Lancaster Arms "Complaints": A Day Late and a Dollar Short

While I was thinking the other day about the disaster called "Lancaster Arms", I decided to visit their website to see if anything had changed on it. I didn't notice much. Their website was still promising that they would provide details on their "Black Widow" rifle on July 4th. (Keep in mind, this was on August 29th. Whoops.) And then I saw that they added a new section to their website called "Complaints". LOL!

Funny, how after over 18 months of screwing people over, they finally decided to make at least SOME effort to acknowledge the fact that over the last 18 months, they have completely, utterly decimated their own reputation with an avalanche of lies and piss-poor customer no-service.

So, I clicked on this link, and what I read was utterly predictable. Chet had posted a few hand-selected complaints, none of which addressed the dozens of people who feel like they've been thoroughly screwed by Lancaster.

As for delivery date issues, Chet predictably attempts to pass the buck by saying they've made changes in the "Personnel Department". This is comical on several fronts. First, Lancaster's "Personnel Department" consists of whoever happens to answer the phone. I can certainly understand Chet trying to puff his sad company up however, making it sound like they're so big they have an entire "Personnel Deapartment". Nice one, Chet! But more funny is the notion that someone ELSE at Lancaster - people who are now ostensibly gone - are the ones responsible for the rampant lying on the telephone, when in fact Chet Durda himself was/is the biggest culprit at Lancaster when it comes to sandbagging customers. Here too, this is completely in-line with Chet refusing to own up to his outrageous dishonesty. But never fear...Lancaster nows says they're going to check their email twice a day! But wait a minute...if you have an entire "Personnel Department", wouldn't they be checking the email every few minutes instead of only twice per day? And what was that "Personnel Department" doing up until recently, that caused them to only check email once every other day?!? Hmmmm...once again, when Chet opens his mouth, things don't really add up.

Chet hilariously goes on to finish that first complaint with, "Complacency has no place in this Economy". LOL! Chet, when you typed that, did you immediately look upward to ensure there wasn't a bolt of lightening about to strike you? "Complancency" has defined Lancaster Arms for the better part of the last 18 months. Well that, and raw, outright dishonesty. The audacity of this guy is mind-blowing.

Chet then goes onto a few other complaints, including posting one where a Florida man allegedly complained about Lancaster stealing his rifle. While Chet doesn't reveal why this guy would come to that conclusion, I suspect it probably had something to do with Lancaster telling him his gun would be returned in a week or two, and then the customer still not having the gun months later. To be sure, similar reports can be found on the Internet. Either way, anytime a customer feels like they have to write an email accusing you of theft...you have a severe customer service problem. Big time.

If I didn't know the things about Chet Durda that I do know, I might be fooled by this new "Complaint" section. I might think, "Wow. This company has made some mistakes, and now they're fixing them. Good on them!"

But here's the thing...the fundamental problem with Lancaster Arms isn't "personnel" who are now gone, or unreasonable customers who falsely accuse Lancaster of stealing firearms. No, the problem with Lancaster Arms is that the company is run by a guy who is completely, thoroughly untrustworthy. To believe that Chet Durda has "seen the light" after he has ripped off and lied to as many people as he has (read the rest of this blog for details), might as well be to believe in Santa Claus while you're at it. A leopard doesn't change it's spots, and a shady businessman doesn't all of the sudden recognize the error of his ways, and become an honest businessman. That might make for a nice Hollywood movie, but real life is somewhat different.

If you wish to understand why I've come to this conclusion, just read this entire blog top to bottom. (Or really, bottom to top.) The unfortunate details of how Lancaster Arms runs its business are all here, in plain sight. No sugar-coating or excuses required.

As for Lancaster Arms, Chet's latest attempt at damage control is a day late and a dollar short. Now, whenever Lancaster is brought up on forums, the consensus is usually, "You don't want to do business with them." And look at their complaint site and tell me...do you really want people building your rifle, who aren't even professional enough to use a spell-checker on their own marketing website? If they can't even be bothered to pay attention to obvious details on a simple web page they use to market their business, what on Earth makes you think they're going to pay any attention to details with the rest of their work?

Maybe they can get one of the millions of people who work in their "Personnel Department" on that right away! If they can get the "Personnel Department" to now answer emails twice a day, perhaps there's hope that a third-grade level of proficiency in the English language won't be far behind!