Bear Creek Arsenal - once again cannot reach them??

[grayfox]

Well, seems once again Bear Creek - you can't reach them whether phone call or email? I ordered a barrel for a new build, wanting to try out their barrels.... they email and say it's got a UPS tracking number but UPS says they don't have it yet - like 5 days ago. Called several times, no answer. Emailed, no response....... guess I'll give them a bit more time but am not satisfied with their CS at all. I wonder about a company that can take your money soooo fast but then you can't reach them and what - so I bought a vapor-barrel???
Frustrated, as you can see.

[mdram]

iic they have been closed for a couple of days.
they got some snow. and the south does not do well with snow

[mdram]

just checked, twitter says closed the 17th, web page says the 19th, so i dont think they were open the 18th either

[Keef]

The snow might as well be cocaine down here, cause it makes everybody freak out and run around crazy wrecking. lol

[beastep]

I need to get ahold of them as well.

[Frontier Gear]

I have purchased from them a great many times and have always received my products, although it does take a while some times (like over a month). Here are a few thoughts.

• These guys ship thousands of barrels. Mostly to OEMs. The retail sales are just a side deal for them. As such, they package them all at once (which creates the tracking number) but ship them up to 5 days later. They aren't going to stop their process just to ship one barrel. Your order probably got lumped into the next batch scheduled to get shipped out.
• They are really slow at responding to emails.
• Most companies that are going to the Shot Show are very busy right now and are not very responsive. I have received a number of emails this past week from manufactures stating that they will not be able to respond to inquiries or new orders until after the show is over.
• BCA actually forgot to ship my order once. When I was finally able to get a hold of them, they shipped it out right away.

[grayfox]

I have purchased from them a great many times and have always received my products, although it does take a while some times (like over a month). Here are a few thoughts.

• These guys ship thousands of barrels. Mostly to OEMs. The retail sales are just a side deal for them. As such, they package them all at once (which creates the tracking number) but ship them up to 5 days later. They aren't going to stop their process just to ship one barrel. Your order probably got lumped into the next batch scheduled to get shipped out.
• They are really slow at responding to emails.
• Most companies that are going to the Shot Show are very busy right now and are not very responsive. I have received a number of emails this past week from manufactures stating that they will not be able to respond to inquiries or new orders until after the show is over.
• BCA actually forgot to ship my order once. When I was finally able to get a hold of them, they shipped it out right away.

I'm aware (I checked website after posting this frustration) of the snow... and I found their 833 number, which they answered when I called. Contrast to the 919 number which goes nowhere. We used to live down in Raleigh so I know what snow does to them... I'm in VA so not much different.
The lady promised to check on my order and get back to me this afternoon.

However......... FG points may be valid but none of this leads the customer to any positive customer service thoughts, esp with no responsiveness or feedback. and IMO hurts their reputation.
Her initial response was that they make as well as sell so sometimes they have to make the barrel before they can ship. Ok now that I know that... All of this would be fine if they would be more communicative on the website (I offered a couple of suggestions to her to help that out).
For instance, if you need to make the barrel before shipping, say something about that on the website, like "ready to ship" if it's really ready to ship, otherwise "7-10 days to fabricate and ship"...
Don't do things that "issue" a UPS label number until it is within 24 hours of actually being shipped. Folks can do this, other mfrs definitely have this figured out. Say "barrel is in fabrication, we'll let you know when it's actually ready to ship"... don't say your barrel is processed but still wait up to 14 days before expecting anything...
So, I'll await her updates today and sorry about the weather - actually it wasn't just snow, next day it turned to ice.

O one more thing, the CS number (919 area code) is a NC area code, but the CS hours are in Pacific Standard time... whaaa? Plus no one answers the phone. Not even a VM message saying thanks for your call, due to bad weather we'll be closed a couple of days...

If they don't want to do 1 or 2-sie sales then they should also say that on the website. Lots of gov vendors sell to the gov but also sell just as well to individual buyers.
Sorry for the rant I was pretty frustrated at lack of responsiveness. I've got all my other parts inbound ... so waiting on the barrel.

[mdram]

i wonder if they are still shipping all those free barrels they gave to military and vets?

that was horrible of them and really hurt thier reputation too

[Frontier Gear]

Ya their CS is poor, their barrels are good and their prices are great. But for $80 on a Grendel barrel, I can't really complain.

[grayfox]

No, the free barrels and other stuff is all great, very glad to see them do that... I would like to see their CS abilities improve is all. For now I'm just waiting on the update... hoping to build soon.

[Sputnik]

When their 24 inch Grendel complete upper was not I stock, I went to Primary Arms and they had it, and it was ~$30.00 cheaper. Both offer LEO/Mil discount, but often you can find their products elsewhere and cheaper. They can't undercut their vendors to maintain their sales and they probably switch their production depending on their orders from their vendors and their on hand stock. I got a 223 Wylde from BCA, and have always received good CS whatever and whenever I called. They did switch phone numbers a few months ago and there was some confusion then, but I like them for what they are doing for this platform. The central part of NC got hammered with about 7 inches of snow Wednesday, so hang in there! Fortunately for the occasional unhappy customer, there are many that are quick to stand up with favorable comments for those that deserve it. I like your comment mdram!

[mdram]

No, the free barrels and other stuff is all great, very glad to see them do that... I would like to see their CS abilities improve is all. For now I'm just waiting on the update... hoping to build soon.

some companies just have bad communication. even if they have good stuff and prices
PSA comes to mind as one of them

[Tex Nomex]

Read both posts.
I have two points that may be of interest.

1. My impressions of BCA: All BCA indicators GREEN. BCA is GO.
2. You misspelled whine.

[HuntTXhogs]

I emailed my Warranty / return form in Tuesday and no response yet, next step was to issue a prepaid label ....

I called twice today phone off the hook

This is going to be a headache

[Sputnik]

I have noticed their email ads announce a new phone number change. I am not sure when they changed their phones or how long that notice has been active. It may well be old news. Hang in their I hope it turns out well for you.