So last year my 22LR target pistol broke. It cracked and seemed to not really work properly. Could it be fixed? When I sent it off to the manufacturer to see if it was fixable they said...no. Didn't surprise me though as it was definitely looking dangerously broken. So I spoke with David from Smith & Wesson (the manufacturer) and it was determined that they would send me a gun to replace my broken one. This company has a lifetime warranty for their guns. It surprised me but this made me very happy.
So in Dec of 2015 the process of getting me this replacement started. In Jan '16 I again spoke with David and he assured me that the gun would be winging my way shortly. I gave him the name of a local store to send it to and figured that was it until I heard from them. For those who don't know, S&W couldn't just send the gun straight to me due to the way the law works. I would have to fill out paperwork just as if I'd bought the gun from the gun store. So I waited for the call from the store in anticipation. I figured it would be a few weeks so wasn't in a big hurry. I had a second gun that I could use for my competitions so no big deal. Fast forward a month, still no gun. So I called David again. He informed me that the gun had been sent out at the end of Jan '16 and this was the third week in March. Unfortunately there was a mix-up in where the gun was being sent and it had gone to the wrong store. A store a state away. So we started over.
This time we both made sure that we had the correct store where it would be sent. Cue more delay as the gun in question is a new model and it is very popular. There was no inventory available to send me a gun, so more delay was inevitable. David informed me that as soon as production caught up the gun would be sent out. About a week later he called and let me know that it would still be a couple of weeks before the gun could be sent. Well as you might imagine I was becoming a bit jaded at the fact that the gun was "on the way". But it was a free gun so I felt that I would just have patience and not get all worked up. So after another week of patience I stopped by the store. Lo and behold there it was!
I'm now the proud owner of a brand new gun. In hind sight the process was a bit disconcerting but in the end the customer service of Smith & Wesson and their representative David proved that this company stands behind it's product. If in the future I'm in the market for a new gun (who knows?) I will certainly have no problem considering Smith & Wesson's offerings. It just proves that if you treat your customers with respect and concern they'll give you their loyalty. I know I have.
Oh, one more addition to this tale. If my friends Larry and Cort hadn't pushed me to check with Smith & Wesson this story wouldn't have the happy ending it does. Thanx guys!
