Good experience with Smith & Wesson service

[hminsky]

I bought a used Smith & Wesson 22A pistol, and
a little while later while firing, a piece of metal broke off the back under the slide and fell out.

I don't know if this is the case with all manufacturers, but they have a lifetime warranty, so I just called them and they had the gun Fed-Ex'ed to them at their expense for repair.

 

[Moderator]

Yes, I have heard other good stories about S&W service. They stand behind there product.....come to think of it I wouldn't want to stand in front of it either.

 

[C-pher]

...come to think of it I wouldn't want to stand in front of it either.

Preach on brother....

 

[KMaurer]

We were doing a Basic Pistol class several years ago. In a two-pronged attempt to (1) avoid using our personal guns for the course and (2) avoid showing any taxable profits, we had accumulated a number of used guns for students to use. Most were either .22 or .357 DA revolvers. During the range session one of the .22s, a late production S&W kit gun, was having trouble cycling. I initially assumed that it was just dirty, since the class guns don't get cleaned all that regularly. My partner took it home after the class, cleaned it thoroughly and still had a problem with the timing, so he sent it off to S&W for repairs. He expected to pay something for repairs, since it was an old, second+ hand gun that had been treated rather poorly by previous owne(s).

A couple of days later he gets a call from S&W, telling him that they've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that there's a broken part in the action and that they can't lay their hands on any replacement parts due to the age of the gun. He figures that the good news is that they'll offer him a discount on a new gun. Wrong. They ask him if he'd like blue or stainless, 4" or 6", 6 round or 10 round. Three days later UPS delivers a brand new 617 for no charge, with a check covering his original shipping costs enclosed.

S&W customer service rocks!

Ken

 

[mark056]

I have always had great experience with S&W cutomer service, even back in the 80's. A had a S&W469 (mini gun, remember those ?) that I had some accuracy problems with. I sent it down to Springfield and they replaced the barrel and included a test target. Back in 2000, I had a S&W915 (remember those ? ...a budget version of the 5904) had a firing pin spring go bad. This time I took it down to Springfield myself (made a day of it ) and they fixed the problem quickly.

On the other hand, back in '95 I got to take a tour of the Colt Factory in West Hartford. I asked if I could get a replacement spring for the cylinder latch on my Detective Special. At first, they told me that I would have to order it over the phone and they would ship it to me. On the tour there was a LEO who brought in his Commander for some work. They were going to do it the same day. I said "well, if he can get work done the same day, then why can't I get a part? I am quite willing to pay"...our tour guide PR person replied "well, he protects us." At that point I pulled out my military ID and said" I am an active duty Army Officer, I protect you too." The expression on her face was priceless. A phone call was made, a supervisor appeared and I was given the part gratis.

It has been a tough row to hoe for the denizens of Springfield and Hartford these past several decades. One is just barely keeping alive on M4 contracts and firearms that were introduced in 1873 and 1911. The other is reaching out and trying to overcome some bad business decisions made in the 80's and 90's. One doesn't even want to do business in Massachusetts.
As much as I love many of the guns with the rampant pony on them, my heart goes out to Smith and Wesson. They are really trying to do the right thing, and even though I am a Ruger stockholder, I would encourage people to buy and use S&W products. They stand by what they make and sell.

Mark

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Another reference

Another reference -

A local club member had a Sig frame fail outside the official warrantee period. After SIG told him it was out or warrantee, they offered to sell him another for $400. So far, so good.

When he got the gun, it was a servicable but obviously used police trade in. When he called Sig, they did offer to refund his $400, however, their reaction was "You certainly didn't expect us to let you have a new gun for $400 did you?". Actually, he did - as he was well aware that either the frame or entire gun would have been replaced free of charge if he was dealing with S&W.

S&W's and Glock's standard for customer service goes well beyond that of some of their more glamorous counterparts - something worth considering if your gun is going to be a high round count unit.