Bad experience at epps.........to be continued?????

If I was the owner of Epps I would be seriously reprimanding the manger/employees who handled that situation... and if it is in fact the way the owner would have handled things then I think he is going to learn quick that screwing over one person in the internet age is not like it was 20 years ago...
 
I just moved to the Durham region from BC. What I don't like about Epps, & why they probably won't get my business is that they could have avoided this situation. All that they need to implement is a simple quality control check before shipping. They would have quickly discovered the defect with the gun. If it was the last one, then they could have communicated the issue to the OP. This is what Epps should do... Replace the rifle, and send the defective one back to the manufacturer themselves. That is what good customer service is, and what we all expect to read happened in the end.
 
I have purchased from Epps before and had a pleasant experience (no problems with my guns, obviously), but something that I notice in dealing with them is that whenever I try to communicate with them, I feel like I'm dealing with the Canadian government, like they're just doing their jobs and know that we're going to buy from them either way. Someone in the last thread alluded to grocery stores that have a "get your stuff, pay for it, and leave" mentality.

The first time I tried to make my order, instead of having my order happily accepted, I was instead instructed to use the online order form, print it out, find the stock codes I want and then fax it in to them with my CC info on it. That kind of seems like how the buying experience should go if I'm a dealer and buying wholesale, but as an end consumer, I expect a slightly more human interaction when I'm spending hundreds or thousands in one go.

The 'serve yourself' experience is the main reason I won't be buying firearms from Epps again, but the rest of what I'm hearing means I probably won't buy anything else from them, either.
 
I agree. I'm sure stuff like this happens by accident all the time. But I would have expected a lot more from a reputable store like EPPS, I would expect any store no matter how busy they were would at least take the time to open a box and visually inspect any firearm leaving the shop. If they store has a in shop gunsmith then it's the least the could do. When I was in retail there is no way we wouldn't inspect products as they came in for damage or poor workmanship. If we found products that were damaged or not fit for sale we would send them back and not try and pass them off. If you couldn't return the items them we would disclose they were damaged and sell them for the lowest possible price.

If I purchased an expensive firearm online and it came to my door with factory damage that the store staff should have noticed when they received the inventory I would be very mad. Buy a nice new firearm for a lot of us men is like having a new baby, and if your baby came damaged you would not be happy.

The fact that the store won't take damaged unused items back within a few days for a full refund or replacement is enough for me to never want to deal with them. The fact that they let this go on and on and won't chime in and do the right thing is atrocious.

EPPS was highly refereed to me by several "old timers" that I would take what they say with high regard.. I was planning on taking a trip out there to pick up a bushmaster, but now I defiantly will not. I am not going to risk having to go threw all this.
 
I have shopped at Epps many times in the last decade or so, and I used to recommend them to everyone. I found them knowledgable and friendly, and I was always able to handle any goods that caught my eye. Also, they had the best selection of ammo, including hard to find calibres, of any store north of TO. I drove up there once on a whim to see if they could find me some .41 Rimfire, and they had some IN STOCK! This was about five or six years ago...
So, a clouple of months back a friend of mine needed a broken screw extracted from his flintlock rifle, and wanted to buy a flintlock for his wife. I suggested he call Epps. Guy on the 'phone says they have a cheap one in stock for about $500. We drive up there next day, 8:30am. When my friend puts his rifle on the counter, the guy asks for his PAL. Buddy says nope, he left it at home, but he doesn't need it for flint anyways. Epps' guy gets livid and starts going on about illegal carry or something, until another employee corrects him. Says its minimum of 5 weeks to do any gunsmithing. Fine. So my friend asks about the flintlock on display, says he called yesterday and was told there's one for $500. Employee says the one on the wall is $8000, and when my friend scoffs the guy basically said take it or leave it. We then spent an hour being ignored while we rummaged through bins of BP shooter's supplies. In the end, my friend got his gun fixed in a half hour from a small shop about 8km up the road.
Hey Epps, when two guys show up at 8:30am, it means they either drove very far and know what they're after, or are just really eager to spend $$$$. A little bit of " I'm sorry, we're extremely busy. Is there something else I could assist you with today?" or "If $8000 is out of your budget, might I recomment a cheaper alternative" goes a long way. My friend went there with a with a fresh paycheque, and left spending about $65. A littleprofessional effort on Epps part could have added at least a zero onto his bill. That being said, who the heck else stocks .50 BMG and .41 RF? Sometimes they got you by the *****.
 
Over 15,000 views and 235 posts on the last thread in only 4 days. That's gotta sting! Governments have been overthrown by the use of online public forums! Perhaps this might change some policies... Marstar backs what they sell, so clearly it's possible!
 
Guys in fairness I owe wes a call, he has been trying to contact me but I'm deer hunting in new Brunswick this week and have not been near a phone during their business hours.
 
My last stop at epps was harsh felt like I wasn't worth there time guess I didn't spend enough at least I was lucky enough my riffle wasn't defective from the factory.
 
I have only dealt with Epps for orders over the phone or through email. The few times I have used them everything went smoothly. Maybe they need some more staff that with firearms technical knowledge to help spot faulty firearms. I know my friend, who use to own his own gunsmithing business, applied for a job there. Don't think they ever called him back for an interview. He would have been a great addition to Epps as he knows his stuff.
 
The last thread has plenty information on the business practices at Epps. A lot of people have read through those and are aware of what they might be getting into by buying from them. The fact that they closed the last thread without any explanation or resolution just shows how little they think of their current(probably past) and potential customers.

PS, Happy hunting Claven2...shame you couldn't take your new rifle, but i guess its hard to aim without a solid front sight :rolleyes:
 
Just recieved a nice 223 Marlin VH from Epps, fast shipping, good looking rifle and i think it will shoot good... JP.
 
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