Ugh Kimber...

[Steve_In_29]

Kimber's CS totally sucks. After two trips through their warranty service (the last handled by the head of their Custom Shop) I still have my factory defective Pro CDP II in my safe. The pistol left the factory, with among other things, frame rails that aren't parallel.

I now enjoy telling every perspective Kimber buyer I meet about my experience and while I have no hard number as to how many then decided against going with a Kimber, I have watched two of them (total strangers to me) lay out the money to buy another brand while I was still standing there.

[Malmon]

Sad to hear about Kimber CS. They have the slide for my Pro Carry because the Mepro front sight I put on it went dim within a couple of weeks. Sure hope they don't screw around on me and honor their warranty....

Tagged for update.

So the front sight that went dim is not installed by Kimber, yet they are expected to replace it under warranty?

[p7m8jg]

Springfield Champion Operatoe

[Malmon]

This is why I chose the Springfield instead of the Kimber.
The Kimber is better looking but I have had no issues with my SA and it has a lifetime warranty.

I have the opposite experience. I just bought my 4th Kimber and never had to send one back yet. I have owned more than six Springfield Armory 1911's and most of them have to be sent back for warranty repair. All my TRP operators need to have their barrel lugs filed and the recoil spring guide beveled. I even have to send an SA pro operator back, and that's a $3k gun.

[Bainter1212]

So the front sight that went dim is not installed by Kimber, yet they are expected to replace it under warranty?

Not expected, just hoped.
Here is what good customer service is......

My postman is big into guns. He has an older Sig model pistol that is no longer produced. One day he was shooting some gunshow reloads through it when KABOOM one of the rounds blows his gun up, ruining the slide and barrel.
He sends it into Sig with a note telling them that it was his fault for shooting unknown quality reloads and will they please call him with a repair estimate.
They call him back and tell him they will gladly replace the slide and barrel for him OR upgrade him to the latest model of that pistol......either option would only cost him $50. He liked the gun so he went for the repair.
My mailman is now a lifetime Sig customer because he was so impressed by the no-questions-asked customer service.

Here is another story.....

My friend bought a Rock Island Tactical for under $400 on Gunbroker from a private seller. Apparently it had some FTE issues so he sent it in to Armscor for repair. Not only did they fix it for free but they also did a trigger job and sent the gun back to him with an extra set of grips and another spare mag as well. Once again, my friend will not hesitate to buy another Rock Island in the future.

As far as my Kimber goes, I was planning on getting another one in the future, probably upgrade to a much more expensive model as well. Those plans are scrapped because I can trust Kimber customer service to only go as far as the fine print in their warranty states, when it comes time to seek service.

Good customer service means going above and beyond what you HAVE to do and doing what you can to lock in that customer for life.

I am not trying to hurt Kimber by withholding my money in the future, I just don't feel the need to help them any further when they wouldn't help me.

That lawyerspeak in the fine print of the warranty statement is there to protect the company from liability, not to provide a guide for how you treat a customer.

[GM4spd]

I'm glad I only own Colt type 1911s,I never needed customer service or
lifetime warranties. Pete

[Malmon]

Sad to hear about Kimber CS. They have the slide for my Pro Carry because the Mepro front sight I put on it went dim within a couple of weeks. Sure hope they don't screw around on me and honor their warranty....

Tagged for update.

Not expected, just hoped.
Here is what good customer service is......
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I am not trying to hurt Kimber by withholding my money in the future, I just don't feel the need to help them any further when they wouldn't help me.

That lawyerspeak in the fine print of the warranty statement is there to protect the company from liability, not to provide a guide for how you treat a customer.

Based on your earlier post, it does read like you were expecting them to honor a warranty on something that you yourself installed.

There are a lot of similar stories of good customer service outcome with Kimber as well, mostly saw them at 1911forum.

Don't worry about hurting Kimber. I don't think they will miss your money. They outsell all other 1911 manufacturers and there are a lot of satisfied owners who also tend to be repeat buyers.

[Bainter1212]

Based on your earlier post, it does read like you were expecting them to honor a warranty on something that you yourself installed.

There are a lot of similar stories of good customer service outcome with Kimber as well, mostly saw them at 1911forum.

Don't worry about hurting Kimber. I don't think they will miss your money. They outsell all other 1911 manufacturers and there are a lot of satisfied owners who also tend to be repeat buyers.

Perhaps their sales numbers allow them to disregard "small time" people like me who only buy one pistol at a time.

Fool me once, shame on them.
They won't fool me twice.

[Malmon]

Perhaps their sales numbers allow them to disregard "small time" people like me who only buy one pistol at a time.

Fool me once, shame on them.
They won't fool me twice.

How did they disregard/fool you exactly? Is it because they did not do something that they are not obligated to do?

[Bainter1212]

How did they disregard/fool you exactly? Is it because they did not do something that they are not obligated to do?

There are many fine manufacturers of 1911s, meaning I have many options as far as competitiors to Kimber. Many of these companies have reputations of providing a level of service above and beyond what they are *obligated* to provide. This means that I can buy a comparable firearm from a different company and recieve better customer service, even if they are not obligated to provide it to me.
Its called capitalism, and in this instance it is not all about the math, it has everything to do with unquantifiable personal relations between human beings.

In this case, my expectations are created by the marketplace....and obviously Kimber didn't meet my expectations.

Are you suggesting that I should buy from Kimber solely because YOU like their service? Do you work for them?

Wtf do you care why I don't like Kimber's cust service? Why do you keep piping up? Who cares WHY I won't buy from them anymore.....seriously, what are you trying to convince me of? That I should like Kimber cust service just because you do?

I am done responding to you if all you are going to do is throw troll posts around. You are telling me my opinion is wrong......weird, because it's MY opinion.

Dang. I had hoped to converse with reasonable individuals today.

[Malmon]

There are many fine manufacturers of 1911s, meaning I have many options as far as competitiors to Kimber. Many of these companies have reputations of providing a level of service above and beyond what they are *obligated* to provide. This means that I can buy a comparable firearm from a different company and recieve better customer service, even if they are not obligated to provide it to me.
Its called capitalism, and in this instance it is not all about the math, it has everything to do with unquantifiable personal relations between human beings.

In this case, my expectations are created by the marketplace....and obviously Kimber didn't meet my expectations.

Are you suggesting that I should buy from Kimber solely because YOU like their service? Do you work for them?

Wtf do you care why I don't like Kimber's cust service? Why do you keep piping up? Who cares WHY I won't buy from them anymore.....seriously, what are you trying to convince me of? That I should like Kimber cust service just because you do?

I am done responding to you if all you are going to do is throw troll posts around. You are telling me my opinion is wrong......weird, because it's MY opinion.

Dang. I had hoped to converse with reasonable individuals today.

See that's the problem, Kimber never wronged you in any way yet you felt the need to pile on with the other Kimber haters. I don't care what kind of pistol you buy or use, I just want to point out that there are people like you who has no real legitimate beef but just want to post so you can be part of a group, a victim, an ....

No gun manufacturer is stupid enough to fix under warranty a night sight that you yourself installed, not even Springfield.

I never mentioned I like Kimber's customer service. I have not used their warranty services so I cannot comment on how good or bad they are.

[CrippledPidgeon]

Based on your earlier post, it does read like you were expecting them to honor a warranty on something that you yourself installed.

Little known fact: meprolight sights are owned by/made by Kimber.

[JDay]

Little known fact: meprolight sights are owned by/made by Kimber.

Huh? Meprolight is an Israeli company.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meprolight

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

[Bainter1212]

Meprolights sold and warranted by Kimber.
I could've bought Trijicons but went with Mepros instead....that's why I thought Kimber might have gone beyond their obligation to help me out, considering I chose their product and was planning on buying more.
No such luck.

I will replace my front Mepro sight with a trijicon instead.

[SunsetIE]

Kimber having issues? You don't say....

Exactly why i got a Rock Island, less than half the cost, and a LIFETIME warranty with CS reps who actually give a **** about customer service!


OP - Sucks that they wont replace a part, but if you took your car to dealer after the warranty had expired, and it needed work, they would charge you too...