News on Savage Customer Service

[J.Baker]

Was talking with Paul at Savage today regarding many of the customer service complaints we have seen posted here in recent months. They are well aware that things haven't been going as smoothly as they used to and they are actively working to make improvements not only in the CS area, but also when it comes to parts. Here are a few of the key things I learned...

1) Savage is currently in the process of developing a new system to allow for better communication between them and the customer. He noted that their current system does not communicate with the shipping companies systems. The new system will work with both Fed-Ex and UPS once it's implemented, but no current estimate as to when that will be.

2) In the meantime, as of a meeting this morning, they are going to start emailing or calling people (depending on info you have provided them) to let them know when their gun has arrived and been logged in and when the gun is logged out and shipped back to you. While labor intensive and time consuming, Paul noted that it's a reasonable request and that this will be the process going forward until the new system is up and running.

Note that when sending your gun back to Savage for repair it's imperative that you include a note inside the box/case with your information (name, address, phone #, email, etc) as well as a brief description of the reason it is being sent in. This ensures they can contact you as needed and lets them know what problem(s) to look for which will help speed up the process.

3) Paul also noted that they do currently have an email ticket system in the "Contact Us" area of their website. Upon clicking "Send us a message" you will be asked to register to send an email ticket. Paul noted that Savage has one full-time person dedicated to responding to these email tickets, but as of late they have been adding hours from other CS staff members to help keep up with demand.

4) Another cog in the wheel is that three of the five gunsmiths tasked with doing the warranty/repair work have retired in the past year. Replacements for those positions have been hired from within the factory, but it takes time to fully train and get people up to speed in their new positions which has led to longer lead times in recent months. Paul noted that they typically aim to get 90% of repair work completed and shipped back to the customer within 3 weeks of being entered into their books, and expects that they will be back to that standard very soon.

So hopefully that answers some questions/concerns some of you had regarding what's been going on with Savage's customer service as of late. As I noted in a few of my responses to posts made here recently on this subject, a lot of it simply has to do with labor - both getting people hired and trained and then retaining those people. Call center work has an extremely high turnover rate so it's no surprise that's one area they have been struggling in. Add the fact that more than half of their gunsmiths retired in a 12-month period and it just compounds the problem.


On another note, while emailing back and forth with Paul I brought up the fact that Savage hasn't had a Parts Catalog in over 25 years, and having that available and regularly updated (annually) would likely eliminate a sizeable portion of the call/email demand that customer service is having to content with. He agreed 100% and noted that this is something that he is currently pushing hard for, as well as a dedicated parts department to more efficiently handle small parts orders. Paul noted however that such a publication likely won't be implemented until they have the new system in place.

[Robinhood]

Thanks for taking the time to communicate with Paul and us!

[PhilC]

Thanks for taking the time to communicate with Paul and us!

I'll echo your sentiment RH and good read to Savage was already working these problems.

[Rat44]

Nice to hear they are working on modernizing to keep up with the times.
I recently had to deal with a warranty repair and it was frustrating to say the least.
Not being able to contact any body for days at a time or get responses to emails does not instill confidence in the customer.
Being able to order simple things such as scope bases and magazines would be a huge step in the right direction.