Smith & Wesson Customer Service Has Been a Nightmare

[HiPlainsDriftr]

I sent my Thompson Center pistol scope to Smith and Wesson as instructed by their customer service for repair. But 2 weeks after receiving it, 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.

[motorhead0922]

Sorry about your bad experience.

My experience was just the opposite. The laser on my Bodyguard 380 went out after 3 years (and almost no usage). I called CS and they said send back just the laser not the gun, no questions asked. I sent it back and 3 weeks later the new replacement arrived. I put it in and it worked perfectly. Later, I noticed the owner's manual said the laser warranty was 1 year...

[KyJim]

Maybe they can't fix it or repair it but they have to return it to you. Try again and if they won't return it, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau where they are located. This does not sound like S&W.

[HiPlainsDriftr]

I did file a complaint with the local BBB in MA. The person with the BBB who handled my complaint did a good job of trying to identify and explore potential solutions to the problem. I wanted to have my scope either returned to me, replaced with a comparable scope, or paid for. However, in responding to the complaint, the only thing Smith & Wesson would offer me was a choice of comparable value accessories from their Thompson Center website. But there are no pistol scopes on the Thompson Center accessory website or anything else that I need.

The BBB has no enforcement powers.

[FlyFish]

BBB is a waste of time. If you really want to pursue this (and I agree that they should be obligated to return your property to you) talk to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division. When I lived in Mass I contacted them regarding the return of a deposit I was owed and I had my money in a matter of days.

linky: http://www.mass.gov/ago/bureaus/publ...tion-division/

(FWIW, my several interactions with S&W CS have always been excellent, so maybe you just got the wrong person for some reason and I'd recommend calling them again before you escalate things.)

[KyJim]

Consumer Protection is the next step up the line. I disagree that filing with BBB is a waste of time. At lot of businesses respond to those complaints. Obviously, not all respond as the consumer desires.

The Massachusetts AG's Consumer Protection Division is great. I have worked closely with them in the past and even received a letter of commendation from their AG. However, they are not going to litigate isolated market place disputes. I'm not discouraging the attempt, I just want to make sure there are realistic expectations.

[HiPlainsDriftr]

Thanks for the comments on the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. I may contact them if I can't get things resolved with Smith & Wesson.

I have contacted other people up the chain. I sent an email to the head of S&W customer service with a copy to their director of marketing. My email to them 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. I haven't received so much as an apology from them for losing my scope.

[Mavrick79]

What is their reasoning for not returning your broken scope back?

[SVO]

This is sad to hear, as T/C Customer Service used to be second to none. Guess that is gone now that S&W acquired T/C, which probably means that Smith no longer honors T/C's lifetime warranty. It almost seems that S&W bought T/C just so that they could shut down the single shot pistol business.

[motorhead0922]

Originally Posted by SVO

This is sad to hear, as T/C Customer Service used to be second to none. Guess that is gone now that S&W acquired T/C, which probably means that Smith no longer honors T/C's lifetime warranty. It almost seems that S&W bought T/C just so that they could shut down the single shot pistol business.

Really? You came to that conclusion based on one, count 'em one, disgruntled customer who posted on an internet forum?

[SVO]

What part of my conclusion are questioning? T/C former customer service? T/C when it was run by T/C, had one of the best customer service around. S&W handling service of T/C products? Sounds like a real raw deal when they won't even return a broken scope to the owner and is not responding to his inquires. Or S&W lack of support of the single shot pistol market? The G2 Contender is not in production, new G2 pistol barrels are not in production. The Encore pistol line appears to not be in production either.

[HiPlainsDriftr]

Smith & Wesson has been very vague as to why they won't return my scope. When I first sent them an email asking them to return it they didn't reply. Two weeks later I told them that I hadn't received it and asked them for a tracking number. They then told me "The scope can’t be returned for it has been processed in our system. Once this happens, the scope is no longer kept on the premises."

[OkieCruffler]

Awhile back I had a frame that broke it's interlock safety. I contacted S&W to beg them to send me one and we all know what that answer was. But they did offer to ship it back and forth on their dime and contact me with a cost to fix the problem. I figured I'd give it a chance. Well they received it on 09/25 and I never heard anything from them. I was going to call them today but the Fed Ex truck showed up today with a box for me. They listed the work done as not only replacing the interlock safety but also the hammer spring, both firing pins, and firing pin bushing. Also, I sent the frame with an old style hammer that needed the screwdriver to change cneterfire/rimfire and it now wears a new style with the switch on top. And the trigger is scary light.
That being said, I know a lot of T/C shooters and several have had bad experiences with CS since S&W took over. I know that in the old T/C days I could call them up and they would just ship me whatever I needed. It seems to be pretty hit or miss any more and T/C is definitely not S&W's main concern. Too small a market I guess.

[buck460XVR]

That being said, I know a lot of T/C shooters and several have had bad experiences with CS since S&W took over. I know that in the old T/C days I could call them up and they would just ship me whatever I needed. It seems to be pretty hit or miss any more and T/C is definitely not S&W's main concern. Too small a market I guess

Truth is, without the buyout from S&W, TC may very well have been history. From an investors point of view, the acquisition turned out poorly and the management of S&W has admitted they overpaid for the company by $76.5 million of shareholders’ money. Hopefully they can still turn TC around and it will continue.

As for the OP. He joined two different firearm forums on the same day. He has not made any posts to either forum other than the few he made in his single thread on each. We have only heard his side of the story and he has been vague on details. On the other forum he states that he bought the scope from someplace vague after it had been locked away in a back room for several years. He claims that while S&W has asked for a receipt or some other proof of sale to validate the worth of the scope, he has none. They have offered to him without proof of purchase a scope from the only line of optics they have left. While I agree they should have returned his broken scope, I don't know how a broken scope is worth th OPs money for the shipping back to him. Most entry level scopes are not worth the money or bother to attempt to fix, and without proof of purchase or registering the product, I cannot for the life of me wonder why the OP is disgruntled. He should be upset with the guy who sold him an old broken scope.

[Dfariswheel]

Looks like another drive-by poster.

These follow a standard format, they join a forum just to mean-mouth a company, then disappear.

[kraigwy]

I removed the internal lock on my 642. After a couple years of shooting it, it got to where I had to many FTF, light hammer strikes making the gun useless.

I sent it to S&W asking them to repair it, ON MY DIME, since I screwed it up.

I got a call saying the gun was un-repairable. They had to replace it. I says fine, how much. They told me there would be no charge. I again told them I screwed up the gun and I was my responsibility to pay for the replacement.

No dice. Even though it was not the gun or S&W, that caused the problem it still have a life time guarantee and they would replace the gun without cost to me.

I don't think you can ask for better customer service then that.

Then again maybe S&W knew what they were doing. Because it was a replacement they had to send the new gun to a dealer instead of my home.

I made the mistake of taking my wife with me to pick up my new 642, while I was filling out the paper work she drops a 637 on the counter. So I was out the price of a new gun anyway.

[Evan Thomas]

Cheap at the price, Kraig.

Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels. (Proverbs 31:10)

[DPris]

Unless your state requires it, they did not have to send the replacement to a dealer.
It should have been sent directly to your home.
Denis

[Scorch]

Smith and Wesson has the worst CS I have ever worked with. Takes forever. It's done right as a rule, but the time it takes is ridiculous.