Fire Support Customer Service?

[Fooz_The_Hostig]

Hi all, I recently purchased a laser from firesupport, but it has arrived and to put it bluntly, it will not zero in the down position, and also will not hold a zero, even on an AEG. Now if this was some cheap thing I wouldn't be too annoyed, you get what you pay for but this thing was £200 before shipping and has great reviews so obviously mine must be defective.

 

I have contacted firesupport yesterday via email to ask about rectifying the problem, but am yet to hear a response. I wouldn't normally be this paranoid but the last time I emailed them I never got a response.

 

So what I am wondering is does anyone have any positive/negative experiences with fire supports customer service, especially in relation to receiving a faulty product, and would you recommend any steps to be taken?

 

Thanks guys.

 

In case you're curious about what I bought, it was the G&P DBAL A2.

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, Fooz_The_Hostig said:

Hi all, I recently purchased a laser from firesupport, but it has arrived and to put it bluntly, it will not zero in the down position, and also will not hold a zero, even on an AEG. Now if this was some cheap thing I wouldn't be too annoyed, you get what you pay for but this thing was £200 before shipping and has great reviews so obviously mine must be defective.

 

I have contacted firesupport yesterday via email to ask about rectifying the problem, but am yet to hear a response. I wouldn't normally be this paranoid but the last time I emailed them I never got a response.

 

So what I am wondering is does anyone have any positive/negative experiences with fire supports customer service, especially in relation to receiving a faulty product, and would you recommend any steps to be taken?

 

Thanks guys.

 

In case you're curious about what I bought, it was the G&P DBAL A2.

 

I had to ring them when I had an issue with an order, my email went unnoticed.

 

I can't say it was a particularly satisfactory outcome as it would of involved sending a RIF back to them for 'inspection'  (despite numerous photos and info I sent them) rather than just send me the replacement part that they had in stock. It was easier to just order a replacement instead and be done with it.

 

 

[Rogerborg]

For £200 I'd want a Chinese orphan to pop out and zero it in for me every game.

 

Well, the usual suggestion. If you're not completely happy, invoke your statutory right to cancel the contract, no debate, no reason, just money back.  If there's the slightest ambiguity in who's responsible for getting it back to them, or if they don't respond, then instruct your payment processor to initiate a chargeback.  The sooner you do this, the sooner it will get resolved in your favour.

[Davegolf]

As above but generally FS have been good to me from a CS standpoint the 10 years I’ve used them, I sent a RIF back to them only last week as the stock was damaged.

What was the laser model and brand?

[heroshark]

I got a dodgy mk23 barrel (right hooking shots) off them once. I ended up having to ring them. Spoke to me like I was the issue. You literally can't put a mk23 barrel in wrong an shot straight again when returning to the original barrel which I did a couple of times to be sure. Had to push a little to return, and have the post plus the post it cost me to return as I wasn't gonna be £5 out of pocket for them sending me a flawed barrel. Even then had to poke them for my refund after they had received it. It wasn't great but I got my money back eventually.

Edited September 5, 2021 by heroshark

[Druid799]

Unfortunately can also concur not the best customer service from them either , the one problem I had they went straight to “oh you must have done something wrong” .

Then tried the ‘return for inspection’ crap as well only conceded when I told them (AND sent a picture) of the broken item still in the box still in its sealed bag ! To be fair once they received it back to them (by recorded delivery wasn’t taking any chances ?) they did sort it fast but the whole thing was still an unnecessary up hill struggle to sort .

[Groot]

As someone who has worked in retail before and now looks after global businesses. 

Why do people always email when there is an issue? Has never made sense to me. 

Pick up the damn phone and speak to a human. Then if you don't get the answer you want, you can give them shit over the phone.

We put all emails and tickets raised through our PSA system to the lowest priority, because if its not important enough to call, then they can wait until we get to it. If they call we start on the resolution there and then. 

[Davegolf]

Because in this day and age a lot of people don’t like confrontation, I’ve learnt this over the years in business that indeed you need to talk to people, but for some this is a difficult skill set.

Information is everything, and if you are not certain you are right, or if you even know your rights regardless it makes it very hard to have the confidence to have a direct conversation ‘on the spot’.

Mail has always allowed people the opportunity for a considered enquiry/answer.

[EDcase]

Email should be better because customers and businesses need a record of conversations and agreements.

[Rogerborg]

12 hours ago, Groot said:

As someone who has worked in retail before and now looks after global businesses. 

Why do people always email when there is an issue? Has never made sense to me. 

 

That's an astonishing question and statement.

 

Phoning interrupts people and stops them doing what they were doing, i.e. helping other customers.

 

Answering emails can be done in a block, more efficiently, while you're ready to deal with them.

 

 

12 hours ago, Groot said:

If they call we start on the resolution there and then. 

 

Then you're rewarding your highest cost, most demanding customers.

 

Why not reward the ones who are helping you out instead?

[GeorgePlaysAirsoft]

i just call people cause i am sufficiently neurotypical to use a telephone

[Groot]

13 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

That's an astonishing question and statement.

 

Phoning interrupts people and stops them doing what they were doing, i.e. helping other customers.

 

Answering emails can be done in a block, more efficiently, while you're ready to deal with them.

 

 

 

Then you're rewarding your highest cost, most demanding customers.

 

Why not reward the ones who are helping you out instead?

I don't care about their other customers, when I have a problem. 

I call, I get the resolution I want, I move on with my day. 

I'm good at getting what i want too. 

I tell the same thing to the people I work with. They respect that and act accordingly. 

Then if I get an email from them, I know I can happily respond to it, as and when I have time to deal with it. 

If they message me on Teams or call, they get my fully attention. There and then.

Assuming I haven't set myself to DND or I'm busy. Then it just forwards to one of my subordinates .
Either way, end result is the partner get the support they want, they leave happy and do more stuff to bolster my commission. 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Groot

[Rogerborg]

The squeaky wheel does get the grease, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

 

That's not strictly relevant, until companies learn to put demanding callers to the back of the queue.  A borg can dream though.

[TheFull9]

Think this is the latest FS thread..

 

It's extremely rare I have any sort of CS experience at all with an airsoft shop, but I've placed a few orders with FS recently.  With my current living situation (have my old bedroom back home, mostly live on base 95%+) I'll sometimes order something then not touch it for months, so I can kinda lose track now and then.  I bought some stuff what I thought was maybe 3 months ago, then another order about 3 weeks ago.  E-mailed asking to return an item from the older order and 2 items from the newer - all 3 of said items totally unused, brand new condition in their packaging and fully ready for resale.  Bearing in mind I once returned a multicam shirt to an american retailer 2 years later, which they were fine with again because it was new with the tags and in it's bag ready for resale so I thought this would be ok.  Worst case they can just say no I'd be fine with that too.

 

The reply I got was.. interesting.  On the one hand, turned out my older order was actually 6 months ago and I'd lost track.  The items had been sat there sealed up for all that time, so if they'd just said 'as per our policy which is X, we'll not accept a return'; I have no idea what the actual law is personally but that's fine, whatever.  Being told, quote "it's unfair for you to even ask" however did feel patronising and I caaaan't stand being condescended to so I wasn't a fan of that.  Just a professionally worded reply that I'd normally expect from a CS e-mail saying no, was all that was necessary. 

 

I returned the 2 items from the more recent order following their policy strictly, got those refunded pretty quickly so credit where it's due there.  Bit of a mixed bag.