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General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Back Room => : thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 10:38:24 AM

: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 10:38:24 AM

I don't usually get PO'd at a company, I just don't do business with them again. I broke my own rule with Pyramidair. A few years back I got three guns from them in succession, and returned two of them because they were obviously used...not just used -- one was broken...looked like it'd fallen off a truck on the highway -- but not because it was damaged in the mail...the box it came in was pristine. So after my experiences with them, I swore off. Regretfully I discovered later that they had great deals on pellets (buy 3 get 1 free). So I placed an order. The first order went well, so I dropped my guard. The next order I placed I used a few different means to get a GREAT deal on about $120 in pellets. I placed my order and waited. And waited. And waited. A month later, I called. They told me they were waiting on one item...it'd be in in a week. So i waited and waited...How long is too long to wait for an order?

About 3 weeks after that I called and waited 20 minutes on hold. I said "Hey, my order placed 2 months ago still isn't here. It was paid. I was told it'd be here in a week almost a month ago..." I was told they were waiting for some pellets. Good thing, because the whole order was pellets... I asked if we could just exchange the pellets. Sorry, they said, they can't change an order placed through ebillme, they'd have to cancel the order and I'd have to wait for a refund from ebillme, but I could place the order again. Oh, I see...pay twice for the same thing I still didn't have... So much for that discount. I refused.

I waited. Waited some more. Realized i was running low on pellets. What the heck, I thought... I placed an order about 3 months ago, I should have PLENTY of pellets. Oh, right, the order that I'd paid for 3 months ago still didn't show. I called again. I waited for half an hour on hold. I got the same song and dance as the previous time, but the person who answered the phone this time just yapped over me like I was not even there. I asked to speak with a supervisor, she refused. We talked some more. She said I could cancel the order and get a refund. I said "I already GOT the 8-10-week-to-process-refund from ebillme...I cashed the check. What will happen if I get a refund?" She said, "Please hold." Ten minutes later, she picked up. "Well, we don't know." She told me I could call ebillme and find out. I said "how about YOU call ebillme, as it is a company you use to process your transactions. YOU have the contract with them, NOT me. Can I please speak with a supervisor." She said, "Please hold."

Forgive me if my patience was wearing thin, but I kept in my shirt and the only thing that was going up was my bloodpressure. She comes back after about 10 minutes "The supervisor doesn't know either..." By  now I'm over an hour on the phone waiting for an answer about an order I should have had delivered 3 months ago... I started looking for the candid camera.

So, did I get satisfaction? Nope. They still have my money. They still have the pellets. When I finally did get the supervisor on the phone I said to her "just find a pellet tin that is about the same price as what I ordered, write CROW on the label and send it as part of the order. Whatever it is I won't complain!!" Then she offered to cancel the order...and I asked her what happens to the funds...and she said she didn't know but I could call the .... Same conversation as before. Finally I convinced her that it was HER responsibility to call and find out the general policy for a company that they contracted. I thought she agreed. "I'll call and get back to you." I've gotten no return call, no email, nothing.

Right now, I have no idea why it would take 3 months to send an order... why customer service would not follow up at all on an order... why customer service would give you the phone number for one of their vendors to call and find out about their billing policy... why an order is so rigid that there can't be any substitutions... why you would encourage customers to pay with a service that took the power of business out of your own hands and leads to customer dissatisfaction... why you would not have an inventory system to know what you were stocking so you could actually send things to your customers that they bought -- or at least warn them that something was out-of-stock... Or why you wouldn't do a lot more to get a customer what they'd paid for. 3 used guns and 3+ months of waiting for pellets later, I am perfectly DONE with pyramidair -- great pellet prices or not. Great prices don't mean diddly if you never get the product and you run out of pellets waiting.

I think they are sub-par all the way around, and they need to do better than getting 20% of the orders they do correct.

Thanks for listening. I hope a few avoid them with this warning, and maybe they'll get the message that they need to do more than just have a web site to maintain customers.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: Schmidty25 January 04, 2010, 11:46:30 AM

I have ordered pellets one time, and then a few other small things another.   didn't have a problem.  I'd be pretty *_*_*_*_*_*ed if that happened to me!  and having problems with companies is very very frustrating!    I had a problem with rpmoutlet.com  one time and swore to never buy from them again.  and I haven't.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: airiscool January 04, 2010, 11:59:58 AM

Wow, that's worse than dealing with Verizon !!!!!!

I've ordered a scope, mounts and lots of pellets from them and never had a problem. All ordered from their website, but I don't use ebillme.

Paul.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 12:27:51 PM

ebillme turned out to be a joke. I saved $25 on a $100 order... but still don't have the order and may need to cancel, so what good was it?

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: Big_Bill January 04, 2010, 01:32:43 PM

I feel your pain Richard,

But what caused me to stop ordering from Pyramyd Air was when I ordered 8 cans of different pellets,ONE can was out of stock when I ordered, :obut was due in the next week ! When I checked to see my orders status, it was now waiting for a different can of pellets that went on back order while I waited for the last can to come in. :0Now it goes from bad to worse, when I checked the next week, yes you guessed it, another of my selections went on back order, and wouldn't be in for three weeks :emoticon:

Well after telling their customer service person what a poor system they had, and that my order should have been pulled when placed, that way I wouldn't be waiting 4 weeks for pellets I had already waited for, I canceled my order ! :emoticon:

I have been known to cut my nose off to spite my face, but I usually take the other guys face off first :emoticon:

Bill

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: HNT5 January 04, 2010, 01:51:11 PM

Wow, that sucks. I would never order from them again. Hell I would try to contact the owner. You just made me re-think the order I have in my wishlist I've been getting ready to move to the cart and checkout.  I agree they have pretty good prices but that's horrible customer service.  Maybe it's time to go to Straightshooters or A of A and see if they have what I want.

Nathan

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 02:15:57 PM

That is essentially what is going on with me. I ordered about 10 different types of pellets, and one wasn't in, so they wouldn't ship a partial order. It is a STUPID system. They either need to take orders for what they have in stock, or ORDER MORE. It isn't like they go bad...

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 02:17:04 PM

I asked for the owner's email, and the 'customer service' person refused to give it to me. They stink.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: ezman604 January 04, 2010, 02:25:54 PM

Rich, I totally understand your grievance and resolve to not do business with PA again. A couple of years ago I had a very similar problem with them and what I felt like was a total lack of ANY customer support. My order was paid for and held up for one small item ( I think a barrel cleaning mop) for 3 months. I swore I would never deal with these folks again. But, after seeing everyone talk about their good deals, as well as sponsoring Pauls show, I reluctantly gave them another try. I ordered my Benji from them and alsoplaced 2-3 other orders for ammo and supplies in the last 3 months without a single hitch. But with my prior experience and yours, I feel it's like rolling the dice that any upcoming order is going to be a major headache.

Nathan and anyone else not in TN, GA or AL be sure to try Natchezss.com also.

Happy Shooting!!!!

Dave

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: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 02:35:59 PM

Geeze, and it doesn't look like my situation is anything new to PA!!

http://www.ripoffreport.com/guns-ranges/pyramyd-air-guns/pyramyd-air-guns-ripoff-intern-42x4d.htm

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: ezman604 January 04, 2010, 02:53:29 PM

Hmmm....but after reading ALL of his correspondence and responses, it seems to give PA and their customer service a glowing recommendation. To me, it's still a crap shoot. I got NO customer service support 2 years ago but like I said, the last 2-3 orders were smooth as silk.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: shawn67 January 04, 2010, 04:20:20 PM

Man Richard I don't blame you, if PA had any honor at all they would send you a complete refund  immediately with a apology and a few tins for free! I won't deal with them at all, I won't get into why this is your thread buddy, I know Commpaseco knows how to treat a customer, they have been super good to me.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: shawn67 January 04, 2010, 04:25:48 PM

I'd file a complaint with the better business bureau and the states attorney dept. of consumer affairs!  Don't let them get away with it buddy.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: pindog2000 January 04, 2010, 04:40:27 PM

hell im still waiting on my xmas gift a 4x16x50 airforce scope my baby sis got me wont be in stock till the 11th :0

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 04, 2010, 11:00:02 PM

I use compasseco for everything else, really, unless i find a super 'deal' like PA pellets (hahahaha)

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: airiscool January 05, 2010, 02:00:13 AM

" Geeze, and it doesn't look like my situation is anything new to PA!!

http://www.ripoffreport.com/guns-ranges/pyramyd-air-guns/pyramyd-ai... "

Pyramyd is not the only company having problems getting stuff from over seas. Don't get me started about waiting months for parts for the girl friends VW Passat. It's become such a problem for the dealers that like other manufacturers, VW is building a factory in this country.

And, I'm not defending Pyramyd's  system of dealing with back orders (watch, my next order will be screwed up too ), but, I read the linked emails and in all fairness, Pyramyd did offer to correct the goofs by swapping at no charge.

The guy, instead of sending the guns back so that he could get what he originally ordered, couldn't be bothered going to a Fed Ex, or UPS.  BTW, both of which can also be done online and they will pickup at your home or work place. And, if the vender gives you their ID number, I know UPS will pick up and reverse the charges back to the vender. I know this because I do it in my work. The guy couldn't even get to a Post Office ????   Instead he was taking his complints to the internet.

How's any company suposed to rectify a problem when the customer appears like he only wants to rant instead of solve the problem ????

Paul

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 05, 2010, 03:28:14 AM

I ranted HERE...I tried to solve the problem on the phone...they kept putting up roadblocks.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc January 05, 2010, 03:37:30 AM

So, part of the reason I like this forum...and other forums for interests I have... is leverage. Nothing gets a vendor motivated quicker than bad press. That and an email to the president of the company (if you didn't read all the previous, I asked for the president's email from customer service -- they wouldn't give it to me -- so again I had to do their job for them with an internet search. It didn't take long. i wrote him and the PR department a short note telling them about the lack of customer service hurting their business.

Today I get a call... it is the same gal I talked to the day before. She tells me she has good news. She got the policy from ebillme, which is: "the $25 refund is yours to keep even if you cancel the purchase." An interesting allowance. She also said, the IT department found a way to change the order on the back end. "While we don't have the pellets you wanted in stock, we can substitute something similar." That is all i was asking. It is all that should have happened in the first place.

So I am getting nearly the same thing, H&N Crow Magnum .22 Cal, 18.21 Grains, Hollowpoint, 200ct instead of the Beeman. And they will be shipping today.

Now, who here thinks I would have gotten anywhere without an email to the president of the company and a little tirade on this forum?

While I shouldn't count my chickens, etc., Thanks for all the responses and interest. The public can make a difference. I'd gotten nowhere on my own.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: Magnum January 05, 2010, 04:31:14 AM

I'm not sure but if  this ebill company is anything like pay pal, I believe you  can call and place a dispute that you did you not receive your items. Your money will be returned to your account if vendor does not reply to them or remedy situation within 10 days at least that's what I did with pay pal one time when I did not receive. Thing is with pay pal and may be same for ebill  you have to call them because its your account and they will not speak to the vendor/seller about your account.  I am not familiar with  Ebill  but guess they are offering a discount on a purchase if you enroll with them? Hope this may help in some way as I hate see this type thing anywhere and it also drives me nuts, ,Tony.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: airiscool January 05, 2010, 04:48:03 AM

Rich,
I hear ya, and their conduct in your case is inexcusable.

Why the guy at the link you posted never sent his guns back when given the opertunity is what I don't understand.

Back orderes are nothing new in business. Lots of companies deal with the problem without it getting to this level.

I do alot of phone and internet ordering and have never seen this type of order hold-up. Most of the companies I deal with even check stock with their computers as I'm placing the order and if something isn't in stock, give me the option of back order the entire order, or send on what they have and just back order what they don't.  

Glad to hear you've had some success. Hopefully, you'll get what they say they are sending. And, also, hopefully,  Pyramyd will get the message and make changes in how they deal with back orders.

Paul.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: RedFeather January 05, 2010, 09:20:24 AM

Any time you ask to speak to a supervisor, you should have that opportunity afforded you. She, the rep, did not have the authority to put you off for so long. My wife's uncle used this ploy when talking with a customer service department - If, after a while, his question looked like it was not going to be answered, he asked to speak with a supervisor. When he got the super and it still looked bleak, he asked to speak to that person's supervisor. Usually, the person on the phone was only too happy to kick the problem upstairs. He once got all the way to a Vice Presidential level at his local utility. Doesn't always work but, if you persist, politely but firmly interrupting the rep's spiel, it may get you there.

PA should wise up and ship a partial order when only one item is backordered. I think I saw some photos of their shop and it didn't look all that big, inventory-wise. It's one thing to use "just in time" inventorying, but you can't continually backorder stuff, especially for three months.

Want pellets? Try Tim at Mac-1. His "whole lotta lead" sale is now a full time thing. Might not be as cheap but haven't heard anything bad about them at all.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: clip February 15, 2010, 04:24:42 PM

Richard....I realize this is about 6 weeks after you posted this but I had some serious issues with Pyramid Air myself. I finally emailed the CEO of the company, told him what was going on with a refund I should have received but didn't and he took care of my problems personally. His email address is patrick.coughlin@pyramidair.com. He replied to my emails immediately and my concerns were handled within a couple of days. He emailed back to me to make sure the problems had been solved to my satisfaction. In case you ever do business with them again, and suffer for it, I thought you might be interested in knowing who to write to. This guy certainly got results for me when I had exausted my patience with their customer service people!

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc February 16, 2010, 12:22:30 AM

I don't know why it has to come to that -- he either needs to fire them all or retrain them. Customer service isn't supposed to make you sorry you spent money with a company!

Thanks for sharing.

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: 7.62X51 February 16, 2010, 09:51:50 AM

I just canceled my last order with Pyramyd yesterday.  I had several tins of pellets ordered as well as the Air Venturi Benjamin scope mount. Delivery kept getting pushed back so I decided to look elsewhere.  I recently found a place called Natchez Shooters Supply while I was searching for the best price on an RWS 48.  They have the rifle cheaper than anywhere else I could find at only $299!  They are also cheaper than PA on most pellets but they only carry RWS and Gamo. Scopes look cheap too.  Hope this helps somebody.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: lastmanout February 16, 2010, 10:10:07 AM

Online shopping can get bad-  JUST BEWARE - Natchez charges ALOT for shipping and handling. I quit dealling with Natchez after I paid $13.50 to ship two pocket knives (that where on sale).

: RE: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: clip February 16, 2010, 01:59:35 PM

I have had dealings with Natchez supply in the past...not many but my experiences were more pleasant than anything with PyramydAir. I really haven't bought much from them so I can't give an in-depth critique of their customer service. As far as prices are concerned, I bought my Diana 52 Natchez and it was $50 cheaper than anywhere else. I don't remember what the shipping charge was, however. I too, would have been pretty unhappy if I had been charged $13 for a couple of knives as Tim had to pay. I'm not sure where Tim lives but I live in Missouri so the postage mighta been a bit lower to me. I believe Gene has had more dealings with Natchez and can give a better report than I.
  My last order from Pyramyd was for 4 tins of pellets. It was quite a change, packing-wise, than tins I've received before. My first order came with tins placed in cut-to-shape foam all around the tins with cardboard squares top and bottom. They were well protected. The last shipment was a different story...the only foam was on the sides and nothing else. One tin of RWS had its' lid off with pellets all over the place. Another was a box of CPLs ( the cardboard box ) and I'm sure you know how those travel! The only thing that helped was the fact the CPLs are domed while the RWS were hollowpoints. It wasn't that tough to seperate, it was the idea that I had to go through all that. ..And I had made a vow that all I would ever buy from PA was pellets!
 Sorry Richard for hi-jacking your thread but your post touched a nerve in me concerning PA....LOL.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: arnie3981 February 23, 2010, 10:48:16 PM

I had a similar issues where I asked them to ship me a Marauder internationally via Fedex ONLY. The rep assured me on phone it will be done and I also left notes on the order form and paid via Paypal. Next thing I know, it ships via UPS. They assure me it will sail though easily. But, i knew better about UPS and they routed the shipment via Singapore. Now, Singapore has a thing with airguns and they dont let them be exported, so my shipment was stuck for more than15 days. Everyday, PA had a new excuse telling me to wait 1 more day.

Finally, I had had enough and I raised a dispute with Paypal and lo and behold, I had an email from their Super within 5 mins asking me to close the dispute so they can send me a replacement order via Fedex this time. Had I known it would take them a dispute email from Paypal to wake up, I would have done so without waiting more than 15 days.

: Re: Ruffled by Pyramidair!! (a rant)
: thebookdoc February 24, 2010, 12:16:44 AM

That's exactly the point. It shouldn't take any dispute to get what you asked for, and if it can't be provided it shouldn't be promised or sold. They need to seriously revisit customer SERVICE.