Problems with CZ-USA service...

R

Rainbow Six

New member
For those of you who haven't seen my rants in other threads, I have had 4 fail to extract/eject instances in 300 rounds. The first two happened in the first two hundred rounds using Georgia Arms 115gr ball. The other two happened in the third hundred rounds using Winchester "white box" 115gr ball. In the first two instances the brass was left partially in the chamber requiring the dropping of the magazine and a rack of the slide to remove it. Both happened in the middle of a magazine. In the second two instances the empty brass was left lying on top of the mag follower after the last shot from the mag when the slide locked back requiring that the gun be tilted over to dump the empty.

I initially thought that maybe the failures were ammo related. The Georgia Arms stuff shot SOOO nasty that I figured maybe the chamber was fouling so bad that it was gripping the brass too tight. I got the Winchester to see if the gun would fail with another brand ammo. Also, between brands I gave the chamber and barrel a real scrubbing and a very light run through with CLP and JB bore paste on a patch to insure that ANY fouling in the chamber was removed before trying another ammo.

After I had two failures in one hundred rounds with different ammo and a thorough cleaning I called CZ-USA and told the very polite female that answered the phone that I needed to speak with someone about a problem with a CZ pistol. She put me through to "Mike". In short, I didn't exactly hang up the phone with a warm fuzzy feeling toward CZ-USA that some people seem to get after talking to Mike. To be fair, public relations really isn't his responsibility and I understand that. He fixes CZs and from what I've heard he's VERY good at that. I know he must be a very busy person and answering the phone no doubt takes him away from other tasks. Fair enough, no problem, I understand this.

Mike said it sounded like a defective extractor. I asked him if I needed to send it to him. He said that he'd send me an extractor and briefly explained how to put it in. He also said that it would go out "today" which was 08/09/01. A week and a day later I still have a useless pistol and no parts to fix it.

And here we are. I have seen the address to the CZ home office somewhere. As soon as I dig it up I am going to send them a letter making known my disgust with the way this matter has been handled. I think I'll also send a copy to CZ-USA. My e-mails get polite and courteous replies but no action to date. This does not fix my pistol. I won't put another round through it until I have installed the parts. Each failure decreases my confidence in this pistol. Each day that passes without parts in my hand to fix it decreases my confidence in CZ-USA. It doesn't seem to be as big of a deal with them as it is me.

I will update this thread to let everyone interested know how it turns out.

R6
 
I'm sorry that you are unhappy with your CZ. It stinks when you get a gun that everyone loves and it doesnt work for you. However:

1) 2 weeks is kinda the minimum response time I expect from any firearm mfg. It's sad, but most firearm companies dont have very good service or support compared with other industries. However most decent brands also have much fewer problems then other industries. It's a trade off I am willing to live with. I am a computer programmer by trade, and I dream of the days when computer hardware and software reach the reliability point met by firearms.

2) Did all the failures happend with the same mag? I had a bunch of problems with other firearms, including some that looked like extraction failures, which I was blaming on the gun until I kept track of which mags I was using. YMMV.

3) I believe CZ-USA is getting beat into the ground right now. The whole company has like 8 employees and I suspect they've been caught be surprise by the popularity of their products. Give them a break.

I really hope your problem gets solved and that you will enjoy your CZ. I have over 3000 rounds through my Mil version and I am so spolied by it that I can't purchase any other 9mm. Whenever I look at one I invariably compare it to my CZ and I cant think of a reason why I would want a new 9mm. This might be different if I could carry in my state but I can't.

Best of luck to you, and I hope that you will put up with this and not let it spoiled what might be a happy relationship with a wondeful firearm.

Loch
 
Not all manufacturer's customer service is the same. I had a problem with a Smith model 66 spitting lead. Sent it back, they reamed the forcing cone and I had it back within 10 calendar days. Used FEDEX 2nd day air to them, they FEDEX'ed it back. To me, this is the standard that all manufacturer's, firearms or otherwise, should try to meet.
 
S&W (or you for that matter) had no choice but to send a fiream using either FedEx or UPS 2nd day air. It's illegal to send a firearm USPS and both FedEx and UPS mandate that firearms be shipped a certain method (expedited) when using them as the carrier...

Rick
 
I've had quite a few dealings with CZ-USA and their smith, Mike (Eagleshield?). They have typically been between good and excellent. I was once sent the wrong part which they corrected ASAP and did not require the wrong part returned. Give them a day or two more.

I would have also ordered an extractor spring.
 
Bandit: I understand the shipping requirements. The point of my previous post was that, in my opinion, the turnaround was exceptional! The revolver was at the Smith service center for about 6 days turn around. Not bad!
 
Arub,

Ahh my bad.. That was quick and I agree all manufacturers SHOULD make every effort to respond to customers needs in a timely manner. In Rainbow Six's case, I was merely pointing out that they (CZ-USA), may have fallen prey to the method of shipping used to ship the parts. It's been 9 days since the parts were supposed to be shipped. I've had "Priority Mail" via USPS take up to 9-10 days to receive. Doesn't sound very much like USPS handled it as a priority to me and couldn't fault the sender since the article was postmarked the day it was stated to of been shipped.. :D

Rick
 
If you read the USPS stuff on 'priority mail', they don't guarantee any specific time. The priority mail does get lost a lot less, but it is usually not much faster (if at all) than first class. That said, I still ship parts and stuff Priority. It usually does only take 3-4 days.
 
8 Employees?

If CZ-USA is so undermanned due to product popularity, are they going to get more help (hire more people) to correct this? It seems silly to me that they only have one gunsmith to work on all the CZ's sold in the US. I think they need to get bigger in order to deal with the demand....
 
It seems silly to me that they only have one gunsmith to work on all the CZ's sold in the US
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure Mike is the ONLY gunsmith that CZ-USA employs, only that he is the head of the gunsmithing department at CZ-USA. I agree they need to expand their employees to meet the demand of their product and it's merely speculation on anyones part as to the true demand on their product and whether or not there is a need to expand employment at this time.

Being an importer and not having control over manufacturing, they are at the mercy of the manufacturer and import red tape on supplying the US with products in a timely manner.

Rick
 
Well, another day and no parts. It's gonna be at least 12 days now. Just thought I'd update the post. I don't even care any more. This gun will be a paper puncher and a safe queen. I refuse to invest my dollars and efforts into carry gear for this gun. I can appreciate everyone's comments on the shipping deal but until I am convinced that someone at CZ really gives a $hit about my satisfaction I'm not a satisfied customer. As posted above, YMMV.

Here's where my CZ 75 Compact and CZ 97B money went...

instead.jpg


I did pick up a set of Hogue rubber grips for it today. I'm still kind of optomistic about occasional range trips with it if the extractor fixes the problem. :)

R6
 
Tough thing

R6,

It's tough not to get good customer service. I know that all companies can drop the ball once in a while, but I've yet to get bad service from Glock USA. Maybe I'll have a bad experience someday. Nice pair of Glocks you got there, are those a G17 and G26?
 
Joe,

Hot Shots had one set and AO had five or six sets believe it or not. HS had them for $17.99 and AO was $18 and change. Luckily HS is on the way to AO so I stopped there first. :)

Tecolote,

As for Glock's customer service, same for me! The Glocks are (1) a G17 ("used", absoultely no wear, even has copper based Glock factory lube still on slide. It's never even been cleaned! Likely only test fired! :D), and (2) a G27 (NIB straight from Glock through Smyrna Police Distributors). I really didn't want another .40 but it's for on-duty ankle carry and I am issued a G22. It just plain makes sense to get the G27 and be able to use my G22 mags if need be. This has ALWAYS been one of the major selling points that took Glock to the top of the duty pistol heap for me.

At one time, when working a lot in a high crime/serious drug area I carried a G22 and four extra mags on my belt, a G23 on one ankle and a G27 on the other, all loaded to capacity(hi-caps of course!). I didn't carry the G23 on ankle for very long as it didn't really hide that well and it wasn't very comfortable. :D

R6
 
gun repairs

Remington--1187 shotgun sent in, three weeks
Taurus-- mdl 85 sent in by friend--3 weeks
ruger--77/22 hornet, 4 weeks
Brownell's ordering parts---avg 5 days
Gun parts corp---usually 10 to 12 days

Your experiences may vary
 
Update: I think we're cookin' now. :)

Just an update for those interested in the outcome of this issue.

Upon the suggestion of Kev at CZForum.com I sent an e-mail to "Marty" at CZ-USA last night politely voicing my concerns about not getting the parts in a more timely manner and the fact that I was having problems getting factory rubber grips. He sent me a reply asking me to call him and saying that he would resolve my problem.

I also got the package from CZ-USA containing an extractor but no spring. Also, the postmark on the package was 08/14/01. I have talked to a few people by e-mail and one person locally that said they had to replace the extactor spring to cure the same problem I described. I called Marty and told him that I did receive the extractor today but I still had concerns after speaking with the other owners stating that the spring was also required to cure their problem and that I would be right back where I started if the spring was indeed the problem. I also expressed my disappointment in the fact that I couldn't even get an idea when any rubber grips would be available.

Here's where I hope the story took a turn for the better. I had not even finished telling him that the spring wasn't included in the package when he said that he'd put it on UPS today and I'd probably see it tomorrow. That sounded good. He also put me on hold for a second and then returned saying that he had a new demo gun that had a set of rubber grips and that he'd pull them and send them with the spring. When I asked how much they would cost he stated that I had experienced a problem with CZ-USA and that he would not charge me for the grips and he hoped that they would help restore my confidence in Customer Service at CZ-USA.

He also included that they only have seven employees and tons of customers and that mistakes do happen and things get lost but he seemed very concerned with making my problem right. I truly want to believe that my problem was just a case of "falling through the cracks and that this is more representative of CZ-USA's customer service.

I really didn't want to believe that I was getting their "standard" great service and it appears that I didn't. However, like I told Marty, all I cna ask for is that it be made right. It appears to me that he is attempting to do so as we speak. Pending receipt of the spring and grips I have to put Marty's willingness to help right up alongside the service I have received from Glock USA in the past. He seemed just as willing to solve my problem as anybody at Glock has ever been. :)

Fingers crossed that the extractor and spring fix the problem! :D

R6
 
Yeah, Joe! I was gonna hit you up and make you fix the Glock raffle so I'd win just for getting me into this. If I hadn't shot your CZ first I wouldn't have bought one and became addicted! :D

I don't knwo whether to thank you or throw reloading dies at you!!!;)

R6
 
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