bad gunsmith work

[klee]

I took my shot gun in to have the gunsmith fit the new slug barrel I bought for my gun. I went to pick it up today. Tonight I took the gun apart to clean and lube. I noticed a big scratched on my brand new scope that the gunsmith had messed up (looks like it was from the tool he used to sand down the hole on the barrel) and he tried to hide it by painting it black. It sure did not hide it well enough. This is the second time this gunsmith has messed up one of my guns. It's a well known store in stp, by the a busy highway. poor poor quality work. I paid $75 dollars to have a hole on the barrel enlarged. that was stupid of me. Yes, I know I should've checked the gun throughly with the sales guy, which I did a quick glance. I trusted them to do quality work. I checked the gun again before I left the store, but didn't notice anything until I took the gun apart. I'm going to call and complain to the manager in the morning. Is this a good idea?

[96trigger]

You can call and complain, but it will probably fall on deaf ears. The biggest mistake you made was taking a gun there the 2nd time. I once had to brothers bring me their rem 1100's after a gunsmith cleaned them. One was a premier the other a sportsman. This gunsmith had the wrong parts in the wrong gun. I would highly suggest learning how to clean your own guns.

[Scott K]

klee, forsure call them. Just remember, if you start with an attitude, you more then likely wont get anywhere. If you talk to them calmly, they may help. Save the attitude for if they tell you they wont help you.

[SmilinBob]

Cal them and be polite to the point it hurts you. I've made a few honest mistakes on gunwork, tools slip, things fall, we've all been there, but I've called the customer and made every attempt to make it right with them. I've had people that are quite forgiving and others that become irate, and I can tell you when I'm confronted by an angry person that I shut down rational thought and become defensive and the listening part of my brain disappears. If I can work with a person to keep them happy, even taking a loss on something, we both feel better in the long run, and my reputation won't be run down, remember, one negative post wipes out the 1000 happy customers that have left before them. I'm not trying to defend anyone if they tried and did a poor coverup though, just be honest and make things right is the theme here.

[TooTallTom]

As has been said, be as polite as possible with whoever you get in touch with at the store. Also, be clear about what your problem is (both the scratch, and the fact that it seems to have been hidden rather than owned up to) and what will make the situation right for you, but be reasonable. (I.e. If the scratch doesn't make the scope unusable, don't ask for a new scope.) Maybe some store credit? Maybe just an apology?

I agree that I wouldn't take my gun back there for service. One second chance is enough, and they've had two.

Please post up here with the outcome of your problem. I'm interested to see how they react to the issue. If it's the place I'm thinking of, they've been around for a pretty long time, and have a pretty good reputation...

[klee]

I'm not looking for much, just a simple apology. The gun looks like it will still operate but after recieving this kind of result, i question if he messed with anything else. I'm afraid to even shoot the gun now. I'm going to take it to a different gunsmith to look at. The reason i was ticked off and mad was that the gunsmith did not even take the time to call or acknowledge his mistake. Very unprofessional. I can honestly say that they have lost my business and trust. I will sure pass this on to people i know so they can avoid using this place for this kind of service. I did call them today and spoke to the manager. He said to bring in the gun so he can look at the problem and a refund on the work done. So we will see if he holds his words. I will post the outcome later. I also did a search last night and found other people who have received crappy job from this gunsmith and place. I wish i had done my research first.

[klee]

Took the gun in and spoke to the manager and he refunded my $75. End of story. But i'll post up some pictures of the job he did.

[TooTallTom]

It's too bad that the work wasn't done right the first time, but I guess a refund is something.