Re: I hope McGowen barrels are better than their customer service, BUYERS BEWARE
For those of you on this forum who read my previous topic below, after careful consideration and acting out of anger and frustration I jumped the gun (AGAIN no pun intended) and posted my post. There are those who MAY say I was in the right and there are those who MAY feel I was wrong. There is a quote that someone told me a long time ago and I want those who read this to take this to heart.
You may be "right" about something BUT if you are not "righteous about it you may as well just be wrong.
I should have thought about those words before I put a company with a great reputation on the chopping block because of my own frustrations and anger. Dan wrote me a letter and I would like to post all 3 letters. This is what good business is about, recognizing there was a problem and making the necessary changes to correct it. I have yet to respond to the last letter and will do so shortly.
=======================================
Louis,
I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot there. Yesterday was a very hectic day for me and unfortunately you caught me at a bad time. This is absolutely no excuse for what you feel is poor customer service.
I received the email that you sent to Jon and have gone over it. Here is what you put down in the email:
$315
- 31.50 (10%) first time buyer
-----------
283.50
+ 19.60 PRIORITY 2 day shipping
-------------
303.10
+5.00 handling fee
----------------------
308.10
Here is the actual invoice:
$315.00 Standard Price
-$31.50 New buyers 10% discount
$283.50
$18.71 Priority Shipping (see attached copy of online USPS receipt)
$5.55 Insurance
$307.76
$5.50 Handling Fee (this is standard for everyone it covers labor and materials to ship)
$313.26
That is exactly what you were charged. Your link was incorrect as we do get a small business discount ($18.71 vs $19.60), but what you did not put in the total above was the insurance. We do not send any packages out without putting insurance on them. The reason for this is that if the package is lost or damaged we have to replace it and we need to recoup the cost of doing so.
I realize that you are upset as shown by the numerous posts on the blogs that you have done. I will be copying the contents of this email and posting it on the blogs as a response to your blog.
While I don't expect to have your business in the future, I hope that the barrel works out for you in the end. We've had great success with our barrels with little or no problems. And typically when there are problems we try to take care of them as quickly as possible. Again, my apologies to you for the bad experience that you feel that you have received from McGowen Precision Barrels.
Regards,
Dan J Wynne
================================================== =================
I GREATLY respect the fact that you took the time to respond to my email and my post. I understand where the extra charge came from and I find it completely justified. I was wrong for the way I spoke to you and Jon and I AM OPENLY apologizing for my words. I was also frustrated and angry and people tend to say things more out of anger than try to actually resolve the problem at hand. I would just like to know and understand WHY my barrel sat in the drop box for days before anyone realized that it had not been picked up yet? When it was removed from the drop box before actually being shipped why was I not notified of the delay the instant my barrel was found unshipped? I AM extending my words of apology. I would hope you can understand when you wait for something that you are so excited about, ESPECIALLY reading the reviews and visually seeing the proof, a day can feel like a week and a month can feel like a year. I AM excited to receive your barrel and I AM SURE it will be of the UTMOST QUALITY and PRECISION you have been prided on by SO MANY others. I said words out of anger and for that I apologize. I understand that business men come in all forms as do customers. I am the type of business man who keeps constant communication before and after the sale. SOLID foundations of good business are made this way, FRIENDSHIPS are made this way and MOST important to me TRUST is built in this manner. If I am the 1 who slipped through the crack and my issue made you aware of the problem and you correct that problem swiftly it WILL in the long run make you a better company it WILL also make me a better customer for future business. I HATE the fact that our first time business together dropped off a cliff so horribly with no parachute. I will also send this email to Jon as I feel that I owe him an apology also. Someone once told me that you may be "right" about something, but if you are not "righteous" about it you may as well just be wrong. I wish I had remembered that saying before I said the words that I said and posted what I posted.
================================================== ==================
Louis,
Thank you, no apology necessary, you were justified in being angry. Unfortunately yesterday I was less than an ideal customer service guy. There are a lot of things going on here that are taking up my every waking moment and I was frustrated, not with you, but with the load on my shoulders.
After I spoke with you originally when you changed your order from Fedex to USPS I processed the mailing immediately, I laid it on the counter for the postman as he comes into our office every day. Usually the postman looks on our counter for outgoing stuff, but he missed it and unfortunately I missed it. I realized that it was still there the other day and made sure that the postman got it. It was an oversight on our part for sure, but please understand that we probably only ship 1 package/barrel out with USPS per every 200 barrels we ship Fedex. This is not an excuse, it is just not our normal way to ship.
I understand your "righteous" remark very well. I've been in this business for quite some time and have taken the brunt of any negativity posted on any of the blogs for another company. While I may not have been personally responsible for the problems at the other company, because I was a spokesman for the company I was the guy who was lit up. My first response is always to "respond", but have learned over the years that I shouldn't do that. You would be surprised of how many times I've written a response to a post just to modify it 3 or 4 times before I actually post my response. I want to ensure that nothing that I say in the public forums is misconstrued.
We appreciate yours and everyone else's business and hate to lose even one customer. So please check the barrel out and if it performs to or above your expectations we hope that you might consider us in the future. This time, it will be personally taken to the post office by me.
Regards.
Dan
