A bad experience at Epps

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I know Claven2; have done business at Epps.
This situation is a shame.
When I had my business, if something I sold was defective, I took it back, or repaired it to the customer's satisfaction.
A "Too bad, so sad, talk to the distributor or manufacturer" attitude just doesn't cut it.
 
Thanks for the heads up , I had a similar experience with MilArms in Edmonton . I bought a Norinco M14 , the sight was to crooked. Sent the rifle back. Had to pay a restocking fee. Get this, I went to EDMONTON for another reason . It was six months after . I live in Tangent Smoky area at the time. While the employe was doing paper work and crediting my credit card, he was braggin in front of me on the phone about how easy he could get anything of a Afghan girl with a chocolate bar. A REAL PRO.
 
I shop there all the time, almost every other week to be honest. Yes, they are busy, especially this time of year but I've never gotten anything but good service when I go there. I've had several items that I've had to return over the years, never had an issue. As for the firearm return, well the reason they probably wont echange is just because they'd end up doing the same thing...sending it to the manufacturer for a warranty repair (especially if they have no stock to replace it with).

Regardless of your opinion of the way you were treated, they really are doing you a favour since it cuts out the third party warranty claim. Ask yourself, how much is your time worth?
 
teller said:
I shop there all the time, almost every other week to be honest. Yes, they are busy, especially this time of year but I've never gotten anything but good service when I go there. I've had several items that I've had to return over the years, never had an issue. As for the firearm return, well the reason they probably wont echange is just because they'd end up doing the same thing...sending it to the manufacturer for a warranty repair (especially if they have no stock to replace it with).

Regardless of your opinion of the way you were treated, they really are doing you a favour since it cuts out the third party warranty claim. Ask yourself, how much is your time worth?
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We have a winner!

For the absolut dumbest post of the century.
 
Just curious, but which vendors do different?

Seems the norm is to send it for warranty work, and not exchange.

I know SFRC, and Prairie Gun Traders did direct exchanges for me in the past, but does anyone else have some more to ad?

Might be a good list to have. ;)
 
mlehtovaara said:
Just curious, but which vendors do different?

Seems the norm is to send it for warranty work, and not exchange.

I know SFRC, and Prairie Gun Traders did direct exchanges for me in the past, but does anyone else have some more to ad?

Might be a good list to have. ;)
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I think we all know that such a list would be ixnay in short order. :D
 
I have bought from Epps now and again, I bought an older English 12 gsa SXS, for quite a lot of money
When I fired it, the wrong ejector worked and flung the loaded shell out. I called Epps, spoke to the owner who told me to send it back for a full refund, no restocking fees.
I would not hesitate to deal with them again, all my transactions have gone smoothly. I do not work for them, nor am I a shill.
Did you talk to the owner of Epps about your rifle sight problem?
 
I tell you what - when deer season is over I will conduct a survey of all the gun dealers I know plus the ones on this site and ask them what their policy is regardling exchange/refund of defective BNIB unfired firearms and then I will post the results.

I will put them in 3 groups such as:
Group A - offers over the counter exchange, or refund
Group B - will send the firearm to the manufactuerer for you, but no OTC exchange/refund
Group C - you handle the warranty issues yourself

If they refuse to offer what their policy is I will indicate that group as well

Don't be surprised if a lot of them are in C, then B, then A in that order. But time will tell.
 
I love how your post started out as if the customer was sitting there with his hands in his pockets to suddenly showing up with an attitude. Retail can be stressful, but there are no excuses for rudeness. I bet you would complain all over this site if you called a police station and the officer was rude to you because he was "busy", yet it's ok for an employee of a retail store? If he's too busy to talk on the phone, then put the person on hold. I would rather be told it's too busy then have a rude employee on the phone.

A retail store who treats it's customers poorly will slowly become LESS busy, then we can really judge their customer service, as they are begging for customers back.

And as for the Walmart comment, there are plenty of other full service firearms stores out there, so don't think people will NOT find another store.

2strklvr said:
I gotta laugh at some of the recurring comment's in this thread.

"Epp's is messy" "Epp's store is a disaster" - well duh. It's an old building and it is literally jammed to the rafters with inventory. So what do you want? Epp's to have the products you are looking for in stock, or wide, bright isles? I'll take controlled chaos with the gun stuff I'm looking for in stock over the Walmart look any day. For those that beg to differ - well, there's always Walmart for your hunting and firearms needs. Have fun with that.

"They were rude on the phone" "They treated me like an idiot when I called" - fair enough, but understand this: The place is crazy busy almost from the minute they open the doors until the lights go out. If you have never been there, it almost defies description on some days. Unless you have worked retail in a similiar environment, you could never understand the way a pace like that can shatter your nerves. It's easy to misconstrue a frazzled employee's voice and phone manner as being rude. Of course there is also the distinct possibilty that you are indeed an idiot. If you are calling about a gun that is on thier website and you want some more info, then for chrissakes take note of the stock number because that is the first thing that they will ask you for. They literally have thousands of guns on hand and if you call up and say "Hi, I'm calling about the Remington 870 I saw on your website" and you don't have the stock number, well then let's just say that you sure aren't Mensa material.

"They ignored me when I was there" "The employee's were more interested in talking almongst themselve's" - First of all, if you walk down the ramp and into the gunroom and it's slow enough that the guy's have time to chat and joke with eachother, that is a rare occasion indeed. If you find it annoying that fellow employee's are engaging is a little fun banter, then get a life. Do you expect them to just stand there at the counter in silence, waiting for the next customer like robots? Don't expect them to fall all over in a rush to serve you either, nobody likes agressive sales people. Not to mention many people go down into that gunroom just to look, lot's don't even have PAL's, they are just curious. The gunroom guys see people walk in, browse around and leave everyday without uttering a word or even making eye contact. So if you do want service, here's what you do. Politely engage a counter person in conversation so they know that you are there for a reason. If you just stand there with your mouth shut and your hands in your pockets like a spare prick at a wedding, well then of course nobody is going to dance with you. If you don't know exactly what you are talking about or looking for, there is no need to be embarassed so don't try and fake it or act the expert just tell them that you are not sure - politely ask. You weren't born knowing this stuff and if the guy serving you doesn't have your answer, someone there will. Again if you are looking for a specific gun that you saw online, have the stock number. Most importantly maintain a positive attitude, going to the gun store is supposed to be fun. If you prefer to show up with just attitude, then expect the same in return. Mutual respect and good manners seem to have gone by the wayside over the years, if you treat the kid at McDonalds like a peon, then you deserve the spitball that will inevitably wind up in your Big Mac. One last thing. They do have a "take a number" system going in the gunroom, so when it's busy take a number and eventually you'll get your turn, but expect that it will probably take a while.
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Bigbubba said:
I tell you what - when deer season is over I will conduct a survey of all the gun dealers I know plus the ones on this site and ask them what their policy is regardling exchange/refund of defective BNIB unfired firearms and then I will post the results.

I will put them in 3 groups such as:
Group A - offers over the counter exchange, or refund
Group B - will send the firearm to the manufactuerer for you, but no OTC exchange/refund
Group C - you handle the warranty issues yourself

If they refuse to offer what their policy is I will indicate that group as well

Don't be surprised if a lot of them are in C, then B, then A in that order. But time will tell.
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Great idea!!!

If you're serious and you have the time, you'll get a lot of respect and appreciation because this is a very good idea. Stores that go above and beyond, the current standard, for responsible/reasonable customers should be rewarded with increased sales. Other stores will take notice and either act accordingly or continue to see their share of the market decline.

Tell you what, when you determine who the best gun retailer is in Canada, I'll buy a gun from them and say it's because they were selected as the best store to deal with by a CGN'er review.

Let's get something positive happening from this. Epps can turn this thing around whenever they want to, and I hope they do.
 
Ridiculous...

That's like saying that if something is wrong with my brand new vehicle, i have to send the vehicle back for repair that will take months to repair because of manufacturer defect?

They are a dealer for Chiappa, they should cover it under warranty or refund the money.
 
In fairness, since epps contacted me Friday night, the owner has not been in and the distributor has not been open, so I'm not surprised there has been nothing much more to say.
 
i like epps responce it show how much of a stand up guy he is i guess he dont need the business
 
One of the first retailers on CGN I dealt with was Epps.

I placed an order for several hundred dollars. There was a bunch of stuff, but the stuff that matters was 2mags for a buckmark pistol and a set of grey laminated palmswell grips for a buckmark.

I received 2mags but they were for a browning high power (one 9mm and 1 40 S&W) and the grips were for a high standard.

Their response when I called; geez that's terrible, send them back and we'll refund your money, less a re-stocking fee.

Not only was I to pay for shipping them back, but they were only going to refund 65% of the $$ I paid......

Needless to say they have been on my "don't order from" list since winter of 2009......

Sorry to hear about your experience with Epps Claven, but I'm not terribly surprised.....
 
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