Rafter S Gunleather (Merged)

[AllAmerican]

An update to my quest for a belt...

So on Wednesday I ordered a belt from Rafter S. I spoke to Della. I was told by Della that my belt was going to ship that day.

Yesterday I saw no charge on my Visa card and after hearing some bad news about the company I decided to call Rafter S.

I spoke to Willie who told me Della was not in yet but that she would call me within a few hours. Willie knew nothing about my order, couldnt look it up or even look up my name. So, more than a few hours went by and I called back and Willie said Della was not there but seemed suprised that she hadnt called me yet.

However, Willie couldnt remember who I was even after our conversation a few hours earlier. I asked Willie to cancel my order. He said he would do that. He said he would let Della know.

A DCDC member here told me to watch to see how they would charge my card. Well, today I found they had charged my card. So I call and I get Della on the phone.

I ask why there is a charge on my card. She was not told by Willie I guess to cancel my order. I tell her that her company has a poor communication system between the 3 people she says she has working there.

She says, so you want to cancel the order because I have your belt here in a box ready to go out.

I tell her that she told me the belt was going out 2 days ago. She asks me again if I want to cancel and I say yes. She says, "you're doing us a favor by cancelling this order because if you could see the retail price on this belt...." Click and she hangs up on me.

Do business with them at your own risk. I gotta call my bank.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[dgg9]

She says, so you want to cancel the order because I have your belt here in a box ready to go out.

I'm currently being shined on by them in the same manner: call them -- "it'll ship out tomorrow!" -- 2 weeks later no belt, so call again -- "it'll ship out tomorrow!" -- repeat.

[AllAmerican]

Well Im glad I cancelled. I called the bank and they said to wait and see if they reverse the charges since they are in a pending state.

If not the bank says I can file a dispute. Oh glory this ought to be fun.

[JerryM]

What a shame. I bought my first real gun belts from RafterS in shark and plain. The service was good, and the product also. I found them easy to communicate with, and the delivery dates were generally accurate.
They said that they recondition shark belts when they get beat up, and those who send them say that they are better than new when they get them back.

The last ones I bought about 4 or 5 months ago do not exhibit the workmanship and care that my first ones do.

I guess the demand, and lack of good business acumen have caused them to be less than satisfactory now.

Regards,
Jerry

[Erik]

I've used Rafter S for five or so transactions and always been satisfied, despite two of the type of unscheduled delays seemingly in line with the industry. Actually, come to think of it, "in line" isn't entirely accurate in that they were still delivered relatively quickly; certainly faster than my average from other comparable vendors. I'll certainly use them again and continue to recommend them.

An extra two days? A couple of weeks? Given the time lines often mentioned in threads concerning the better vendors, most could only hope or wish for that kind of dissatisfaction.

Out of curiosity: which other maker have you decided on in lieu of Rafter S?

[jh225]

I've used Rafter S for five or so transactions and always been satisfied, despite two of the type of unscheduled delays seemingly in line with the industry. Actually, come to think of it, "in line" isn't entirely accurate in that they were still delivered relatively quickly; certainly faster than my average from other comparable vendors. I'll certainly use them again and continue to recommend them.

An extra two days? Given the time lines often mentioned in threads concerning the better vendors, most could only hope or wish for that kind of dissatisfaction.

Erik,
You are absolutely 100% wrong on this issue, sorry.

I am the one that told A.A. to watch out for hinky business with Rafter S. Why? Because they played the identical game with me a month or so ago. Turns out I was correct when I told A.A. to watch his credit card. Too bad he didn't catch it before the charge.

I am also a prior customer of theirs and was appalled to find out how drastically their business ethics had changed. I started getting bad vibes from them after several "It will ship out", "We had a problem with your address", etc. BS lines. I asked here and found out that they had gone downhill.

I had not dealt or inquired with them in several years and ordered from Della via phone based on my previous dealings. Little did I know I was in for one story after another.

I wasted no time in calling my credit card company and within 24 hrs, my money was back in my account.

Get greedy and play games with customers money, you are playing with fire. (complaints) Eventually, the fire will grow so intense that your business will go up in flames. (complaints on the internet is a powerful tool)

Too bad, as they had a good thing going.

[redrick]

I went through the same thing, but two things good that I will say about them, I was very happy with my shark belt and the first one that I ordered was to small, they took it back and sent me another one with no extra charge. It still took about 12 weeks to get each one.

[orangehole]

They are known for the old "The belt/holster will ship tomorrow" line. It really is a shame because their belts are top notch. Slightly better than The beltman but Rafter S has real poor customer service. I have ordered from them 3 times and 2 of them were no problem, the 3rd was not that great. Once word gets out on good leather craftsman, their waits and customer service usually suffers. I have seen this happen to all but TT leather. Tim still answers emails quickly and it very friendly.

[Wasabi]

I've said it before and it looks to still hold true. They have absolutely the worst customer service I have encountered. Hopefully somebody considering buying something from these losers will see this thread and it will save them from a terrible experience.

[AllAmerican]

I've said it before and it looks to still hold true. They have absolutely the worst customer service I have encountered. Hopefully somebody considering buying something from these losers will see this thread and it will save them from a terrible experience.

I really hope this thread is a help to others. As of today, my order is still a pending charge on my account. Ill know more monday.

[Bowie]

Good luck AA, it is definitley a pain in the rear having to deal with these kind of business practices. There is never an excuse for a place of business to lie to its customers on deliveries that are not going out.

[AllAmerican]

I called my bank the other day and was told there was nothing they could do since the charge was pending. I was told that once it clears I should contact the vendor and have them credit the money back as the order was cancelled. The rep at the bank said that after this I should contact the bank and they will do the dispute and put the cash back in the bank.

OK so I called Rafter S twice yesterday. First I got a guy who took my info and said he'd pass it on to Della to make sure she took care of the credit. He said she would call. She did not call so I called her at a little after 6pm EST.

She said that she thought she had taken care of it but that if it hadnt been done that she would do it last night. So I had to give her all of the info again including the card number etc...

As of this morning I see no credit pending. I will give them through tomight and if I dont see it at least pending tomorrow I will contact my bank to dispute.

In fact I may just contact the bank today to dispute.

I would recommend that no one do business with this company. I believe the problem is "Della" herself.

FWIW, I bought a Wilderness Instructor 5 stitch. It will be here Friday at around 10am at the office.

[LeCalsey]

The good, the bad and the ugly. Product is one thing but CS (Or a lack of it) can KILL a reputation. It was the first thing I learned about business. Sorry to hear about your experiences. Too many other choices out there to have to tolerate things like that

[AllAmerican]

The good, the bad and the ugly. Product is one thing but CS (Or a lack of it) can KILL a reputation. It was the first thing I learned about business. Sorry to hear about your experiences. Too many other choices out there to have to tolerate things like that

If I treated my customers the way Rafter S is treating theirs I wouldnt have a business.

Good news travels fast, bad news travels even faster.

I call it good customer service when I get called by the same folks I took care of last year or two or three years ago who remember that I was fair and completed the job as promised.

[jh225]

I believe the problem is "Della" herself.

I said that before and will say it again. I don't know if Della and Steve are "in it" together or if Della is doing "it" on her own, but something shady is going on over at Rafter S and I would not be surprised one bit if they close their doors in the near future. (this is just my opinion as a former customer whom they have recently tried to scam)