TexasCHLforum.com

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

LabRat wrote: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.

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 wrote: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.

AndyC wrote: 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.

AndyC wrote: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.