Pardon my rant but I'm pretty disappointed.

3/31 I ordered a 6.5 Grendel 24" barrel, upper receiver and some other small parts including some ammo. Boo Yah - basically my dream rifle with every part exactly what I wanted with few expenses spared, but don't tell my wife.

4/4 I get an email saying that I have to complete the ammo purchase document or my order will be canceled. OK not a problem done within the hour. Faxed back to the number.

Then nothing.......

4/5 I send an email asking if everything is ok my order and Jen replies "That order should ship this month." HUH????? Come to find out that they are "waiting on the barrels" which they didn't note on the website or in my order confirmation.

OK well I can wait.

So at the end of April which was the end of "this month" I give them a call. I forgot to get the name of the woman that I spoke with but I inquired about the status of my order. Now we all have bad days but being rude to a customer is not the way that I want to be treated. I was told that the barrels arrived the Friday before and they were being inspected. They would ship in the order that the orders were received. "Is there anything else I can do for you' with TONS of attitude.

It's now 5/13. NOTHING. No emails, calls. Nothing.

This sure has taken the shine off of this "dream" rifle. Is this normal for this company? What an awful first order.

Rob

Copied from Satern's site.

*Important Notice*

Satern received the 60 day notification on April 1st, 2011 from Alexander Arms, that our licensing agreement which we signed January 5, 2010 (which was for 10 years) will be terminated as of May 30th, 2011. This was through no fault of our own.

Terms of the new agreement offered were different and as of today we have decided not to sign that agreement. So after an almost 5 year run we will no longer be manufacturing Grendel(R) and/or Beowulf(R) cut rifled barrels.

According to our existing agreement, Satern Custom Machining, Inc. has until May 30th, 2011 to accept orders for existing cut rifled Grendel(R) barrels. We have every intention of finishing our existing orders and all orders placed (within reason and at our discretion) on or before May 30th, 2011. Feel free to call or email with your barrel requests. If it fits within the parameters of our remaining ability to manufacture and deliver your order we will certainly accommodate that.

We would like to express our appreciation to our Grendel(R) and Beowulf(R) customers. It has been a pleasure to serve you for five years. Our policy has always been diversification. We will continue to manufacture superb cut rifled barrels in a variety of calibers and configurations. We look forward to continuing to meet your cut rifled barrel needs.

Respectfully,

Deb and Steve Satern

FYI: Liberty Barrels, Inc. also has declined to sign the new licensing agreement presented by Alexander Arms.

Eric, Liberty's President, has assured me that I will have some great deals on Beowulf(R) and Grendel(R) button rifled barrels to offer you!

Pixrob,

Email is the poorest choice to contact AA. Please call and speak with Melissa directly.

So I called AA today and asked for Melissa but she is out for the week.

Susan was quite helpful. (Thank God) She has been there for three weeks and my order is the oldest that she has seen.

Maybe some progress is coming....

AA enjoyed a good relationship with Satern barrels, but the vast majority of Grendels built over the past 5 years have been built with other barrels.

In reality, only a very small percentage of Grendel buyers chose the more expensive barrels.

We still have plenty of barrels, and don't expect any great problems in continuing to supply quality rifles to our customers.

The barrel issue is simply a mystery that exists in the minds of those who wish to create problems and troll substandard rip off Grendel barrels with incorrect chamber geometries.

We have for over two years now used three barrel makers for our high end units. With two cut rifle types at our disposal there will not be any interruption in supply and we are, with current projects on the boards, developing further barrel products. Indeed we should be able to speed deliveries of many of the products that use this type of barrel.

Now the 17 HMR is in delivery stage and unit production is running through the shop we have time to examine our overall methodology for barrel production. Not least we are looking to our existing in house ability and the extension of this, especially as we service larger requirements.

Pixrob, the above comment was not directed at you, although, unfortunately, it appears that way.

You barrel issue is indeed our problem, and I'm hopeful that we have it worked out.

In answer to your question above, I have been retained by AA to help moderate this board, which is my only direct AA affiliation.

I see the ghost of arfcom strikes again.

I posted my own question: "Who is your High End Barrel maker now."

The post was there yesterday but I see its gone now. Being a mod in another section I can find out where it went.

Thanks for your answer.

I'm really not trying to be a pain in the ass but my put yourself in my shoes. Why would I ever order from AA again?

Every customer is a completely precious commodity. Customers are willing to forgive but not be shut out without any updates. Fix this problem quickly (maybe throw in a hat or shirt for good cheer), provide a quality product and I will sing the praises. Let me sit with nothing and I'll tell the world.

It really is that simple.

Sounds like we have just about the same order except I got the 24" barrel.

This all brings back terrible memories. I went through almost the exact same scenario. Your order will ship in 2-3 weeks,5 weeks later- no wait.....we're out of bolts.....no idea how long now......8 weeks out-.now no barrels......10 weeks-ok bolts are in but had to send them out for coating....13 weeks-.alright barrel is in but still no bolts.......15 weeks-finally! barrel and bolt are ready but wait.......sorry the billet uppers are out of stock now and by the way, that WPI brake you ordered with everything else....well they are out for coating. You get the picture. AA taught me patience, thats for sure. I will say one thing though. After all the BS and waiting and bitchin and complaining, it was well worth it. DEEP CLEANSING BREATH!!

Good luck. I don't have that kind of patience and just sent Jen an email to cancel my order. What a shame.

Yeah my email was returned. I resent it to their main customer service email instead.