S&W customer service needs help

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wil

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I, will start by saying S&W is my favorte company, over the years i have had some of the greatest models anyone could ask for. and there customer service was the best hands down
untill about a yr or so, today these people have no idea what there talking about, example i called today to ask about having a single side safety put on a third gen ambi saftey mdl
said it cant be done, i have herd this conversion talked about on this forum hundreds of times, and done with no problems.
i asked about going dao, cant do that. its like they dont want to even talk about it.its a shame, the older guys who worked there were the best . well informed ready to help in any way.
things change. so guys chime in, what do i need to go single side safety, or doa. 3914 1989 make thanks.
 
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Sounds like you just got the wrong guy. When I bought my 4003 I emailed about having them change it to decock only and they gave me the price within a couple days. I'm guessing he/she was newer and only knew about the newer guns they sell
 
I mailed a revolver with a cracked frame (under warranty) several months ago. Took them two weeks to get back to me that it was not repairable and would be replaced. Various calls have resulted in "your replacement gun is sitting on my desk now" followed by " it's backordered" followed by "it's scheduled to ship the 1st week in April". Still waiting. I'm happy they're replacing it but disappointed in the process.
 
You sometimes have to call a few times to get a correct answer. Evidently there are few "gun guys" still working there.

Some time back a woman named Kate Fridette (IIRC) was someone who not only was helpful, but actually knew what she was talking about.

Try asking for her. Or ask for Vito in the Performance Center, he's a gun guy. Good luck! Regards 18DAI.
 
Had a similar experience recently when sending a CS9 in for refinishing. Talked to a few CS reps who didn't seem too knowledgeable about their work and fees. Finally had good luck with a fellow named Mark (I believe), he admitted that they had a few reps who were not the best apples in the bunch. He mentioned Vito in discussing the work on my gun. After giving the go ahead and credit card info to get the job started, was told it would take 8-10 wks!!! Explanation was they were pretty backed up but i wasn't in a big hurry, just wanted a good job done right and based on other comments about S&W factory service, was pretty confident they would do that. I was totally surprised to find FedEx had delivered it yesterday, in only 3 wks instead of 8-10. It looks great, back to factory blue new look. Gotta take it to the range now to make sure function is as it should be. So if you feel like you are not getting good info from CS on the phone, as much of a PITA as it is to have to do it, call back and hopefully you'll get another rep who is more knowledgeable and helpful.
 
CORRECTION: name of S&W Customer Svc Rep who got things straightened out for me was PAUL, not Mark (see my previous post this thread).
 
I've tried dealing with their customer service a couple times and have given up. I reached my limit for dealing with people whose job seems to be to try to be difficult.
 
Call back and get a different rep. I have noticed that the answers vary depending on who you get.
 
Verbal communication with S&W doesn't work well these days.Try my strategy with customer service.

Email the exact description of the problem you have or service you want performed to the customer service department. State in the email that you are also FAXing the same information.(That way they can't claim your email didn't get through) Print out your email and fax it to them. I had an email reply sending me to their warranty shipping site within three hours. Filled out the required info on the warranty site and received a email with a pre-paid two day FedEx label in two days. Sent the revolver back and had an email that it was in transit via FedEx two day exactly one week after they received my revolver.

I'd say that is pretty darn fine customer service. -Though Fed Ex "two day" is actually taking 5 days since they don't deliver on Saturday or Sunday.
 
I'm tired of wasting my time with them, now I just get rid of whatever gun is bothering me and replace it with something else. It's not the answer for others I'm sure but it's working well enough for me.
It's a bit sad that I finally gave up and resort to that.
 
Sounds like you got the wrong rep.I had my CS9 converted to DAO and the trigger smoothed out with zero problems.When the frame of my 640 cracked I had no problem with customer service but I did have a major problem with Smith's Quality Control.When I went to test fire this brand new gun the trigger felt as if it had course sandpaper in it.I took it to my gunsmith and when we took the sideplate off we found out why.There was a bunch of metal shavings and debris throughout the inside of this gun.It took close to two hours to remove all the debris.It makes you wonder if this gun were test fired @ all because the defect was that noticeable..........Mike
 
I hear ya... I spoke to someone (after several attempts) god knows how long ago about a faulty guide rod from when I purchased my M&P9c and they were sending me a new one and I never got it....... Every person I spoke to had a bad attitude, like I was bothering them.
 
Every now and then some of the service reps act like they could care less. You can usually email Kate Fredette or Paul Pluff and they will take care of any issues for you. Kate Fredette is the customer service supervisor and Paul Pluff is her boss. Here are their email addresses.

Fredette, Kate <[email protected]>
Pluff, Paul <[email protected]>

I have 25 different Smith & Wesson handguns and have had great customer service for the most part. Once or twice I had to email the people above and they took care of everything.
 
Smith Man ----thanks for the info. S&W IS a great American company but dealing with some of their CS knuckleheads can be a major headache. Your info should be immensely helpful to all of us who have to deal with CS for whatever reason. I posted in this thread a day or 2 ago about my personal CS experience. Will now give final followup to original post after taking newly finished (by S&W) CS9 to the range today---- it functioned flawlessly. So now it looks good too. Thanks again for your post, SmithMan.
 
Thanks for the email addresses! Hope we don't keep them too busy.

I went thru the phone runaround for a while then waited to get my mailing label. No luck. A month later I called and was lucky enough to get Kate on the line. She emailed me a ship label and I had my revolver back in a week at no charge.

Dave
 
Had some trouble myself today, about a convertion i wanted them to do to my pistol, a little tuch and go but got it worked out, but other than that i have had no trouble with them.
 
And here I was thinking that I was the only one having problems with S&W service. I sent a gun to S&W in mid February for a firing pin bushing replacement. I wrote about the problem on our board last month. Well, Friday I finally got an invoice from S&W for the bushing replacement. I called them to authorize the work and asked for a time line. They could not tell me when they would get the job completed. They've only had the gun now for seven weeks and no telling how much longer before I see it again.

In the future, if I can't fix the problem, I'll find a local gunsmith who can.
 
Boy, don't pan S&W service or you will be blackballed for life. S&W customer service people are gods, just ask anyone on this forum. I am a dealer and I also think that they are bad!!!!!!
 
longrangedog said:
I mailed a revolver with a cracked frame (under warranty) several months ago. Took them two weeks to get back to me that it was not repairable and would be replaced. Various calls have resulted in "your replacement gun is sitting on my desk now" followed by " it's backordered" followed by "it's scheduled to ship the 1st week in April". Still waiting. I'm happy they're replacing it but disappointed in the process.
Click to expand...

Update: Emailed Kate yesterday- she replied today that the replacement revolver shipped today. THANK YOU KATE!!!!!
 
This is one reason why my friggin S&W stock is down @ 3 bucks and change per share ( I bought at $13.81) !!!! Idiots.
 
Joni_Lynn said:
I'm tired of wasting my time with them, now I just get rid of whatever gun is bothering me and replace it with something else. It's not the answer for others I'm sure but it's working well enough for me.
It's a bit sad that I finally gave up and resort to that.
Click to expand...

I do the exact same thing!... I thought I was the only one?...lol
 
I've gotten rid of a good number of nice S&W's due to their customer service talking to me like I am an idiot. Small problems then become the reason why I rarely buy a new S&W anymore.

I had a minor problem, a small issue with another brand of gun and the guy the company is named for called me and all was worked out to everyones satisfaction.
I see some S&W's giving up space in the safe for Les Baer guns.
 
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Joni_Lynn said:
I've gotten rid of a good number of nice S&W's due to their customer service talking to me like I am an idiot. Small problems then become the reason why I rarely buy a new S&W anymore.
Click to expand...

I guess S&W figures, if there were more people like you and me, No one would be sending any guns back, and they could save a bunch of money on shipping and repairs....
P.S., Whenever I call, I dont let them talk down to me or rush me. If they do I will call back and get another rep.
Paul is one of the best reps, I have spoken to lately...
 
OLDGUN64 said:
Boy, don't pan S&W service or you will be blackballed for life. S&W customer service people are gods, just ask anyone on this forum. I am a dealer and I also think that they are bad!!!!!!
Click to expand...


blackballed with whom?with your four posts i'm not certain who you refer to on this forum :rolleyes:
oh...and welcome to the forum!:D
 
longrangedog said:
I mailed a revolver with a cracked frame (under warranty) several months ago. Took them two weeks to get back to me that it was not repairable and would be replaced. Various calls have resulted in "your replacement gun is sitting on my desk now" followed by " it's backordered" followed by "it's scheduled to ship the 1st week in April". Still waiting. I'm happy they're replacing it but disappointed in the process.
Click to expand...


I dropped my 442 off at the guard shack at S&W on April 12. On April 19 I received a call from CS that the frame crack was no repairable and since it was an early production gun, they would be sending me a whole new gun. I was given the choice of a 442 or 642. I chose a 642 and additionally requested a no lock version. I was told that it might take up to a month for that depending on what was being made when. Got a phone call on May3, my gun was being shipped to the LGS I had picked for the transfer. On May 5, I got my new gun.

Maybe it just depends on who you get as your CS rep, but I'm happy.
 
I used the online service....got an approval with shipping label within 2 days and shipped it to them via Fedex. Got a letter within a week that they received it and that it usually takes about 3 weeks from receipt to have it repaired and returned.....also a thank you for using/buying S&W products. All in all, good so far.....lets see when I get it back and if all goes well at the range....
 
I don't think you'll be disappointed, pumpedTSI. They do great work, usually quickly.

The problem some have had is to first get their attention. :)

Dave
 
Smith & Wesson customer service has been a nightmare for me.

I sent my Thompson Center pistol scope to Smith and Wesson as instructed by their customer service for repair. But 2 weeks after receiving my scope, they informed me that they no longer repaired this scope. They checked their inventory and after another 3 months had passed, they informed me that they did not have any replacement scopes in inventory and that they had discontinued this scope. Now they are telling me that they will not repair, replace, or even return my scope to me so that I can try to find someone else to repair it.

I sent an email to Smith & Wesson's customer service supervisor with a copy to their director of marketing. My email included my email records dealing with their customer service department. I thought that they'd be embarrassed that their customer service department had told me to send in my scope for repairs and then after I sent it to them they told me that they no longer repaired scopes. I thought they'd be embarrassed about how slow Smith & Wesson had been to respond to my inquiries about the status of my scope and how slow they had been to try to resolve this issue. And I thought that after I asked their customer service department to send my scope back to me, and they told me they didn't have it anymore and would not return it to me, that their customer service supervisor and director of marketing would make a sincere effort to replace my scope with something comparable.

Not so. I sent them my email September 7 and neither of them have replied to it.
 
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