Customer Service

[Tbauer]

Customer Service

I purchased a Benelli Montefeltro Left Hand 2 years ago. I sent it in because the stock has swelled and split. I take very good care of my gun as a $1000.00 is a lot of money to me. I called customer service and the lady I spoke with was very friendly. I told her that the stock had swelled and split in to different places. She said that it was covered under warranty and that even if the 5 year warranty was up they would still cover because they build and stand behind their product. (WAY BEHIND I AM COMING TO FIND OUT!) I sent the gun in the day after Turkey Day. I got a post card that said it would 20 business days until I got the gun back. That was December 1st. I called Benelli on 1/12/04 and spoke to someone in Customer Service. She said that the gum smith still had the gun and was waiting on parts. I asked how long it would take to get the parts. She said at this time they had no idea. I asked if I could speak to the manager of Customer Service. She put Amy (I think) on the phone. I asked Amy if she was the Customer Service manager and she said no, that she was his assistant. I explained to her that it was unacceptable to give an answer of I don’t know for a part that they should have on hand. Amy said that the stock anything wood is not covered under warranty. I said not according to the person that game me the return authorization number. She said are you calling me a liar? Well Amy YES I am calling you a LIAR! I did not say that of core but according to the web site I would say your pants are on fire!

What Is Not Covered – This warranty does not cover defects or damage caused by: 1) misuse or accidents; 2) failure to provide proper care or maintenance; 3) failure to comply with instructions in the owner’s manual; 4) normal wear and tear; 5) rust or corrosion; 6) obstructions in the barrel. This warranty does not cover any claims made by the second or subsequent owner of any Benelli product.

She said that at this point there is nothing that they can do for me the stock is not in and we do not know when to expect it in. I asked Amy if she thought that was acceptable. Amy said “I will not answer that.” I than ask Amy if you were the customer and someone told you that we do not have the piece to replace your warranty issue what would you do? After pausing for a few seconds Amy said “I am not going to answer that.” I then ask if they would be willing to provide me with a NEW gun or allow me to TRADE UP. Amy says I will have to talk to her manager CRAIG who will be in this afternoon. I say please provide him with my number and have CRAIG give me a call so that he can address my issue. I call back later yesterday afternoon and leave a message for CRAIG.

Now today 1/13 I still have not heard from CRAIG and I call and leave him another message.

Now I ask you how is that customer service?

I know it sounds bitter and that I may be slamming Benelli, TRUST ME I WOULD NEVER SLAM BENELLI, HOWEVER if people are not doing their jobs and can not live up to the reputation that their company has then this is something that must be said in a public forum.

Does anyone out there know of another way to get in contact with someone at Benelli that will provide the kind of customer service to reflect the reputation that Benelli has worked so hard to get?

Thank you
Tom Bauer.

[ 01-14-2005, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Tbauer ]

[mudhen]

Ok ok ok ok - you are mad - we get it.

Here is my list of issues:

1) What does your yellow warranty card say about wood parts? Mine all say that wood parts are not covered under the warranty. That being said, Benelli did replace a cracked wood stock on my SBE way back in 1992 at no charge. The new stock had a metal band tapped in. The same stock is now cracked even with the metal band and Benelli recently told me to pound sand when I asked for a new stock. I said ok, after all, the stock is now 13 years old, lasted 15,000 rounds, and I have a synthetic set on the gun now anyway! Wood parts are notoriously hard to get warranty repair work done on - I have had many fights with Browing as well on this issue.

2) What caused the stock to swell and split? It is usually from getting dunked. My wood stock got wet on the first day out in 1990, swelled a bit, and never went back to the original size. Maybe yours is bad wood though, I don't know.

3) The little section you quote is just a part of the Benelli warranty that is noted on the website, not the complete card.

4) What was your point in giving the CS lady a hard time? She said they don't have the part yet, what were you trying to achieve by continuing to blast her? Do you think she really had the part in a desk drawer and was just withholding it from you to be mean? Do you think she is the stock carver for Benelli? If your daughter worked at Benelli would you want some guy hassling her like you did?

5) Nice first post. Too bad you were not a regular member before you decided to get on here and vent. You have little credibility IMHO because you apparently only came here to b itch. The big red header says to direct all CS comments directly to CS! This forum is more for Benelli owners to exchange info.

6) The simple fact is that the part is not available. It happens. You do not get to decide what is a reasonable period of time to wait, it is a manufacturing issue. It can certainly be your opinion, but that's about it.

7) I think the Craig she is referring to is Craig Johnson. I recall he was sort of the leader of the CS team. I have had some luck, not much, by contacting him directly at; [email protected].

8) If you got an RA # for a warranty repair, then I think you should be able to enforce that against Benelli regardless of the wood clause in the warranty card.

You can search here for all sorts of other Benelli e-mail addresses, but they all have such specific titles that they may not be able to help.

Good luck!

mudhen - CA

[Tbauer]

Hey MUDHEN,
That’s right it is an opinion.

What was your point in giving the CS lady a hard time?

CS hard time, are you for real? I asked her if she were the customer how would she respond!

If your daughter worked at Benelli would you want some guy hassling her like you did?

I would hope that I raised her to be competent enough to follow through on messages left that meant the difference between doing a good job and a half a** job.

Nice first post. Too bad you were not a regular member before you decided to get on here and vent. You have little credibility IMHO because you apparently only came here to b itch. The big red header says to direct all CS comments directly to CS! This forum is more for Benelli owners to exchange info.

I am on this site often. I have not had any thing to say until now. No need to register to read posts! Does anyone out there know of another way to get in contact with someone at Benelli that will provide the kind of customer service to reflect the reputation that Benelli has worked so hard to get?

The simple fact is that the part is not available. It happens. You do not get to decide what is a reasonable period of time to wait, it is a manufacturing issue. It can certainly be your opinion, but that's about it.

You are correct. I simply would like to know an ETA for the part OR AT A MINNIMUM HAVE A PHONE CALL RETURNED.

OBVIOUSLY THIS IS WORTH REPEATING
I know it sounds bitter and that I may be slamming Benelli, TRUST ME I WOULD NEVER SLAM BENELLI, HOWEVER if people are not doing their jobs and can not live up to the reputation that their company has then this is something that must be said in a public forum.

[DiamondK]

I know this isn't the cure you are looking for but, Ebay has a couple of Montefeltro stocks listed.

[pablo]

Funny coincidence, but I was just about to post about a positive experience on the same problem.

I've had my left hand 12ga montefeltro less than six months and the stock cracked the first time it got dunked duck hunting. When I removed the butt plate, the inside surface was dry to the touch and I didn't notice any moisture.

Being lazy, it wasn't until yesterday that I called customer service (yesterday) to see if it was covered and they said they would replace it unless it was obvious I had abused the gun. I asked if I could wait until after hunting season and they also said that was fine. I was all smiles until I read this thread...

Tbauer, I noticed that the hollow inside the stock was way off center on mine. The right side wood is twice as thick as the left. Guess which side split? I wonder if the difference in thickness puts undo strain on one side when the wood swells.

The CS guy took plenty of time to answer my questions on another problem I had with the gun not firing. We'll see how the stock replacement goes this spring.

[Tbauer]

2 messages and now an email. Still waiting.

From:
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 11:53 AM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Service Order Number
Importance: High

Hi Craig,
Craig, do you plan on responding to the messages that I have left you? If not can you please respond to this email so that I can get in touch with someone who is willing to respond to me.

I do understand that people can get busy, but the title Customer Service should hold some value.

I have left you 2 voice mails and I also know that your assistant left you a message as well because you were out of the office Wednesday AM. If for some reason you have not been in the office since then I do apologize. If that were the case I would sincerely hope that your assistant would be following up with ALL messages that were left for you to return.

Please help me understand the way Benelli treats their customers.

Thank you,

[ 01-14-2005, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Tbauer ]

[tucker301]

If I were this guy, I'd be so PO'd at you and mudhen for posting my e-mail address to a public forum that I'd probably make sure that you never get your part!

Spammers use bots to retrieve such e-mail addresses and add them to their lists. Chances are pretty good that Craig's inbox is so full of crap by now that he may never see your messages.

[Tbauer]

TUCKER301, Thats why the have ANTISPAM SOFTWARE!

[Tbauer]

Issue resolved after some cage ratteling.

From: Craig Johnson
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 3:59 PM
To: Tom Bauer
Subject: RE: Service Order Number

Dear Mr. Bauer,

This is the first communication I have received from you.
I was out of the office all day on Wednesday. This morning, my assistant brought your file to my desk and explained the situation. I did a thorough check of our available wood inventory and came up with nothing for your particular shotgun. At that point I searched for entire guns that utilize the same stock and forend. I located a few in our inventory and directed our repair department to cannibalize one of them for a stock and forend. Our head gunsmith has advised me your gun will be repaired and shipped prior to January 21.
All of this occurred prior to my receipt of your email.
In any case, it appears that the issue is on its way to being resolved. If you have additional questions or comments, please feel free to email me.
On behalf of Benelli USA, I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

Best Regards,

Craig Johnson

[Tbauer]

My thank you to Benelli Customer Serive.

From: Tom Bauer
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 4:04 PM
To:
Cc: Tom Bauer
Subject: RE: Service Order Number

Thank you Craig for your immediate attention!
It makes me proud to be the owner of a Benelli and Benelli should be proud of their Customer Service Department!
Excellent Customer Service Craig, thank you!

Sincerely,