Two thumbs down for Glock customer service

[dtm925]

I called Glock today to see if they could track down a firearm i'm interested in buying along with a dealer that has one in stock. I got bounced around about 4 times. When someone finally answered my call they rudely told me they couldn't help me. Their attitude was as if they didn't want to talk to me or even want to attempt to help me. This has me VERY angry because I've read nothing but good things about Glock customer care. Maybe I'll vote with my feet and just buy an HK or Sig now.

[gatesbox]

Just out of curiosity how did you expect Glock to know what their dealers have in stock? Almost any gun shop should have at least four different models in stock, and they can check with their distributors....go to a good shop and get hooked up.

[Joe]

Just out of curiosity how did you expect Glock to know what their dealers have in stock? Almost any gun shop should have at least four different models in stock, and they can check with their distributors....go to a good shop and get hooked up.

^This.

Go to the gunstores and ask em.

[FNH5-7]

Op, by your standards I should stop buying Colt and buy a Springfield. If you think Glock is bad about that you haven't talked to Colt.

Manufacturers have no way of tracking to see who has their pistols in stock. This is not how the firearms industry works. Few manufacturers sell to gun shops directly.

[Spaceghost]

How about you call HK or Sig and ask the same silly question?

[BobaFett]

It's kind of odd to me how manufacturers don't have a record of this... but then again Glock probably sells to millions of shops.

[paul0660]

I know Troll is an overused, and ill used, word, but I smell one.

[blakdawg]

Yeah, call HK or Sig's corporate headquarters and ask them who's got a particular gun in stock and let us know how that goes.

I wouldn't expect any manufacturer of any product to be able to do that - especially a product that's typically sold through at least 1 layer of distributor.

You might try

http://www.galleryofguns.com

that's the website of a distributor that will let you search for guns in stock (or shippable) to an FFL near you, searching by manufacturer (or model) and ZIP code.

[dieselpower]

why do you think Glock knows this? Are or were you looking for a limited run, like G21 with slide lock?

[Eljay]

If they had a fault it's in not taking a moment to explain the rather odd way these things are distributed and sold. But from a consumer point of view the procedure on a commodity (i.e. not something rare) is you just go to your local friendly gun shop, and say "I'd like a such and such" and if they don't have one they type on a computer or call somebody and say "I can get you one in X days for Y dollars, you want it?". Usually they can get pretty much anything in a couple of days, and if they can't, probably nobody else can either since they're all hooked up with the same few distributors.

[dtm925]

To the rest: I've already been to 15 shops from Northern California all the way down to San Diego. I'm shocked that Glock can't locate a product for a customer that's ready to purchase. Try calling a car manufacture ... ask them where you can find a specific vehicle with the options you want... they're tell you exactly which dealers have them, how many they have on the lot , and if they'll be receiving any in the future. Another example is you're looking for a product at Lowes, you ask an associate if they have any in stock, they'll tell you if they do or find some in their district at another store that has one. Modern Inventory software is crucial, I don't know how a company like Glock with the amount of sheer volume they sell can survive today without it. I'm not mad that they can't locate what I'm looking for, I'm pissed at the 4 Glock representatives I spoke with who where complete jerks over the phone. Their attitudes sucked.

[SVT-40]

So, what specifically are you looking for???

[Bobula]

To the rest: I've already been to 15 shops from Northern California all the way down to San Diego. I'm shocked that Glock can't locate a product for a customer that's ready to purchase. Try calling a car manufacture ... ask them where you can find a specific vehicle with the options you want... they're tell you exactly which dealers have them, how many they have on the lot , and if they'll be receiving any in the future. Another example is you're looking for a product at Lowes, you ask an associate if they have any in stock, they'll tell you if they do or find some in their district at another store that has one. Modern Inventory software is crucial, I don't know how a company like Glock with the amount of sheer volume they sell can survive today without it. I'm not mad that they can't locate what I'm looking for, I'm pissed at the 4 Glock representatives I spoke with who where complete jerks over the phone. Their attitudes sucked.

You're using pretty flawed logic. IC is crucial when you're a vendor/retailer. Gunshops don't typically order from glock unless in big volume, they order from a 3rd party vendor. Your logic would work if it were a "glock store" that was linked to all other stores.
Now how about you stop being a drama queen and just say what model you're looking for.

[tenpercentfirearms]

Ok, I guess an education on how pistols are sold is due.

First, Glock makes the Glock in Austria. It gets imported into Georgia. From there it gets wholesaled out to a wholesaler. After this Glock, has no idea who gets them. The wholesaler can then sell it to any retail gun store or even in some cases customer direct. There is no possible way Glock would know where the gun went after it goes to the wholesaler.

So calling them up and asking who has one in stock is not going to work. I guess it would be nice if they realized they had no idea where that model Glock is and would let you know that, but there is no telling who you were talking to.

I also suspect that the reason no one has one in stock is you are probably looking for a Glock Model 7. They are nearly impossible to find and cost more than you make in a month.

[ke6guj]

To the rest: I've already been to 15 shops from Northern California all the way down to San Diego. I'm shocked that Glock can't locate a product for a customer that's ready to purchase. Try calling a car manufacture ... ask them where you can find a specific vehicle with the options you want... they're tell you exactly which dealers have them, how many they have on the lot , and if they'll be receiving any in the future.

that would be because the manufacturer sells directly to those dealers and is able to track that. I assume the dealer report when it is sold or transfered to another dealer (since those vehicles are there on credit, the manufacturer is probably watching them closely).

Another example is you're looking for a product at Lowes, you ask an associate if they have any in stock, they'll tell you if they do or find some in their district at another store that has one.

and all the Lowes are run by the same company so they can tie their Inventory Control Systems together.

Modern Inventory software is crucial, I don't know how a company like Glock with the amount of sheer volume they sell can survive today without it. I'm not mad that they can't locate what I'm looking for, I'm pissed at the 4 Glock representatives I spoke with who where complete jerks over the phone. Their attitudes sucked.

Glock doesn't have that sort of access that Ford or Lowes has. Glock sells firearms to distributors (and maybe some dealers), but once they leave glock, Glock is out of the picture. You expect every dealer to have an inventory system that reports back to Glock, Colt, Ruger, Smith&Wesson, Remington, Winchester, etc?

to use your Lowes example, if you are looking for a specific Kohler toilet, do you expect Kohler to be able to tell you exactly which companies have that exact toilet in stock?

But with one company that has multiple locations, Like Turners, they can look up in their system and tell you if they have any of those Glocks in stock and which store it is in. They can also have that firearm transfered to you local Turners location.