Posted by: Razorpb on September 15, 2003 at 14:44:22

: : I'm alittle confused Pump Scout, I've heard your comments about never having, had, or will buy any Smart Parts product. Then I saw this post in the Shocker forum below from you about their horrible customer service and jumping hoops to spend your money with them. Care to clear that up, or are you playing both sides of the fence? I deal with SP on a regular basis and have never had a problem with their service, been cut off etc. : Initially, it started out as trying to hunt down barrel makers for the SL-68II. I'd e-mailed all the barrel makers I could track down at the time (14), and got responses from about half of them. SP was not among those responding, even though I keep hearing there are AA barrels available for the SL. I'd also tried calling SP, as an acquaintance was looking for a Freak for the SL, if they were made. I'll admit, I was interested myself in the idea, so I tried to pursue it. Never an e-mail returned, and phone calls went into an automated system that, when connected to a human being, were cut before I could field my question. In my line of work, customer service starts before the customer spends dollar one with me. So, rather than deal with being ignored for whatever reason, I take my money elsewhere. I just don't have the time anymore to futz with companies that don't want to deal with... me personally? pump shooters in general? anyone not talking about how great SP products are? new potential customers? Frankly, I don't even know WHY they didn't get back to me. I no longer care, either. After 10 years of watching them hype their products, and even giving them the benefit of doubt a number of times and CONSIDERING buying something from them, I'll find other companies to spend my bucks with. Bear in mind, too, this is all WELL before the bandwagon of "Boycott Smart Parts", and the electro-based legal issue. : Now, to be fair, I DID find something from SP in my gear... a set of Renegade knee/shin pads I'd gotten at a steal of a price from an area field. They're now retired, replaced with other pads. I'd forgotten Renegade pads were from SP, until I'd dug up an old (1995) APG showing one of the Gardners wearing Renegade pads. : Not playing games, or playing two sides of a fence, just had some really irritating experiences with SP. There are certainly more customer-focused paintball companies out there. : Ben Kohnen, Limited Pump Paintball : www.geocities.com/limitedpump

Follow Ups: Post a Followup Show your name as: DefaultRealnameBothNickname E-Mail address (eg: joeschmoe@aol.com): Show your e-mail address? DefaultYesNo Your Password: Don't have a password? CLICK HERE - Forgot your password? CLICK HERE Subject: Subject:Message: : : : I'm alittle confused Pump Scout, I've heard your comments about never having, had, or will buy any Smart Parts product. Then I saw this post in the Shocker forum below from you about their horrible customer service and jumping hoops to spend your money with them. Care to clear that up, or are you playing both sides of the fence? I deal with SP on a regular basis and have never had a problem with their service, been cut off etc. : : Initially, it started out as trying to hunt down barrel makers for the SL-68II. I'd e-mailed all the barrel makers I could track down at the time (14), and got responses from about half of them. SP was not among those responding, even though I keep hearing there are AA barrels available for the SL. I'd also tried calling SP, as an acquaintance was looking for a Freak for the SL, if they were made. I'll admit, I was interested myself in the idea, so I tried to pursue it. Never an e-mail returned, and phone calls went into an automated system that, when connected to a human being, were cut before I could field my question. In my line of work, customer service starts before the customer spends dollar one with me. So, rather than deal with being ignored for whatever reason, I take my money elsewhere. I just don't have the time anymore to futz with companies that don't want to deal with... me personally? pump shooters in general? anyone not talking about how great SP products are? new potential customers? Frankly, I don't even know WHY they didn't get back to me. I no longer care, either. After 10 years of watching them hype their products, and even giving them the benefit of doubt a number of times and CONSIDERING buying something from them, I'll find other companies to spend my bucks with. Bear in mind, too, this is all WELL before the bandwagon of "Boycott Smart Parts", and the electro-based legal issue. : : Now, to be fair, I DID find something from SP in my gear... a set of Renegade knee/shin pads I'd gotten at a steal of a price from an area field. They're now retired, replaced with other pads. I'd forgotten Renegade pads were from SP, until I'd dug up an old (1995) APG showing one of the Gardners wearing Renegade pads. : : Not playing games, or playing two sides of a fence, just had some really irritating experiences with SP. There are certainly more customer-focused paintball companies out there. : : Ben Kohnen, Limited Pump Paintball : : www.geocities.com/limitedpump [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ WARPIG Tech Talk - High End Paintguns ]