From: pauly@netcom.com (Paul Yoshimune)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Mail order...
Date: 27 Jul 92 13:53:58 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

Well, I was so entirely upset about a recent mail order experience I just had
to make a note of it here...(vented frustration follows)

Anyway, when I got my Nowlin barrel and bushing from Denny's Shooters Supply,
I had actually asked for a Wilson.  At the time, they were out of them, and so
the sales rep talked me into a Nowlin.  I asked if it came with a bushing like
the Wilson product - he said no, but he had a Nowlin match bushing he could
send me.  The way he worded it made it sound like he was throwing it in, since
they were out of the Wilson barrel.  As it turns out, he charged me for it.
No big deal, but he actually ended up sending the wrong bushing - an oversize 
unit instead of the standard match one.  So this is more or less alright so
far...

A few weeks later (last Friday), I called up again, talked to the same guy,
and ordered some stuff, including some Safariland mag pouches.  I asked
whether they could ship either Fed-Ex economy second day, or UPS blue.  He
said they did UPS blue, I asked him to ship it that way, and he said there
would be an additional charge, blah, blah, blah.  I said fine.  So, this
stuff would ship Monday, and I would get it Wednesday.

It didn't show up.  So I waited till Thursday, in case it didn't go out
Monday (which it pretty much should have, since they had 3 days to package
the junk).  Anyway, so I call on Thursday when it didn't show up again, got
the same guy (3 out of 3 times...I wonder if he's the only guy there or 
something?  :-))  I explain the situation, he says he'll check.  Then he
tells me it went out Tuesday, but not second-day.  Idiots.  I explain to
him I need this stuff for a match, and that's why I wanted it second day.
He says I'm screwed.  After much pushing, he says he can ship it to me UPS
Red (overnight), with Saturday delivery.  I thank him much...(By the way,
all during the conversation, I'm getting some serious attitude...)

Saturday the package arrives.  I find I got billed $25 in shipping charges.
Again, I call and ask whether this is a mistake.  He says no.  I say he's
crazy if he thinks I'm paying $25 to ship something I should have got 4 days
earlier, but they screwed up in the first place.  He says there was no record
of my ordering it second day.  At this point I was entirely fuming, yelled
some, he said he would cut the charges in half, etc.  I said fine because
I needed the stuff and didn't want to deal with shipping it back.

Question: Am I insane for expected them to eat shipping charges above what
I would have paid for UPS blue when they cleared screwed up?  It seems they
wouldn't be in business long with service like that.  The company I work for
gives the customer priority, and will eat shipping, product, or whatever
charges it takes - sometimes even when the problem lies with the customer.
I expected more from a place like Denny's, which has a reputation for being
of high quality and good service.  Needless to say, I'll never buy anything
there again.  If I have to pay double, so be it, but I can't justify supporting
a lousy outfit like that. 

As a note, I also ordered stuff from GunCraft the same Friday, and got the
package Wednesday as expected.  This wasn't my first order with them, either,
and the service has always been excellent, with pricing that is about as good
as it gets (with the 10% IPSC discount).

Has anyone else had similar experience with either of these two places, or
others that we should know about?  Seems ridiculous to me...

 
-- 
DVC,
  Paul

Paul Yoshimune
pauly@netcom.com