Poor customer service or not ?

finnan1

Hi
Just wondered what you lads and lassies thought of this following charade which unfolded today

I seen a firearm at the weekend advertised on a Co. Meath dealers website that i was interested in. however the information was limited and the single photo just bland and showed little detail on the dealers site.

As a longish drive would be needed to see the item,i wanted more photos and info before any potential trip to see the firearm, fairly common request i would have thought !

The dealer refused to send me any photos point blank, ok, i thought it might be a security issue, etc..so i asked why , got no definitive answer, so i asked could they post more photos on their own website to help me out as a prospective purchaser, again the reply was no, we only have one photo on the site.

The assistant dealt with me on the phone, the decision maker was else where in the shop and obovoiusly couldnt be arsed to come to the phone to answer the questions.

in the end i gave up
I have purchased a few bits and bobs online in the past from them, but suffice to say, i will spend my cash elsewhere in future.

was i being unreasonable in my requests, i didint think so ?

rsole1

finnan1 wrote: »

Hi
Just wondered what you lads and lassies thought of this following charade which unfolded today

I seen a firearm at the weekend advertised on a Co. Meath dealers website that i was interested in. however the information was limited and the single photo just bland and showed little detail on the dealers site.

As a longish drive would be needed to see the item,i wanted more photos and info before any potential trip to see the firearm, fairly common request i would have thought !

The dealer refused to send me any photos point blank, ok, i thought it might be a security issue, etc..so i asked why , got no definitive answer, so i asked could they post more photos on their own website to help me out as a prospective purchaser, again the reply was no, we only have one photo on the site.

The assistant dealt with me on the phone, the decision maker was else where in the shop and obovoiusly couldnt be arsed to come to the phone to answer the questions.

in the end i gave up
I have purchased a few bits and bobs online in the past from them, but suffice to say, i will spend my cash elsewhere in future.

was i being unreasonable in my requests, i didint think so ?

You can't force them to sell you anything - but seeing they're in the retail sales business one would have thought they would do almost anything for a sale. GO ELSEWHERE AND FCUK THEM.

Mightydrumming

Take your custom elsewhere and post a splendid review on their Facebook page

German pointer

Sounds about right for an Irish gun dealer. Shop around and go to someone that actually wants your business. Sometimes I think the RFD's are working hand in hand with AGS to slow the sale of firearms

J.R.

Wouldn't put up with that shoddy treatment

when you purchase elsewhere sent him/her in your reason why, as outlined in your post - also telling them what you bought elsewhere and amount spent.

Don't forget to point out that you've recommended the new shop to fellow shooters & friends and also highly praised their customer service on-line.

It might change his attitude in the future.

Mightydrumming

The thing that's puzzling me is why he wouldn't take a few more pictures of the gun? If I was working in that shop/dealers by god would I do everything to sell. Stupid pr!ck, but it's his loss at the end of the day so :rolleyes:

dazed+confused

Ah go easy lads. Before you pass judgement on this kind of thing I wish everyone could spend a day in an RFD's shop to witness the massive volume of tyre kickers, time wasters and outright messers these guys deal with on a daily basis.

Mightydrumming

dazed+confused wrote: »

I wish everyone could spend a day in an RFD's shop to witness the massive volume of tyre kickers, time wasters and outright messers these guys deal with on a daily basis.

But all the OP was looking for were a few pictures? Is it a usual thing that they wouldn't be looking to sell or was he having a bad day? haha

Grizzly 45

TBH,I found this attitude about normal for some Irish dealers and even the whole salers to be shocking.In my saga to re barrel a .243 to .308 I was advised by the rifle maker in the USA to contact the whole saler in Ireland [Well... DUH!!] Which I duely did and explained the operation and could they order one for me?
First off they didnt seem to have a clue what I was on about,at least the minion I talked to didnt and tried to fob it off to go to my local dealer and order it off them[and add on time ,delays,and fob off ishness] OK says I ,IF you can order this and give me a time frame for delivery I will order this via a dealer...So how long?Oh when we put an order together and that could take nine months plus says the minion. At this stage the boss comes on the phone and I explain the scenario..Oh no we cant do that unless we have an order together,too much paperwork,blah,blah. OK says I,I pay you the US export liscense fee[250 usd] to do the in reality very little paperwork as it is mostly handled by the maker and the US state dept or US dept of commerce as a matter of routine.It can take about 4/6 weeks IF eveeything is in order and the paperwork is legible.Naw too much trouble for a once off is the reply and end of conversation. So there is the attitude,buy it and feck off and dont bother us about customer after sales service if it is anything out of the ordinary.
And they wonder why the gun trade is dying here.

270WIN

i reckon for every one sale in a rfd there are twenty tyre kickers, time wasters, dreamers....if a lad wanted to buy a gun would it not be in order to go and see it in the flesh so to speak?

Deaf git

270WIN wrote: »

i reckon for every one sale in a rfd there are twenty tyre kickers, time wasters, dreamers....if a lad wanted to buy a gun would it not be in order to go and see it in the flesh so to speak?

Thats why I drove 80 miles to see a Unique target rifle (I like the oldies). Over the phone I was told it was mint, in perfect nick.
The reality was a shoyt threading job on the muzzle, ding crown and a bolt that had been butchered with vice grips. Just turned around and walked out. All this from a supposed 'Gunsmith'.

German pointer

270WIN wrote:

i reckon for every one sale in a rfd there are twenty tyre kickers, time wasters, dreamers....if a lad wanted to buy a gun would it not be in order to go and see it in the flesh so to speak?

To see a gun in the flesh can be hard at times when you have a dealer handing them out one at a time and when you try to see 2 of them side by side for comparison it's like asking for ago at his teenage daughter while he watches.

dazed+confused

Deaf git wrote: »

Thats why I drove 80 miles to see a Unique target rifle (I like the oldies). Over the phone I was told it was mint, in perfect nick.
The reality was a shoyt threading job on the muzzle, ding crown and a bolt that had been butchered with vice grips. Just turned around and walked out. All this from a supposed 'Gunsmith'.

This can happen too, but I've had this experience with cars, motorbikes, campervans and cameras, it's not unique to the firearms trade.

deerhunter1

rsole1 wrote: »

You can't force them to sell you anything - but seeing they're in the retail sales business one would have thought they would do almost anything for a sale. GO ELSEWHERE AND FCUK THEM.

plus one on that

Vegeta

finnan1 wrote: »

was i being unreasonable in my requests, i didint think so ?

Depends I guess, was it a new firearm? If it was new then I don't see the point in them taking pictures of it. The internet will be full of those images.

If it was second hand, where condition is paramount, then I think they weren't working hard enough for a sale.

tac foley

A friend of mine in the USA has a full-length mirror facing you as you walk into the store - a sign at the top reads 'You are now looking at the most important person in this store'.

A good reputation from a thousand former customers can be made dust in the wind by one bad report.

Grizzly45 - not far from where I live is a custom gun company named after an aquatic mammal that has a turnaround for a custom rifle of about three weeks. Your barrel change could well be done while you went and had a nice lunch nearby.

tac

finnan1

Vegeta wrote: »

Depends I guess, was it a new firearm? If it was new then I don't see the point in them taking pictures of it. The internet will be full of those images.

If it was second hand, where condition is paramount, then I think they weren't working hard enough for a sale.

No, it was second hand model.

IA lot of business in any retail environment would often commence with a simple phone call, so not everyone or every call is from a time waster/tyre kicker type.

cookimonster

This year I wanted to buy an inexpensive SXS for some rough shooting after trawling through the net I went out of my way to look at a SxS advertised on a dealers extensive website..... this is the saga....

When I arrived there was no one there who could deal with the 'gun room', I was escorted in to the room but the sales person straight out told me they had no idea about guns. Having the make and model in mind I started trawling through the gun racks, no sign of the SXS.
Eventually some one appeared who 'knew their stuff', righty oh then, so the conversation went like this..

- 'I'm looking for the ******* SxS advertised on your site' says I....after another exhausted search the guns not there.
Has it been sold?.... he checks the book...No....
Is it still for sale?......Should be......it may be out for repair.....
What's wrong with it ? ......Probably needs to be tightened.
When will it be back?............... checks the book again....obviously cant find any info.....I not sure but I have some other SxS in the same price range..... he the precedes to show me pieces of sh1t, now I don't mind restoring some wood work but I've seen better firearms dug out of the ground in Bosnia. Pitting, barrel dings, lose actions etc., etc. to name a few concerns.
Their a bit rough says I..... But that's to be expected in this price range! says he..........

Now the SxS is advertised as in 'fair condition' and although I never got to see the gun, because effectively the RFD could not find it, but because he did show me guns of similar pricing and condition I can say the use of the word 'Fair' is extremely misleading about this firearm. I would define 'fair' as a positive way of describing something i.e. good etc, the guns shown to me that day where in poor condition by any standard as described above. With todays technology it is mind boggling the poor quality of images been used on some web sites.
There will always be a market for various qualities and standards (discounters, fighters and premiums) but to advertise something that its not is never good in face to face sales.

Grizzly 45

Deaf git wrote: »

Thats why I drove 80 miles to see a Unique target rifle (I like the oldies). Over the phone I was told it was mint, in perfect nick.
The reality was a shoyt threading job on the muzzle, ding crown and a bolt that had been butchered with vice grips. Just turned around and walked out. All this from a supposed 'Gunsmith'.

And I bet he still wanted top bucks for it too??I really dont get this here in Ireland,people have goood equipment,but abuse the righteous FK out of it and then want to sell it on at top dollar..Be it 4x4s boats cars or guns.Instead of saying OK this has had some bodged work done to it,but I'll tell ya what,if you want it I'll drop the price 33% or whatever just to get it out of the shop and its a no comeback sale. "No thats the price and it can sit on the rack in the yard or barn until someone pays me my price and dats that!" is more the attitude.Better IMO to shift dead stock for any reasonable money to get new stuff in than bemoan the future full sale that might never happen. Strange.