Customer Service. Ruger vs Rossi

M

mellow_c

New member
I spent 4 hours today on the phone, packing, typing, and preparing to send back two handguns, one to Ruger and one to Rossi.

I bought the Rossi new years ago, I've shot it very little and it's always had a problem with the action binding up occasionally. I'd do a double action trigger pull and it would get so hard that I'd have to use the hammer to force it through the rest of the way to fully cock the hammer. It's absolutely a problem with the gun and I finally got around to sending it back.

Rossi said... you've owned it for such and such amount of time so you must pay the shipping.... $50.00 for a shipping label through them. The guy was doing his job, reading from the manual on what he's supposed to do. I was very friendly with him and thanked him multiple times, he sounded like he was about ready to go home to put it nicely. Fine I guess, no problem, just another $50.00 into a $250.00 gun.



Next up, I called Ruger. Told them about an old Ruger Standard I bought a while back used from a pawn shop. I told them it never worked properly with it having consistent problems ejecting fired casings. I told them I rebuilt the bolt with factory parts and now I'm wondering if it could be the ejector or something else. The girl was Oh So Nice and happily said they would provide me with free shipping to and from and free repairs. I think I paid around $180.00 for the standard and it's in wonderful shape externally and internally despite it's functioning problems.

Once the Standard is fixed I'd bet it to be worth more than I paid for it. Once the Rossi is fixed I bet I'd be pretty excited to get $200.00 for it.

I'll be keeping them both. Overall I'm glad to have them on their way. I've been putting this off for years!

Just another day in the life of an enthusiast :D
 
I bought a used Vaquero and didn't realize the front sight was shaved down. Couldn't get it on paper with factory 45 Colt. Called Ruger and got the same pleasant service that you did. When it was returned it had a factory new front sight, reblued and I swear the action was tuned, free of charge. Sturm Ruger will continue to get my business.
 
I bought a p85 from a gunsmith who used it as a parts gun. The gun was missing several parts including a rear sight. I called Ruger told them how I bought it and I wanted them to rebuild it for me. The person on the phone said to send it to them and he would get a price for me for them to rebuild it with factory parts. Ruger paid the shipping and literally 2 weeks not months but weeks later my gun was sent back to me in like new condition. The amazing thing is they never charged me a dime for anything. I paid 60 bucks for the gun. Amazing customer service and by far exceeded my expectations.
 
Rossi's unwillingness to service their older guns even for a fee, speaks poorly of them as a company in spite of some good guns.
 
I remember the older Rossi's crude clunky and parts not tempered that would round off with use . They seem to be better now , I wonder if they consider themself a different company now ?
Ruger has always had my bussiness . Im thinking about sending them my old style M77 25-06 to factory reblue and replace the rear site I took off to mount a 50mm scope and lost .
 
I can also attest to Ruger's excellent customer service, as I had a small issue with one of my P95's. They paid for shipping and I received a brand new pistol on a five-day turnaround.
 
I bought the Rossi new years ago, I've shot it very little and it's always had a problem with the action binding up occasiona

Rossi said... you've owned it for such and such amount of time so you must pay the shipping
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(Note to self: Taurus, shoot the heck out of it the first year.)
 
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It always pays to buy a quality gun from a maker that stands behind their product. I'll continue to support Ruger as well.
 
My Taurus auto experience is better left unexplained as I pride myself in having good blood pressure. I now have a Rossi 16" model 92 replica (Braztech import) that works fine.......after I took it apart, stoned everything and replaced the idiot, after thought, junk safety and plastic follower. Works pretty good but when it breaks in a way I cannot fix it will become a tomato stake as I will never contact that company again. But then again it is quite satisfying to cut a Taurus auto in half with a chop saw :)
 
I also have an older Rossi Puma and if I had any problems with it I would send it to Nate Joned (The Rossi Specialist), he is THE recommended person for 92 repairs. I also was upset with Rossi when I was looking for a new front sight for my Rossi 720 44spl. They said they dont service anything for the older guns and they did not even want to talk to me.:mad: I have used Ruger & S&W customer service a few times over the years and there customer service is second to none.
 
smee78, many of the internal parts for the Rossi 720 are the same as their current 4" .357 model 971 or something like that. front sight blade and pin.... et cetera. but if you have a pro that can fix timing and sights and so forth on the older Rossi revolvers guns post his contact info.
 
Ruger's CS is legendary. They offer no written warranty and even say that in the owner's manual. But the stand behind their products and pay for nearly everything, free of charge, regardless of how long you have owned the gun or if you are the original owner.

I recall a thread here where somebody send back a Six revolver that Ruger no longer supports. They called the owner and said they can't fix the gun, but would sell him a new GP100 or SP100 at cost, something like $300. Shipped right to his door.

Now that's service, and that's why I buy Ruger. S&W makes a great gun and I have a few, but Ruger has MUCH better customer service and will continue to get my business.

I took apart a couple of 10/22 mags to give them a detailed cleaning. Just couldn't get the tension right on the springs and the magazine wouldn't work. Called Ruger to ask about what I am doing wrong, and they sent me 2 free magazines in the wrapper free of charge. Told me to keep the ones that I took apart and keep working at it, that I would probably get it right if I kept trying!
 
JerryS, sorry no pro around here, I was able to find a replacement sight after one place refered to to place x, then place x said to try place y and so forth and so on. I was just about to give up and make my own when I finally found a guy who had some of the older Interarms parts, got me a factory red ramp replacement. For the life of my I havent been able to find his contact info or the reciept from the gentleman. I have seen a few people who could of been helped by him and I go looking everytime I see someone in need, but no luck yet.:(
 
In defense of Rossi

The gun was originally $250. After buying the metal,machines, paying for the labor and then selling it wholesale, how much could their profit have been? I'm guessing they only made $50-75 on the deal. The dynamics of the sale necessitate them charging something just so they don't take a loss. $50 sounds reasonable to me, especially after years of use. Just my 2$ :)
 
I have an LC9-S and it had an older version of the guide Rod. They switched to one with a cone head. Called them up and asked for a new one. Had it three days later. They told me to keep the older one.
 
I constantly lose the little rubber thing that fits between the SR-22 AR grip and the trigger guard (i'm 99% sure that my youngest beagle steals it to chew on.) I've had to call for a replacement atleast 3 times... I feel bad cuz I always offer to pay for it and they keep sending it to me for free. It speaks volumes of a company to stand behind something they don't need to. Frankly I don't know of any other industry that has companies that will do that.
 
After buying the metal,machines, paying for the labor and then selling it wholesale, how much could their profit have been? I'm guessing they only made $50-75 on the deal. The dynamics of the sale necessitate them charging something just so they don't take a loss. $50 sounds reasonable to me, especially after years of use. Just my 2$
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You do realize that Rossi wanted $50 to ship the gun to them? Nothing was said about the cost of actual repair.

Ruger's CS is legendary. They offer no written warranty and even say that in the owner's manual.
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People sometimes wonder about Ruger, after all, they don't offer a warranty!
The reason they don't offer a written warranty is because of the different laws in different places that state what a written warranty must consist of. Ruger simply doesn't play that game.

The stand behind their stuff, at a level unkown outside the firearms industry, and I actually don't think its matched often inside the industry.

One of the things I like most about the Ruger customer service is how often I need to use it. Over 40 years and a couple dozen Rugers, I've only needed it once. A bad .22 blew out the extractor of a 10/22 (and of course its lost). Had the manual, I lost two $.50 parts. Wrote a short note to Ruger, dropped a dollar in an envelope, and in a week I had both parts plus the spring. Not bad, considering first class mail took 3days + on average at the time.
 
CS

I didn't have quite the same experience with Ruger as some of you have.
I had a Red Label 20 Ga. That was doubling and also not ejecting the empties.
I called Ruger and was issued a return order, but I had to pay the freight which was $85.oo insured. They did get the doubling issued fixed but not the ejection issue solved. I sold it a month later.

It was still great CS that they work on discontinued products.
 
I am not really warranty orientated begin a gun collector. A lot of firearms I own the manufacturer no longer exists. I love the history and mechanics of firearms. ALSO I am quite capable of fixing most of my guns. Such is the life of a very addicted gun collector.
 
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