Thread: Why I wont buy a Kel-Tec product

I have had my eyes on the Kel-tek RFB for a LONG time!! I thought I would email the customer service, and ask when It would be for sale in my area...

I have the $$$ saved up for this even!!!

here's the email...



----- Original Message -----
From: Ian
To: Kel-Tec Customer service
Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 1:35 PM
Subject: Contact request from KEL-TEC


when will the RFB rifle be for sale in washington, thanks- Ian

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----- Original Message -----
From: Kel-Tec Customer Service
To: Ian
Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: Contact request from KEL-TEC


have no idea.

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(I have not edited the email one word!! that is what they said "have no idea.")

The whole Idea of customer service is to Serve the Customer, Not to act Clueless and unhelpful....

I will Never buy a Kel Tec product!!

I agree that customer service has been on the decline for a long time. In almost every industry.
The guy at least gets a couple of points for honesty...

Well it is not up to keltec to distribute the guns, so they really have no idea, and are not the people to talk to.

It's nothing personal. They probably get a hundred similar inquiries every day, so it should be no surprise that they are sick of a question that they cannot answer. Like most other gun manufacturers, they are utterly swamped with keeping up prodution to meet demand.

On the other hand, Kel-tec owners seem to agree that there is GREAT service for warranty issues if they arise.

Personally, I know of one Kel-tec P11 that has fired at least 400 rounds without any kind of failure, remarkably accurately and exactly to point of aim.........................elsullo

Customer service has no control on where the guns are allocated.


They don't sell to dealers and there aren't any distributors that distribute Keltecs in WA.

How about "have no idea...but I'll find out and write back"...

Regardless of extenuating circumstances for the particular customer service agent, bored, tired of the same questions etc... The response is totally unacceptable.
If I was their employer I would button hole that person big time over something like that.
When you respond back to Kel-Tec be sure to provide a link to this thread. A company needs to know that in this day and age of electronic communication that customer service failures like that will snow ball.

iStud-

You should contact customer service and recommend a better approach to handling questions like yours. The Firearms industry is still trying to recover from the last years onslaught but that isn't an excuse.

If I were in charge over there I would have my people respond to pre-made canned answers were all they have to do is copy and paste and then if there is a follow on question from the original answer, it would be addressed at a personal level.

This RFB, is it the bullpup .308 that takes FAL mags?

SF-

I don't write off a whole organization because of one rude employee. I look at the overall record and rep, but that's just me.

I agree that's really rude, but it wouldn't stop me from getting what I want.

My experience is that email "customer service" or the "Contact Us" on a web site is an unfortunate by-product of the internet and is used a 'smoke screen' or a last - ditch effort for the manufacturer to buy time before someone actually takes the time to wait on hold to talk toa person. I deal with many different companies and always use the "contact us" email system - not necessairly because I am going to get anything resolved through it but to see if I even get an answer. I figure a rough estimate response percentage to be about 25% - and usually the messages are little more that what you got. I would not judge a company by it's customer service email response. Most of the time once you talk to a person they are more than eager to help, especially in these times.

O-well... I guess I will give it a few years and see how the rifle turns out in the long run... I just did not expect a (small) company like that to respond that way...

I would expect the CS dept to want to help sell a product, not give answers like that...

Well...... We will see what this rifle will do, then I might buy a used one someday. My main concern with a reply like that is not that they did not have information for me, but it leaves me asking myself... Is this a company that I want to buy a NEW product from, and have to deal with this company if there are any issues?? I know there are FEW New firearms that dont have a recall in the first couple years.

Regardless if they know or not - they need to brush up on their skills. I have never found Kel Tec CS to be anything but lame. I bypass them and talk to the tech's. They are a lot more friendlier and helpful.

I would put KT and Ruger at the bottom of the list and Smith and Wesson at the top for companies who have bad and great Customer Service reps.

Originally Posted by MilesTeg

I bypass them and talk to the tech's. They are a lot more friendlier and helpful.

Good to know...

Im not opposed to buying from a company with bad CS skills if I know the product is worth it, and been tested long term... (cough cough HK) I will wait on the RBF rifle and see what happens...

I have a three KT's, never had to use cstomer service on any of them so I can't comment on that other than the contact SHOULD have said he didn't know but he'd get back to you.

One of my KT's is a P-40 with a .357 SIG barrel and I've still never had any throuble with it even though they quit making the P-40 due to "problems". The usual "problem" was limp wristing it and the resultant jam-o-matic. Hold it hard and it doesn't happen even with hot .357Sig rounds.

Originally Posted by MilesTeg

I would put KT and Ruger at the bottom of the list and Smith and Wesson at the top for companies who have bad and great Customer Service reps.

Wow, if Ruger is at the bottom then where is EAA? I've never found Ruger's CS to be bad, and they "did" a good job when I've had to use them in the past. EAA on the other hand is truly terrible in the CS dept and they ding you for every little thing.

Not to hijack the thread but this is my recent email exchange with Kel-Tec:

Hello

The 17 round Glock style mag included with my Sub 2000 frequently jams and causes FTF's. I have a 'real' Glock 17 round mag that allows it to cycle perfectly. I have noticed the follower in the Kel-Tec supplied mag does not fit well, is loose and allows the rounds to move from side to side and does not feed properly. Will you replace the mag for me?

yes sir, send it in with a note describing the problem, thanks


Thanks for the quick reply. Now - would you consider giving me the accessory 1" snap on stock extension as my replacement part instead of a new mag?

Thanks
Ed

yes sir, no problem, just say in the note what you want. Thanks