I work for a gun shop and always tell customers that S.A.'s customer service is some of the best in the industry. Well, now I have a story to go along with it.

Guy brings in an XD9 that he had bought from us a few months earlier. Says he dropped it and now it won't work, and that it's locked up tight.

Well, it was pretty clear that he'd taken a hammer (or a similar blunt instrument) and HAMMERRED on the rear of the slide AND on the guide rod end, damaging both areas plus the muzzle, in his attempts to get it un-locked. Definitely more damage than if he had just dropped it... unless he had dropped it repeatedly from about 50 feet onto concrete. In any case, he admitted it was his fault and said he would pay to have it fixed.

So I called Springfield and got a return authorization, explained the situation and sent it off. Got it back today, with a new guide rod assy. and barrel, fitted and tested... no charge. I couldn't believe it -- I thought they forgot to include the billing info on the invoice -- so I called them, and nope, repairs were covered under warranty.

P.S. it was also accidentally shipped initially to Birdsong, & Assoc., which does Black T refinishing, instead of Springfield Armory (our shipping dept.'s screwup). Birdsong didn't call us or anything, but just forwarded the gun to Springfield, where the work was done and the gun back to us within a week. So I guess a +1 to Birdsong, too, for the help there.

good to hear