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Post by 101st all the way! on May 22, 2006 19:50:06 GMT -5
So a while back I ordered an M3 greaser from Depot 53. Everything was fine until i got it. First of all the mag catch was scewed up and was too stiff then eventually got to loose for the mag to fit (probablly because of some lube or something). If you have read my postings in the tech section my gun had some blowback system flaws. I figured would work itself out once it was broke in. This idea was no success after my first battle i hadn't done to hot! the mag would jam up through the middle of the clip and what not so I wasn't very satisfied thus i planned to send it back. So I sent the company an email stating what all was wrong. So the guy told me to try lubeing the mag so i did but a number of things went wrong when doing this. Number one the lube didn't even help. The other problem was when i was lifting the gun up to put it on the table to lube it the sling slipped in a crack and cracked off the handle side. Not thinking at the time i glued it back on. Shortly after that when i was sliding the mag cursor back and forth to help the lube my finger slipped and the cursor was released thus breaking the plastic cursor grip. So i glued that on as well. After about two weeks of dragging feet the man finally sent me an RMA number for the gun. In his e-mail he said "Write the number on the box." Well I Thought it was supposed to be on the box the gun came in so thats where i wrote it. When i sent it back in I e-mailed the company on the day it was to be recieved to see if it had made it yet he sent a reply saying yes he had and he would look at it have it evaluated in about two weeks. So i waited to weeks and then sent an e-mail asking about my gun he said he still hadn't gotten to it but he would very soon. So I sent him thee e-mails over a period of three weeks when he finally sent a reply he complained that I had sent it in the original box which I did because I wasn't told not to, that I had Wrote the RMA number on the box again I was never told not to. He also seems to blame me for it getting banged up in the shipping process because there was no padding for it (I thought that came standard when shipping). I paided a lot of money for that gun and I'm very ticked off at the service I've been given! I feel like going down there and spitting in the managers eye! Out of a ten I give Depot 53 a three for one of the worst customer services!
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Post by the gun police on Jul 18, 2006 12:14:30 GMT -5
Did you send this e-mail to the customer service people there?- I have dealt with them since day one--and i have never had a problem.. yeah sometimes things get jarred in shipping--or a clip is funky--but if i use an educated questionn--i get an educated answer--what im saying is--dont call up freaking out--and have all of your info laid out in front of you--most people i know cant read minds--I dont work for them-- i just hate to see good companies get slammed without both sides of the story.....
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Post by CPL. Mills 2nd Rangers on Jul 24, 2006 6:55:26 GMT -5
wow, I buy all my bb's and gas from depot53, I've never bought any guns though, I've never had a problem getting bb's and gas.
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Post by p51 on Sept 13, 2007 23:36:05 GMT -5
Check out the link at the bottom of my signature on the issue. I got comical service when I returned an item that didn't work right out of the box. Then the started a campaign of character assasination on another forum when I posted about it (not ONCE ever saying I didn't have a point). They actualled DARE you to try to return something, saying they have never had a credit card company get money back from the, which is a lie because mine sure did!
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Sept 15, 2007 14:33:59 GMT -5
I've read the whole thread and considered both points of view. I've got to say I think there's a fairly balanced level of blame here and two sides working hard to justify their perspectives. P51 obviously has a lot of time on his hands. Too bad you didn't spend some of it considering more carefully how the batteries went in or seeking help from someone who could have probably saved you a lot of grief.
I think Depot 53 could certainly have handled your situation better and the owner admitted that in his response but I don't think his policy is unreasonable at all. When something is returned I think the retailer has a right to see if it's a defect, abuse or a misunderstanding. Nordstrom has a mark up that allows for unquestioned and immediate refunds and has spoiled us all in terms of reasonable expectations. Airsoft is such a low margin, competitive products that any retailer handling them has to have reasonable opportunity to determine the status and viability of a return.
Airsoft products are in and of themselves complex and have a remarkably high defect rate. They're built all over the world in widely varied production facilities and using widely varied processes. Language issues and lack of decent manuals is a huge part of our frustration and while unfortunate it comes with the territory.
I'd rather live with a retailers policy that seems reasonable to me then having my prices doubled on airsoft goods but that's just my opinion. Your post serves as a good heads up to all of us as we do our best to find retailers we like and trust and likewise retailers have a right to "Fire a customer" if that makes sense to them. The real sign of a good organization is how they deal with problems when they come up and Depot 53 didn't meet your standard.
People have a right to decide if that standard is reasonable or not. Personally I think you're blowing your predicament way out of proportion to what it was. Again that's just my perspective. There is nothing in it for me as I don't begrudge you your opinion and I don't personally know the owner of Depot 53 or have an interest in their success or failure.
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Post by valtteri on Sept 15, 2007 15:00:56 GMT -5
I'm never gonna sell airsoft guns. The pressure from HK markets drives prices real low and the domestic competition just finishes it off. The margins are unhealthy, making it hard or impossible to give good customer service and making each after sales process a nightmare. Funniest thing is that HK shops take NO after sales responsibility at all. Usually they do not do mistakes, but when they do, they often leave shipping costs etc to the customer. They often do not even speak English.
I gave airsoft a try some years back. I took a real small order from a local importer and sold them in my store. In all I sold four AEGs of which two came back for repair. I sold three hicap mags of which one came back because the customer had broken it. The margins were lowest of the low and the worst thing was, that for selling just a few guns, you had to answer a million stupid questions people should seek answers elsewhere. I have a way of giving good customer service so I could not do what airsoft stores usually do, just not reply except when it concerns business. Also the people who brought products back were on a real aggressive mindset - "I'm 100% sure you're trying to rip me off but I know my rights" was what I read between the lines.
As 2nd Bat, I'm not trying to tell any of you that you were wrong and the shop was right or any of that. I didn't actually even get to know the cases presented here, I'm writing before I recognized the subject. I'm just telling that there usually aren't really bad people on the other side, they're just stressed and forced to do work without getting a pay (for their own stupidity of getting into the business, though). What I really want to convey is that having a load of experience of managing a shop, it really hurts when you make anything wrong, people are usually immediately very offensive, even before you can say anything for yourself. In most cases you can get what's rightfully yours by being civil, even if you have to say for the third or fourth time.
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Post by Rock of the Marne on Sept 23, 2007 18:29:16 GMT -5
i was wantin to get a thompson from them but if they arent good what other place can i buy from?
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Post by wade on Sept 23, 2007 19:31:57 GMT -5
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