossMatt, hang in there and I think you will enjoy it here. We have our share of very opinionated folks hear and the certainly add color to the forum. I think I read the thread you started about people buying new S&W's and it opened the floodgates concerning some of the parts on the new guns. I would be willing to bet the the most opinionated among them have never owned or used a new gun with the said parts so their opinions may be suspect at best, just like mine about the performance of the guns. I don't own any of the newer guns , being a dinosaur I refer the older stuff, helps to relive my youth, but I don't have a knee-jerk hatred of the newer stuff but am satisfied with my old timey guns. I have been tempted by some of the newer ones but there always seems to be a 5 screw calling out to me.

You have some excellent posts here and I look forward to more. This is a big house, plenty of room for all the family members.

__________________
John. SWCA #1586

Maybe folks complain because they put a lot of faith in they quality of a particular brand of firearm, and are disappointed to the state of peeved when it don't measure up to their standards.
Also, something that may improve some of the attitudes, at least for me, is the fact that we go on daylight savings time the 13th of this month. A little more unwinding time, in a better climate, at the end of the work day. Might even get in a little range time now and then.
Turn that frown upside down type of thing.
positively yers,
gordon
P.S. I love my 1990 model 65 and wouldn't trade it for anything. Very high quality handgun for sure, but I suppose that all good things must end. Probably won't be in my lifetime though.

__________________
better have that checked

I have noticed it......I have been "flamed" for owning IL and MIM S&W revolvers and saying (gasp) that there is nothing at all wrong with them, and to some people here, saying the IL wheelguns are good shooters is like farting in church.

daaamn... just read this one... I think I feel ya Ross.. Know what ya mean. I would say we are both pretty new, I am definitely a newbie, but not blind, stupid or nieve. I do have both old and new guns thanks to my dad, he left me about 100 guns when he passed away. I sold or traded lots of the older military guns, in turn buying newer stuff I was attracted to. My attractions have grown from what I have learned from the several sites I have participated in this last year. This site has become my favorite. The knowledge and experience is no doubt incredible. I have great respect for most guys here, but that doesn't mean I have to be quiet when I feel I have something of value to offer. Bottom line, I am trying to be respectful of everyone here, sometimes it is tough to maintain control... open mouth insert keyboard.. it happens. Can't wait for the snow to melt... and Thank God for Smith & Wesson Retail Store and indoor Range...

__________________
Jack C

only old Smiths and new Rugers for me.

Since I am both one of the site's newer posters and one who has had negative things to say about Smith & Wesson's service, permit me to explain my rationale.

I spent 38 years in the automotive industry, most of them as a service manager. I learned pretty quickly that there are more bad places to have your car serviced than good ones and committed myself to offering good service. I succeeded, as my shop was consistently ranked among the best on the auto manufacturers' customer satisfaction surveys. I applied my lips to the public's backside on a daily basis because that's what you must do in today's age of consumerism.

Communication is the heart of every relationship from marriage to business. When a company cannot communicate well with its client base, that client base looses confidence in the company and seeks similar products elsewhere. An auto shop without a good communicator with some technical knowledge on the desk can employ the best technicians in the country but will never realize its full potential. That's just human nature and it's my criticism of S&W.

They aren't alone, either. Most businesses have downsized their employee ranks and have fewer employees each doing more, which often waters down their ability to execute each of those tasks as well as they did their former fewer responsibilities. But just because everyone is doing it, that doesn't make it right - it only makes it tolerable.

A lot of successful companies are riding the coattails of their past success and popularity. Smith and Wesson is one of those companies and as long as their customers keep the demand for their products high, they'll see no reason to change.

Once upon a time, Comcast was THE cable television vendor in this area. Their customer service sucked but we had little other options. Then Verizon launched its FIOS service and central Pennsylvanians flocked by the droves to it, not so much to get a better product but to get away from Comcast. I was one of those customers. But Comcast has seen the error of its ways and now offers a 30-day money-back guarantee of satisfaction with their company in its entirety - products, service, personnel, everything. We recently moved to an area Verizon does not yet serve and had to return to Comcast for TV and Internet. I was truly impressed by the installer and the support people I've had to call to get minor kinks ironed out!

By telling a business what it does not like about it, a customer is doing that business a favor. The business can't fix what it doesn't know is broken and a dissatisfied customer who, like most, just quietly goes elsewhere is not helping to correct a deficiency.

I always liked the old saying, "If you are happy with our service, please tell others. If you are not, please tell us." I haven't posted a thing on here that I haven't told S&W. I'm a fan of their products and want to see the company prosper for many years to come.

Ed

From the mouth of babes:

It is telling that a newbie notices the negativity. Some of us that have been around and get sensitized to it.

I try to ignore the negative. This is a great forum with lots of generous, knowlegable and friendly members. Please don't let a few bad apples ruin your experience here.

I've found this forum to be a great place to visit, interact and learn.

Best regards!

__________________
otis

March is woman's appreciation month In March, think of the women

Celebrate Women's History Month in March found on the Educational CyberPlayGround.

I hear you, if you are not happy with the new era guns dont buy em then you wont have to complain about em.The new smiths I own are awesome , they are more durable just as accurate and made to tighter tolerances then my older smiths. Sure I dont like the lock but I have a new 617 with a small fortune of ammo through,I have a new 629 with about 6000 rounds through it I havnt had any trouble.....zero. I will continue to buy and shoot the new smiths has a matter of fact I have one on order now and I cant wait for it to get here ..... thanks

We could dangle you on a string over the forum that specializes in Austrian made polymer pistols and then bring you back here.

Boiled okra is like having snot slide down your throat...now, fried okra is a fine thing.

See, if we can disagree over something as minor as okra, why would we ever expect to agree over something as profoundly important as our firearms?

I just think the people in the forum are getting older and crankier...

mmmmm...fried okra, wait a minute- corn meal or flour?

Swanson frozen dinners, now that's living!

Throw in some lime Jell-O and bulk sack vanilla wafers and lumpy buttermilk.

I'm too broken up to go on.

I'll take the Swanson/ salisbury steak please.. yuk, pass on the lumpy buttermilk.

Ok guys, sorry, musta been cabin fever yesterday.. I didn't realize that keyboard could fit so far into my mouth.. my back end is pretty sore from it pushing it's way out this morning..

__________________
Jack C

I feel let down by the frozen food industry. They have failed to provide for everyone's needs. Do you realize that there is no widely available commercial frozen gumbo? None. Not even Mrs. Pauls. The frozen food industry in general is a big disappointment. The canned and plastic packed food industry seems much better in this regard.

__________________
" I said, good DAY! "

Your logic is almost perfect, except that okra IS essentially vegetable snot, so we don't really disagree. It is an acquired taste, like fresh armadillo toes on toast. Uncooked.

__________________
Formerly Model520Fan

If y'all would all just agree with me, we wouldn't have all this disagreement.

Seems simple enough.

(My wife makes a (inserts synonym for mule)kicking Gumbo.)

__________________
John 3:16 .

Dick, I agree with you completely.

I love fried okra. I enjoy dried okra as well, though its rehydration in the mouth is strange at first. It is deceptively easy to eat in great quantities, which only leads to a mass exodus in the GI tract.

__________________
Calmer than you are.

I surely agree with the OP. I rejoined here a while back and thought that most of the elbows were gone but now there's a whole new crop. I'm talking about about people so arrogant that anyone disagreeing with them is subject to being ridiculed. A couple of them have posted in this thread.

What this does, is cause new members to either drop out or not post opinions and soon lose interest. A year ago this forum was my first stop on the net; but not today. I still enjoy reading posts from some of the fine individuals who always seem to have something positive to say or even a positive and encouraging way to disagree with others. They have taught me a lot ---- and not just about handguns.

I agree with this 100%, some of them have low count on post (which means they don't like to get along with others) and have been member since the first day of the forum and only post when they can stir the pot and make others as un-happy as they are about life. One bad apple in a peck will sour the others as they say . Just over look them and they will go away till the next time . With five pages they have been fed real good.

Don't worry, be happy. Some of us, myself included, just like to argue. I think it's healthy. Especially, since no one on the forum is likely to look me up and kick my butt. Just remember that no matter how cranky some of us may seem in a forum, we'd be a lot nicer in person. Plus we're not nearly as neanderthal as we may seem, or we wouldn't be online.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

No negativity there. St. Gaston of Polymer's offerings are perfection!

Frozen dinners? Heck I had one a few nights ago....

I took out a dozen pierogies from the batch I have frozen from Christmas. Real, homemade ones... not those things you buy in the supermarket.

Oh.. you'll also find that threads have a tendency to get off topic.

__________________
- The Federalist #46 -

I disagree with both of you guys! (Not really... )

I am not going to get into the drunkenness stuff, the frozen food, or even complain about the complaining. I will say this - some of the stuff S&W makes now I would love to have had when I was thirty years younger. Can I whine about being too old - or feeling like I am?

No self-respecting Southern man would ever cook okra in anything but corn meal, lard, and a cast iron skillet.

People are cranky because they're tired of seeing guns that were $150 10 years ago selling for $700 on GunBroker