Galco just lost my business, and money


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Daven

"Gimpy"
Goodbye Galco, I have a new holster company to get my money.
I have used Galco holsters for years. I always liked their products. That changed this week. I called Galco to ask the fastest way to get a Galco Yaqui Slide holster. The man who answered the phone said "I'm sorry, I have no way of telling you that, just try your local stores". and HUNG UP ON ME!. I called back and was treated as badly by two other people.

Yesterday was the Crossroad's of the West Gun show in Phoenix. I went with my neighbor. At the show I found Nevada Gun Leather. AWESOME!!! Stitching is superior, quality is top notch and it is 1/2 price of Galco. I found a holster that is almost identical to the Yaqui Slide (which sells for $70.00) for $30.00. Also, all their holsters are either ambi or they have left handed in stock. They are on the net and most major shows.

I wore it today and it's excellent. Next step is getting a CC holster. I wanted to test them out before I bought 2. I also picked up a single mag holster for $19.95.

When I figure out how to post pic's, I will put pic's up.

SO, if you are looking for holsters, give your money to a company that deserves it. Link Removed
 

I always get holsters from Nevada gun leather.. they make amazingly good stuff at VERY reasonable prices. They are always at the shows out here in Vegas, and in Pahrump, and I have many of their holsters.

Ya cant go wrong with them.
 
Goodbye Galco, I have a new holster company to get my money.
I have used Galco holsters for years. I always liked their products. That changed this week. I called Galco to ask the fastest way to get a Galco Yaqui Slide holster. The man who answered the phone said "I'm sorry, I have no way of telling you that, just try your local stores". and HUNG UP ON ME!. I called back and was treated as badly by two other people.

I see that their idea of customer service hasn't changed in the last 15 years.

I'll carry my guns around in a .50BMG ammo can half filled with gravel before Galco gets a single penny from me.

I had a burglary back in early '98. In addition to all the other stuff they stole (including several firearms), they stole all my gun leather except for the IWB holster for one of my wheel guns that I was wearing at the time. I'd worked with a local shop (the first one I ended up working at) to special order a pretty good bit of Galco products including two complete Miami Classic shoulder rigs, a couple IWB holsters and several mag pouches. To add insult to injury, I'm left handed so there's not a real good chance that I'm gonna get to buy 'off the shelf'. Any gun leather I get has to be special ordered since nobody stocks left handed leather with anything close to a variety. The shop had closed a couple weeks before when the owners' divorce finalized, so ordering through them was out. I called Galco with a list of what I wanted and got hung up on while trying to order the better part of $500 worth of gun leather from them- TWICE. (I might be a bit dense and stubborn at times, but even I can take a hint. Apparently, they don't want my money and I ain't about to try to shove it down their throats.)

Sooooo, I called Don Hume and talked to a nice lady that was more than happy to help me figure out exactly what I needed. Not only did they treat me right, it was about 3/4 the price of what Galco wanted and of equal quality.
 
Hum, I've ordered two holsters from them in the past two weeks. Well actually I ordered one direct from their website and one from a dealer One of the holsters I ordered showed as out of stock on their site, so I e-mailed them about expected availability. It took them two days but I got a polite reply back. I was able to find it at a dealer and so ordered from there rather than directly from them.

Odd to here two negative comments about them here (the original post and jtg452), considering that everything I heard up to this point was positive. One of the rules of internet reviews - if you have 100 reviews and 10 of them are negative, the negative ones are probably the result of the people being idiots (i.e. not knowing how to use the product), misuse of the product, or they are simply trolling and should be treated as background noise.

From what the first person said it sounds like they were offended because they did not get the answer they wanted.
 
Hum, I've ordered two holsters from them in the past two weeks. Well actually I ordered one direct from their website and one from a dealer One of the holsters I ordered showed as out of stock on their site, so I e-mailed them about expected availability. It took them two days but I got a polite reply back. I was able to find it at a dealer and so ordered from there rather than directly from them.

Odd to here two negative comments about them here (the original post and jtg452), considering that everything I heard up to this point was positive. One of the rules of internet reviews - if you have 100 reviews and 10 of them are negative, the negative ones are probably the result of the people being idiots (i.e. not knowing how to use the product), misuse of the product, or they are simply trolling and should be treated as background noise.

From what the first person said it sounds like they were offended because they did not get the answer they wanted.

I knew what I wanted to buy since I was replacing holsters that had been stolen (they were purchased through a local shop that I worked at until it closed). In the case of one of the Miami Classic systems I was intending to order (the first one I mentioned to the person from Galco, unfortunately), I was using it for a gun not listed (the previous one had worked but was a bit looser fit than I'd like). I asked the person that answered the phone if there was a better option available. Once I asked the question, I was told,"We don't make a holster for THAT." and was immediately hung up on. When I tried back about a week later (at a different time of day in the hopes of getting a different person) the exact same thing happened. Both calls were prefaced with me saying, "I intend to order several holsters from ya'll today but I have a question about one first." while my credit card was laying on my desk right beside the notepad that held the list. This wasn't a fishing expedition, I had the money literally 'on the table', I just wanted to get a second opinion on one of the items before completing the transaction.

Strangely enough when I called Don Hume, I did the exact same thing and they didn't hang up on me.

Prior to calling them, I'd dug out one of the old dealer's catalogs that the shop manager had given me so I could come up with their model numbers (I already had the Galco model designations because I had already owned what I was rebuying). I gave them the specifics (model I wanted, color, left handed and what gun I needed it for) and they were more than happy to take a couple seconds to help me get the right thing. They even transferred me to the shop supervisor when they didn't know the answer to one of my questions.
 
I found a brand called Tagula (I think) about a year ago and have one of their holsters (a belt slide) for a Kahr PM-9. Very good quality IMO - not the prettiest holster around but if someone sees your concealment holster you've got bigger problems than an ugly holster. I looked at a Galco Stinger and it was at least $10.00 more and was thin, cheap feeling leather.

I'm going to add in here that over the years I have had several Galco holsters. Some were good and some were not so good. The ones for my S&W 60 (and 686 were very good. I had two for my 1911 (a full-length, thumb-break paddle holster) that I hated - the frst was a paddle holster that would come off the belt when the gun was drawn, and the second was a thumb-break model that put the butt of the gun to far away from my body. The IWB holster that I have for my Kahr isn't much good at all - material is too thin which makes it painful to wear - but it was a "cheapie" so you get what you pay for I guess. The holster for my Ruger Vaquero is a good one. The M7X (I think) for my PM9 is pretty good, though I prefer the Tagula because of comfort. That said they are two different styles (plastic/composite vs all leather) so I can't swear I'm comparing apples to apples.
 
Yea I Agree Galco Sucks . I had broke a Paddle on one of my holsters and called for a replacement.After being on hold for some time I hung up and called back just to get the same "PEGGY" She told me the part was $24.00 and $6 shipping. and it was on back order.. "Peggy" the non English speaking rep,told me I had to pay for it and it would ship when it came in (in 8-10 weeks). NO THANKS. Oh Yea the holster is $34 New
 
My name is Bill King. I am the customer service supervisor at Galco Gunleather.

I am dubious to Daven’s claim of a refusal to find a dealer and then being hung up on. Our customer service representatives (CSR) do not just hang up on people. I challenge anyone that reads this post to call Galco and ask to locate a dealer. The rep will politely ask for your zip code and quickly search for the Galco “stocking dealers” (stocking dealers order directly from the factory) closest to that zip code. If you get less than perfect service, then post that here. If you get prompt courteous service, then post that here as well.

There is little doubt that customers are occasionally displeased with the answers we give them. Unfortunately, as a business, we are not always able to do what the customer wants though we do our absolute best. We never lose sight of the fact that customers keep us in business – and we want to stay in business!

I think Tackleberry was speaking to someone other than Galco. Replacement paddles are $10.00, which includes shipping. With the exception of one Canadian (who is a naturalized US citizen) our entire sales, support, and customer service staff were born and raised in the United States of America, and are all English speakers. We have never had a CSR named Peggy, nor have we ever had a CSR for whom English was a second language.

I know it is easy to make these claims. I expect to hear from a couple of the people that posted negatively accusing me of being biased (I am) and lying to protect Galco’s image.

Put us to the test. Call Galco and ask if we have a holster to fit your gun. You don’t have to make a purchase to test our customer service. We may not have what you need; we do charge for replacement parts, and we also charge for a catalog. We may not give you the answer you are looking for, but you will always receive courteous, professional treatment.

The phone number for Galco Gunleather is 800-874-2526. Our customer service extension is 4420.
 
My name is Bill King. I am the customer service supervisor at Galco Gunleather.

I am dubious to Daven’s claim of a refusal to find a dealer and then being hung up on. Our customer service representatives (CSR) do not just hang up on people. I challenge anyone that reads this post to call Galco and ask to locate a dealer. The rep will politely ask for your zip code and quickly search for the Galco “stocking dealers” (stocking dealers order directly from the factory) closest to that zip code. If you get less than perfect service, then post that here. If you get prompt courteous service, then post that here as well.

There is little doubt that customers are occasionally displeased with the answers we give them. Unfortunately, as a business, we are not always able to do what the customer wants though we do our absolute best. We never lose sight of the fact that customers keep us in business – and we want to stay in business!

I think Tackleberry was speaking to someone other than Galco. Replacement paddles are $10.00, which includes shipping. With the exception of one Canadian (who is a naturalized US citizen) our entire sales, support, and customer service staff were born and raised in the United States of America, and are all English speakers. We have never had a CSR named Peggy, nor have we ever had a CSR for whom English was a second language.

I know it is easy to make these claims. I expect to hear from a couple of the people that posted negatively accusing me of being biased (I am) and lying to protect Galco’s image.

Put us to the test. Call Galco and ask if we have a holster to fit your gun. You don’t have to make a purchase to test our customer service. We may not have what you need; we do charge for replacement parts, and we also charge for a catalog. We may not give you the answer you are looking for, but you will always receive courteous, professional treatment.

The phone number for Galco Gunleather is 800-874-2526. Our customer service extension is 4420.

Bill, I have had to deal with you about a problem with a product I ordered from Galco recently (Miami style shoulder holster) in which the swivels on the holster and ammo carrier would not (swivel). I did not buy your product from a local dealer, but from Galco's web site direct. You told me (by email) you took a like item off the shelf and could not experience the problems I was experiencing. SO WHAT? My problem was not with the ones you had on your shelf, but the one I had! You did not request that I send back what I had for testing and for a replacement, you just left it there. This sounds simular to those who say they were "hung up on." I solved the problem by taking a pair of wire cutters and trimming the excess leather under the swivels. They would not move more than approx 5 - 8 degrees; now they move up to 70 - 80 degrees. THANKS FOR NOTHING!

In another reply on this site, http://www.usacarry.com/forums/conc...81-need-good-shoulder-holster.html#post191666, I mentioned about your offside magazine/light holder. This time, not too much leather, but not enough. It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to draw out my Surefire 6P light, despite using a great deal of your Draw-Eze lube in it, over and over again. I have to take it off and use both thumbs to force it out. Great; what happens in a critical situation where I need to draw it out quickly and smoothly to see a possible adversary! Obviously, no one at Galco tests your products for function before shipping them out; if they did, I would not have an expensive and worthless piece of leather.

No sir, I can not, and will not recommend your product to anyone until you start accepting returns for repair/replacement to perform as your company says they should. SAD - VERY SAD!:mad:

You said put you to the test; FINE --- My email is [email protected]; you want to make this right, great! However, be aware, any email you send to me I will make public on this (and other) sites. I will pay for return shipment to you for replacement, which after you replace it with a working model, I expect reimbursement for my shipping costs. We will see what your word, and your company's, is worth. I think this is fair.
 
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There's always two sides to every story and SHAMUSPI shows the flip side of Bill King's glowing online support of Galco. Time to step up Bill and show us that high praise you heaped on is to be deserved and not just a bunch of keyboard hype. I'll be waiting to see how you resolve his complaints with "professional treatment" since SHAMUSPI's first encounter was with you directly.
 
Bill - I should add, that in case you are wondering, I have not bothered to contact you/Galco over the issue of the magazine/light carrier, because after your initial response to my problem with your swivels, why should I bother with complaining about another? I felt/feel I would have gotten the same "it is how it is supposed to be/it is my problem, not yours" response.

What a great way to be a company's customer service supervisor. Most certainly, you are saving the company money by not eating your faults.

I'll wait for your response.
 
Good Morning Richard,

I must disagree. I didn’t just leave it there. I said it was likely a break in issue and gave you some quick break in directions.
Your email complained of a swivel keeper not working. You requested that we return it for trimming. Due to the template used to cut the may pouch out, it is highly unlikely the swivel attachment tab needs trimming. If it is the template, then the entire batch is likely affected (which is why I checked current stock). It is more likely a break in. Below is my response to your inquiry.

I pulled one from stock to check it. Keeping in mind that the swivel only rotates a few degrees in either direction, this is probably a break in issue.

Hold the leather in place and grasp the swivel keeper. Force it to move back and forth a few degrees. The leather underneath will form to the plastic and the swivel will rotate much better after use.


Break in issues are common in the holster business. The return is the second step and not the first. Emails such as mine usually resolve the issue. If they do not, the customer then contacts us to advise of such. Your lack of reply to my email was typical of a customer that had resolved the issue.
It is not our intent to avoid the return, by having a customer run through a break in, they are able to use the item within minutes as opposed to returning it to us to break in. While we are more than happy to do so, it does add to the time the customer is without product.

Typical issues with the mag flashlight pouch are adjustment related. The magazines are tightened with the top set of tension units only. The lower set is for the light. Adjust the lights first, then the magazines.
Release tension on both sets. Place your light in the pouch and set the tension, then place the mags in and set the tension for them. Do not adjust the lower set for the mags.
If the light is still too tight, use the "blocking" technique. Place the light in a freezer bag, put it in the pouch (you may have to twist left right as you insert to avoid ripping the bag) tighten both bottom tension units very snug and walk away. Wait a few hours and come back. Release the tension, take the light out and remove the bag. Repeat the first step and they should work.

I would be happy to issue an RA number and take a look at the pouch. PM me after following the directions above or if you just don’t want to do the break in. I will send a call tag and personally break it into the 6P that sits on my desk.
 
Good Morning Richard,

I must disagree. I didn’t just leave it there. I said it was likely a break in issue and gave you some quick break in directions.
Your email complained of a swivel keeper not working. You requested that we return it for trimming. Due to the template used to cut the may pouch out, it is highly unlikely the swivel attachment tab needs trimming. If it is the template, then the entire batch is likely affected (which is why I checked current stock). It is more likely a break in. Below is my response to your inquiry.

I pulled one from stock to check it. Keeping in mind that the swivel only rotates a few degrees in either direction, this is probably a break in issue.

Hold the leather in place and grasp the swivel keeper. Force it to move back and forth a few degrees. The leather underneath will form to the plastic and the swivel will rotate much better after use.


Break in issues are common in the holster business. The return is the second step and not the first. Emails such as mine usually resolve the issue. If they do not, the customer then contacts us to advise of such. Your lack of reply to my email was typical of a customer that had resolved the issue.
It is not our intent to avoid the return, by having a customer run through a break in, they are able to use the item within minutes as opposed to returning it to us to break in. While we are more than happy to do so, it does add to the time the customer is without product.

Typical issues with the mag flashlight pouch are adjustment related. The magazines are tightened with the top set of tension units only. The lower set is for the light. Adjust the lights first, then the magazines.
Release tension on both sets. Place your light in the pouch and set the tension, then place the mags in and set the tension for them. Do not adjust the lower set for the mags.
If the light is still too tight, use the "blocking" technique. Place the light in a freezer bag, put it in the pouch (you may have to twist left right as you insert to avoid ripping the bag) tighten both bottom tension units very snug and walk away. Wait a few hours and come back. Release the tension, take the light out and remove the bag. Repeat the first step and they should work.

I would be happy to issue an RA number and take a look at the pouch. PM me after following the directions above or if you just don’t want to do the break in. I will send a call tag and personally break it into the 6P that sits on my desk.

Bill, I followed your advice, over and over again. While sitting watching TV I would have your holster/harness in hand working them back and forth dozens, if not hundreds of times. I even rubbed in your Draw-Eze lube to no effect. It was obvious and clear that the problem was excessive leather under the swivels, square cut so that the swivels would strike a high point and move no further. This leather SHOULD HAVE BEEN CUT ROUNDED so to allow the swivels move with much greater rotation. Your email response left me with an all too typical response of "you are hired to save the company money; so do so." You state to keep in mind the swivel only rotates a "few" degrees - but your sales catalog only speaks of freedom of movement. Legally, I guess 5 - 8 (estimate) degrees may qualify for freedom, but it does not to those of us pilgrams out here.

As the the magazine/flashlight holder, I went so far as to remove the tension screws completely, with very little relief. As I read your advice about placing a freezer bag over the light, for some reason I was reading, "go to your nightstand, take out three lubricated condoms and stretch them over the flashlight; force it into the leather recepticle......" Why is your advice not published in your catalog?

No, Bill, at this point, having problems with two of your products, and not being as stupid as Obama, you are still putting up a defense.

I have already "solved" the problem with the lack of movement in your swivels (by cutting off the excess leather), but I can not solve a lack of leather with the magazine/light holder. Before everyone on this site (I WILL NOT SEND YOU A PRIVATE MESSAGE), I want you to issue me a RA for either a unit that has been tested and will work; or a refund (I have the invoice). Frankly, to tell me/us, after the sale, to bag up my light, force it in and wait, tells me your products are not ready for public use. I long for the former Jackass Leather Company.
 
I probably would have hung up on you as well, the way you’re carrying on. Two sides to every story some where is the truth. Black Balling is not the answer unless it is GM. I hope I never piss you off.
 
I probably would have hung up on you as well, the way you’re carrying on. Two sides to every story somewhere <in the middle?> is the truth. Black Balling is not the answer unless it is GM. I hope I never piss you off.

Bill wrote: "I would be happy to issue an RA number and take a look at the pouch. PM me after following the directions above or if you just don’t want to do the break in. I will send a call tag and personally break it into the 6P that sits on my desk."

Seems like a decent offer to me. I hope SHAMUSPI will take it and move on so we can put this thread to bed. Looking more and more to be an isolated case since no one else has jumped in to corroborate SHAMUSPI's negative experience.
 
Yea I Agree Galco Sucks . I had broke a Paddle on one of my holsters and called for a replacement.After being on hold for some time I hung up and called back just to get the same "PEGGY" She told me the part was $24.00 and $6 shipping. and it was on back order.. "Peggy" the non English speaking rep,told me I had to pay for it and it would ship when it came in (in 8-10 weeks). NO THANKS. Oh Yea the holster is $34 New


Did 'Peggy" tell you you were "Tenacious like bull!" ?
 
I own 3 Galco holsters (SUM218 / SUM288 / CM222C) Two summer comforts IWBs and a Combat Master pancake style holster. The Combat Master was tighter than a monkey’s butt when I bought it (No I did n:biggrin:t compare) I stuck my CZ75B in a dress sock and holstered it over night, problem solved. The holster is still a little snug but I prefer that.

I purchased mine at Specialty Sports and Supply in Colorado Springs. They have a huge selection of Galco products (The place is like a Super Wal Mart for guns) and I’ never had to deal W/ Galco customer service but I have no reason to stop using their product

Beyond that, they’re holsters; they have no moving parts how defective can they possibly be?
 
The swivels on our holsters and magazine pouches are not intended to rotate 90 degrees. The attachment tabs are rectangular by design, not by error. I can appreciate that you feel this does not meet your needs, we have however been using the stronger rectangles in excess of 20 years.

The issue with your Mag pouch isn’t a lack of leather, its shrinkage due to wet molding. It is in the nature for leather to shrink as it dries. Sometimes it shrinks a little and sometimes it shrinks a lot. This varies from holster to holster. Similar directions can be found on most leather holster manufacturer’s websites.

You are correct that we do not include break in directions in the current catalog. The catalog does however refer the customer to the product information guide included in every holster. It also tells you how to obtain a new one. Break in directions are also included on the website.

While condoms might be effective in the break in process, I would not recommend them. The intent of the blocking process is to temporarily enlarge the exterior of the item being placed in the holster. Condoms by design are very thin and tend to be comparatively fragile. I would recommend a couple of Ziploc style bags or a single Zip lock freezer style bag.

The reason that I asked you to PM me for the call tag was for your security, not ours. I will not post your address on this forum. I welcome you to so and I will write the RA accordingly (we need the address to be able to ship the item back to you). I would be happy to send a call tag as well. Your options for receipt are fax, email or snail mail. I will of course need the corresponding information.

Please make an identifiable mark on your mag pouch prior to returning it. I recommend initials on the interior surface. I don’t want there to be any confusion that the mag pouch we return is the same one that you send in.
 
While condoms might be effective in the break in process, I would not recommend them. The intent of the blocking process is to temporarily enlarge the exterior of the item being placed in the holster. Condoms by design are very thin and tend to be comparatively fragile. I would recommend a couple of Ziploc style bags or a single Zip lock freezer style bag.

Dress socks rock (There is only one gun in my collection that will ever wear a condom)
 
The swivels on our holsters and magazine pouches are not intended to rotate 90 degrees. The attachment tabs are rectangular by design, not by error. I can appreciate that you feel this does not meet your needs, we have however been using the stronger rectangles in excess of 20 years.

The issue with your Mag pouch isn’t a lack of leather, its shrinkage due to wet molding. It is in the nature for leather to shrink as it dries. Sometimes it shrinks a little and sometimes it shrinks a lot. This varies from holster to holster. Similar directions can be found on most leather holster manufacturer’s websites.

You are correct that we do not include break in directions in the current catalog. The catalog does however refer the customer to the product information guide included in every holster. It also tells you how to obtain a new one. Break in directions are also included on the website.

While condoms might be effective in the break in process, I would not recommend them. The intent of the blocking process is to temporarily enlarge the exterior of the item being placed in the holster. Condoms by design are very thin and tend to be comparatively fragile. I would recommend a couple of Ziploc style bags or a single Zip lock freezer style bag.

The reason that I asked you to PM me for the call tag was for your security, not ours. I will not post your address on this forum. I welcome you to so and I will write the RA accordingly (we need the address to be able to ship the item back to you). I would be happy to send a call tag as well. Your options for receipt are fax, email or snail mail. I will of course need the corresponding information.

Please make an identifiable mark on your mag pouch prior to returning it. I recommend initials on the interior surface. I don’t want there to be any confusion that the mag pouch we return is the same one that you send in.

Sounds like a very reasonable offer to me. I wonder if Shampi kicks his dog as well. Or maybe just a disgruntled union worker. Sound like Shampi owes an apology.
 
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