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Taurus customer service...they can't find my gun at this moment??!!

3K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  powerkicker 
#1 ·
Taurus has had my 431 since March 26, 2007. The gun was sent in for failing to fire in DA and really bad point of impact issues. I have been calling every once in a while to check on it. Last week, they said it was all done and waiting to be shipped. Today is friday and no gun so I called to inquire. The CS guy said "Now why hasn't this gotten back to you yet?". He then put me on hold for a bit. He then comes back and says my gun is waiting for accuracy testing by the gunsmith which he says is one guy. The rub? He says he can't find my gun??!! I left him my number and he is supposed to call back as soon as they can find it. ??? I'll keep you posted. I'm not happy right now. I'm at 8 weeks of waiting and now they can't even find it.
 
#2 ·
Re: Taurus customer service...the can't find my gun at this moment??!!

Powerkicker. If the gunsmiths have the gun I wouldn't worry just yet that it is lost.And I would want the gun test proofed prior to leaving the factory, which they are doing.

There may be glitches in the tracking if done by computer. Heck, even FedEX and UPs have had their troubles with tracking at times and sometimes regularly. That's been making the business pages here on a regular basis. This is not just a random problem. Lots of companies across the U.S. have been reporting or are having this reported about them.

Granted that doesn't make the situation any better. Nor does make your anxiety any less. I can empathize with that.

As for Taurus having the gun a long time, it would be nice to get the gun back quicker.
That is a problem they need to work on. Other gun companies have had similar reports on them as well. It all depends somewhat on what needed to be done. Though streamlining things might need to be done.

Some members and staff have reported snail like progress and others report the gun is back in a few weeks.

Would be nice to know how the factory prioritizes repairs and executes repairs.

This might be a good question to put directly to management.

If a list of well thought out questions was put before Taurus Customer Service, they said these questions would be accepted and answered by their staff. This was some months ago when we made them aware of us though we have had no contact directly with Taurus or otherwise since.
It was made known that the staff would parcel the questions to the respective branches of the company so the response could come from the the people directly involved with the question and not form somewhere else.

Sounds like a plan.

Might be time to start such a list.
 
#3 ·
I called back last week after Taurus never called me back as-promised. I was told my gun was done that time and it was never lost. It will ship back the week of June 4th I was assured. Fair enough.

I called today to check in on it 5 minutes ago and was told that they don't know the status of the gun this time...they can only tell me it was logged into their system 3-26-07. I'm now awaiting another call from taurus in which they will disclose my guns status once they can determine what that may be. I explained to the CS rep all I've been through so far and the runaround I've been getting. I'll report back... ???
 
#5 ·
What rounds did you shoot out of the 431? Since we have time to kill before anything else happens I thought I'd ask. How many rounds does the cylinder hold? And what kind of sights does the 431 have? And what other Taurus .44 Special revolvers are you talking about as to new ones. Kind of curious.
 
#6 ·
Well. Taurus never called back...again.

I have the older 431 that has fixed iron sights. Ramp front, notch rear. I like the styling of the older models better than the more blocky look of the newer guns so I hope my actual gun returns in working order(I can't seem to find a new Taurus 44spl on their site?).

I was shooting; Magtech 240 grain SWC's, PMC 180 grain jhp, and another load which escapes me at the moment. The gun didn't fire reliably with any of them.

Now, in all fairness, I bought the gun used but like-new so I don't blame it's function issues on Taurus per se'. I am miffed however at the poor customer service I've been subjected to. I've been told my gun was ready three times now and that it would arrive "next week" twice now. Still no gun.
 
#7 ·
I can certainly understand your frustrations. Although Taurus makes a fine quality gun, I have been hearing a lot of trouble with guns taking WAAAY too long to be sent back to the customer. If Taurus could just pull this aspect of their company together, they would sell a LOT more guns. People are generally learning that taurus firearms are on par with Smith and others, but the customer service horror stories are turning a lot of people off from buying taurus guns.

Keep your chin up. I'm sure that Taurus will eventually fix your problem and you'll have a good shooter in the long run.

Todd
 
#11 ·
Powerkicker I don't blame you at all for being ticked off at Taurus. From what you are saying they have horribly dropped the ball. It would seem that there is a huge disconnect in communication between customer service and the tech people who work on tickets. I would recommend that if you haven't already, you sit down and write a letter to the director of customer service, the vice president of the appropriate department and the president of the company. I would share with them your story, and also point out how they should fix internal communications within their company so customers can get accurate timely information. I would be inclined to recommend they go to a web based ticketing system that the customer can access with a ticket number so that they can see the process from reciept of the gun, to repair, to shipping.

I, for one, wouldn't blame you if you told them to keep the gun and their lousy service. However, if enough customers write in and not only tell them they SUCK at customer service, but also provide suggestions on how to fix their customer service issues, then Taurus could change. Indeed, they want to change because they want to make money. They probably haven't had the positive feedback from customers as to what they should be doing to give them an idea as to what customers want.

I hope things work out for you soon!
 
#13 ·
I worked as a customer service and warranty issues professional with one of the largest telecom manufacturers in the world. Because of software/manpower/capacity restraints it was next to impossible to keep up with every single phone that came back for repair. I'm sure this is an issue with Taurus. Their firearms are popular given the price point and the distribution factor. In addition, the 'return on warranty' by model population is a factor. Repair inventory problems plague the warranty service industry whether it be guns, phones, toasters or rubber balls. Keep calling. Be persistent and have patience. In my experience as a data analyst in this field over 90% of merchandise returned was not defective but the system has to review/inspect and make a warranty determination on 100% of ALL returned merchandise.
 
#15 ·
I called Taurus today to ask after my revolver. The girl I spoke with was very nice and when I gave her my service order number, she asked to put me on hold while she checked into it. She came back a moment later and told me that in all honesty, they're not sure when a replacement barrel would ever arrive. Before I could even get another word out, she added (paraphrasing here)"But we'd be happy to send you a new revolver or similar kind if you'd like". Well, sure says I and then she goes to see what is in stock. She tells me 44 specials are rare around the factory and asks if I'd like a .38 spcl. I said I'd really rather have a 44. "How about a 44 magnum sir?". I paused a moment and replied "Well, if you mean you have a 44 magnum tracker there you're willing to go even on, I'm all for that and that would be fine". She said "Okay, let me talk with my supervisor and I'll call you back"...and you know what??!! For the first time that I can recall, she did call right back! As it now stands, I have a Taurus tracker 4" blued 44 magnum heading my way next week or two in trade for my older (but 98%) 431. I was really looking forward to carrying that snubby .44 spcl. but I think that the offer and commitment of a 44 magnum tracker is a good gesture. I'm not thrilled with the run around I've received 'til now, but this really is a first class effort by Taurus to make it right in my opinion. I'll report again when the new gun arrives and I get it to the range to insure servicability.
 
#16 ·
hj28rules said:
In my experience as a data analyst in this field over 90% of merchandise returned was not defective but the system has to review/inspect and make a warranty determination on 100% of ALL returned merchandise.
I'm sure that does happen, but in all fairness, I'm a fully competent shooter and I know my way around guns. I also think the fact that Taurus is just replacing the gun outright suggests that I was correct in my assertion that it was/is out of spec.
 
#17 ·
powerkicker said:
As it now stands, I have a Taurus tracker 4" blued 44 magnum heading my way next week or two in trade for my older (but 98%) 431. I was really looking forward to carrying that snubby .44 spcl. but I think that the offer and commitment of a 44 magnum tracker is a good gesture.
WOW! That's this pistol: http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=226&category=Revolver

Very nice! And, it is good to read that Taurus is taking care of you, too. Sounds like you got ahold of a good employee!
 
#18 ·
BoneDigger said:
People are generally learning that taurus firearms are on par with Smith and others, but the customer service horror stories are turning a lot of people off from buying taurus guns.
I agree totally...Taurus firearms are on par with other manufacturers however their customer service system is not. I'm not complaining, I just think that things could be much better. My 444MULTI was there for SIX weeks for a MISSING FRONT SIGHT. Taurus needs to take a page out of S&W's handbook on how to deal with repairs and maintenance. Example: I sent in an older model 36 snubbie to be nickel plated over the old blue finish. It was back to me within a week after they received it.
 
#19 ·
NYPD in AZ said:
I agree totally...Taurus firearms are on par with other manufacturers however their customer service system is not. I'm not complaining, I just think that things could be much better. My 444MULTI was there for SIX weeks for a MISSING FRONT SIGHT. Taurus needs to take a page out of S&W's handbook on how to deal with repairs and maintenance. Example: I sent in an older model 36 snubbie to be nickel plated over the old blue finish. It was back to me within a week after they received it.
I likewise sent a 629 S&W in for a barrel swap(not warranty work-I just wanted something different and paid for it) and the guys at S&W had it back to me in about two weeks as I recall.
 
#20 ·
I just read the S&W waranty. It says "original" owner". So if you buy one used, you're probably S.O.L. Maybe S&W should follow Taurus. I know that if I buy a used Taurus and it breaks, it'll get fixed. I may have to wait, but it will be repaired.
Does anyone have a broken 908 for sale? lol
 
#21 ·
drummin_man627 said:
I just read the S&W waranty. It says "original" owner". So if you buy one used, you're probably S.O.L. Maybe S&W should follow Taurus. I know that if I buy a used Taurus and it breaks, it'll get fixed. I may have to wait, but it will be repaired.
Does anyone have a broken 908 for sale? lol
Maybe that is part of the problem. They are fixing 20 year old guns that have been bouncing around in a truck for the past 19 1/2 years.
Taurus is also very aggressive in releasing new product lines.
Maybe they need to split the service dept into 2 groups.
One that fixes older models and one that is working on new stuff.
 
#22 ·
Two weeks from the recent promise of a gun made to me by Taurus customer service on Aug31 is tomorrow. I have no gun and no word from Taurus yet but was promised a gun within 2 weeks. Any odds on whether Taurus does what they said this time? Tomorrow's the day. I'm exited! Should I be...time will tell.
 
#23 ·
Powerkicker. In case you haven't noticed there is now an inhouse factory rep form Taurus International as a member here. Just recently joined. He's holding court in the Member Introduction board right now.

Odd how that got overlooked. Oh, well. :)
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=2368.0

Richard@TaurusUSA can be PMed or queried at the thread.
 
#25 ·
No gun and no word here or in the thread you mentioned Qwiks draw, which I did post in as suggested.I see Richard had responded to others in the thread but not me. I PM'd him too with a link to this thread and he pm'd back that he couldn't open this thread for some reason. Odd. I guess I'll call again on monday :-\
 
#26 ·
Keep trying. Near the end of or on the weekend response can take time. He's probably also the voice on the telephone when Customer service is called, so he may be up to his armpits in alligators right now.
 
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