Ruger customer service (beyond outstanding)

[gray wolf]

Ruger customer service Has got to be the best I have ever dealt with in all my years of shooting, and I am going to tell you all why I am saying this.
I have been having some problems with a new to me
Ruger bisly hunter 44 mag. I was getting very bad leading just after the forcing cone, The trigger had way to much creep and it was way to heavy.
Also with my aging eyes the sights were hard for me to see.
I also found it almost impossible to find a holster for it that didn't cost way more than I ever could afford.
I had asked for help here and got some very good advise from most of you fine folks that offered suggestions.
I had to make a choice, so after trying to work it out I decided to write a nice polite letter to Ruger explaining the issues and to ask if there was any help available. This was on a Sunday night at about 10:00 P M
Well the next day, Monday, at about 8:45 A M Julie woke me up and said Ruger was on the phone. So with half open eyes I said Hello,
The voice on the other end said
" This is Gill from Ruger and we have the best customer service in the industry. " When can I have the pistol picked up on our dime ?
He said I have your letter and we want you to be happy.
I went over a few things with him and also mentioned about the holsters
and the sites being a little hard to see with my old eyes.
I can not express the degree of politeness this man showed on the phone.
The pistol was picked up on Tuesday, he called to make sure,
then he called to say they got it.
This Tuesday, less than 7 days latter the pistol was back to me.
The restriction in the barrel removed, the forcing cone and barrel lead were polished, The whole pistol was refinished, the Paul, hammer and trigger replaced, they installed fiber optic sights front and back, and returned the old sites.
Took all ( as in every bit ) of creep out of the trigger and gave it a crisp 3 pound pull. As that was not enough they sent me a brand new Galco leather holster and an 30 MM scope rings to go with the 1" rings.
I must say again, this was not a winy complaining type of letter that I wrote, Just asked for a little help.

Total charge--- 0 not one cent.
Gill made a point of saying-- If you have any problems with anything from Ruger just let us know.
Men, this kind of service to me was unheard of until now.
Ruger went WAY over the top in helping this old guy out.
I shot the pistol today with the same cartridges that had so much leading before. I cleaned after 18 rounds, no leading, cleaned after another 24 rounds, no leading, then after 50 rounds, no leading.
Two patches and a nylon brush and the barrel, along with the area just after the forcing cone was clean.
All I can say is that if you are having any ruger pistol problems
Gill at customer service wants to know about them and is there to help.
Let me say the fiber optic sights they put on are not big and bulky, and the front is nice and thin. WOW could I see them, 25 yards and they in no way blocked out a 1" dot I was shooting at.
If you have a Ruger that is giving you problems--give them a chance to make it right.
I asked Gill if I could post this and he said yes please do.

Sam in Maine

[Brithunter]

Outstanding to say the least.

You must be even more pleased with the pistol now. Shame some of our customer services in the UK follow even part way to this.

[wallenba]

Ruger customer service Has got to be the best I have ever dealt with in all my years of shooting, Sam in Maine

And then you woke up an realized it was all a dream right? :kidding:

When old Bill was still with us I was loading an old Mark I on a cold winter day. With the gloves off and freezing fingers I pushed the magazine follower button down. Then...zzzipp, it slipped. The spring, follower everything flew out and got lost in deep powder snow. I called Ruger (no internet in those days). They said they'd take care of it. In a little over a week I had not just the parts, but two new magazines, gratis. I drilled holes through the followers and used an old allen wrench to pull it down after that.

[linotype]

Yes, sir, that is one of the reasons I've been a long time fan of Ruger.
Well designed, well though out with the shooter in mind, and well firearms at a decent price.
Glad to hear about getting the customer support a customer deserves!

[Harter66]

Awesome. It sure is nice to know there are still folks and companies the take care of business.

[rockrat]

Wow, wish I would have had that kind of service with my new Ruger #1.

[MtGun44]

Awesome! I have an early Ruger std auto target 6 7/8" bbl. I bought it used and after a
couple of years shooting it, it started misfiring a lot. I swapped the bolt with another Ruger
auto that I have and nothing changed. I called Ruger and they said send it in, which was
easy then.

When I got it back - the ticket said "Cracked frame - replaced". The only issue is that mine
was an early frame and they had changed significantly, so ALL OF THE LOWER had to be
replaced. I still have the same barrel and extension and bolt assy, but all the rest is new,
including grips and small parts.

NO charge. I like Ruger.

Bill

[jblee10]

This is good to hear. I like Rugers. I think it is good business for manufactors to go the extra mile with "problem products". Word of mouth may be the best salesman. Even more so in this age of the internet.

[MBTcustom]

Duly noted! I have never heard of this kind of service from a manufacturer! I would find a cozy spot for that pistol and never turn loose of it for any reason. It is now a very special firearm indeed!
Has anyone had that level of professionalism extended for a rifle?

[gray wolf]

Yes it's unbelievable --but every word is the truth.

[smoked turkey]

The timing for this Ruger Customer Service thread is perfect for me because I also have just received outstanding service on my M77 Mk II in 35 Whelen. I noticed what I took to be a small area of errosion around the firing pin on the bolt face. I called Ruger and ended up sending it to them. They replaced the bolt, checked the headspace, and test fired it. Returned the rifle to me at no charge. I also feel that they provided good customer service to me. I think this is normal for that company and I wanted to share that with the members here.

[LEADLUBBER]

Sam,

It warms my heart to hear a story gone right with a manufacturer. I have always loved Ruger products, and I own several 10/22's and an old Blackhawk pre-safety that I bought from a friend who couldn't shoot it anymore.

I still want a nice #1, and one of their 77/357 stainless rifles, but, they don't seem to be getting any more affordable lately..... ;-)

[gray wolf]

Hi, this is Julie, Sam's wife.

Goodsteel, yes, I have had that kind of service from Ruger and my 10/22 that we bought about 3 years ago. I picked up a carbine at a local store and proceeded to shoot it at the range. Danged thing kept jamming up on me. It had a horrible trigger and was not accurate at all.

We called Ruger and they said they would do a pickup on it, UPS. So away it went and came back a week or so later, supposedly fixed. Nada. Same thing happening.

Called them up and said it was still happening. They sent UPS to pick it up and away it went back to Newport. Supposedly fixed it and sent it back to me.
Still jamming.

At this point I am getting really frustrated and Sam did a letter to the CEO on their website about the rifle. We get a call the next day. They are going to send UPS to pick it up "again".
Well, about 3/4 days later the phone rings and they say they can't fix it. It's been about a month and a half now and going into Sept and I still haven't been able to shoot my new 10/22 more than a few times and then it was truly frustrating and I would just put it back in the case.
They tell me to take my pick of ANY of their 10/22's that they offer. I tell them I want a blued target model with the bbl. :mrgreen:
No problem they said. They had some nice stainless that they had just run and I could have one of those. Nope, I want blued and NO plastic parts like on the new models.
Well, they said it might be a few weeks but I could have that. Ok, not happy to have to wait but I will do that.

They call back later on and say they can send me that stainless that day. (this is a Thursday) and I can have it Friday or Monday latest.
Nope, I want blued. They then say they will call me back.
I get another call an hour or so later and they tell me that they are going to BUILD me a new blued rifle over the weekend and I should get it on Tues..... :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Tuesday comes and so does my new BEAUTIFUL rifle. No plastic parts, blued bbl. And a huge box of Ruger goodies for us. New hats, a Ruger street sign and a couple other things....

I take the gun to the range it IS a tack driver. It likes a certain bullet (Fed 510's) and second the Remington Golden bullets second. Doesn't like anything else. Give me a box of Federal's and I can shoot holes in holes...

I still am impressed with the service on my rifle and now with Sam's Bisley, well, we are true Ruger fans.

So, if you have ANY Ruger guns with a problem call Gil at Ruger in New Hampshire. He will get you fixed up pronto. They do have the best customer service in the US gun industry. Bar none.

:Fire::Fire::Fire:


ETA: I forgot the extra two mags that they included so I can shoot longer at a time...grin.

[Recluse]

Sam, Julie,

That warms my Texas heart like nothing I've read in quite some while!

I used to know one of their marketing folks in Prescott (Arizona). Gonna see if I can dig his name up out of my old business card file and send him one heckuva nice letter on stationery thanking the Company and especially the fine folks, and in particular, Gil, at their New Hampshire facility.

You two are two of my favorite folks in the entire gun world and it is hugely COOL that both of you experienced this kind of world-class customer service from one of the older names in our industry.

Aside from my Ruger Mini-14, I've never had any real issues with ANY Ruger product--I've got a nice 10/22 and a Mark II Bull Barrel in the ten-inch version that will drive pins it is consistently accurate.

I once had a beautiful 25-06 I got my last year in college that was a tack-driver. Had a few finish issues with one of their bolt-actions back in the mid-80's and traded it off.

I four-inch GP100 is VERY high on my "next to buy" handgun list as I think that is the stoutest .357 Magnum made. I love my S&W K and L frames, but the Ruger is just flat tough!

Anyhow, great reiteration of how a great company went beyond the extra mile for a couple of its best customers.

:coffee:

[mongo]

Ruger is a true American company, When I retired I had purchased a MKII pistol. Like everyone here I love to shoot. I shot at least a bulk box of Federal 550 a week for 7 years. Ruger had sent me 4 extractors in that time. One day I was shootin and the empty cases were sticking in the chamber. Turns out that the extractor had wore into the chamber from the cut out on the right side of the barrel where it hooks on the case rim. I called Ruger and told them I had wore out my pistol and wanted an estimate for replacing the barrel. The woman said to send it to them, which I did, A week later I get a call and was advised that Ruger would like to send me a new pistol to replace it FREE of charge. I explained again that I had wore it out, 100% my falt and just needed an estimate for a new barrel. She kinda laughed and said that they will be sending me a letter, fill it out and they wanted to replace it for FREE... Two weeks later my local gunstore (hang out) called and said that Ruger sent me a new MKIII. My last 4 new pistols were Rugers, My next ones will be Rugers also LOL. In my humble opionion Ruger is number one... Tommy

[Blacksmith]

I don't know about their customer service I have bought four Rugers and havn't had need of customer service yet. It is good to know they are there if I ever do need them.

[WildmanJack]

Back when I was a Deputy Sheriff in Palm Beach County, Fl I got to know Bill Ruger as his boat was docked at the Palm Beach Docks. Bought a "New" Ruger mini 14 in stainless with a folding stock. Man was that a great gun. Bill told me if I ever had a problem with it to either bring it by the boat or give him a call. he was truly an honest business man and real regular guy. It's nice to hear that his legacy lives on in his employees..
Sure wish I had that old Mini 14 now...
Jack

[3006guns]

This is a very good read. I have a buddy who owns an first generation Blackhawk in .357 and the trigger is bad. Bad to the point he won't shoot it for fear of an accidental discharge. I'll see to it he gets a copy of this thread and hopefully he'll get the hint!

[MBTcustom]

Fascinating! I wont be so hard on Ruger in the future!

[L Ross]

My 36 year old Single Six's base pin plunger came unstaked. I called Gill at Ruger Customer Service and tried to buy one. No sir he said, I'll send you one free, and it arrived today. I could not be more satisfied.

Duke

[Gibson]

Ruger. . .

What was that old line from Josey Wales? Oh yeah:

Ruger. . . I rode with them. . . and I got no complaints

:)