Mossberg Customer Service Doesn't

kevin9

kevin9

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With a big so-so to Dick's Sporting Goods as well.

Some may have read that I purchased a .22LR Mossberg 702 Plinkster at Dick's in Keene almost 6 weeks ago. It was messed up right out of the box, would not shoot to POA at 25 yards.

Because Dick's has an "all sales are final" policy on guns I did what the salesman said to when I bought the gun and attempted to call Mossberg customer service directly: "All our representatives are busy, please hold". 3 days later with multiple calls per day and messages left somebody finally answered. After explaining the problem I got a short "Take it back to the dealer". OK, back to Dick's it goes; they ship it off, but they cannot tell me when it would be fixed or whether it will come back to them or me.

That was 5 weeks ago. Starting the end of the week it was shipped I have been calling Mossberg customer service several times a week, left messages, even sent email. N.O.T.H.I.N.G! According to their fricking phone system their one customer service representative is either on perpetual coffee break or telemarketing. Obviously nobody ever checks phone messages, and email clearly must go straight into the corporate bit-bucket. Mossberg customer service one big black hole.

And yes, I have also called Dick's about once a week, but all they can do is tell me that they don't have it back. One week the manager said he'd call Mossberg and then call be back with an update. I suspect he "spoke" with the same fine gentleman who does their on-hold message that I've listened to for eons. Never heard anything back.

So this Friday, after weeks of superb non-communication, a real person answers the phone, for only the second time in this whole saga. After picking myself up off the floor I explain the situation and ask whether they have received the rifle and when it might be fixed. The rep asks for the tracking number. I explain that I do not have the tracking number. He then asks for the serial number which I provide. He then puts me on hold (noooooooo) while he "looks it up". 10 minutes later he comes back, says that their system is down and suggests I call back on Monday. He also suggests that I have the tracking number when I call. Arrrrgggghhhhh

So, come Monday I shall once more do battle with the evil demons that populate Mossberg customer service. Will someone answer? Will there be a new on-hold message? Or will the ghost of Christmas future come and go before we hear more from our intrepid hero?

My lessons learned so far: Never buy a gun from Dick's. Calling on Friday has a slightly better chance of getting through. And pray that the neither of my Mossberg firearms ever need customer service again, 'cause it ain't happening.
 
Buy from Four Seasons. They seem to have a personal mission to make things right.
 
What exactly has Dick's done wrong here? Most stores that I've seen will not take returns on firearms. The ones that do are exceptions, not the rule (in my experience)
 
houdini said:
I go threw my local gun shop. they are big help,if you keep on going to them they will treat you good.
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+1 for local shops. I always go to M&M's in Plymouth because they take care of me there.

Good luck with your Mossy. I've worked for a call center before and know that most of the time they aren't lying when they tell you the system is down. At least, I wasn't [laugh]

ETA: M&M's, like most shops I've been in, have a no return policy on firearms. Also, I hate the Dick's in Plymouth with a passion. Nothing but jerks and d-bags in there.
 
kevin9 said:
With a big so-so to Dick's Sporting Goods as well.

My lessons learned so far: Never buy a gun from Dick's. Calling on Friday has a slightly better chance of getting through. And pray that the neither of my Mossberg firearms ever need customer service again, 'cause it ain't happening.
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Between this and the thread about MilSurps4Me's experience buying at Dick's I'm convinced that I'll never buy a gun from them. If they had any inkling towards customer service they would differentiate between a return because you changed your mind and a return because the product was defective out of the box. The customer service minded thing to do would be to work out an exchange. That shouldn't be impossible or even that difficult to do and meet the federal and state requirements.

As to Mossberg, that's good to know as well and they go on the "do not buy their product" list as well.

I hope that this works out for you, but I have a feeling it will be painful if it does.
 
vellnueve said:
What exactly has Dick's done wrong here? Most stores that I've seen will not take returns on firearms. The ones that do are exceptions, not the rule (in my experience)
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Dick's performance so far has been so-so. On the plus side they answer their phone and the manager agreed to ship the gun back to Mossberg. On the negative side the purchase and shipping back process took forever and the kids at The Lodge counter had no clue how to check the sights and no boresight equipment to do so.

The big reason I'll never buy another gun at Dick's is their "All sales are final" policy. It sends the message that they don't stand behind what they sell. In the case of a clearly defective product I would expect a good store to offer options of a refund, an exchange or ship it back at the customer's choice.
 
I bought a Ruger MKIII at tiny little BG Sporting in Westfield. I screwed it up myself by taking it apart. The shop took it in and shipped it back to the factory where it was repaired at no cost.

It took a little while ... maybe three weeks. The shop called me when it was back.

That's how it ought to work.
 
I never had any repair done through Mossberg, but I have ordered parts on occasion - barrels, mag tubes, springs, etc. You are correct about the customer-disservice. No other company seems to be as telephonicly understaffed than OF Mossberg.
 
It's another case of inconsistencies within the same organization. Had you bought that Mossberg at Dicks in Pittsfield, I'm not certain you would have had your gun back by now, but you would have had at least a couple of people who would have been on the case. We have both optical and laser bore sighting equipment and full scope mounting service. I'm not sure why your store does not - perhaps there's just more "gun guys" working out here, so they figure it's worth the investment? In some instances, associates will give the customers my schedule, so I can look over their guns - I even get requests for bore sighting and scope mounting - hell someone left an air rifle for me to bore sight over the weekend...

I guess when you're dealing with "big box" you cannot anticipate getting the same level of service as you would at a small local shop, but some do try. The trade off seems to be in value, as the mark-up on our guns and ammo makes them more obtainable for many. Try and find a Mossberg Combo, (rifled deer barrel, 28" field barrel, 3 chokes, two stock risers, sling mounts and a bore-sighted scope), for $279.99 at a local shop - you can't. People buy guns at Dicks because they are affordable and in some cases, there's a reasonable selection. But Dicks is not a gun shop - it's a gun department that is part of a larger store. I dare to say that when certain people are on here in Pittsfield, it feels more like a gun shop - but it isn't. There are no used guns on the wall, no handguns and no trades. There are also no returns on firearms for very good reasons - from paperwork to liability, to logistics, but Dicks does in fact assist with RTV's and warranty service. I know this, because I do it. We just received a Remington 597, (another POS) for the third time for a customer who is continually having problems.

By now and with all the information out there, why anyone buys Mossberg Plinksters or Remington 597's is well beyond my logical capabilities. They are both garbage. Buy a $99.00 gun - you get a $99.00 gun. I suspect it was an impulse buy, because had you posted a query here or elsewhere, you would have likely stayed away. I get skeeved out just pulling them off the truck - let alone setting them up for sale. In my humble opinion, the Mossberg Plinkster ranks right up there with the Jennings .22 at a leader amongst garbage....These days, $99.00 is a lot of money to many and I'm not making excuses for Mossberg or Dicks - you deserve a functioning rifle no matter the cost, but reality speaks a different language. My bet is that even after you get your Plinkster back, problems will continue.
 
hminsky said:
Buy from Four Seasons. They seem to have a personal mission to make things right.
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Yes indeed, Carl called me 6 weeks after I purchased a firearm to tell me that it was recalled. I brought it to his shop and he called me a few weeks later to tell me it was in. That I why I buy there
 
Beansie_Time said:
Some over-unders are supposed to be slightly canted to the left for easier mounting when hunting/shooting clays.
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You're referring to "cast off," which is more-or-less standard for very high end double guns, not Stoeger pumps. I have a Belgian Browning LTRK Superposed skeet gun from the 50s that has a slight amount of cast off, but I wouldn't expect to see it on anything of lesser quality. If you have a couple of years and a few tens of thousands of dollars (or more) to invest in the process, the British "best guns" (Boss, Purdey, etc.) have the cast off and several other stock dimensions fitted to you like a bespoke suit.
 
rep308 said:
Yes indeed, Carl called me 6 weeks after I purchased a firearm to tell me that it was recalled. I brought it to his shop and he called me a few weeks later to tell me it was in. That I why I buy there
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It's because of things like this that I only deal with Four Seasons and Tite Group even if it cost me more to do so. IMHO both of them are in a class all by themselves. [cheers]
 
MassMark said:
It's another case of inconsistencies within the same organization. Had you bought that Mossberg at Dicks in Pittsfield, I'm not certain you would have had your gun back by now, but you would have had at least a couple of people who would have been on the case. We have both optical and laser bore sighting equipment and full scope mounting service. I'm not sure why your store does not - perhaps there's just more "gun guys" working out here, so they figure it's worth the investment?
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When I was working at Dick's in Taunton, we didn't do any scope mounting etc...It was because when the store opened the then manager had all the stuff in the trunk of his car and they fired him...and never got it back...[rofl]
 
MassMark, you're right, it was a bit of an impulse purchase: We'll see what it's like once I get it back. It shot OK when I tried it out, just not to POA.

My point about not buying a gun from Dick's again is that I now see that the price break of doing so is not worth it. It's good to hear that there are decent Dick's stores, like where you work, but it's a bit of a hike for me to come out your way so I'll stick with the gun shops a bit closer that I know or have been recommended.
 
kevin9 said:
MassMark, you're right, it was a bit of an impulse purchase: We'll see what it's like once I get it back. It shot OK when I tried it out, just not to POA.

My point about not buying a gun from Dick's again is that I now see that the price break of doing so is not worth it. It's good to hear that there are decent Dick's stores, like where you work, but it's a bit of a hike for me to come out your way so I'll stick with the gun shops a bit closer that I know or have been recommended.
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I hope it works out - I have found they either work or they don't, (and in most cases, they don't). Maybe they'll get it right. Brings to mind the Stoeger F2000's that we have a boatload of. Some swear that for the money, they're awesome, but most can't get them working and they get RTV'd - the actions feel like they have sand in them. Stoeger, (now owned by Benelli) must have listened, because the new batch, (I think M2000 - I'll have to check) are really nice. We got one in the other day and even for $459.00, you can feel Benelli's influence. Hopefully, Mossberg will follow suit with the Plinkster - get enough of em back and sometimes you get the message...Good luck with it....
 
Another call to Mossberg today. After less than 5 minutes on hold ([banana]):
"I'd like to check the status of a rifle that was returned for repair"
"Do you have the serial number?"
"Yes, it's xxxxxxx"
"Please hold"........."The system we use to check on those rifles is down today."
"It was down last Friday when I called." can't you people keep your &(^! systems working[frown]
"That system is being upgraded."
"When will it be fixed?" please don't tell me Unitil is working on it[angry]
"We don't know. I'm sure it will be as soon as possible. Please call back later."
"Thanks"<click> FOR NOTHING.[jihad]​
So now I'm supposed to call them at some unknown time in the future where somebody may answer the phone to get info from a system that they have no clue when it will be working. Un-fricking-believable. I do hope they're not waiting for said system to be up to actual work on the rifle.
 
Update: Got through to Mossberg Customer Service this morning after only a 5 minute wait. Provided the requested serial number, and where it had been shipped from. Then more waiting.
They acknowledged receiving it. [shocked]
They're working on it. [shocked][shocked]
They expect to ship it back next week. [shocked][shocked][shocked]
If they do and if it's really been fixed, I might have a working rifle by next weekend, +9 weeks after I bought it. (I'm not holding my breath)

p.s. Watch the classifieds thereafter.
 
Sorry I didn't get the update in sooner, but was waiting till I could get to the range with the rifle.

I got a call from Dick's Sporting Goods in Keene on January 16th that my rifle was in. I got up there on the 18th and the pick-up process was quite painless. The whole process of shipping back to Mossberg through Dick's was kinda slow, and their "no returns" policy will keep me from buying a gun there again, but in the end I have to give Dick's kudos for sending the rifle back without any real hassle.

I finally was able to get out to the range yesterday (25th) to test the gun. Upon examination I noted that the rear sight is set just about all the way to one side, however it now shoots to point of aim at ~25 yards. I could not tell what Mossberg had done, although they clearly did sight it in at least somewhat, as it was almost exactly dead-on right out of the box.

I put about 30 rounds through it. There was one stove-pipe on the last mag, but that could have been the cold as it was in the low teens and windy. The Plinkster actually was more reliable that the 10/22 I was also shooting yesterday, although the Ruger does have an exquisite trigger and consequently was more accurate. The Mossberg trigger has some slack on the take-up, but not horrendously so, and the pull-weight is quite reasonable for a hunting/plinking rifle. Accuracy was acceptable for minute-of-squirrel/tin can. All-in-all it's a decent plinking/hunting rifle that I'll have no qualms selling to any fellow NES'ers.
 
mossberg

wonder who owns mossberg now.I have several mossbergs.46/42/44/144they work fine.mossys used to be fine target rifles.and I like the 500.before long we won't have any gun companies that are american owned.[frown]
 
WILDCATT said:
wonder who owns mossberg now.I have several mossbergs.46/42/44/144they work fine.mossys used to be fine target rifles.and I like the 500.before long we won't have any gun companies that are american owned.[frown]
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Don't know. Several times when I called they said info on that rifle model was in a different "international" system.
 
Because Dick's has an "all sales are final" policy on guns
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I don't believe MA consumer protection laws allow stores to deny returns for merchandise that is delivered in a defective condition - Lens knows the details on this one.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
I don't believe MA consumer protection laws allow stores to deny returns for merchandise that is delivered in a defective condition - Lens knows the details on this one.
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VERY TRUE and my Wife (maybe) still has the shoes to prove it. Story was posted at least once before. Short version: Store had sign, "no returns", shoes were defective on first wearing (strap broke, poorly stitched IIRC), store pointed to sign. I pointed out AG's Consumer Protection Statute (Ch. 93A), his answer was "stuff it" and we sent info to cc company, got full credit and he was out the shoes. We could have sic'd the AG on the store, but getting our money back worked for us.

It would work the same way wrt guns or any other product (except cars, Lemon Law has specific criteria for automobiles). Either thru cc company (citing the MGL Ch. 93A) or the AG (which would likely be a lot slower to get resolution).
 
Glad you got your rifle back Kevin and that it's working okay for you. Watch your ammo - a customer who purchased one of these loves it, but only when he's running CCI Stingers or other high velocity fodder. He had a lot of issues using Thunderbolt...He scoped his up and says it's a really accurate little rifle.

BTW - Mossberg Plinksters are not made by Mossberg at all. They're manufactured by CBC, (parent company of MagTech Ammo) in Brazil. Though Brazil indeed produces some nice hardware, these particular rifles seem to be so hit-n-miss, that the $99.00 tag is about on point...
 

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