my RANT about Epp's service!!

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Based on my experience, rant and Epps don't belong in the same sentence at all. My Savage LRP in .260 Rem showed up quick, and my emails were answered promptly and politely. I would not hesitate to order from them again, and I'm halfway across the country.

Try going into the store or calling them. I have never done either without feeling as though I were inconveniencing them just by asking questions about guns for sale.
 
I emailed them with a few Gunsmith service questions once. Asked two questions in my first email and received one answer. Emailed back and asked the second question again and got more or less the same answer (to the other question, which was unrelated to the second). When I emailed back a third time, I was told to actually read their responses as they're too busy to answer the question three times..... Meanwhile they still hadn't even answered both questions that were very clearly asked in my original email.

Clearly they weren't looking to add two $200+ jobs to their gunsmith's list of things to do.
 
Early this spring i was at Epp's store. I purchesed afew thousand $ worth of goods. Asked for a 1-2% price discount since i was paying by cash & did not have my credit card on hand. They say sorry can't give a cash discount. I said, if i used my credit card, the credit company would charge them 1-2% anyways, so why not give a customer a discount, if they are paying by cash. They said no.Well i've shopped at Epp's as a loyal customer for over 15 years now, won't be buying things from them too much longer.
 
Early this spring i was at Epp's store. I purchesed afew thousand $ worth of goods. Asked for a 1-2% price discount since i was paying by cash & did not have my credit card on hand. They say sorry can't give a cash discount. I said, if i used my credit card, the credit company would charge them 1-2% anyways, so why not give a customer a discount, if they are paying by cash. They said no.Well i've shopped at Epp's as a loyal customer for over 15 years now, won't be buying things from them too much longer.

Simply because this is a good way to get credit company to piss off at your company and review the terms of use in the contract.
 
Simply because this is a good way to get credit company to piss off at your company and review the terms of use in the contract.

There's nothing un-ethical about offering a cash discount in lieu of using a credit card. If I recall correctly, the terms of service restrict you from charging extra for the use of the credit card, not this particular situation.
 
I returned 3 guns to them that were suppose to be in "good condition" one refused to fire, the spirtco i bought had a cracked stock was filled with glue and sawdust and had fingerprints from thr guy and an xcr i bought looked like it had been fired full of brass shavings 3 scratches in the finish and crucial parts were missing blue loctite and i bought 3 fn fal mags and none of them were pinned so i rivet pinned them myself ,ordered a no4mk1 barrel and sent me one through the mail with a quarter of the reciever still attached bit heres the funny part i walked in payed 35$ for a barrel and had the hunk of reciever removed but when i bought the second one they told me 50$ plus 25$ to remove the hunk wtf!lOl other than those instances though good shop
 
There's nothing un-ethical about offering a cash discount in lieu of using a credit card. If I recall correctly, the terms of service restrict you from charging extra for the use of the credit card, not this particular situation.

But it is definitely not a thing to get angry or complain about if someone won't give it to you. Imagine the word spreads and everyone demands a 1.5% discount. Essentially it will become having 2 prices for 2 different payments methods. If I run a store I won't want to setup such a precedence and will definitely hold my ground with this policy. Do you think you can ask IKEA or Best Buy for 1.5% discount for cash payment? Not. So what is it to complain about if a gun shop won't give it to you?
 
No offence Lil Surfer but are you a known "tire kicker"?

haha no more so than the next guy. I am planning on purchasing the gun I am still waiting on pics for. I refuse to buy a gun sight unseen, even from a dealer. I've never asked for pics or asked questions about a gun I didn't want to buy. Epps isn't local to me so any time I go in there it is to buy a gun. I've bought three from there in the last few years. I will admit this though, if you make the purchase Epps isn't too bad. But if you are calling or emailing with questions...you are not treated well. I think it's because they do get so many tire kickers.
 
- I did have a problem, though, with getting the wrong length barrel. They advertised one thing, but shipped something else. It appears the initial website information had a typo. (-1)

- I emailed Epp's about the barrel; they were very good about answering my email within minutes (+1)

we'll see how things turn out, but so far Epp's is winning 3-1 :):):) - :( and I am pretty happy that I decided to deal with them.

Mullet:

Was this a new gun that you purchased? Our descriptions on new firearms come straight off the distributor's invoices, and we have seen several inconsistencies and outright errors with regard to barrel length, as well as other options, from time to time.

If this was a used gun, the barrel should be measured from the front of the bolt fact (closed position) to the muzzle. An error of 1/2" to 1" might be forgivable, but several inches should be reviewed.

As for E-mail photos, Mac is working as quickly as he can to provide the photos customers are seeking, but we are being overwhelmed with requests for pictures of standard-production guns where pictures exist on the manufacturer's website. Really, what pictures are we going to send of a new Glock 17 or a new Ruger GP.100 that you cannot see on the company's site? If it is something "custom", like a Beretta over-under with Grade II wood, certainly we will send pictures, but be realistic. We do not have the manpower or the time to send photos of standard production guns. Those companies pay good money for photographers to display their images on their website.

As for lack of communication when customers call into our store, this is an ongoing issue that we are addressing. I do not recall who posted this matter, but please, if you have tried to get an answer and are not satisfied, feel free to fire off an E-mail to this address: info@ellwoodepps.com. I always do my best to make certain all incoming E-mails are answered within 24-48 hours, unless I need to get a response from a distributor -- that may take a little longer.

We have heard your concerns and complaints about our customer service at Ellwood Epps, and we are making every effort to improve that service as quickly as possible. Please bear with us as the busy hunting season is just winding down, and we should be able to correct those issues in the near future.
 
Hello, first real post. Getting back into shooting after about 15 years. Last month a bought 2 rifles and 1 handgun. I did email EPPS first but the email response was slow and did not answer my questions. Wanted a picture of the carbine and they just cut and pasted a link to the manufacturer's webpage. I did not want a factory picture but one of the rifle I was interested in buying. Al Flaherty's responded to emails within an hour too both my emails. So I bought both my rifles from them. If EPPs responds to everyone like a tire kicker then they will continue to lose business.
 
But it is definitely not a thing to get angry or complain about if someone won't give it to you. Imagine the word spreads and everyone demands a 1.5% discount. Essentially it will become having 2 prices for 2 different payments methods. If I run a store I won't want to setup such a precedence and will definitely hold my ground with this policy. Do you think you can ask IKEA or Best Buy for 1.5% discount for cash payment? Not. So what is it to complain about if a gun shop won't give it to you?

I fully understand that position not offering discounts for cash payments, however, many CGN sponsors are doing it now, offering 3 % discount for EMT payments.
.
 
The Credit card companies & banks has the consumer well trained & retailers well blackmailed into a high fee, expensive, convenient society. Used to be CC company threaten to refuse service to retailers that offer cash discount but apparently that is not permitted anymore (hear sake).

Yes the WSS and Cabelas will not offer cash discounts. No it is dead simple to have multiple payment methods and discounts. Best Buy and Futureshop can offer reduced price, % off using multiple payment methods (CC, debit, cash, GCs), anything to make the sale. Go to redflagdeals.com to get real deals.

Don't fool yourself the policies are due to technical difficulties. Banks don't make billions playing fair.

Don't be a sheep, shop around, bargain. You don't get what you deserve, You get what you negotiate (AND you can quote me on that!).

Another CGN dealer is frontier in offering 3% EMT discount. Shop there!
But it is definitely not a thing to get angry or complain about if someone won't give it to you. Imagine the word spreads and everyone demands a 1.5% discount. Essentially it will become having 2 prices for 2 different payments methods. If I run a store I won't want to setup such a precedence and will definitely hold my ground with this policy. Do you think you can ask IKEA or Best Buy for 1.5% discount for cash payment? Not. So what is it to complain about if a gun shop won't give it to you?
 
I never bought from EPP before but in another thread someone mentioned they had a rifle I wanted in stock. So I remembered this thread, got out my stopwatch, and called EPP for the first time.

I just called and ordered a Savage. It took 2 minutes for the whole phone call. They took the rifle stock number, my license and address, my payment info. It took from 11:36am to 11:38am and it's shipping Monday.

Nice!
 
I drop into Epps at least once a week and tend to look at two or three rifles every time. That likely works out to ten inspections to one purchase but the Epps staff have always been polite and helpful.
My only problem is with guns I hear from friends about but the guns are sold by the time I get to the store.
Definitely my favorite store.
BillR
 
I never bought from EPP before but in another thread someone mentioned they had a rifle I wanted in stock. So I remembered this thread, got out my stopwatch, and called EPP for the first time.

I just called and ordered a Savage. It took 2 minutes for the whole phone call. They took the rifle stock number, my license and address, my payment info. It took from 11:36am to 11:38am and it's shipping Monday.

Nice!

It wasn't the used 99 was it?:eek:
 
Mullet:

Was this a new gun that you purchased? Our descriptions on new firearms come straight off the distributor's invoices, and we have seen several inconsistencies and outright errors with regard to barrel length, as well as other options, from time to time.

If this was a used gun, the barrel should be measured from the front of the bolt fact (closed position) to the muzzle. An error of 1/2" to 1" might be forgivable, but several inches should be reviewed.

As for E-mail photos, Mac is working as quickly as he can to provide the photos customers are seeking, but we are being overwhelmed with requests for pictures of standard-production guns where pictures exist on the manufacturer's website. Really, what pictures are we going to send of a new Glock 17 or a new Ruger GP.100 that you cannot see on the company's site? If it is something "custom", like a Beretta over-under with Grade II wood, certainly we will send pictures, but be realistic. We do not have the manpower or the time to send photos of standard production guns. Those companies pay good money for photographers to display their images on their website.

As for lack of communication when customers call into our store, this is an ongoing issue that we are addressing. I do not recall who posted this matter, but please, if you have tried to get an answer and are not satisfied, feel free to fire off an E-mail to this address: info@ellwoodepps.com. I always do my best to make certain all incoming E-mails are answered within 24-48 hours, unless I need to get a response from a distributor -- that may take a little longer.

We have heard your concerns and complaints about our customer service at Ellwood Epps, and we are making every effort to improve that service as quickly as possible. Please bear with us as the busy hunting season is just winding down, and we should be able to correct those issues in the near future.

Yes, it was a new gun. If youur descriptions on new firearms come straight off the distributor's invoices, and you have seen several inconsistencies and outright errors with regard to barrel length, as well as other options, from time to time, then I would suggest you take steps to correct the problem rather that saying "Hey look, it's not our fault, its our distributors so too bad for you, Mr. Consumer."

Even if it is the distributors fault, clearly your business is the one taking the fall for it, so no, finger pointing will not suffice.

All i'm saying is, YOU need to ensure accuracy between described items and actual items. If I see a description of a puppy on your website, and I order that puppy, but your distributors sent you kittens so you sell me a kitten instead, I'm not likely to be very happy about it.

**Particularly when I emailed my concerns and got a response that boiled down to "mistakes happen, those wacky distributors, hope you can be happy with what we did send you."

communication issues - I do see improvement and potential. Communications by phone and by email were prompt, up until I mentioned an option to you for a specific remedy.


(-1)... the score is now 4-2 for Epp's vs. The Ugly Side Of Online Ordering
 
As for E-mail photos, Mac is working as quickly as he can to provide the photos customers are seeking, but we are being overwhelmed with requests for pictures of standard-production guns where pictures exist on the manufacturer's website. Really, what pictures are we going to send of a new Glock 17 or a new Ruger GP.100 that you cannot see on the company's site? If it is something "custom", like a Beretta over-under with Grade II wood, certainly we will send pictures, but be realistic. We do not have the manpower or the time to send photos of standard production guns. Those companies pay good money for photographers to display their images on their website.


I agree wholeheartedly! That being the case, however, then the descriptions for those "standard production guns" had better be damn accurate. Zing!
 
But it is definitely not a thing to get angry or complain about if someone won't give it to you. Imagine the word spreads and everyone demands a 1.5% discount. Essentially it will become having 2 prices for 2 different payments methods. If I run a store I won't want to setup such a precedence and will definitely hold my ground with this policy. Do you think you can ask IKEA or Best Buy for 1.5% discount for cash payment? Not. So what is it to complain about if a gun shop won't give it to you?

I agree. There's no obligation on behalf of the merchant to give a discount instead of accruing a merchant fee for the use of a credit card. I'd never said there was.
 
In today's technological age, how hard would it be to get a company "smart phone" take the bloody pictures and e-mail them off to the perspective buyer? For God's sakes, the staff doesn't even need to download the pictures from a camera anymore.

The who thing can be done in a few minutes time without any serious work interruption for the staff.
 
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