A few days ago, I got back the factory new TALO 642 I sent in to Smith and Wesson for warranty work. The turnaround time was about a month. None of the issues were especially bad individually--tooling marks on the barrel shroud, a large burr on the barrel shroud where it slots into the frame, a bunch of dings on the trigger guard, premature finish wear near the PC rollmark, tarnish on the chromed trigger face, grips that looked and felt badly mated--but I found them to be collectively unsatisfactory and wanted to see if S&W would address some of my concerns.
They did, and they did it in a way that actually exceeded my expectations.
The fellow who worked on the gun not only fixed every problem I outlined par excellence, but also took the time to write a short note explaining that the batch of OEM grips they had for my model of 642 were all less than perfect and, as a result, he had decided to install a new, different set of grips at no cost to me. Said grips are in the second picture below. They're nicely finished and very aesthetic.
What's the bottom line?
Well, after hearing about things like blued finishes that don't stand up to Hoppe's or the perpetual recurrence of canted barrels on 586s/686s, I was very surprised to see that S&W came through for me to such a degree. Insofar as brand loyalty can exist in the modern world, they certainly have mine from this point forward.
I also sent them a brief thank you letter and requested that they commend or make note of the superlative performance of the members of their staff who handled my work order. I can only hope it finds its way into the hands of one of the HR people so they get a raise.
Pictures:
My gun's wearing its original grips here, which were included in the return package. I was able to improve their fit and symmetry in the hand quite a bit with careful application of a knife, a nail clipper, and lots of patience. I plan on using them alongside the new grips because, even if their execution was somewhat wanting, their design and ergonomics are excellent.
This is with the new grips on. If I had to guess, they're probably dyed laminated birch--although their color is much closer to actual walnut than most other laminated birch stocks/grips I've handled. Their fit and finish is excellent too; I love the way they look and feel.
They did, and they did it in a way that actually exceeded my expectations.
The fellow who worked on the gun not only fixed every problem I outlined par excellence, but also took the time to write a short note explaining that the batch of OEM grips they had for my model of 642 were all less than perfect and, as a result, he had decided to install a new, different set of grips at no cost to me. Said grips are in the second picture below. They're nicely finished and very aesthetic.
What's the bottom line?
Well, after hearing about things like blued finishes that don't stand up to Hoppe's or the perpetual recurrence of canted barrels on 586s/686s, I was very surprised to see that S&W came through for me to such a degree. Insofar as brand loyalty can exist in the modern world, they certainly have mine from this point forward.
I also sent them a brief thank you letter and requested that they commend or make note of the superlative performance of the members of their staff who handled my work order. I can only hope it finds its way into the hands of one of the HR people so they get a raise.
Pictures:
My gun's wearing its original grips here, which were included in the return package. I was able to improve their fit and symmetry in the hand quite a bit with careful application of a knife, a nail clipper, and lots of patience. I plan on using them alongside the new grips because, even if their execution was somewhat wanting, their design and ergonomics are excellent.
This is with the new grips on. If I had to guess, they're probably dyed laminated birch--although their color is much closer to actual walnut than most other laminated birch stocks/grips I've handled. Their fit and finish is excellent too; I love the way they look and feel.
