Smith and Wesson customer service

[doghawg]

Hello folks. I picked up a Mod 66-3 from an estate last spring and it was in mint condition....possibly unfired. A couple of range sessions later I noticed the cylinder seemed to be binding and could see that the firing pin bushing (the round block in the recoil shield that's crimped in) was set back from the recoil shield about .015" and had rotated a little bit also. This was allowing the primers to back out of the fired cases enough to cause the binding. It should also be added that I've never cared to push K-frames very hard so the loads were mild .357's and .38 WC's.

My local smith was a little reluctant to tackle the job so I called Smith and was told by the service tech "Yes, we'll work on that." That was in July. In August the service dept sent the gun to the Performance Center where it currently sits. According to the call I made today nothing has been done yet.

So my question is....Have any of you had any recent experience with turn around times with Smith's service or more specifically with the Performance Center? I'm beginning to wish I'd have tried to find a good S&W gunsmith. Thanks

[cwtebay]

Sounds about like my experiences with them. Have you called and spoken with the person who is in charge of your case? I began to take notes with these sorts of issues long ago. Make sure you're speaking with the same person every time. Ask them what the progress is, ask what you're looking at in parts / labour, ask if they have your correct phone number or email.
I'm sure it will turn out alright, it may just be a while.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Rodfac]

Earlier this year (October '20 to January '21) I had my 66-2 reworked for a bolt stop issue...turn around was 3 months. Smith paid for the shipping back to Springfield but charged me $75 for the bolt work, and test firing.

For a new model 62 .22 LR, with a cylinder that locked up in DA fire it was approx. the same. Smith pd. for shipping both ways.

Best Regards, Rod

[Alstep]

A couple of years ago I sent gun back to Smith for repair, was 4 months before I saw it again.

[BunkTheory]

I am surprised they would touch a gun that old that wasnt sent in by the original purchaser

[LeonardC]

Last Fall I bought the Wife a S&W EZ9 handgun. I have made a LOT of calls to S&W to get some spare magazines. None in stock and they have no idea when there will be.

[Forrest r]

I flat out hate s&w customer service and their attitude of when we get to it we'll do it.

Now ruger on the other hand is fantastic!!!

This is coming from a s&w fan.

If I can't do the repair myself or don't want to there's enough local talent in the area where I live to bother with s&w. The few times I've had to deal with them was because I want complete action jobs and bbl's set back/new forcing cones cut. Was a simple matter of $$$ and s&w is a lot cheaper when it comes to extensive repairs like that on production revolver/back to factory specs.

[William Yanda]

I recently purchased an SW380, a model which has been discontinued for some time. I wrote S&W Customer Service requesting a manual, and info on the takedown tool. The online manual states that the manual should be transferred with the gun, and that a free copy may be obtained from S&W. Three weeks after their initial response I wrote inquiring about the manual they had promised. I received a manual for a current model, an answer about the takedown tool that demonstrated the writer didn't have a clue, and a recipe for pumpkin pie.
I wrote back, asking for permission to publish the answer. A different person replied telling me they had located a copy of the manual and a takedown tool which were on their way to me. That was at least a week ago and I am still waiting.
I was waiting to see if the promised correct manual showed up, but you asked.

update 12/22
Manual was promised to be in the mail Nov 24. After 3 weeks I sent an inquiry. To date no response.

[ShooterAZ]

Their turnaround is quite slow. I sent in my Model 25 early this summer and it took two months+ to get it back. My wife and I had a trip planned in mid August, and I started getting concerned about them shipping it back while we were gone. I called several times and no one could give me any status on when it might be done. Finally, a few days before we were supposed to leave I got the email that it shipped. The upside is that the repairs were done properly, and it didn't cost me a dime. Bottom line, you will need a lot of patience in dealing with them!

[TNsailorman]

I have always liked the S&W revolvers. However, if you need some repair work, the service will be hit and miss. At least that has been my experience with them. Send in a revolver for an action job(you will pay for the work) and they generally do a great job. Call them for warranty repair and you will have a devil of a time getting them to repair on their dime. I bought a 1988 .45acp revolver and it would lock up after the first 6 rounds, and I mean lock up tight. I called them and the lady told me that I could send the revolver in and they would look at it but I would need to pay for the shipping, inspection and repair if any. I sold the revolver at a loss to a local shooter who sent it to a well known pistol smith and got it repaired and back in about 2 weeks. The cylinder had been machine off center and one side was very long. The smith told the guy that the revolver cylinder was so long on one side that it would actually rub the forcing cone on that side very lightly even before any shots were fired and would stick hard after the least bit of burned powder. I saw the revolver in a competition first hand one saturday and the guy won first place with it. I got beat that day with a revolver that I had rejected instead of having it repaired. I still like and buy S&W but I do it with the full knowledge that I will have to fix myself or pay for any repairs that it needs. my experience anyway, james

[243winxb]

3 month or more. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/smith-wesson-customer-service-or-lack-threrof.836851/

[390ish]

Been waiting on suppressor repair since I paid for the work in April.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[doghawg]

Thanks for the interesting responses.
cwtebay...I never asked for whoever was in charge of my case because they haven't done anything with it yet. I was so happy that someone finally answered the phone....

I'll probably sit tight till 2022 and call again. It's beginning to look like long waits are not that unusual with S&W.

[Bmi48219]

Never dealt with S & W Repair but the half dozen times I’ve contacted Customer Service for parts, for out-of-production firearms; they’ve bent over backwards to take care of me. One guy sent me the three parts I requested and a bunch of others to boot, all for free. When I commented on his generosity he said S & W didn’t support repairs for my pistol or produce new parts any longer. What they had was what they had and if I needed them later I’d be SOL.
Unfortunately they’re out of stock on 52-2 magazines.

[Sohum63]

I got a newer 686+ back from the factory for a warranty repair. It was out of time when so I called to see about the timeline fore repair. They told me warranty work was 6-8 weeks. Sense it was going back anyways I asked about Preformance center work and I want to,say they told me anything non warranty would be something like 12-14 weeks maybe it was even more. It was enough to make me opt for just the repair. Got a notice that it shipped out 8 weeks to the day. Unless I missed it they never notified me it was in its way back, the only reason I knew is because i got a notice from fed ex. They were nice enough when I called to look into the fix and a few hundred rounds fired and the revolver seems to be working well.

[Newboy]

I had a 25-5 commemorative gifted to me by a retired ranger. Had a real nice blue.

The front lock was not fit, so that did not latch (back one did).

The cylinder would bind on the forcing cone on two cylinders in double action.

The cylinder was bored to 0.460 (.45 Colt), so would not shoot my cast at all, unless I bought a special mold.

The hammer rubbed the frame so bad it was scratching.

I am a "Colt guy" , but this gun meant a lot to me, so I opted to keep it

Maybe 10 years after its manufacture date, he gave it to me, we decided to shoot it.

When we found the issues, we were disappointed. He had shot smith since the 20's.

So, I returned it to smith, and told them to fix it, and that I would pay anything to get it fixed, because of the sentimental value.

They called me, and said they were returning the pistol, because it was "special" , and they wouldn't work on it for anything.

My friend died, and I sold it.

To make it worse, I was over at a friend's house who was fairly well known at smith (Reeves Junkind), and he had the same model. He said his was also screwed up, but he had sent it back and they fixed it free. And it had the best action I ever saw on a smith.

I was not important enough for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[doghawg]

Update...I got a repair estimate from Smith in the mail and got on the phone today and approved the work and paid for it. We shall see.

[stubshaft]

I have a 1968 model 19, 6" blued a pinned barrel. The barrel is torqued in over center causing the front sight to tilt to the left, exaggerating the amount of windage i have to crank in. I sent it in to S&W and 5 months later it was returned with a note stating that they would not work ont it!

GOOD LUCK!

[Idaho45guy]

The last S&W handgun I had to return for repair was a brand new Shield Performance Center 9mm with a visible bulge on the barrel. Came from the factory that way!

Took them 3 months to return it and the new barrel had a nick in the crown. Have not bought any S&W guns since.

Just bought a new Springfield Armory XDM OSP Elite 10mm and the polymer frame arrived with weird blemishes on the surface. Sent it back and they received it December 6th. They said the turn around time is 2-4 weeks, so won't see it until January.

[doghawg]

Wow! You guys are making me nervous. I've already paid for the work and the M66 is unusable as is, so my fingers are crossed.

[doghawg]

Apparently my phone call to Smith spurred some action. They sent the estimate and I paid the $148 bill Dec 14 and Fed-Ex was here yesterday with the repaired Model 66. They included no explanation of work performed but sent the old hand and pins. The firing pin bushing is now flush with the recoil shield :drinks: timing is perfect, etc. Went to the range today and put a cylinder full in 2" at 25 yards which is better than this old man can normally shoot. My confidence in S&W is restored but this was a lesson in patience. From some of the other posts I'm guessing 5 months wasn't so bad.

[cwtebay]

Apparently my phone call to Smith spurred some action. They sent the estimate and I paid the $148 bill Dec 14 and Fed-Ex was here yesterday with the repaired Model 66. They included no explanation of work performed but sent the old hand and pins. The firing pin bushing is now flush with the recoil shield :drinks: timing is perfect, etc. Went to the range today and put a cylinder full in 2" at 25 yards which is better than this old man can normally shoot. My confidence in S&W is restored but this was a lesson in patience. From some of the other posts I'm guessing 5 months wasn't so bad.That's an astounding turnaround time! Good on ya!
Odd they wouldn't given a list of repairs....

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk