Should be interesting.
Interesting S&W vs Taurus experiment...Customer service competition!
Here's where I am;
The Taurus Tracker I got new had timing problems out of the box and I finally decided to send it back to Miami to Taurus for repair. I sent it back today around 9:30am EST overnight UPS.
I bought a used 629 S&W revolver that someone bubbadized the extractor on in an attempt to chamfer the charge holes. I sent it to S&W today around 9:30am EST overnight UPS for a new extractor and re-timing which is required with that part replacement.
Now, both guns will need a retiming and have gone out UPS at the exact same time from the same place. We now have an opportunity to see how long it takes these two makers to Service their products which need similar work in a direct comparison. We'll see who has the fastest turnaround at the least. I'll keep you posted.
The Taurus Tracker I got new had timing problems out of the box and I finally decided to send it back to Miami to Taurus for repair. I sent it back today around 9:30am EST overnight UPS.
I bought a used 629 S&W revolver that someone bubbadized the extractor on in an attempt to chamfer the charge holes. I sent it to S&W today around 9:30am EST overnight UPS for a new extractor and re-timing which is required with that part replacement.
Now, both guns will need a retiming and have gone out UPS at the exact same time from the same place. We now have an opportunity to see how long it takes these two makers to Service their products which need similar work in a direct comparison. We'll see who has the fastest turnaround at the least. I'll keep you posted.
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That's not really a controlled experiment. Could be this week that either S&W or Taurus have to deal with more warranty work than normal. What if Taurus only gets 15 firearms for work but S&W gets 600? Or vice-versa? Obviously the company that is backlogged will take longer for the turnaround.
I do agree somewhat. That said, if one gun comes back in 8 weeks and one comes back in five months, I'll report that and I think that would be significant. Now, if both take forever, we'll have an indicator that customer service has gone down the tubes industry wide. If both come back quick, we'll see the manufacturers at their best. 8)
I also somewhat agree. Any manufacturer needs to correctly staff their customer service departments so they can take care of thier customers in a timely manner. My job happens to be highly customer service related. When there is a catastrophe we put in the extra hours needed to service our customers. Thats how you keep your customers. In the highly competive market as guns are, all companies should be highly concerned of customer service, and staff as required to provide the best customer service they can. :soapbox:
I think that service procedures will play more of a role than anything in this scenario.
Exactly. If you can't service it, don't say you will. I about fell out of my chair laughing last night when I hears a news person mentioned the falsity, "The customer is always right." Long gone are the days! Long, long gone. The bottom line is far more often the top priority. And whether the managers have long term or short term view of what benefits that line determines where customers stand.muttmutt said:Any manufacturer needs to correctly staff their customer service departments so they can take care of thier customers in a timely manner.
...
we put in the extra hours needed to service our customers.
JimL
I sent a pistol back to S&W on Monday the 5th of this month (they also paid shipping both ways) and I got it back on Tuesday the 13th. I actually got my gun back before I received a letter from them saying they had received my gun.
Unfortunately, too many companies now take the position that customer service is just another part of the overhead. They feel that if one customer is lost, another will take his place. Those companies just don't get until their doors shut for good.
While a decent idea this experiment will not decisively prove much of anything as has been pointed out by NYPD. On top of that you can't control the shipper (lost items, or delayed shipping because of break downs and whatever else). Also you can't control the number of employees and the volume of firearms being handled at each company. Let's say that Taurus has 5 employees on the floor processing packages at recieving, but on the day your package hits S&W 3 employees are out sick and one person has to pick up the slack.
Another problem with this experiment is you don't know what parts are on hand at each company and if they are not whether or not they are on back order. You also don't know what they will diagnose as the cause of the timing issues for the Taurus and the extent of repairs needed. Your S&W gun could also turn out to have other issues as well.
I'm not trying to be rude, but this experiment will not really prove either comapany has better customer service over the other.
A better analysis would be based upon the number of guns recieved and repaired by both companies for the latest calendar year and the average turn around time per repair ticket.
I also want to make a point that isn't about this experiment, but about complaints against Taurus. Being 'Captain Obvious' here... this board is dedicated to Taurus firearms. Anyone reading this board will at once discover that people who have problems with their guns come here for help. The point is that more often than not we are reading about what is wrong with a gun or Taurus customer service and that is perfectly understandable. When people are happy with a product they don't go out of their way to praise the product and most probably don't seek out web communities like this one, since they don't have a need. When they get good customer service they don't find a Taurus web presence like this one and praise the great customer service they recieved. I have been in customer service related jobs most of my adult life and one ancedote we live by is that if you make one person happy he might go and tell one or two people how well you did, but if you make one person unhappy he will definately tell ten or more people what crappy service was provided. The moral of the story is that a bad personal experience isn't necessarily proof that a company is as rotten as the person who feels burned wants to make it out as. Yeah, it sucks to get bad customer service or a broken product, but in this imperfect world we get both occassionaly. Thankfully, most of us with Taurus products haven't gotten burned for all I know. I haven't.
Another problem with this experiment is you don't know what parts are on hand at each company and if they are not whether or not they are on back order. You also don't know what they will diagnose as the cause of the timing issues for the Taurus and the extent of repairs needed. Your S&W gun could also turn out to have other issues as well.
I'm not trying to be rude, but this experiment will not really prove either comapany has better customer service over the other.
A better analysis would be based upon the number of guns recieved and repaired by both companies for the latest calendar year and the average turn around time per repair ticket.
I also want to make a point that isn't about this experiment, but about complaints against Taurus. Being 'Captain Obvious' here... this board is dedicated to Taurus firearms. Anyone reading this board will at once discover that people who have problems with their guns come here for help. The point is that more often than not we are reading about what is wrong with a gun or Taurus customer service and that is perfectly understandable. When people are happy with a product they don't go out of their way to praise the product and most probably don't seek out web communities like this one, since they don't have a need. When they get good customer service they don't find a Taurus web presence like this one and praise the great customer service they recieved. I have been in customer service related jobs most of my adult life and one ancedote we live by is that if you make one person happy he might go and tell one or two people how well you did, but if you make one person unhappy he will definately tell ten or more people what crappy service was provided. The moral of the story is that a bad personal experience isn't necessarily proof that a company is as rotten as the person who feels burned wants to make it out as. Yeah, it sucks to get bad customer service or a broken product, but in this imperfect world we get both occassionaly. Thankfully, most of us with Taurus products haven't gotten burned for all I know. I haven't.
Pierce, I agree with your statements and we all agree that this is not a controlled experiment by any means. But.. I am still interested in the outcome just for s&g's.
I own both brands but my money is on Smith & Wesson. As for shipping screw ups these guns are being shipped overnight. So a screw up is going to be an extra day maybe. I think customer service is a big deal for Smith & Wesson and also I keep hearing reports of people being told 5 to 6 weeks from Taurus, that's not going to be too hard to beat. The last 3 guns that I sent in for repair took about 2 weeks. One was to Springfield, one to Kimber and the last one was Charles Daly. Who knows Taurus may prove me wrong. Mark
I would say a shipping screw up is unlikely, BUT... oh man! My PT1911 was stolen by a DHL employee and it took a couple weeks before I even got the gun back. I have heard other horror stories too; so screw ups can be pretty bad. And, I am not saying you are claiming that such screw ups don't happen. I was just reminded of what happened to me.railroader said:So a screw up is going to be an extra day maybe.
S&W WILL win this hands down!
The first blow has been struck. Taurus has sent me the letter of receipt. It arrived in the mail yesterday. They took the gun in for processing 11/28/2007. That's the same day it was delivered by UPS! 6-7 week turnaround according to the letter.
Round one: Taurus.
Round one: Taurus.
I also agree that it is far from an accurate comparison of a Firearm company's customer service department, it still and will be interesting to see the outcome of the two. I think it could be more interesting between a XD, Glock and 24/7 simply because none of these are made in the USA and I doubt the repair of them would be either.
My personal experience with S&W has been mixed, but I haven't needed their services for nearly 15 years and I have never needed anything from Taurus. But being a smithy myself, it would be kind of like being a Carpenter and having another carpenter build my house while I sat around and waited for him to do it when he had time...
My personal experience with S&W has been mixed, but I haven't needed their services for nearly 15 years and I have never needed anything from Taurus. But being a smithy myself, it would be kind of like being a Carpenter and having another carpenter build my house while I sat around and waited for him to do it when he had time...
S&W called me today and asked me exactly what I'd like done and said they were taking my gun into the shop.
Round Two~ S&W
Round Two~ S&W
All experiments, to be acceptable, must have controlable values. While this comparison leaves a bit to the imagination it is still interesting. Customer service is and should be an issue with any major purchase be it a firearm or a a vehicle. When making puchase decisions, one of the criteria I look at is CS. Interestingly, I researched Taurus before making my purchase and felt the good out weighed the bad when taking all points (price, apearance, ergonomics, reliability, aftersale support) into consideration. I did the same with Steyr before purchasing the M-A1. Steyr customer service was regarded so highly by owners that it actually convinced me to purchase it over what had initially been my first choice, Beretta. The importance is there. I can only hope that Taurus understands the value of a happy customer. For me, only time will tell.
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