[goosecatcher]

Preface: This is my fair comment and perception of the truth of a situation that occurred to me. My comments are honest statements of opinion, based on fact, and not intended to be malicious. They are intended to announce a conclusion to my previous open topic.

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Friday, September 2nd I was looking to get clays to shoot for the weekend. Suffolk Sportsman is nearby and has a pretty good price with a bulk purchase, so I went there. I could ask about the progress on my rifle repair as well. (situation detailed below, quoted from this thread: http://www.longislandfirearms.com/forum/m-1300415477.71438/s-0/)

Alan was at the counter. There was a customer in the shop so I waited until they were done.
I say "Hey Alan."
He immediately turns to me and orders me out of the shop or he'll call the police.
My first response is "Why?"
He repeats himself.
I do the same. I tell him to call the police, not 100% knowing what this is about.
Alan claims the whole thing was a waste of time.
Now I know what he's taking about. I ask him, "Where's my rifle?"
He says, "It's in the garbage."
"I want my money back," I demanded.
He says, "Fine, get a reciept."
(Quoted text is how it was said exactly as I remember it)

At this point I'm furious. I go home get my reciept and call the police to meet me at the store. In the case that Alan did throw it out, I would have to report a lost/stolen firearm.

A Suffolk County Officer shows up and hears what I have to say. He goes into the shop and hears what they have to say. He comes back out and says to keep it civil and he will escort me into the shop to retrieve my firearm if I was willing to. I did so, signed off that I recieved the firearm and thanked the Officer. A police report was filed.

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I would like to thank the Officer again and the SCPD Dispatcher for calling me to let me know that someone was responding to my call and thanking me for my patience. Thank you.

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At this point I would like to inform the community of my temporary conclusion to this ordeal. I have one option remaining, but I am not sure if I will take the route of small claims court as suggested by the Officer. Suffolk Sportsman tried and failed. We can't win them all. I understand that. I would have liked them to take responsibility for the damages. I would have liked Alan to handle the in person situation with more professionalism. I would also like a billion dollars. We can't have it all.

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Back in November I purchased my first rifle from Suffolk Sportsman. I quote myself:

Picked up my first rifle here today and loved the patience shown by Alan. I was asking a ton of questions trying to figure out what the differences were between a few different AR's and their prices and if it was worth it. I settled for a happy medium.

I also appreciate the other customers who waited patiently. Such a calm environment and I'm going to be a regular customer.

Unfortunately, I have to recant this positive statement.

Being new to AR-15's I wasn't exactly sure what was normal fitting between the Upper and Lower receivers. When I took the rifle out for its first shooting and came back home to clean it I had a hard time. Pushing out the takedown pin was extremely hard, and fitting the Upper to the Lower back together was even harder. I looked it up and read that sometimes it needs to break in so I continued to use the rifle as it was.

After some time, I knew something wasn't right. So I take the rifle back to Suffolk Sportsman to have them look at it. Alan takes it and says come back in an hour when John in there to take a look at it. I get a call from John in an hour saying to come pick it up. Anxiously, I drive there thinking it will be a simple fix and I'd be on my way. I get there to pick it up and John says it'll cost $20. He said the buffer tube was screwed in too far and was preventing a flush fit between the upper and lower. I thought it was unfair for him to charge me because I bought the rifle like that, but he insisted that someone took tools to it to make it tight and he stripped out his tool trying to get it off. Yet my lock ring and buffer tube was marred up from his sloppiness. John said I should take the rifle back to where I bought it from and have them give me my money back because I purchased a used gun then. Apparently John didn't know that I had purchased the rifle from Alan and I quickly informed him that I purchased the rifle at his shop. He quickly insisted that I took tools to it.

I was angry. Not only did he accuse me of something that I didn't do, much less capable of doing, he also charged me for work that I did not approve. I asked them to take a look at the rifle, not complete any work; and for them to go ahead with the work without going over a price is unprofessional. I reluctantly paid the $20 to take possession of my rifle (hindsight says I should have called the police) and head home. I call up Alan that night and reason with him that I thought I was treated unfairly and with disrespect and we came to the agreement that I can have my $20 back. The principle is worth more than the money to me.

I thought the dispute was over, and wasn't going to bring anything up about it on these forums, but last week I had an issue with the AR's buffer retainer stripping out the notch on the buffer tube. The buffer tube was not screwed in far enough. So from the factory, the buffer tube was 1 turn too far in, and from the gunsmith's work, the buffer tube was backed out 1 turn and that was too far out.

Alright, I call up Del-ton, tell them the story, and ask if my gun can be covered under warranty. They didn't say no directly, but they said that I'll have to pay for shipping, insurance, and parts and labor to fix the rifle because it is marred up. So basically my rifle isn't covered under warranty anymore due to John screwing it up. -1 to Suffolk Sportsman, -1 to Del-ton.

Since my rifle isn't under warranty anymore, I took the buffer tube and screwed it in the original distance. Measured how much it was interfering with the lower and upper fitting together and milled that down. It now fits and functions perfectly. It just has bare aluminum showing, to match the lovely marring that John did.... A buffer tube and lock ring costs $20-30 but I feel like I was sold a broken gun that can't be returned and there was very little cooperation on the dealer and manufacturers part to fix my problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place. Once again, the principle is worth more than the money to me.

I give credit to Alan for being patient and working with me on the misunderstanding during this situation. If it were just him in the store, I'd go back. But I'm staying away due to John performing poor gunsmithing and insulting me. And Del-ton has a "limited" lifetime warranty. They want you to buy their rifles, but you can't do anything to them, even if the work was done by one of their dealers. Their prices are good, but I guess you get what you pay for. Lesson learned the hard way. Don't let the same mistake happen to you.

 

[Mad Russian]

Wow! Just Wow! I would expect this from the Soupman, not a local gun shop...next time come down to South Shore Sportsman. I'm not a big customer (yet) but for all the odds and ends I ever bought, everything was done professionaly, with patience, courtesy, and a smile.

 

[jedimaster]

I bought a Cold Gold Cup Trophy from Campsite in Huntington 2 years ago. It was my second pistol purchase there. The Colt pistol had a factory defect in the sear and grip safety that made it unsafe. (I am not one to ask for a recommendation for Colt's quality control). However Campsite was terrific. Even though it took three trips to Colt before Colt fixed the problems properly Campsite shipped the gun back at their cost until things got done right..even offering a refund that I didn't want.

I would recommend dealing with Campsite. I'm sure that there are other reliable dealers too, but I my experience with them is first rate.

 

[T.Webb]

I say ban Suffolk sportsman from the site until the necessary repairs are completed to the customer's satisfaction. And each and everyone of us ... 3000 strong should boycott the store and tie up their phone lines to tell them why.

 

[TheProfessional]

I say ban Suffolk sportsman from the site until the necessary repairs are completed to the customer's satisfaction. And each and everyone of us ... 3000 strong should boycott the store and tie up their phone lines to tell them why.

And loose their 50$/$60 rifle/pistol "discounted price" transfer fee ? ;D ;D
Oh noez !

 

[frank57]

i am really surprised i have been a customer of suffolk sportsman for years alan always treated me well and
more then once has gone out of his way for me i go to the store about once every 2 weeks and enjoy talking to alan and
checking out new inventory

 

[The Architect]

We need to hear both sides of the story....

 

[artburg]

Wow.I have my own reasons nor to buy there but this just adds more
To the list.
You got it back?Not fixed I assume?

 

[goosecatcher]

We need to hear both sides of the story....

I would like to hear Alan's side. I didn't get a chance to hear what he was thinking because he demanded I leave before any discussion could take place. I felt he didn't leave me any choice but to call the authorities.

 

[goosecatcher]

Wow.I have my own reasons nor to buy there but this just adds more
To the list.
You got it back?Not fixed I assume?

I did get it back. It is in the same condition as when I dropped it off to him to be sent out.

 

[Adam]

We need to hear both sides of the story....

As someone still new to LI, who is looking for a reliable place to 'call my own', instead of still going back to PA for my purchases, I would be very interested in hearing the defense of Suffolk Sportsmen by having them post their side of the story here. Their has certainly been more than this one bad comment about their customer service in this community.

 

[Shotime]

As someone still new to LI, who is looking for a reliable place to 'call my own', instead of still going back to PA for my purchases, I would be very interested in hearing the defense of Suffolk Sportsmen by having them post their side of the story here. Their has certainly been more than this one bad comment about their customer service in this community.

You should check out chesters. I am there at least once a week. He always goes out of his way for me.

 

[Strat688]

i am really surprised i have been a customer of suffolk sportsman for years alan always treated me well and
more then once has gone out of his way for me i go to the store about once every 2 weeks and enjoy talking to alan and
checking out new inventory

+1

 

[Pat M]

Sounds like a bad situation all around.  I'd box it up, send it to Del Ton for proper repair, and look forward to some fun at the range.  The current status is just going to burn you up and raise your blood pressure.

 

[Trailblazer]

I've purchased most of my recent handguns from Suffolk Sportsman and they provided excellent, courtesy service.  Al and John are more than gentleman.  Just recently I went there on a Sunday and John helped me put those small plastic cups on my Glock 26 firing pin assembly.  NO problem here with Suffolk Sportsman!!

 

[toxikviper]

i am really surprised i have been a customer of suffolk sportsman for years alan always treated me well and
more then once has gone out of his way for me i go to the store about once every 2 weeks and enjoy talking to alan and
checking out new inventory

+1

Those guys are always great to me and everyone I send there

 

[perimedik]

I know goosecatcher and his word is enough for me not to patronize the business.
I'll stick with CampSite for which I have had zero issues.
Sucks that you had a bad interaction there.

 

[Islander]

Maybe they are nice to people they have come to know, but to a new customer walking in, I got a very unfriendly attitude. Right off the bat, the two guys sitting at the counter don't even aknowledge my presence, the only two in the store besides myself. You think they would say "hi" or "can I help you" to a 46 year old potential customer. Made me feel like I was invading their space. If anyone knows them, tell them they prob loose a lot of buisness this way.
This summer was just my first and last impression of them.

 

[Destro]

Maybe they are nice to people they have come to know, but to a new customer walking in, I got a very unfriendly attitude. Right off the bat, the two guys sitting at the counter don't even aknowledge my presence, the only two in the store besides myself. You think they would say "hi" or "can I help you" to a 46 year old potential customer. Made me feel like I was invading their space. If anyone knows them, tell them they prob loose a lot of buisness this way.
This summer was just my first and last impression of them.

Earlier this year as a first time walk-in to the store I had a completely different experience. Alan was ultra polite and professional and accommodating to me.
Shop owners are human, and people have different interpretations and reactions to certain things. I've read a lot of conflicting "reviews" of shops, but I would agree if there is a pattern of issues, then that's a real problem.

I think it's also important to note that one experience is just that. I had one shop do a very reasonable transfer a year ago for me for an AK I got from Henderson Defense. Smooth, pleasant transaction. This year I called the shop (which once had fixed prices for transfer fees listed on their site) and asked how much to transfer a long gun? "What kind?" A Sub 2000. "Oh for that $150, buddy." Maybe he was having a bad day? Mark at Hunter did it for $25, and haven't used the other place since, but I might step foot in their shop and see how that goes.

 

[Captain Will]

Goosecatcher seems to be reasonable in his expectations, I would like to hear the other side also but it sounds like they need a refresher course on the mantra of "the customer is always right". It also sounds like Del-Ton's QC isn't too hot- from what I understand they are at the extreme budget end on pricing, so this could serve as a reminder that we often get what we pay for. This is not to say that Goosecatcher deserves an inoperational gun, but rather that some problems may be expected on budget items, and with low margins, a dealer may not have the incentive to go the extra mile to correct them.