I hope Mcgowen's barrels are better than their customer serv - Ooops - Apology

[sthrnfryedyankee]

I wasnt sure where to put this but I didnt want anyone else to get ripped off


I am very big on customer service especially when dealing with a company as a first time buyer. I feel I was ripped off by Mcgowen barrel and I am not happy about it. I placed an order for a barrel approx 2 months ago and I called after about a month to see if Mcgowen was ready for payment, I was told that someone would get back to me when they found out where my barrel was in the barrel making process, no one ever got back to me. I called again 2 weeks later and was told that the person would have to go to the shop and yet again find out where in the process my barrel was and they would get back to me in 10-15 minutes, I asked if someone was actually going to get back to me this time, I was told yes, give me 10-15 minutes. I finally received a call the next day in the late afternoon, with the person asking me if someone ever contacted me back yesterday I said NOPE.

The gentlemen then stated that during the process the barrel suffered some kind of flaw and had to be remade. I was bothered by the fact that no one took the time to update me on this set back. Finally on March 31,2009 I was called and told that my barrel was ready and that Mcgowen was ready for payment. I said ok, I then stated I wanted the barrel shipped USPS priority mail. I was told by Dan that would NOT be a problem but I would have to pay extra and a handling fee and we discussed the difference in price between Fedex and USPS PER THEIR WEBSITES to find the better shipping rate. I said ok gave Dan my CC# and got off the phone on a good note. 4 days went by and I received nothing so I called and I don't know who I spoke with but they said they were not in the office right now and they would get back to me as soon as they were, it must have been a cell phone, this was on Friday april 3, 2009. As of today april 6th the barrel still has not arrived so I called to get my signature authorization # to have a trace put on it. The girl who aanswered the phone tells me that the package was shipped Fedex, I was like huh it was supposed to be shipped priority mail and she gave me the tracking # for Fedex. She then told me the guy (I do not know his name, NOT Dan would call me back)

The other Gentlemen who runs things called me back after 2 hours and said that USPS does NOT offer priority mail shipping but the package actually WAS shipped USPS, I was absolutely appauled and told him I have shipped MANY items USPS Priority and that was the service that I payed extra for, his response was I do not handle the shipping so I don't know what to tell you. WHAT??? I told him that I was not happy and this was rediculous. He told me the gentlemen I spoke to handles all the shipping and if I had any problems I should take it up with him. He then proceeded to tell me that Dan who is in charge of shipping told him (the guy I was on the phone with) that USPS does NOT offer priority mail. Now MAYBE I was wrong for this but I told him that Dan was full of crap, I did NOT curse, get loud or aggressive and he started telling me that he doesnt appreciate the way I was speaking to him and we just need to get this resolved so we can part ways. So here I am NO BARREL, paid extra $$$ for a service that I did NOT receive and the lack of making things right wasnt even in Mcgowen mindset. I DO NOT CARE if this barrel shoots clover leafs at 1000000000yds I will NEVER deal with them again. BUYERS BEWARE

[sthrnfryedyankee]

I just called to speak to Dan and he JUST told me that the barrel didnt even get picked up until today. He also accused me of "wanting something" I just said I want them to have better customer service for their future buyers as I will NOT be 1 of them. From the 31'st till now I couldnt even get a phone call stating that it hasnt even been mailed yet. Thats BAD BUSINESS

[sthrnfryedyankee]

Now that I am thinking about it if the package JUST got picked up 2day how did Jon or the girl behind the desk not know that when I spoke to them earlier today. What kind of business do they run there?

[sthrnfryedyankee]

For those of you on this forum who read my previous topic below, after careful consideration and acting out of anger and frustration I jumped the gun (AGAIN no pun intended) and posted my post. There are those who MAY say I was in the right and there are those who MAY feel I was wrong. There is a quote that someone told me a long time ago and I want those who read this to take this to heart.

You may be "right" about something BUT if you are not "righteous about it you may as well just be wrong.

I should have thought about those words before I put a company with a great reputation on the chopping block because of my own frustrations and anger. Dan wrote me a letter and I would like to post all 3 letters. This is what good business is about, recognizing there was a problem and making the necessary changes to correct it. I have yet to respond to the last letter and will do so shortly.
=======================================

Louis,
I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot there. Yesterday was a very hectic day for me and unfortunately you caught me at a bad time. This is absolutely no excuse for what you feel is poor customer service.
I received the email that you sent to Jon and have gone over it. Here is what you put down in the email:
$315
- 31.50 (10%) first time buyer
-----------
283.50
+ 19.60 PRIORITY 2 day shipping
-------------
303.10
+5.00 handling fee
----------------------
308.10
Here is the actual invoice:
$315.00 Standard Price
-$31.50 New buyers 10% discount
$283.50
$18.71 Priority Shipping (see attached copy of online USPS receipt)
$5.55 Insurance
$307.76
$5.50 Handling Fee (this is standard for everyone it covers labor and materials to ship)
$313.26
That is exactly what you were charged. Your link was incorrect as we do get a small business discount ($18.71 vs $19.60), but what you did not put in the total above was the insurance. We do not send any packages out without putting insurance on them. The reason for this is that if the package is lost or damaged we have to replace it and we need to recoup the cost of doing so.
I realize that you are upset as shown by the numerous posts on the blogs that you have done. I will be copying the contents of this email and posting it on the blogs as a response to your blog.
While I don't expect to have your business in the future, I hope that the barrel works out for you in the end. We've had great success with our barrels with little or no problems. And typically when there are problems we try to take care of them as quickly as possible. Again, my apologies to you for the bad experience that you feel that you have received from McGowen Precision Barrels.
Regards,

Dan J Wynne
===================================================================


I GREATLY respect the fact that you took the time to respond to my email and my post. I understand where the extra charge came from and I find it completely justified. I was wrong for the way I spoke to you and Jon and I AM OPENLY apologizing for my words. I was also frustrated and angry and people tend to say things more out of anger than try to actually resolve the problem at hand. I would just like to know and understand WHY my barrel sat in the drop box for days before anyone realized that it had not been picked up yet? When it was removed from the drop box before actually being shipped why was I not notified of the delay the instant my barrel was found unshipped? I AM extending my words of apology. I would hope you can understand when you wait for something that you are so excited about, ESPECIALLY reading the reviews and visually seeing the proof, a day can feel like a week and a month can feel like a year. I AM excited to receive your barrel and I AM SURE it will be of the UTMOST QUALITY and PRECISION you have been prided on by SO MANY others. I said words out of anger and for that I apologize. I understand that business men come in all forms as do customers. I am the type of business man who keeps constant communication before and after the sale. SOLID foundations of good business are made this way, FRIENDSHIPS are made this way and MOST important to me TRUST is built in this manner. If I am the 1 who slipped through the crack and my issue made you aware of the problem and you correct that problem swiftly it WILL in the long run make you a better company it WILL also make me a better customer for future business. I HATE the fact that our first time business together dropped off a cliff so horribly with no parachute. I will also send this email to Jon as I feel that I owe him an apology also. Someone once told me that you may be "right" about something, but if you are not "righteous" about it you may as well just be wrong. I wish I had remembered that saying before I said the words that I said and posted what I posted.
====================================================================

Louis,
Thank you, no apology necessary, you were justified in being angry. Unfortunately yesterday I was less than an ideal customer service guy. There are a lot of things going on here that are taking up my every waking moment and I was frustrated, not with you, but with the load on my shoulders.
After I spoke with you originally when you changed your order from Fedex to USPS I processed the mailing immediately, I laid it on the counter for the postman as he comes into our office every day. Usually the postman looks on our counter for outgoing stuff, but he missed it and unfortunately I missed it. I realized that it was still there the other day and made sure that the postman got it. It was an oversight on our part for sure, but please understand that we probably only ship 1 package/barrel out with USPS per every 200 barrels we ship Fedex. This is not an excuse, it is just not our normal way to ship.
I understand your "righteous" remark very well. I've been in this business for quite some time and have taken the brunt of any negativity posted on any of the blogs for another company. While I may not have been personally responsible for the problems at the other company, because I was a spokesman for the company I was the guy who was lit up. My first response is always to "respond", but have learned over the years that I shouldn't do that. You would be surprised of how many times I've written a response to a post just to modify it 3 or 4 times before I actually post my response. I want to ensure that nothing that I say in the public forums is misconstrued.
We appreciate yours and everyone else's business and hate to lose even one customer. So please check the barrel out and if it performs to or above your expectations we hope that you might consider us in the future. This time, it will be personally taken to the post office by me.

Regards.

Dan

[shooter_john]

I can't speak on their customer sevice, but I can their barrels. If yours is as good as mine, it will have been worth the wait!

I saw your other post that appeared to be recanting the rant, but for some reason I am not allowed to access it.

Here's what my McGowen (30-06) did for it's first group:



And then on another range trip:

[Bud Helms]

I guess this really needs to be in the Retail Deals & Feedback forum.