A bad experience at Epps

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cowcity said:
Funny how some people think that because they belong to a website of perhaps 5% of the gun owners in Canada that every gun store is just one negative thread away from boarding up the windows. I am going to guess that mabey the people who run Epps are at home, with their family and not wasting an entire evening watching a thread like some of you. Have some of you ever gone a entire day doing something productive other then feeding this peanut gallery?

The only thing I get out of this is a good laugh out of stupid posts like the one above on how they should just close their doors because 1 person had a bad experience and shared HIS version. Keep it up and I might have enough peanuts to make peanut butter.

My guess is that their store will be filled with customers tommorrow (less a few whiners) and there will be 300 replies and 10000 veiws all from the same 30 people who running back to their computer every 5 mins and refreshing their window to see if anyone else cares enough to post while crying like babies "wwhhhaaaa why doesnt epps respond to our fourm!!!" And EPPS? THEY ARE TO BUSY AND DONT CARE ABOUT ONLINE BAND WAGONS THAT MEAN NOTHING IN THE REAL WORLD. Move on already you are not going to change anything.
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Actually this is quite a foolish comment. I found this thread while searching for Ellwood Epps. There will be many other buyers that will likely do the same. You are right in that there will be walk-ins to their storefront that will never be the wiser of this fellow's plight or others that have posted here. Bad publicity is like a disease and it can easily grow and get out of hand. If they ignore this trend then they may go the way of the dodo. Many businesses have failed on bad customer relations.

I was also recently stung by their poor customer service and this is why this thread happened to catch my eye. I will not be buying from them again and I happen to be in the process of buying a couple more rifles. My experience will be passed on to others that will never likely ever end up here. It will have an impact ... Keep fooling yourself that it won't.
 
I'm curious if any is going to be the response from E EPPS..... Considering that this blew up in a short amount of time, mostly negative comments and a very few that attempted to defend them.
 
DuctapedGopher said:
Actually this is quite a foolish comment. I found this thread while searching for Ellwood Epps. There will be many other buyers that will likely do the same. You are right in that there will be walk-ins to their storefront that will never be the wiser of this fellow's plight or others that have posted here. Bad publicity is like a disease and it can easily grow and get out of hand. If they ignore this trend then they may go the way of the dodo. Many businesses have failed on bad customer relations.

I was also recently stung by their poor customer service and this is why this thread happened to catch my eye. I will not be buying from them again and I happen to be in the process of buying a couple more rifles. My experience will be passed on to others that will never likely ever end up here. It will have an impact ... Keep fooling yourself that it won't.
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Yet another sterling first post. Funny how this thread brought out an inordinate amout of first time posters or very low post count members. Possible dupes? You really have to wonder.
 
I've dealt with them a number of times, some positive experiences and some negative. A couple of the guys in there really know their stuff and I was impressed. However, my overall impression is that they are simply too busy and disorganized. Its a mystery to me why they don't overhaul the whole system, they are making heaps of cash now but I bet they could make another 50% profit if they stepped it up. (the website is just totally stone age, thats losing thousands right there)
I will go in there and buy in stock items (on a weekday only when its not busy) but forget about ordering anything, way too many screw ups.
 
I've dealt with them a number of times, some positive experiences and some negative. A couple of the guys in there really know their stuff and I was impressed. However, my overall impression is that they are simply too busy and disorganized. Its a mystery to me why they don't overhaul the whole system, they are making heaps of cash now but I bet they could make another 50% profit if they stepped it up. (the website is just totally stone age, thats losing thousands right there)
I will go in there and buy in stock items (on a weekday only when its not busy) but forget about ordering anything, way too many screw ups.
Better than Canadian Tire at least.
 
bottom line. it is not one persons bad experience. many consumers had "bad" experiences with EPP which i know that i will not risk my chances with their business.
These days, restaurant, hotels, business are all about reviews. bad reviews and experiences repeating in CGN one of biggest forum for gunnuts got their store loose massive amount of foot traffic and potential sell.

will not do business with a place that has decent amount of "potential" to sour deal. thank you for letting me know!
 
I've had good and base service there. Me and three buddies make a trip out there about twice a year. Spend a lot of money too.
I will go back, but I will definitely inquire about return policy prior to purchasing.

Ps: as soon as I read the title I knew the thread would be derailed as per usual.
 
I am begining to believe that most of the manufacturers are sending thier "seconds" to the great white north, knowing full well that it is such a hassle to deal with issues,they figure we will just suck it up and live with minor problems that the American market would not tollerate.

I will chime in with my experiences at Epps as a walk in customer. I feel like I am inconviencing some of the staff there. Others are great. Have purchaced one firearm there (and I did do a thorough inspection before purchacing)
have still droped in on my way past there a few other times to purchace accesories, even though I never feel like they want or need my buisness.
I have purchaced the majority of my firearms at other locations in Ontario, for that reason. if I choose to deal with them again I would certainly ask for them to inspect my purchace before shipping and gaurante satisfaction.

Also for the OP you mentioned Prophet River. This guy is top notch in my experience. had an issue with an item and was promptly offered a refund. I will deal with them again in the future. Epps could learn something about customer service from them.
 
I'll reiterate what Claven2 said, which I think has the most validity of anything mentioned thus far:

A business should not be judged by the times they rapidly (and by pure luck) sell non-defective merchandise, they should be judged on how they deal with the instances where they have to deal with problems that are not the customer's fault.
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Th customer is not always right all of the time, but the right customer is.

  • Fair – Premium Price – Did the customer pay a fair price and potentially a premium price or was he focused on obtaining the deepest discount possible? Did he ignoring your quality and treat your product / service as commodity?
  • Knowledgeable – Customers who are knowledgeable are more likely to appreciate your value and what it takes to create it. In addition, they may require less education and therefore you require fewer resources to service them.
  • Collaborative – Customers who are willing to do their share, such as use self-service, are in the “right customer” category. Such customers understand that it takes two to succeed and are willing to do their share. As a result, they allow you to make a fair profit.
  • Win-win attitude – You can see it in their approach. The 'right customer' respects your brand and value. The wrong customer assumes it is a win-lose situation and they drive the hardest bargain possible with the assumption that any profit you make is a loss for them. They fail to see the value you provide in return.
 
I am very sorry to hear about what happened to you. I was considering a drive to their store but now I have reconsidered. Let us know if they resolve the issue. Best of Luck
 
Thanks for the post. Nothing worse than poor customer service. I will never buy anything from such an establishment given the number of other reputable dealers out there.
 
I too was looking to buy a few rifles from epps. they were a bit cheaper than some other places but saving $40 isnt worth s#@t service. once upon a time there was a saying" the customer is always right" it is sad how far things have come in 10-20 years. i value word of mouth more than some rating system.when i was in the military and getting posted to diffrent places and you were new to the area youd ask people for lets say a mechanic to get your car fixed. usually u heard the places NOT to go first and then where to go second.like was previously stated in this thread about how its not when they do their best service but what happens with their worst and for me thats the true judge of a buisness.

i know theres some fans of the store and thats fine but i like many that have joined CGN also use it to learn from others experiences.
i applaude the OP who started this thread and sharing HIS experience with the rest of us. in doing so hes most likely save more than a few of us Time, Money and Frustration.
 
Got a 77-44 from them, bought an extra mag and they forgot to put it in the order, i called to explain and they sended me 2 extra mags, one paid for and one FREE for my troubles, it cant be all that bad... JP.
 
They did the same thing to me. It worked out in my favour so I'm glad it happened the way it did. I just made a short drive to Lakefield and Savage replaced the defective rifle in record time with another. I'd just take it back and insist. I may have misunderstand what items are protected under Ontario's consumer protection laws but it seems clear to me that the item must function as intended. Also Epps sold you the rifle not Chiappa. They must know they'll get sorted out if push comes to shove. I'd start by contacting the consumer protection whatever and with some clarification call Epps and quote the act to them.

It's a great store, just has some staff that can be difficult at times. Makes me think I could be in retail...naw, who am I kidding.
 
.284 said:
It's kinda like fraud is it not? Out of curiosity did you ever contact M/C? I'd like to know their take on it
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Yes. MC said I had a strong case, but if I wanted to go ahead I had to ship it back, show them proof of the issue and proof it was returned and they would go from there. Since Epps has contacted me though and seems to want to sort it out now, I have not gone that route.
 
Talking with the manager/owner is definitely the way to go - they make the final decision for the business, and the fact that Claven2 was not allowed to talk to the manager/owner is clearly wrong.

I won't buy a gun from Epps if this situation isn't resolved properly.

For those that think we're all just keyboard monkeys whining about every little detail, they're clearly missing the point. I have saved thousands of dollars, been given loads of helpful free advice, and directed to great businesses, all thanks to experienced and helpful CGN'ers - for FREE!!!

So if I can help Claven2 to get some fair treatment by adding my support to this thread then I have a moral obligation in gratitude for all the helpful advice and time Claven2 has given for free to newbies so they could become happy gun owners who add to our numbers and help to ensure our gun privileges, not rights as per the US.

This is far more than just a "whiny customer" dispute, this is the voice of informed canadian gun owners.

I want to see every canadian gun business succeed, and I don't see the win in Epps closing, but their customer service is clearly sub-standard, and this cannot be accepted. Lets hope this thread helps to improve things, but I'm also a little doubtful, and it's becoming clearer to me why they offer such low prices. I can think of quite a few businesses that make up for poor quality and service with reduced prices.

I remember a Simpsons episode where Homer complains to Apu, the convenience store owner, about some bad shrimp he bought that made him sick, Apu remedies the situation by saying, "Oh?! I'm so sorry sir, here have a complimentary bucket of shrimp", which sends him right back to the hospital. That's how you feel when you save $50 and you get stuck with a piece of junk.

Yes the company Chiappa also deserves a chunk of the blame, for sure. Epps should definitely consider the quality of the product before they do any more business with that company.

Hopefully Epps will address this situation today, all the best.
 
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Janeau said:
Nobody is blaming Rossi for their poor quality...what wrong with this picture ?
It all start there..a bad product.. so WERE are the post that state that they will never buy a Rossi again ?? Were are the post stating Rossi are junk ?? With that many defects.. nobody can claim this a quality gun...so go at it guys..
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Janeau, maybe you are being sarcastic - I'm not sure. The gun was NOT a $500 Rossi - it was a premium $1150 Chiappa deluxe rifle. On a Rossi, I would expect some issues to deal with, but not on a premium rifle at a premium price. In any event, I'm hoping I only got one bad employee who would not pass me on to a more understanding employee. As I mentioned, Epps has contacted me and this may yet get resolved amicably.
 
evilhaze said:
You bought a Chippa, what did you expect? a Winchester? If your stupid enough to buy a $1000 item without even glancing at it, how is that Epps fault? You should have read the fine print before you bought it.
Do you think Epps is going to open every single box they get?

It's the opener of deer season, don't you think they got more important business to attend to that a whiny customer? like maybe serving customers that come in to see what they are buying.

Go to CT and buy a file, I can see what is wrong with the dovetail in the pic, looks like a simple fix.
Jason at Gunco can probably fix it for next to nothing.
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LOL.

1) Jason at Gunco is a good friend and he's already seen it. It's a FAIL. If you open up the dovetail, it makes the sight loose and won't be retained at all. I would have to make a custom sigh blade larger then 3/8". Doable, but not a new warranty-covered rifle.
2) Epps doesn't take photos for mail order buyers.
3) Yes, I expected a Winchester wrt quality. Every Chiappa dealer gushes about how the Chiappas are more like a pre-WW1 Winchester than a modern Winchester - that IS wht I expected. And if the gun had been properly assembled, it would easily meet that expectation. I would accept a direct replacement in a heartbeat if they had one in stock.
4) What fine print? Where did you get your law degree again?
5) CT??? Hello! 1980 is calling! Most CT's are lucky to carry Daisy.
6) wrt to your whiny customer comment... I give up.
 
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