Pact - Poor Customer Service, Poor Response

[BigSlick]

Left the BrianEnos forum

Edited December 27, 2005 by BigSlick

[George]

I have three PACT products and every one worked fine outadabox' and still works fine down the road a bit. I didn't get the BBK scale and instead opted for their Digital Precision model so I could use it with their electronic powder trickler.

I am happy but have never had to get customer service from them. I do understand that they are a small operation and not a conglomerate with a large worldwide presence. As with anything, the possibility of a singular bad experience is there no matter where you spend your bux.

My suggestion is to wait until you get the repaired scale back and see if it meets your standards. If not, then you would be within your rights to make a stink. Remember, not everyone can be like Dillon Precision ;-) It takes a certain product line type and sales volume to do customer service the way Dillon does. PACT is not running the same business model as Dillon. I would give them a chance to do it by their book first, then throw your book at them if it's not right. But do give them a reasonable chance first!

--

Regards,

[38superman]

BigSlick,

I'm glad you brought this up.

My wife bought me a Pact Professional Chronograph direct from their web site last winter. The unit turned out to be defective.

It worked ok for a few shots then began to give erratic readings.

A few more shots and it quit working altogether displaying nothing but error messages.

I did a little research into product reviews and discovered that this is a common problem.

I returned the unit to them for repair.

Months went by and after several inquiries they told me they were waiting for software upgrades.

I finally demanded that they either repair it or replace it.

Their reply was that they had no replacement units available.

When I finally got it back four months later, I put four rounds through it before it crapped out again.

Clearly, whatever they did, the unit had not been fixed.

They claim that they tested it before they sent it back.

The printer tape revealed that their test consisted of one round.

So much for the no B.S. lifetime warranty.

I did not want to send it back at my expense for a second time.

I was so frustrated that I set the Pact chrono aside and bought a CED.

I do have a Pact digital scale and a Pact timer that seem to work fine so far.

However, based on my customer service experience I would never buy anything from them again under any circumstance.........ever.

Tls

Edited November 10, 2005 by tlshores

[davidball]

I had an experience similar to Tony's. My chrono registered everything around 300 feet per second and the reset didn't work (I had to turn it off and then back on to reset it). So I sent it in. Month's later (and a couple of phone calls) I got it back. However, mine has worked since then (18 to 24 months or so), but the process WAS annoying and in my discussions with them I would describe their attitude as "indifferent" at best.

[10mmdave]

Sent a Pact Chrono back 4 times over 2 years, never a note to say what was done, few

month's later back to the shop for repairs. Had issues with my BBK also but they seem to

have disappeared

Will never buy another pact product, won't even pick up their stuff off a prize table.

And I don't want to sell some un-suspecting person my used crappy chrono, least the timer

works, until that goes I'll hang onto it.

Sorry for troubles

[Clay1]

I've been happy with my MK IV timer, but haven't had the pleasure of the service department. Thanks for the info.

Rick

[Exiledviking]

I was planning on buying their timer/chrono.

After reading this....

I DON'T think so.

[Cuz]

Whew. I had picked up a CED 8000 timer at a gun show last month because I didn't feel like waiting for the new Pact Timer to come out. Then I started regretting the decision. Not anymore. Pact does not sound like the kind of company I want to do any business with. I don't care how good their products may be, I care more about how they treat their customers when things go wrong.

Thank you Mike at MLE Shooting for selling me the CED Timer. I like it a lot.

-Cuz.

[benos]

I'm sorry to hear of the bad customer service encounters. (I sent this thread to the president of the company.)

If anyone has a customer service problem - whether you bought your PACT product from me or not - call me and I'll push some buttons. I will do this because I am a firm believer in the company and their products. They make the best, most user friendly Timers, Scales, and Chronos in existence. I've know the owner for 25 years, and tremendously respect his integrity and commitment to continuously offer and improve his products.

Since all their products are built in-house in Texas, (not shipped in pre-fab from an overseas location), sometimes there may be a delay when ordering. But all their products are worth the wait, I assure you.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Brian

1 877 219-5598

[R/T Performance]

I just had one of the best experiences with customer service ever.

I had an incident and damaged my sensor housings and sky screens of my new pact IV

Within five minutes on the 1800pactinc number I had 4 of each on the way for a measly 33 bucks.

Sorry To hear you are having trouble but .I am very happy with my purchase

[knightkrawler00]

Yup, been eight weeks since I sent in my MKIV, was told yesterday that the repair guy was involved in other projects and mine would be looked at next week. Was told three weeks ago that they would look at it next week also. I have to agree with everybody that the attitude seems to be indifferent. I asked if a rush could be put on it, the answer was no and I would just have to wait. Losing a lot of confidence with them.

Brian, I'll give you a call tomorrow. I've got a new-to-me model 29, some 320 grain cast bullets, and really need the chrony to start working up some loads. Thanks for offering your help.

[38superman]

Brian,

I respect your opinion and I sincerely appreciate everything you do for our sport.

Unfortunately, regarding Pact I have a different viewpoint.

Please understand that "Made in the USA" was a major factor in my decision to buy from Pact.

I always favor buying from domestic companies even if it costs me more to do so.

Therefore, I was prepared to cut them considerable slack.

Even so, after a company,

A. Ships me a defective product

B. Declines to replace it

C. Takes months to repair it

D. Sends it back to me still defective

I'm pretty much done with them.

It pains me, but my chronograph from Texas is sitting in my junk closet gathering dust.

The chrono I bought to replace it (made in China) goes to the range with me because it works.

Those are the facts.

Tls

[smokshwn]

+1 on Knight crawler's post. My MkIV went Tango Uniform and would not register shots unless the muzzle was only inches away from the unit. Sent the unit to Pact as per their instructions for repair expecting a week or two without timer and chrono. After 8 weeks and a couple of the we will be getting to it this week promises I pushed the customer service guy a little and explained that I had been without my unit for going on 9 weeks. He wasn't rude at all but his attitude was very indifferent as he explained that it would be done when they could get to it. All told 12 wks without a timer or chrono.

I like the product but service/repair absolutely sucked in my opinion.

Craig

[Exiledviking]

Hey Brian,

I think it is great that you step up like this!

However, have you heard anything back from PACT?

I am standing here with money in my hand and I will be buying a

timer sometime around X-mas. I had long ago made up my mind

that it would be a PACT timer, but now I think I will spend my money

elsewhere...

Thanks,

John

[stepbyrd]

I too would like to know if anything has been heard from PACT.

I have a timer in for repair and I feel my calls have been met with indifference. I bought mine back in May based on feedback from many different places, one of which was this sight. I purchased it new from midway (Because of my C&R discount) in May of this year. I got the timer, mounting bracket and screens.

I immediately began having problems with the switch on it. I would turn it on and it would just beep. I would have to forcibly turn it on to get it to work right. That fix came from Pat at PACT. The rest of my problems have been with the keyboard and chrony. Sometimes when I turn it on, the keyboard would be nonresponsive. Other times it would turn on and only show "FULL AUTO" on the screen. As far as the chrony goes, when I hit review it goes straight from the first screen to the last. THe "middle" or second screen shows up for just a brief second. Too short to even read the values. I took it out two or three times between June and August trying to figure it out. I kept thinking it was something I was doing or had done. I finally decided that it wasn't going to fix itself and that it wasn't anything I had done.

I shipped it back and they received it on or about Oct 25th. I called and they said it would be about 4 or 5 weeks. I called back the last week in November/first week in December and was told it would be another week. I have since called them again and was told that it would be after Christmas.

I'm not to the point of being mad yet, but this has definately put a bad taste in my mouth. I just want the product I paid for to work. I feel that warranty work needs to be measured in weeks not months.

[Cjblackmon]

Great! I hope I don't develope any problems with my MKIV! I wish I had placed my order form Brian's store yesterday than going to directly through Pact so I can get Brian's support and "pull"should I have a problem.

It scares me when I buy a product after I read such rave reviews about the customer service.

[stepbyrd]

I spoke to Pat at Pact again yesterday. Last week he stated that mine was the only one they had ever seen that was doing what it was doing and he wanted another tech to look at it. Yesterday he said basiclly the same thing. I then asked if they could just exchange it for one that worked. That way they could spend as much time as they wanted to figure it out. Pat stated that they couldn't do that because they didn't have any to exchange it for and that they were doing the best they could.

In two more weeks they will have had possession of the timer longer than I have. This is getting crazy!

Stephen

I too would like to know if anything has been heard from PACT.

I have a timer in for repair and I feel my calls have been met with indifference. I bought mine back in May based on feedback from many different places, one of which was this sight. I purchased it new from midway (Because of my C&R discount) in May of this year. I got the timer, mounting bracket and screens.

I immediately began having problems with the switch on it. I would turn it on and it would just beep. I would have to forcibly turn it on to get it to work right. That fix came from Pat at PACT. The rest of my problems have been with the keyboard and chrony. Sometimes when I turn it on, the keyboard would be nonresponsive. Other times it would turn on and only show "FULL AUTO" on the screen. As far as the chrony goes, when I hit review it goes straight from the first screen to the last. THe "middle" or second screen shows up for just a brief second. Too short to even read the values. I took it out two or three times between June and August trying to figure it out. I kept thinking it was something I was doing or had done. I finally decided that it wasn't going to fix itself and that it wasn't anything I had done.

I shipped it back and they received it on or about Oct 25th. I called and they said it would be about 4 or 5 weeks. I called back the last week in November/first week in December and was told it would be another week. I have since called them again and was told that it would be after Christmas.

I'm not to the point of being mad yet, but this has definately put a bad taste in my mouth. I just want the product I paid for to work. I feel that warranty work needs to be measured in weeks not months.

[al503]

I spoke to Pat at Pact again yesterday. Last week he stated that mine was the only one they had ever seen that was doing what it was doing and he wanted another tech to look at it. Yesterday he said basiclly the same thing. I then asked if they could just exchange it for one that worked. That way they could spend as much time as they wanted to figure it out. Pat stated that they couldn't do that because they didn't have any to exchange it for and that they were doing the best they could.

In two more weeks they will have had possession of the timer longer than I have. This is getting crazy!

Stephen

So they've had it since Oct 25? That's unacceptable. They should have sent you out a new one long ago. Pact has a nice warranty on paper but it appears to have 'failed it's essential purpose' according to the UCC. I'd tell them to keep it and try to get a refund.

[rishii]

any updates,

my mark IV just broke, I'm call pact in the morning, hopefully you guys got your back.

[stepbyrd]

UPDATE:

Sorry for the slow reply. I wanted to be able to test the timer before I gave an update.

A couple of days after my last post I finally gave in and called Brian to take him up on his offer to help. I had held off doing that because I felt bad asking him to do somehting when I had purchased the unit else where. Brian called PACT and then called me back with their response. Long story short, I had my unit back with 7 or 10 days. I just had a chance to test it and it appears to be working fine.

[R/T Performance]

Man thats scary I hope mine never breaks they where great getting me parts when I shot my chrono

[rishii]

thanks to EricW for some outstanding instructions, I fixed mine today, thank goodness I didn't have to chance pacts customer service.

[Jasonub]

UPDATE:

Sorry for the slow reply. I wanted to be able to test the timer before I gave an update.

A couple of days after my last post I finally gave in and called Brian to take him up on his offer to help. I had held off doing that because I felt bad asking him to do somehting when I had purchased the unit else where. Brian called PACT and then called me back with their response. Long story short, I had my unit back with 7 or 10 days. I just had a chance to test it and it appears to be working fine.

Now you owe Brian and have to buy something from him soon

[ampleworks]

No issues from my BBK that I've had about 8 months nor my club timer I bought used from Mr Overlay.

That said, when I called to order my scale, the person on the phone was about as useful as calling Mohammad over in India for tech support. The guy knew absolutely nothing about what he was selling.

If I do ever order their product again, it'll be through Brian.

[R/T Performance]

No issues from my BBK that I've had about 8 months nor my club timer I bought used from Mr Overlay.

That said, when I called to order my scale, the person on the phone was about as useful as calling Mohammad over in India for tech support. The guy knew absolutely nothing about what he was selling.

If I do ever order their product again, it'll be through Brian.

So far so good with my almost used pact mark 4 and chrono other than me shooting it and was only on the phone five minutes and had new parts shipped cheap