Avoid Irvington Arms

[ZX-10R]

Bummer. But how does one not check the the contents of the box before taking it home? And why was the bolt removed to ship?

Yeah really...Who the heck goes picking up a gun without checking to make sure it is complete let alone damaged.

[maddesign]

fwiw, I just bought 2 brand new 700's, they ship with the bolts out of the gun

[faterikcartman]

"I don't give much credence to all these complaints about the Jews; dear Adolf has always been very good to me..." -- Eva Braun?

[Omega13device]

Yeah really...Who the heck goes picking up a gun without checking to make sure it is complete let alone damaged.

I think it's true that ultimately the buyer is responsible for checking to make sure that everything is in the package before leaving the premises.

To the OP: you may have to just eat the cost and view it as a learning experience. Going to small claims court will take a lot of time and it's far from a certain outcome.

[khw9mm]

I had the lower parts kit for my AR missing when it was sent together with the receiver to a FFL near me. I called DD's Ranch and he told me FOR SURE he put it in the package but sent me another parts kit directly to me anyway...That's a stand up guy!!

[Gryff]

In the future, don't start the DROS on a mail-order/Internet-order item without first inspecting it. I understand how you feel, but what proof (which is not the same as reasoning) can you offer IA that it is their fault?

I'm not saying that they might not be at fault, but I'm sure that they regularly deal with people that accuse them of screwing things up when it was actually the buyer or seller at fault. If that is the norm for them, you can't expect them to simply take you at your word for an item worth $100+ (unless you have a good track record with them). Remember that you can't expect Nordstrom/REI level customer service from any gun shop. They don't have the liquid cash to be able to trust the word of every customer who says that something is missing and it's IA's fault.

So, try to see it from their perspective before you crucify them on the Internet.

[professorhard]

See if IA will pull the CCTV tapes to see if theres any video of the unpacking, may or may not help but worth a try.

[alpalwal]

Thanks guys... this is a round-up response.... Irvington Arms' only offer to make this right was to call Savage to order another bolt I could buy at standard prices. There was no other offer, no apology, no attempt to make this right, and not a bit of remorse that the incident occurred. It was simply "not our fault". It was the epitome of 'take it or leave it' customer service, and reflects extremely short-sighted thinking.

If they had shown the least bit of understanding, or willingness to even consider that their employee had made a mistake, I'd feel differently. But they didn't. They could have been heroes for the way they handled this, and I would have written an entirely different letter.

Yet again, I know I should have inspected it thoroughly before removing it from the store. However, based upon their actions and attitude since, they've given no reason to believe that would have changed their attitude.

The bottom line is that they were managing this transaction, they blew it, and I have an unusable product I have to spend additional $$ to make whole.

For those who've written it's inconclusive that IA did this, I have to say, you're basically impugning my honesty and that of the seller, who is a regular contributor to this forum and who has an impeccable record as a seller and contributor. So, yes, while nothing is 100%, to throw this incident out based on that lack of 100% certainty is lame, ignores the facts, and is a distraction from the real issue, which is lousy customer service from a supposedly reputable dealer in our close-knit community.

[audiophil2]

Allegation: IA lost a bolt.
Fact: Buyer did not inspect merchandise prior to leaving premises.

Next time inspect your stuff. At least then you can put the onus on IA and the seller instead of having zero ground to stand on.
This has nothing to do with honesty. It looks like each entity in this transaction failed to do their share of the work. The seller shipped items in a box of mostly packaging material, IA did not inventory the items against the packing list, the buyer did not inspect prior to leaving the shop. The only entity with a significant interest in the gun is the buyer yet it is pretty clear you did nothing to ensure you got what you paid for.

[imtheomegaman]

"I don't give much credence to all these complaints about the Jews; dear Adolf has always been very good to me..." -- Eva Braun?

what the ...

[imtheomegaman]

snip

you're basically impugning my honesty and that of the seller

snip

Not at all. We are human and mistakes are made. It sounds likely that the dealer accidentally threw it away, but there is no way you can rule out the buyer accidentally leaving it out.

I'm not suggesting anything about your honesty or the sellers honesty. Haven't you ever been 1000 percent sure of something only to embarrassingly find that you were wrong, I certainly have.

Irvington should have handled it differently, ie "We looked around quite a bit, and are pretty careful about that kind of thing, just to be fair how about we buy a replacement, and you pay our cost"

or "you pay half"

I dunno, just my thoughts

[eaglemike]

snip snip

Not at all. We are human and mistakes are made. It sounds likely that the dealer accidentally threw it away, but there is no way you can rule out the buyer accidentally leaving it out.

I'm not suggesting anything about your honesty or the sellers honesty. Haven't you ever been 1000 percent sure of something only to embarrassingly find that you were wrong, I certainly have.

Irvington should have handled it differently, ie "We looked around quite a bit, and are pretty careful about that kind of thing, just to be fair how about we buy a replacement, and you pay our cost"

or "you pay half"

I dunno, just my thoughts

Did you miss the post where the seller specifically said he made the packing list, and carefully wrapped the parts? Look above for the post by Cold Steel 14.

I know I've made mistakes, sure. In this case it seems like there was enough care that IA could have made an effort to help...

all the best,
Mike

[-hanko]

LOL Suing in small claims for the cost of a replacement bolt, okay, but
mental duress? Loss of use of gun? "Su[ing] the hell out of Irvington?"

That exact CA attitude is one reason I can live out of CA half the time.

CA would benefit by eliminating about 95% of the attorneys in the state.

-hanko

[JagerTroop]

Sounds like IA dropped the ball on this one, big time.

It sounds to me like the seller/shipper did a thorough job; wrapped, packed, packing slip. Yes, the OP should've inspected it prior to leaving the shop, but at this point I agree that it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Regardless of fault, IA could've offered a replacment at cost.

To all the shops out there, here are some customer service stats:

-A typical dissatisfied customer will tell 6-10 people (in this case, 6-10k)about the problem. A typical satisfied customer will tell 1-2 people.

-It costs 6 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an old one.

-Of those customers who quit, 68% do so because of an attitude of indifference by the company or a specific individual.

-About 7 of 10 complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor.

-If you resolve a complaint on the spot, 95% of customers will do business with you again.

[imtheomegaman]

Did you miss the post where the seller specifically said he made the packing list, and carefully wrapped the parts? Look above for the post by Cold Steel 14.

I know I've made mistakes, sure. In this case it seems like there was enough care that IA could have made an effort to help...

all the best,
Mike

didn't miss that Mike, my point was basically:

a)The dealer should have handled this better...
b)There is no way to be 100% sure that the bolt was there (again I am confident it was)