Figured I'd vent here...S&W Refinishing Turnaround.

P

Pants

NES Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Messages
234
Likes
20
Feedback: 48 / 0 / 0
So, I sent my Model 36 into S&W to get refinished. There's some wear on the cylinder from the previous owner and I wanted to clean it up. When I called, the rep I spoke with told me it would take 12 weeks. So I figured, what the hell and I sent it in.

Today I decided to give them a call and see where they were at with it. The rep I spoke with today told me it was 12 weeks just for a quote and that the actual refinishing time would take 7 months!! I was like, "7 months?!?!". Which basically means I'll be without the gun for almost a year.

What to do now? Do I call back and have them ship it back to me or do I just leave it there to have them do the work? If I have it sent back, does anyone know anyone that does good rebluing work in MA? I'm just torn now, not sure what to do.
 
Shit consider yourself lucky. I contacted via their online form about sending in a brand new M&P for warranty work and they haven't even gotten back to me yet.... That was about a month ago... I tried calling and can't even get them to answer the damn phone.
 
ThePreBanMan said:
Shit consider yourself lucky. I contacted via their online form about sending in a brand new M&P for warranty work and they haven't even gotten back to me yet.... That was about a month ago... I tried calling and can't even get them to answer the damn phone.
Click to expand...

I waited for legit, 45 minutes to get someone and the guy was acting like I was bothering him. I'm real put off by the whole situation. I had to send my M&P in for warranty work, I just sent it in with a letter describing the problem. I had it back in 2 weeks. You're better off just sending in! ha
 
I live a stones throw away from S&W and go there all the time for work machining distribution. It really is like an ******* convention down there. I'm amazed their stuff is as popular as it is.
 
If by "refinishing" you mean blueing, get your gun back. Snubbies are carry guns and such wear is normal, unless you don't intend to carry the gun. A little cold blue from the local shop will work wonders.
 
Gammon said:
If by "refinishing" you mean blueing, get your gun back. Snubbies are carry guns and such wear is normal, unless you don't intend to carry the gun. A little cold blue from the local shop will work wonders.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I just wanted to fix the bluing on the cylinder. I think I'm just going to have it done locally. The rest of the gun is near MINT. It looks like it was fired once.
 
Ehh, it just looks really ugly. The previous owner must have holstered it when it was wet. Minor pitting the blue was stripped.
 
Pants said:
Yeah, you're absolutely right. I just wanted to fix the bluing on the cylinder. I think I'm just going to have it done locally. The rest of the gun is near MINT. It looks like it was fired once.
Click to expand...

I meant do it yourself and save some $. If you carry it, the bluing will just wear off again.
 
yanici said:
Please translate. I don't understand what you mean.
Click to expand...

90% of the people that work there are pricks for one. From the guards on up. I've had 2 parts delivery guys (both ex military, both college students) refuse to go there because the guards and dock guys act like its Area 51 or something. One of the delivery guys he is 22.. He had a guard run up on him weapon drawn cause he walked in through the exit door which the guard forgot the lock... I'm standing there in awe as this goofball is having a fit cause some young kid entered the room he was told to go in through the wrong door which was literally 2 feet from the correct door. Luckily he was carrying a M&P with a 13lb trigger and no one was hurt [rofl].

The sales guys I've dealt with don't know their own products.

Most importantly the people in Gauging, QC, machining etc are either lazy, stupid or both. Can't tell you how many times I've been down there cause an "Engineer" doesn't know how to use his own equipment or better yet getting parts orders for gauges that don't exist from the gauging department. Or get 3 calls in an hour asking questions or status for the same thing all from different people. I guess the people working right next to each other don't communicate much?

I mean we have done business with Remsport, Savage, Sig etc. and they are very professional. SW not so much.

So basically after meeting the some of the people that are in charge of Manufacturing, Gauging, QCing, Drafting their products I have come to the conclusion that I'm not going to buy what they turn out of that place.
 
Last edited:
90% of the people that work there are pricks for one. From the guards on up. I've had 2 parts delivery guys (both ex military, both college students) refuse to go there because the guards and dock guys act like its Area 51 or something.

The sales guys I've dealt with don't know their own products.

Most importantly the people in Gauging, QC, machining etc are either lazy, stupid or both. Can't tell you how many times I've been down there cause an "Engineer" doesn't know how to use his own equipment or better yet getting parts orders for gauges that don't exist from the gauging department. Or get 3 calls in an hour asking questions or status for the same thing all from different people. I guess the people working right next to each other don't communicate much?

I mean we have done business with Remsport, Savage, Sig etc. and they are very professional. SW not so much.

So basically after meeting the some of the people that are in charge of Manufacturing, Gauging, QCing, Drafting their products I have come to the conclusion that I'm not going to buy what they turn out of that place.
Click to expand...

Well, this explains a lot about S&W and the M&P line. Hit or miss QC, etc.

- - - Updated - - -
 
Last edited:
Not to derail this thread.. but come to think of it. If anyone has any pull over there, the girl who works in gauging is getting paid a lot of money to do nothing. After ordering wrong parts so many times she literally just faxes over the schematics she is supposed to read.... with "What gauge do I need and how many do you think?" The nice young girl I got working the phones should get that ladies 60k salary.
 
PureProwess said:
90% of the people that work there are pricks for one. From the guards on up. I've had 2 parts delivery guys (both ex military, both college students) refuse to go there because the guards and dock guys act like its Area 51 or something. One of the delivery guys he is 22.. He had a guard run up on him weapon drawn cause he walked in through the exit door which the guard forgot the lock... I'm standing there in awe as this goofball is having a fit cause some young kid entered the room he was told to go in through the wrong door which was literally 2 feet from the correct door. Luckily he was carrying a M&P with a 13lb trigger and no one was hurt [rofl].

The sales guys I've dealt with don't know their own products.

Most importantly the people in Gauging, QC, machining etc are either lazy, stupid or both. Can't tell you how many times I've been down there cause an "Engineer" doesn't know how to use his own equipment or better yet getting parts orders for gauges that don't exist from the gauging department. Or get 3 calls in an hour asking questions or status for the same thing all from different people. I guess the people working right next to each other don't communicate much?

I mean we have done business with Remsport, Savage, Sig etc. and they are very professional. SW not so much.

So basically after meeting the some of the people that are in charge of Manufacturing, Gauging, QCing, Drafting their products I have come to the conclusion that I'm not going to buy what they turn out of that place.
Click to expand...

Well they did have a pallet of guns stolen from their dock not too long ago[laugh]

My buddy's shop was doing work for them and they pulled the job on him. After he set up the machine for 8hrs. And was running parts off......They did offer him some delta rings instead[laugh]
 
falcon123 said:
Making me rethink that Shield I wanted to get. Anyone have a Beretta Nano as a CC gun?
Click to expand...

Really? You're going to base your decision based on rantings of a few faceless forum members? Not saying if you should or should not get a shield (I have no interest in one myself), but don't put too much stock into anything you read online.

I can tell you the the nano will be much harder to find and expensive as it's not on the list.
 
falcon123 said:
Making me rethink that Shield I wanted to get. Anyone have a Beretta Nano as a CC gun?
Click to expand...

My experience is mostly with the folks in charge of the MP15 line. Mostly 300AAC and Whisper to be exact. So pistols and such I'm not gonna comment on.

No one is saying they don't make some nice stuff. Its more of a personal experience with some of the people who work there. They just don't run a very tight ship from what I've seen. Your experience may vary.
 
I sent an email to S&W about an issue with my M&P. A few days later, an email response said to phone them. 43 minutes on hold, then I explained the issue (read my original email). I was informed that they would send shipping info for me to get them to look at it. Not a pleasant person. A week later and my mailbox still looks like a Walmart ammo case, so I call again. This time 41 minutes hold. I'm asked why they didn't email me the shipping labels (good question) and told that they only mail them out twice a week. Should be soon.
A couple of days later and the shipping info is in, and my M&P is now on the way to the factory.

Strange though. It was like sending one of the kids off to camp. There is a sad vacancy in the safe. An imbalance in my world until it comes back home. I hope it will be ok......
 
M1911 said:
Yup.
Click to expand...

Well, I kind of wanted this one to be a "safe queen"/ occasional carry. My 642 gets carried most of the time, when my 45c is shelved. Good news is S&W shipped it back to me yesterday, so I'm going have a local smith look at the cylinder.
 
Might as well chime in with my favorite S&W customer service gripe. I bought an M&P Pro model in 9mm and the front sight fell off. I called S&W with the problem and the tech opined that "I might as well fix it myself"!

He informed me that several hundred M&P Pros left the factory with oversized front sight dovetails and that stock S&W front sights are too loose. He then suggested that I take the original front sight, invert it and gouge the base with a punch to create an "interference fit" and re install it.

I demurred, suggesting that the gouging technique was not the professional solution that I would expect from S&W and that I wanted them to solve the problem. I then informed the tech that oversized front sights were available from Brownells and that, since they appeared to need about 200, they could get a good deal on the sights to fix these defective pistols and keep their customers happy.

The tech stated that there was no way they could purchase sights to solve the problem and that I was on my own. I bought a replacement sight from Brownells for $30 and the problem was solved, no thanks to S&W. I once considered S&W customer service to be the best in the industry. This recent experience has caused me to lower their standing to about that of Para Ordnance, i.e. the pits.
 

Similar threads

GOAL edition S&W 586
Replies
2
Views
120
appraiser
appraiser
Posting a classified ad? Not sure what went wrong
Replies
3
Views
112
KBCraig
KBCraig
Gunsmiths for pistol slide and frame work
Replies
11
Views
420
DW357
DW357
field stripping a Walther PPK
Replies
20
Views
470
milktree
milktree
WTS- Bul Armory SAS II TAC 5"
Replies
1
Views
187
Ricky_Bobby
Ricky_Bobby
Back
Top Bottom