Experience with Aero Precision Customer Service

[IronMonster]

So...

Here is how this story starts. I have an Aero M5 rifle in .308 that has the enhanced upper and a 12" one of their keymod rails. It was fine but I had another upper that needed assembled and when they where on sale I bought one of the new Gen2 15" keymod rails. All is good, I get the rail and go to put it on and its a tight fit.

Before I go any further let me say I have 5 Aero M5 rifles, all assembled by me. I know how they should go together but I am not immune from doing stupid things

Ok, So as I said the new rail was tight going on. I tried putting it on a little bit at a time and eventually got it stuck. At that point I was committed and tapped it into place with my rawhide hammer. Once it was on, well it was not coming off. I tried to remove it with a soft punch but when I started to damage the rail I just left it.

So a few days go by and it just bothers me. Its not right, I know its not right and I know I should not have forced it on. I send an email to Aero and tell them about it and ask for advice. They tell me to soak it in penetrating oil and see if I can tap it off.

I do that... It doesn't work

So they send me a paid shipping label and ask me to send it in.

They get it. Tell me that they are going to try soaking it in penetrating oil and try to get it off.

Ok, fine. Several days go by and they tell me they got it to move and they are going to soak it some more..

Ok, fine. Several more days go by and they tell me its stuck and they cant get it off and need to send it over to some other department for assessment.

Ok fine. About a week goes by and I don't hear anything so I harass the contact guy and he tells me he will check on it.

Ok fine. Several days later I get an email asking if I would give written permission for them to cut the rail off and accept the chance of damage to my barrel (the only non Aero part of the upper they have).

Ok fine, I accept the risk, you can cut it off. Several days later I get an email asking if I used Locktite or Rockset for my 51T AAC can mount. I replied that yes, I did. They tell me that they have to send it to someone else that has the ability to remove it.

Ok, fine. something like a week goes by and I get an email saying they got the muzzle device off and if I wanted the same kind of rail as a replacement. I informed them I did.

Ok, fine. A couple days later I get a reply saying they rebuilt my upper with a new receiver and handguard/ no charge and would shoot me a tracking number. That was Monday, Tracking shows I wont get it till Friday.

I just went and looked. My first response from them was Jan 25th, I should get the upper back March 30 so roughly 65 days turn around.

So here is the deal. They don't get any points for being fast

I don't want you to get the idea I am unhappy though.

The thing should have fit better BUT I should not have forced it on either. I really feel like I am as much to blame as anyone. They replaced not only the hand guard but the receiver as well.

All in all I cant say that I am disappointed. They stepped up and fixed my problem although I made the problem worse by bubba'ing up my rifle. In todays world I would count this as a solid win.

For comparison I recently bought a 9MM PSA lower that was supposed to come with the mag catch button, spring and pivot bolt, They never even bothered to respond to my emails. 2 months after I sent the series of emails asking about the parts I get a "are you satisfied with how we resolved your issue" email.... So I gave them the what for, saying hell no you guys never even told me to piss off! Of course I never got a response to that email either

Of course I have not got the Aero upper back yet either. Maybe I should have waited till I had it back in hand

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[Medic!]

What a bonehead move!

Sounds like something I would do.

 

[edslhead]

They sound a lot better than Comcast

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

They sound a lot better than Comcast

Dont even get me started.

Comcast had the worst customer service. ever.


im really dissatisfied with comcast. i have to call almost once a month because of discrepancies on my bill, then i end up talking to someone who barely speaks english or their middle eastern accent is so heavy i cant understand them, i shouldnt have to keep doing this. my verizon, snap-on, mortgage, water, electricity, garbage bill is spot on every month. what gives.

i would totally leave in a heartbeat but dish nor direct show all the blazer games.

thats only the beginning.

@IronMonster im glad they took care of it for you even after you admitted to forcing it on there. i would have done the same thing.

i've had nothing but good luck with Aero and atleast with your experience, i can buy their stuff with confidence that they stand behind their product and customers.

 

[orygun]

Comcast had the worst customer service. ever.

No, that's Century Link.


As far as Aero, since you, @IronMonster , posted before you got the upper back, you're now obligated to to update how nice it is when returned to you. Sounds like they did a nice job of covering your butt. That's kinda rare.

It's just hard to be patient sometimes, I know.

 

[Switchblade666]

Grrr... Why did you have to mention cable companies..... 5 months and still haven't received my $300 Amazon gift card for signing up for a year contract. They claim everytime I call that it will be sent out the next month. F-Frontier!!
Oh, glad to hear that Aero is willing to go through so much effort to help!

 

[clearconscience]

First off all cable companies are the devil.
We might cancel cable and just go with online stuff. Netflix and/or hulu I don't know.

But I feel you IronMonster!
I did that with a low pro gas block on a barrel for my AR pistol.
Started going on tight so I put some more lube on and hammered it down. Got stuck, hammered more, well I'm stubborn and impatient. More hammering. I get half way there and now I know, it's not right. And I can't get it off.
If I try to beat it off I risk hitting the upper causing damage. I've gone too far to quick now. Hammer that M-Fer all the way on.
So then the thought crosses my mind that it may not work. What if there metal shards blocking the gas hole.
FML.

Take it out a few weeks later expecting it not to work and it runs flawlessly and shoots awesome.

So I just know if I ever have to replace something related to that I buying a new barrel and gas block. Or if I ever sell it, hopefully won't do that. Luckily it wasn't an expensive barrel/gas block. Afterwords I read with those blocks there's a need to sand down the inside.

 

[Flopsweat]

First off all cable companies are the devil.
We might cancel cable and just go with online stuff. Netflix and/or hulu I don't know.

But I feel you IronMonster!
I did that with a low pro gas block on a barrel for my AR pistol.
Started going on tight so I put some more lube on and hammered it down. Got stuck, hammered more, well I'm stubborn and impatient. More hammering. I get half way there and now I know, it's not right. And I can't get it off.
If I try to beat it off I risk hitting the upper causing damage. I've gone too far to quick now. Hammer that M-Fer all the way on.
So then the thought crosses my mind that it may not work. What if there metal shards blocking the gas hole.
FML.

Take it out a few weeks later expecting it not to work and it runs flawlessly and shoots awesome.

So I just know if I ever have to replace something related to that I buying a new barrel and gas block. Or if I ever sell it, hopefully won't do that. Luckily it wasn't an expensive barrel/gas block. Afterwords I read with those blocks there's a need to sand down the inside.

Well apparently you don't need to sand it down. You just really, really should.

 

[Mr Smith]

First off all cable companies are the devil.
We might cancel cable and just go with online stuff. Netflix and/or hulu I don't know.

Already did that at GF's place.

Just have centurylink fiber internet and that's it.

Amazon prime, Hulu Plus, and Netflix covers most of the bases via the Roku.

Dumped Comcast as soon as fiber was available. It's faster and it's cheaper.

Now at my parents place we are still stuck with Comcast because they live out in the sticks and they only run fiber out there for more big brother traffic cameras and electronic signs rather than spend a dime to fix the enormous chuck holes all over the roads here in King County.

 

[old11bravo]

I hear Aero will soon be contracting all of their customer service department to the lowest bidder, either Comcast or Frontier.

 

[Switchblade666]

I hear Aero will soon be contracting all of their customer service department to the lowest bidder, either Comcast or Frontier.

Damnit... Not before I order my Upper and Lower!!!!!!!

 

[P7M13]

@IronMonster, I didn't see it in your OP, but did you try judicious application of heat/cold on the handguard and mounting block, respectviely?
Seems they were pretty darned good, albeit slow. I know I'm guilty of even slower response for some stuff, especially when it comes to honey-do's.
I was half expecting you to conclude, "I got it back and the can was not on the barrel." Please let us know it came back, A-OK.

 

[PiratePast40]

I have an Aero M4E1 (223/.556 version) upper with M-lok handguard and didn't have problems with it. The handguard was snug going on, and did need to tap it a few times with a plastic mallet, but didn't need to really go to town on it. I believe that it could be removed without too much trouble. Really satisfied with the fit and finish on my build.

Most reviews on Aero have been really good. Sorry to hear your experience wasn't so great.

 

[old11bravo]

Despite my earlier post teasing about Aero and Comcast/Frontier, I also have to admit that I've built many Aero Precision AR's and I have had nothing but absolutely positive things to say about their products. In truth I've never had to test their customer service because I've always been more than satisfied with everything I've purchased from them and I know I've literally spent thousands with them over the last 6 or 7 years.

 

[IronMonster]

My experience was not bad and I am in no way upset with anything that happened. On the contrary I am quite pleased.

I own a lot of Aero stuff and will continue buying it. These are machines built by machines and there will always be a few glitches, the mark of a great company is how they handle it. It would have been nice if it did not take 2 months to get sorted but in the end they came through

 

[PiratePast40]

My experience was not bad and I am in no way upset with anything that happened. On the contrary I am quite pleased.

I own a lot of Aero stuff and will continue buying it. These are machines built by machines and there will always be a few glitches, the mark of a great company is how they handle it. It would have been nice if it did not take 2 months to get sorted but in the end they came through

You're right. Two months is too long to wait for customer service. I had heard that they were going through some changes toward the end of the year. Perhaps the quality issue was a result of those changes.

 

[slimmer13]

For months and months last yeat, m5 lowers were unicorns, out of stock everywhere. I already had the upper and didn't want to bastardize by mismatching so I sent them an email asking nicely how I could obtain one. They replied by saying if I call, they will fill my order. I called and it was at my FFL a week later. He couldn't believe it. He said he asked his Aero rep about it and he was told I must know somebody. Top notch IMO.

 

[IronMonster]

Well I got the parts back today.

They were pretty hard on stuff. They scuffed up the barrel and rounded the wrench points off my muzzle device.

Not the end of the world but pretty amateur stuff for an outfit like Aero

 

[IronMonster]

 

[Switchblade666]

View attachment 353182 View attachment 353183

That looks like it's ground down. Either that or they forgot about "Righty tighty, Lefty loosey"! You would think they would tape the exposed surfaces to avoid scuffing. Glad ya got it back though.