Ordered a Quantum handguard and received it in a reasonable period of time.

When installing it noticed that of the 8 Torx screws supplied, 7 of them appeared to be T20’s, 1 appeared to be a T15. (those are approximate sizes based upon my limited torx driver selection)

Sent an email to AP inquiring about the size difference and also asking if there should have been screws included to attach the small rail section at the front of the handguard.

That email was sent on 8/5. There has been no response.

Later, upon realizing that I could contact AP via my online account and establish a “help desk ticket” I did so and basically asked the same question I asked in my email.
That ticket was established on 8/10.

There has been no response from AP.

Logged on to my AP account again on 8/15 just to make sure I hadn’t missed a response; didn’t see any response to my ticket; added another question to my ticket.

So it is now 8/17. Checked about an hour ago. Still no response from AP.

Called AP and after being on hold for 10 minutes had to go.

Is this typical AP customer service?

AP is an Industry Partner of Arfcom and you could try posting in their forum and maybe you'll get an answer.

It looks like someone else had a similar issue.


http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_2_592/277627_Defective_and_mismatched_handguard_screws_.html

this seems to be a common occurrence with the Quantum handguards. Of the 8 mounting screws I received, 2 were different sized torx heads. The threads were the same, so they were usable, just a bit of a PITA to have to use 2 different torx bits.

My two experiences with AP customer service:

Asked a technical question on 6/17 and ticket was created, received response on 6/22

Ordered upper on 7/14, account showed "processing" until 7/21 when I inquired about shipment, received a reply to ticket on 7/26 saying my part should be delivered on 7/27

Everyone is extremely busy and swamped...use b the form on their site and industry page here...they will get to you.

Yeah, I intended to put this in their industry forum but was visiting "build it yourself" at the same time and screwed up the posting.

I had the same issue, they mailed my replacement screws yesterday. Should be here tomorrow.

Op, post in their industry sub and message them.

Here's my impression, I don't know what's going on within the company but this is what my experience has been.

My customer service experience has been excellent. Orders filled correctly and in a timely manner.
They have resolved any issues rapidly (an upper that I was not really happy with).

I have found that when I used regular email it was not as rapid; when I used the on line order ticket it was smoother. I think many companies have been overwhelmed by the current politically driven surge in AR interest.

As they have grown and become busier it might take an extra ping, but they have some very good and dedicated people there.  

Suggestion: use the on line ticket process and be patient and persistent.

Aero has one of the better fulfillment processes for a company that makes or directly sources most of it's parts.  

Besides AP, Joe Bob and PA,  DOA and WOA come to mind as high flier's as well.  Oh, and Brownell's has it down to a fine art.

No offense, but that shouldn't be necessary. It's great that we have industry partners within the forum, but any self respecting company need to respect a wider customer base that may not have knowledge of, or access to this site. The contact methods already used by the OP should have been sufficient.

I agree. I called them, the responder said to use the online form to open a help desk ticket, which I did.
The ticket sat there for days on end without comment. I added a reply and a day later, still nothing.
Then I contacted them on Facebook yesterday with the ticket number, and someone replied an hour later saying they would look at it.
Today, still nothing.
I plan on calling them today to ask why this is taking so long to answer a basic question.
Their products are good, but customer service has been deplorable.

Followup: After posting in their industry forum they responded requesting that I IM them my help desk ticket number.

No response for almost a week and then this morning I received an email notification that they were sending out replacement screws.

After reading all the threads in their industry forum I'm getting the feeling that
a: they are totally overwhelmed by the current spike in orders
b: they are probably doing the best they can

At this point (assuming the screws arrive and are as expected) I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and will purchase AP products again.

I have to add that my build using a stripped AP upper/lower pair along with the Quantum rail went together without any drama other than the Quantum screw issue.

Took it to the range last weekend for the maiden voyage and put about 100 rounds downrange without any issues.

Yeah, I'll give them another shot. (But I would consider buying from a vendor rather than directly from AP next time...)

Edit to add 8/27: screws arrived; situation has been resolved.

My help desk request went unanswered for more than a week, even though I was told to open a request on the site.
After getting an assurance on FB that someone would look at my ticket, nothing happened for 3 more days then finally I called and someone apologized and handled it.
I think you're right, they're overwhelmed.