Having experienced and witnessed some pretty weird stuff from them in the past, I hoped AoA had by now perfected some very basic customer-service weaknesses. Especially since I was recently unable to resist the call of sale pricing on a .22 Brocock Bantam Hi-Lite beech. Since I see some posts praising AoA's customer service, apparently sometimes they do a great job.
Knowing they were pushing Weihrauch moderators, I was prepared to deal with that when I called to place my order. After ordering the Brocock rifle, I told the phone rep, "And I also want to order the Airstream moderator." He immediately replied, "We have a great deal on Weihrauch mods right now...", so I interrupted him mid-sentence with, "NO; I'm not interested in the Weihrauch mod. I want the Airstream."
It was no big surprise that they sent a Weihrauch I'd declined in no uncertain terms, even though the invoice showed an Airstream (as ordered). Of course when I called to set them straight the rep started explaining how much quieter the Weihrauch mod is, but I interrupted him (also) in mid-sentence to explain (again) that quiet was not my priority... and if they couldn't sell me an Airstream mod I'd take a refund, but they'd have to issue a PRE-PAID return shipping label for the rifle and mod. The rep said he'd put an Airstream mod in Priority Mail that afternoon and include a pre-paid return label for the Weihrauch mod; and he did exactly that.
To give credit where credit is due, I love my Brocock Bantam and AIRSTREAM mod, and AoA did correct the "mistake" after I made it clear it would cost them a sale otherwise. Problem is, I really don't believe shipping the wrong mod was a mistake at all, since I saw a couple all-too-similar instances in the past. Matter of fact, those instances are the very reason I haven't bought from AoA for years, and only as a last resort.
I was in retail over 40 years, and when a customer states abruptly "NO, I don't want THAT; I want THIS", shipping them THAT anyway is a good way to lose a customer. Not saying they've lost me, but am saying they move to the bottom of the list of my sources (again).
Knowing they were pushing Weihrauch moderators, I was prepared to deal with that when I called to place my order. After ordering the Brocock rifle, I told the phone rep, "And I also want to order the Airstream moderator." He immediately replied, "We have a great deal on Weihrauch mods right now...", so I interrupted him mid-sentence with, "NO; I'm not interested in the Weihrauch mod. I want the Airstream."
It was no big surprise that they sent a Weihrauch I'd declined in no uncertain terms, even though the invoice showed an Airstream (as ordered). Of course when I called to set them straight the rep started explaining how much quieter the Weihrauch mod is, but I interrupted him (also) in mid-sentence to explain (again) that quiet was not my priority... and if they couldn't sell me an Airstream mod I'd take a refund, but they'd have to issue a PRE-PAID return shipping label for the rifle and mod. The rep said he'd put an Airstream mod in Priority Mail that afternoon and include a pre-paid return label for the Weihrauch mod; and he did exactly that.
To give credit where credit is due, I love my Brocock Bantam and AIRSTREAM mod, and AoA did correct the "mistake" after I made it clear it would cost them a sale otherwise. Problem is, I really don't believe shipping the wrong mod was a mistake at all, since I saw a couple all-too-similar instances in the past. Matter of fact, those instances are the very reason I haven't bought from AoA for years, and only as a last resort.
I was in retail over 40 years, and when a customer states abruptly "NO, I don't want THAT; I want THIS", shipping them THAT anyway is a good way to lose a customer. Not saying they've lost me, but am saying they move to the bottom of the list of my sources (again).
