GREAT cust. service from STI; I am LIVID with TargetMaster

[randomoutburst]

If the complaints that you say are "not a big deal" are really "not a big deal" then leave them out of your email.

Noted and corrected. Thanks!

[srothstein]

I may be too late, but I wanted to point out one possible problem with your email to Targetmasters.

You really do not know who is lying to you. You have one story from Targetmasters and one from STI. You have no proof (internal documents for example) which one is really telling the truth. I have no doubt from the overall situation and how the problem was resolved that STI is not lying, but this is just gut feeling, not proof.

Tell Targetmaster about the problem and tell them you are unhappy with their handling of the problem as the dealer (lead partner). Do not say which one you feel lied unless you have proof that would stand up in court. Emails have been considered as published before, as would this thread, for purposes of libel.

I hate not being able to say what I feel, but it is sometimes wiser to lay out the facts as you know them and let others draw their own conclusions than to say what you think the conclusion is.

[LabRat]

I have to agree with Steve. Be careful who you say lied without absolute proof.

I think I'd keep quiet about the whole thing until I had the firearm in hand. THEN tell them how dissatisfied you are. Whose to say that they wouldn't go ahead and give your expedited firearm to another customer? They may figure its worth it since you're probably already gone as a customer anyway.

Get your weapon first, then explain all the info you have and let it fall from there. No matter what happens, you have your new firearm.

Just my 0.02

LabRat

[randomoutburst]

I think I'd keep quiet about the whole thing until I had the firearm in hand. THEN tell them how dissatisfied you are. Whose to say that they wouldn't go ahead and give your expedited firearm to another customer? They may figure its worth it since you're probably already gone as a customer anyway.

I've already put half down on the firearm...could they do that?? I've revised my letter so that it leaves the possibility of their redemption, and I have deleted my initial draft from the previous page. I'm not sending off the letter until it says exactly what I want it to say. I'm glad I accidentally saved the first one as a draft instead of sending it while I was angry...maybe the Big Guy Upstairs was looking out for me!

Anyway, here's my new draft...and I did take into account Steve's advice when writing this one.

To Whom It May Concern,

I need clarification on an order I placed with you in May. After speaking with both TargetMaster and STI, I've discovered a few disparities.

I ordered a firearm from STI through TargetMaster on May 24 and I paid half the total cost as a deposit.

It was my understanding that my order would be placed that day, and the conversation I had with the clerk with whom I placed the order did not indicate otherwise. I was quoted a 11-14 week lead time, which would put my pistol's estimated delivery date in late August.

In late June, a member of the TargetMaster staff contacted me to ask what caliber I wanted my pistol in. He told me that although my order had already been placed that the desired caliber had been misplaced somehow, and that STI had progressed as far as they could before needing to know the caliber. I was assured that it would not affect my wait time by more than a couple of days, if at all.

Yesterday I received a call from TargetMaster and was informed that STI had pushed back my delivery date to November 11, but that it could possibly ship out sooner. I was disappointed since that added another two months onto my wait time, and I was expecting to have it at the end of this month. TargetMaster advised me that three weeks prior, STI said my gun was on schedule to arrive when I originally anticipated it, and that he didn't know what happened to push the shipment date back so much.

I contacted STI to voice my disappointment and displeasure. The STI representative I communicated with conveyed a very different progression of events. Their records indicate that TargetMaster placed the order for my handgun on June 24. My receipt is dated May 24, indicating that it was a full month before TargetMaster actually placed my order.

I reviewed my phone records, and June 24 was the day TargetMaster called to confirm the caliber. If my order had already been placed when I spoke to TargetMaster, then it seems that it had only been placed earlier that day.

STI also informed me that at the time the order was placed, the lead time was 24-26 weeks. According to the STI representative there was no way that I would have been able to receive my order in hand after 11-14 weeks.

I live in Grayson County and drove down to Garland for the sole purpose of doing business with TargetMaster because we have previously only had good experiences with you. There are a half dozen other places closer to home that could have handled the order; however, I went out of my way to order with TargetMaster because our past rapport. Based on the information I have described in this email, I'm feeling a little disappointed and even yanked around.

STI has very generously resolved my firearm problem; they located a handgun almost identical to the one I ordered, and have offered to expedite its shipment so I do not have to wait until November.

What I want to know is: why is there such a discrepancy between what I was told by TargetMaster staff and what the STI records show, and what will you do to make this right?

[drjoker]

best gun buying experience that i've ever had in dfw is dick's sporting goods off the tollway. At every gun shop that I've ever been in, there's always been good and bad employees. Usually, the old guys are great and knowledgeable while the young guys are rude and total zeros. dick's sporting goods M-F only has one employee in the gun dept. This guy is really helpful. I forget his name but he is short and has a beard. if you need to buy anything that goes bang, dick's is the place to go to first. They don't do pistols and "black guns", but if you need a new shotgun or bolt gun, then they're the best place to go to.

[QB]

I've been to STI's production facility in person (needed to look at some of their products in order to decide on what gun to order so they let me drop by). They are a great group of people and their guns are fabulous. I ended up with a couple of VIPS (when they made them in .38 Super).

Hope your enjoy your Ranger.

[Pinkycatcher]

best gun buying experience that i've ever had in dfw is dick's sporting goods off the tollway. At every gun shop that I've ever been in, there's always been good and bad employees. Usually, the old guys are great and knowledgeable while the young guys are rude and total zeros. dick's sporting goods M-F only has one employee in the gun dept. This guy is really helpful. I forget his name but he is short and has a beard. if you need to buy anything that goes bang, dick's is the place to go to first. They don't do pistols and "black guns", but if you need a new shotgun or bolt gun, then they're the best place to go to.

Are you an older guy? Because I've experienced the opposite generally, older guys tend to stay away and be kind of cold, and most younger guys are the more talkative/helpful employees. (I'm a younger guy)

[The Annoyed Man]

Andy, my experience here in Texas is you have to distinguish between when someone says, "I'm going to do X," and when that person says, "I'm fixin' to do X." If they're "fixin' to do" whatever it is for you, then it might get done, and it might not; and if it does get done, it might not get done according to your schedule. But if they tell you they're going to do it, generally speaking, they are going to do it.... ....unless they work for Verizon. Then all bets are off.

[PeteCamp]

AndyC....I'm sure you are correct and I agree with your estimation of how you should deal with the public and customer service. However, I think saying "Texans" simply because they live here (after having moved here from who knows where) might be doing a disservice to "real' Texans. Kinda like saying you are a doctor because you were born in a hospital. I spent ten years in Dallas in the 70's - early 80's so I saw the huge wave of "non-Texan" immigrants arrive. I'm sure they are still coming. JMHO anyway.

[skub]

Also, my experience is that what you find inside the larger metropolitan areas is not true "Texas". Not to say that true Texans don't live in these areas, but between the "cosmopolitan influence" and those who "ain't from around here" and don't understand or hold our values, the spirit of Texas certainly seems diluted in these areas.

Having said that, let me clarify that you don't have to be from here to reflect the spirit that makes Texas the great place that it is. For all those who "weren't born in Texas, but got here as fast as they could" - Welcome! I'm glad you are here.

And, to keep this post on topic, I would add that, although I really like my Kimber, and would have at one point considered myself a devotee, I no longer feel that way. The fact that STI is a Texas company, and thus, hopefully reflects that same spirit, is a significant factor in that re-consideration.

[Mike from Texas]

I know some folks that work at STI and know that they are a stand up company. I would tend to believe their side of the story. They bent over backwards to find you a gun and get it to you in a very timely manner.

Now as to Targetmaster, if I were in your shoes I would tell them I wanted a my deposit back and would buy the gun at another dealer. It boils down to a principal thing to me.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do and I know you will enjoy your new weapon.

Please keep us updated on the response you get from TM.

[Oldgringo]

IMO, the letter should be addressed to the person who has the most stroke. "Whom" may no longer work there.

[Rex B]

I'm getting the impression that Texans - as perhaps a horrible generalisation, I know - are all talk and no go when it comes to customer service.
Seriously - a whole lot of Texans need to slap themselves awake and make a lot less noise and make with more action - it's making the entire state look like a bunch of lazy lip-servicers and I no longer believe that a Texan's word is his bond.

Those weren't real Texans. Real Texans do what they're supposed to do, without fanfare or excess verbiage.
Most people in Texas are immigrants these days.
Whole state's going to the dogs. sigh.

[Ol Zeke]

Well done STI - boo Targetmaster.

I have zero tolerance for folks that shift the blame elsewhere; I was raised to immediately admit fault if that was the case and do whatever it took to make it right. In addition, I prided myself on letting a customer know that I had made a mistake even before they knew about it, take full responsibility and again, make it right whatever it takes.

Now, what I'm about to say next may rile some folks up but it's just a general observation:

The folks in Texas are almost always exceedingly polite and make all the right noises - but man, it's real hard to get someone here to actually do what they promised they will do.

Dell in Austin: "I will call you back tomorrow and let you know about your ABC software" - never happened.
Local gas company: "Let me get with my boss about your query and I will call you tomorrow" - never happened.
Local bank: "I'm so sorry that we declined your payment of $175 when you have over $xx,000 in your checking account - let me get back to you tomorrow once I've checked" - again, never happened.

I'm getting the impression that Texans - as perhaps a horrible generalisation, I know - are all talk and no go when it comes to customer service. Say the right things, get the customer off the phone - and then sit back and do nothing about the enquiry. I've had far better service almost all of the time in Africa, for pete's sake.

Seriously - a whole lot of Texans need to slap themselves awake and make a lot less noise and make with more action - it's making the entire state look like a bunch of lazy lip-servicers and I no longer believe that a Texan's word is his bond.

However, it has gotten progressively worse, over the years.
I remember shaking a man's hand and looking him in the eye and knowing he could be trusted. And he knew I could.
I blame the imigration...... from the North...

My Dad used to say "Don't pee on my boots and try to tell me it's rainin'."

[Sidro]

Random let us know how the Ranger works when you get it.

Tam you have been here long enough to know its fixin to do it and gonna do it, not them other words.