I had bought an M&P 9 in the past few weeks. I never paid attention about the mags since there was one in the box. I was showing it to my brother in law the other day and asked how many mags did I get with it, 2 or 3? I said I only got the one.

So I called the shop where I bought it, thinking maybe it was out of the box there in the shop. Nope they said they never had the box open other then when I bought it. And it should have had two with it.

So I call S&W customer service, I tell the guy what is going on and he cops a major attitude like flicking a switch. He said then the shop where you bought it has it, I said no I called and asked. He let out a big loud sigh and asked, so what do you want me to do about it then? I said I would like to have what was SUPPOSED to be with the pistol. Then I said maybe one slipped by and only one mag was put in the box from the factory. He sternly said NO, THAT NEVER HAPPENS HERE so I said ooooook, you guys are perfect then, that is good to know.

Then he asked for my and info in a upset tone and says, I WILL send you another mag for it, sorry for the inconvenience and then he says right before he hangs up, Please enjoy all THREE of your mags.

I am not trying to get extra I just wanted to get what was supposed to be in the box, that is all. I understand people have bad days but someone that has to talk to people calling every few minutes needs to relax a bit...

Sounds like they probably deal with a lot of fraud when it comes to extra accessories, especially magazines. I definitely believe you on your claim but I'm sure when they've heard it a million times before from people who are being fraudulent it has to get frustrating. I'm a waiter and you dont know how many times I've had people complain that their well done steak was too dry or burnt. Haha, it's hard not to explode on them. But either way I never do because if you're in customer service you just need to take the bad with the good. He should've been more understanding and let you explain everything fully without getting angry. Hope you get your "third" mag soon haha

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

I find it hard to believe the gunshop didn't open the box to verify the serial number and they should've noticed a mag missing

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M&P .40, M&P 9c & Shield 45

What Vista said.

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uhlawpup
Gentle Soul

I've only had to deal with S&W once for a warranty problem. It did take a couple of phone calls to get someone willing to send me a ship ticket but after that service was great.

If you got the name of the person you should call and talk to someone about it. I don't care how bad a day someone was having at S&W they should remember that you wouldn't be calling if your day was going great. They should take care of you then contact the store.

DWG, isn't it great when they eat the whole steak and then complain?

Dave

"Please enjoy all THREE of your mags."

Maybe he is sending you two mags...1 to make up for the missing one and an extra to compensate you for your trouble.

They have done this in the past.

The store should have caught the missing mag. Not so much with brick and mortar stores but increasingly with on line, mail order outfits, they may get two or more magazines and only send you one. Of course they resell it as new, for a quick, shady $30+ profit to some other sucker.

The way a lot of companies, including S&W with some of their guns only give you one mag (ie BG380), some folks never know they've been gipped. I always phone in to on line outfits to avoid this, to check on things like exactly what gun sights and features will come with it and sometimes they'll even dicker a bit on price.

S&W customer service has been great for me, even sending me extra, unexpected stuff. Better than Santa Claus. Nobody is perfect, and even S&W service reps occasionally have bad days. In such a case, I'd call back a day or so later, talk to, explain to someone new your displeasure (politely) and I bet they make it worth your while.

S&W's lifetime warranty is the 'real deal' in an age where that's increasingly rare and they seem a little uncomfortable distributing and representing Walther USA, with the sorry, one year warranty that Walther dictates they abide by. In my opinion, they should ditch Walther, as by association I feel it sullies the S&W name.

I would be curious to know why the store wasn't more involved.

Like I said in the OP, we opened it at the shop when I bought it but I also bought the 44mag performance center and a Kel Tec P-11 at the same time. I walked out with all three. So nobody really looked for all the mags.

I was not “smart” with the guy other than when I said you guys are perfect then, which was not in a smart tone it was more as a "Wow" that is good to know. I did not raise my voice or anything.

I will have to see what shows up here at the house, I’ll let you know

Along those lines: How long should it take S&W to fill an order for a pistol in general? My shop ordered me a .45 with a 4 inch bbl almost a month ago and they still haven't seen it. Should I keep waiting or try another store?

Sorry, not trying to thread hijack, but I am kind of concerned.

I sincerely doubt S&W forgot to put a magazine in the box. And honestly, it's your responsibility to check the product before you bring it home, right?

As I understand things, S&W would not be filling this order. I believe that gun shops use various distributors around the country and those distributors are probably not able to the gun you ordered at this time.

Purchaser should have checked before walking out the door, however, the shop should have checked too. Other manufacturers probably would not have sent you a mag. A little attitude? Yes, but I would consider yourself lucky, they are taking care of you.

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NRA Certified Instructor

Whether or not it was your responsibility to check the mags included when you purchased the gun, the CS rep was way out of line to speak to a customer the way he spoke to you. He could have politely explained that they are not responsible, cannot give you an additional magazine, or whatever...in a polite, respectful tone. Actually, I can understand how S&W can't just give a magazine to everyone who calls...but they can and should treat customers with respect.

If I were you, I would call back and ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them how you were treated...not to demand something extra, but they need to know about and address this poor service.

I have no reason to doubt the truth of the original post but can certainly see how this could happen.

Local gun dealers have a habit of removing magazines for separate sale and they're the last folks with the open box. It's advisable to know how many magazines come with the pistol before purchasing.

The customer is NOT always right! We don't know anything about this claim of a missing magazine nor do we know the tone of voice used. Starting the conversation off with "You bleeping guys ripped me off!" is a sure way to get the response given. And not noticing something as an obvious missing magazine for "a few weeks" raises the suspicion level immediately. (A "few weeks" is like telling the traffic cop you drank a couple of beers" when you really mean a 12-pack.)

Again, not saying I doubt the original post, but I can see how this could easily happen.

-- Chuck

Great. And I went gear happy...FACEPALM!

x2

I've ordered 2 guns before and both times the shop opened it to see if the number matched, if the gun was how I wanted, if the gun was damage, and if the gun at everything inside the box.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

CDNN is notorious for this as they mostly buy closeouts and used guns hundreds or thousands at a time and if they were service pistols for security or police you know they were issued with 3-6 magazines minimum so they get all the guns and magazines and set them up for sale with ONE MAGAZINE and then they clean up the other 2-4 mags and sell them to make an extra 40-100 bucks per gun they bought. I think this is one reason they can offer such good deals on some guns because they know if you like shooting your going to want 5 or 6 mags(maybe more like me) loaded up when you go to shoot and hate having to reload just as your having a blast blazing away(I get excited just thinking about it). I have been told by reliable sources this is the way they(CDNN) does business as far as mags, I state tis not as criticism just sayin this is how they do it.

Well today I got the M&P mag via FedEx, just one mag, no note or packing slip, nothing but the mag. At least now I have two like it should have had.

You have to understand when I buy I buy at least 3 at a time so it may very well be a week or two before I get the chance to go through everything. I did call the shop and they said they did not have it at the store. We DID open the box at the counter when I bought them but like I said I was buying three at the same time so the just checked the numbers with the paperwork and made the call. Should I have checked, yes I admit that. But when I DID check it was not there and I first called to check and could only go with what they told me which was it was not there at the store so my next option was to call S&W.

Regardless the guy should have at least been a little more professional on the phone. I understand people have bad days, heck I have them also but if your job is customer service on the phone then you better leave the attitude at home. I am not going to call and complain as I do not want to get the guy in trouble.

He DID send me the mag so I am ok with it. I was a little upset when I wrote the OP as I looked at it like I was being called a lair but I am over it now. He got to vent some over the phone and I got the mag.

Yea--somebody screwed up somewhere and while I doubt it was the S&W factory, it does sounds like the S&W guy was a bit snooty. Nonetheless, as reported, it it was a class act on your part not to call S&Wand maybe cause him grief with his 'superiors'. At least no nastygrams got sent back and forth. Maybe his wife overstarched his underwear that morning--I have to hide the spray starch at our house, so I can relate.

I would have probably lost my religion and said something really wicked to the service dude. (or wished I had after), but you took the higher road...

"All's well that ends well"

Don't feel bad. I bought a Sig Sauer P220 Elite and it actually came from the factory with the wrong slide on it. It did not say Elite and did not have the front cocking serrations. Try and explain that one. Good thing my local store backed me. Yeah they do make mistakes in a factory.

I had a loony one like this back in 2004 when I bought a new Para Tac-Four (P1345 as an LDA, $50 magazines!). Because of the then-expiring AWB, I was supposed to get two 13's and one 10.... We checked the gun at the store, and there was one of each. I didn't know about the second 13 at the time.

A day or two later, while rummaging around on Para's web site, I found out that they'd been doing the three magazines deal for a while.

(The gun was supposed to arrive in the store with the two 13's and a video secured to the outside of the box. The distributor was responsible for attaching this stuff - apparently Para, then in Canada, couldn't ship the 13's into the US at the time, but had a hoard of them at a site in FL.)

I called my dealer, and they called the distributor. The extra magazine appeared about a week later.... We never figured out how that happened - I trust my dealer, and he trusts the distributor. (This was before he started buying guns on the web....)

The plus side - there was a delightful blonde countergirl working there at the time. My wife wouldn't let me keep her, but at least I could look .

Often....

Regards,

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Stu.

I had the same thing happen with a Springfield XD .45 Tactical. I bought it on impulse from a local dealer and it had one mag. I later found out it was suppose to have 2. I went back to the dealer and he swore up and down that it only had 1. I called the factory (actually e-mailed them) and got a quick response that it should've had 2. The factory made no attempt to give me a second mag. I forwarded the factory e-mail to the dealer and got no response.
Since I was miffed by both the factory and the dealer and I bought 2 spare mags from another source for less than the factory advertised price. The dealer said he could get me one and his non-response to the factory e-mail I forwarded to him rubbed me the wrong way.
Live and learn. The XD, incidentally, shoots great with all 3 mags, excellent trigger and very accurate. Alls well that ends well and the dealer, well, he's off my list for future sales.

Gotta watch those sales weasels, wouldn't surprise me if they stripped it out and planned on selling it later.

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5903TSW 5904 5906 6906 4006

The customers always right, even when wrong. Checking for the second mag wouldn't have made it magically appear at the time. Quality control is in charge of that, not the customer.

NO, the customer is not always right. The customer should have checked before leaving also. However, even when the customer may or may not have been wrong, the employee of S&W shouldn't have acted like that.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

Marcus:

I think you hit the nail on the head here....

Unless you check the thing during the final acceptance, it's really your word against the counterstaff (and S&W's CS people). While I doubt if any of us would take advantage, we're a cut above .... The counterstaff needs to sign off on the missing magazine.... Unless the CS people are really in a good mood....

I didn't have any problems in that Para instance mentioned above - the owner's a friend, and his sister - who's sort of COO there - was both a friend and had taught my kid's Sunday School. At least two people remembered that I only got the two (one 10 and one 13) magazines, and Amy (the cute blonde) called the distributor to verify that there should have been two 13's as well as the 10.

That said, a reputable dealer should vouch for you if they know you at all.... (Which is why I keep my purchases to places that know me . OTOH, those extra door locks and guard dogs had to cost a few bucks.)

Other than not having the dogs set out after you, buying local has some advantages.... (Especially when Amy was working there .)

Regards,

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Stu.

contacted customer service about M1911 in 9mm; was told "production would begin in late June". Pistol has been out since 2010 ??!! my authorized dealer cannot get any information either.

semper Fi 1st Sgt (ret) USMCR

Checking for the mag would still have resulted in a dispute between himself and customer service. You fail to see the point, the customer is most important especially in a situation where he/said she/said is concerned. The ffl isn't going to make the missing mag magically appear, so it's CS whose responsible for making things right. They're human and not by any means perfect. Mistakes are made, but it's their job to fix it. Get off your high horse guys, cut the OP some slack. Lord knows S&W isn't.

Since the problem was partially your own fault, maybe this thread should be about praising S&W for sending you a free mag.

Maybe we (me?) are coming across a little too briskly. I was actually blaming the dealer for not taking care of the C.S. I don't think that the OP should have even had to call S&W.

After all, who sells M&P's? Who knows how many they normally come with? Who had to verify the SN on the pistol any way? And, at least in the case of my dealer, the mag would have magically appeared. The dealer would have gave me one and called S&W later.

I think that S&W should have treated him (everyone) better. But, S&W did send the mag, I would consider that slack. Maybe its a sorry state of C.S. but you guys should try calling Kimber or EAA. Now, there is some...brisk attitude.

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NRA Certified Instructor

Nobody likes getting attitude. And nobody should really give attitude. It's a sign you're letting your emotions mix with your business. It's inexperienced, and honestly, a little childish.

But in the end, S&W did send the mag. They have no idea who's really at fault. But they took you for your word and are sending you a very popular (and probably the most often scammed) piece of your firearm. So please don't trash them online for giving you a little lip. At least call it a wash.

Odds are the retailer has it. It may have been by accident. But the odds of S&W accidently forgetting a mag is about 1/50th the odds of a retailer misplacing it.

Amen, brother.

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I am still waiting on my M&P 22.... 7 months now... I called about ordering a M&P 9mm yesterday and was told they are 30 - 45 days out.

it took my ffl's distritor one month to get my 329NG .i was so glad to get it i ignored the fact all six cylinders were sooted and the cylinder showed some drag lines .who do you look at then ?

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Semper-Fi

The customer service rep knows what he or she are trained and allowed to do to take care of customer service issues. If there is an issue they can not resolve or do not know how to, pass it off to their supervisor or get instructions from them. Yes everybody has bad days. Heck, I deal with Angry, upset and rude people everyday and there are some people no matter what you can't pacify. The customer srevice guy on the phone even if he got 100 phone calls a day or more from people wanting free magazines and he believes most of them are scamming, why should he care. His job is to take care of the customer. Do the job as required, don't take it personal, punch out at the end of the day and go home and be happy. Let those in charge of the company worry about the cost of doing buisness and how they want to handle things.

Well, you could thank them for the range test.

I've been in wholesale sales for some 25 years. It never amazes me to hear what customers will call in demanding. Yes the OP deserved to get 2 mags with his gun. He does state that he & the gunshop opened the box and inspected the gun. As others have said, that is when the missing mag should have been caught. The excuse that the OP buys several guns at once is no excuse. If you are buying the gun & the case is opened for inspection, you had better inspect the cases contents.

Once the gun is shipped out of the factory, any number of things could have caused that mag to disappear... at least that is how the CS rep is looking at it. He knows that the inspections process that the factory goes through before that gun case is closed almost certainly ensures that there were 2 mags in that case. It isn't just one guy looking at the contents in the case. Several sets of eyes comfirm that everything is included that is supposed to be there & I'm sure that they check off on the fact that it is all there.

If word gets out that anybody can call up and say that they only got 1 mag & S&W will gladly send them another with no questions asked, then S&W will be supplying a ton of free mags. That's just how it works. The CS rep needed to press you to see if you would back down, which some people who are fishing for a free mag would do. If I had been the CS rep. I would have also stated with certainty that the gun shipped with 2 mags & that the second mag is out there somewhere.

He knew that the probability of somebody getting a free mag out of this deal was close to 100%. It might not be the OP, but I would bet my IRA that 2 mags left the factory in that case and someone is enjoying his extra mag as we speek.

This isn't the person I want working for me. "Why should he care?" He should care because he takes pride in doing his job correctly. Correctly doesn't mean giving free mags to everybody who calls in demanding one. Correctly doesn't mean "let those in charge of the company worry about the cost of doing business..." Correctly isn't "do his job then punch out at the end of the day and go home and be happy".

I want employees who want to do what is right. Doing everything that the customer demands isn't always the right thing. I once handled a complaint by an end user who was totally out of touch with reality. I turned the complaint down. He called the factory and lied through his teeth & got a new product on the spot worth $3000. Then the CS rep called me up and blasted me. I ended up telling the CS rep that she was totally out of line. I had been doing this for 18 years & never had a CS rep take the customers word for truth without first talking to me about it. She ended up in tears & I found myself talking to the VP of sales. Once he heard my side of the story he retrained his CS department to work through the sales force instead of as a completely independent department. We never had another problem.

This problem should have been handled through the gun store. The end user should never have had to deal directly with CS when he was sold a gun missing a mag. The gun store dropped the ball here and should be held accountable for not doing what they were supposed to do...that is, take care of their customer. If the store had a good reputation with the distributor or manufacturer, then they probably would have been refunded the cost of a new mag. If they pull this a lot, which tends to be the case, then they would have been out of luck. I've found that there are usually just a few problem accounts who seem to have these problems over & over again, where as everybody else almost never had those problems.I suspect that is the case here.

Seems to me that in the flush of buying a new gun (or more than one), it's possible to miss the absence of an accessory. Hard to miss a magazine, but if you see one, you may think that the other one's in the gun, for example, and keep on going - thinking about hitting the range with it, or the other Super Master Blaster 5000 you just bought....

Between you and the store people, though, somebody should have noticed. (The "other eyes" at S&W could have been having a bad day, too, walked away, etc.)

And, yes, it should be the store people who talk to the distributor or take it up the line as needed. This can add credibility to your claim, if nothing else.

The instance I mentioned earlier in the thread - I didn't find out about the three magazines (two full-cap, one neutered) that were supposed to be in the box until I hit the website.... Double-checked all that and then called the dealer. They handled it....

My credibility at this particular dealer is such that they'd probably have given me the countergirl who handled the distributor-level calls if I'd asked nice. (Just short of "leave the wife and kids"! But her boyfriend was kinda big. As in "use Volkswagen axles for toothpicks".... They eventually got married, and she quit. A good chunk of the clientele went into mourning .)

I called KelTec one afternoon for some bits & pieces, and the guy didn't even ask for a serial number. I finally had to ask "couldn't I find a way to get a whole gun out of you guys this way?". He said I couldn't.... Hm.... Not even a hint of a question when I had to order a complete "grip" - what they call the whole plastic part of the gun. Dumb thing cracked back by the sear assembly.

NEVER, EVER take the sear assembly out of a P3AT without your prayer shawl, Rosary beads, and some votive candles. A whole new definition of counter-intuitive.... It's also nearly impossible to swap a trigger....

(As long as we're off topic, a buddy brought a new .380 "Bodyguard" to the range last night. He loves it, laser and all, but wouldn't shoot it.... He's a little different . He's been known to put five rounds downrange, decide he's not having a good night, and leave.)

Back to topic, I've heard a few CS calls, too. I was the Data Processing Manager at a custom plastic extrusions facility for many years, and spent a few years prior working in QC and product design. One holiday morning, being single then, and with nothing better to do, I'd gone out to the office to shake the doors, and get a little paperwork together.

The phone rang, so....

Turned out to be an Architect in New York trying to get some replacement weatherstrip for a building rehab in Scotland.

We could make this stuff in millions of feet, but generally had a minimum order of 1000' or thereabouts. He needed about 100'.... I explained that, and told him I'd give a memo to the Sales Manager - they could discuss whether or not the order would go through, costs, etc. (Not to mention being able to find some of this stuff at a hardware store if you weren't too picky.)

Sales Mangler (that's not a typo ) talked to the guy in a few days, and they agreed, but noted that because of the quantity, actual production would likely be on a "when we can get some time" basis, and might take a while.

After about thirty days, the architect called me about every other day.... He couldn't understand that the only influence I had on Production was printing up (but not signing) paychecks....

Reminds me of my brother-in-law. He couldn't stand dealing with the public at an Orange Julius. He's now a funeral director....

Regards,

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Stu.

Not saying it's good, but I'm not surprised people are trying to eek out free mags because they are horribly overpriced. I paid $25 for mine but most places are upwards of around $33.

Find a better dealer. You buy three guns at once and he won't help?

If he called Smith as a stocking dealer they should have sent anything missing to him, then him to you with no frustration.

I bought a Ruger GP100 special order, when they called and said it came in I rushed over to pick it up before they closed.

At home I noticed some bad machining marks on the frame, the dealer sent it back no charge to me and Ruger replaced the gun instead of fixing it.

I am sorry to hear the weren't polite and that was wrong, but you need better dealer customer service.

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Goal Life Member
Traveling Man

I've used S&W several times for work, an guess I'm lucky as I've yet to have any issues with them. They have two of mine right now. A 2206 where the rear sight sheared off during firing, free fix under warranty, an my 909 to add an ambi-safety. They've already emailed me to tell me the only ambi that will fit is an auto ambi-safety, so I won't be charged on that either.

I'm new to the forum but have a question. I bought a new M&P 9 C this past week-end and it has a few issues.

I talked with Smith today and they were adamant turnaround for sending it back was a minimum 30 days which I think is a stretch. I've had issues with other brands but turnaround was always days.

Any opinions!

what are the issues?

And they may be required to tell everyone 30 days. So you don't have people freaking out when it takes 2 days longer than quoted.

I understand.

For the first 50 rounds or so, it wouldn't lock the slide back at the end of a mag. I put 300 rounds throught it today and had 6 or 8 FTF, 4 stove pipes and was still seeing the slide not locking back every time. I used PMC and Winchester PDX ammo.

Thanks,

Sorry yo u feel that way but blame not SW but the a-holes who cheat all the time and screw it up for the rest of us.

dealers have been known to swipe a mag from a new gun and they all should open the box upon delivery to check serial number and condition. however, and i only seen this once smith does screw up with the mags because here in mass we can only have ten rd mags and my dealer got a gun from smith with 1 ten and 1 15 rd mag. smith was way behind on there orders dating back at least six months but are cathing up now

You're the customer. Who cares. Get it the quickest and cheapest way you can.

As of 8/23/11, there are no M&P .45 pistols that can be found at any DISTRIBUTER. I'm told that S&W has an 8-month backlog on .45 M&P due to an overseas order.

Also, the gun shop does not order direct from S&W. We get them from distributers and your gun is probably on backorder. If you haven't got your pistol yet, call your dealer and have him check with the distributer.