Ruger 'Customer Service'

[AJMD429]

Well, I think they make really NICE guns, and they are usually friendly on the rare occasions I've called the company (maybe 5 times in 35 years), but they sometimes are sort of 'cold' for my taste.

I occasionally find a LINK to a picture of a no-longer-manufactured Ruger from their website (and the URL is in fact from their website). Once I even through trial-and-error 'guessed' a URL to get a picture from their site!

Still, I'd like to have a good, 'factory' picture of models like the P-85, the Old Mini-14's, or (of course) the 96/44 Leverguns. I figured I'd send them a friendly query:

Comment / question:

I would like to find photos of out-of-production models like the Ruger 96/44, or the P-85, to print on the index cards I use to track my collection.

Where can I find photos of those guns, like the ones you have on your website for current models...?

(I think some are still on your website, because links I saved when a model was in production often still work, but I've no links for most of them...)

Response:

The only photos available are on the owners manuals.You can go to http://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory.html# to view all manuals.

Sincerely,
Ruger Firearms

Now...

• 1. It isn't a big deal, I have many of the pics from other sources; I just sought 'standardized' format ones
  
  2. I know I could search the 'Ruger' collector forums, and get lots of pics - again - not consistent formats or sizes; more work for me to re-size, etc., and just not as 'pretty' as a set of uniform-background factory pics.
  
  3. Why didn't they at least suggest other sources, or better yet, divulge that hidden cache you know still lurks on their website? Do they think I'm a competitor going to manufacture counterfeit Rugers...?

So it really doesn't matter, but it just seems to be one more indication of the lack of 'friendliness' in today's corporate America.

The good news is - they still make pretty good guns. I'm in love with my 77/22-Hornet (and I DID get the pic from their website... )...

[bcp]

Google will search a site for images. This won't help if it is not there, but it can find things hard to find otherwise. Go to Google, then Images, then put the URL after "site:"

http://images.google.com/images?q=site:www.ruger.com

Bruce

[AJMD429]

Oohhh.. Cool picture search (even though I hate the "PC" part of Google) - THANKS...!

Still, I think corporate America is too cold and sterile these days - I miss the old days...

[adirondakjack]

My guess, the person answering the questions has 700 questions to answer before lunch. You gat an answer, which is a helluva lot more than I got when I emailed Marlin three times.....

[claybob86]

I've only contacted Ruger once. The lady I spoke with was quite friendly and helpful. Solved my issue to my complete satisfaction. I guess it just depends on who you get and when you get 'em!

[JB]

I've found their quality control sucks. I've had more problems with new Rugers than any other brand, but their customer service has always been top notch. They repaired or replaced every firearm I've ever had a problem with. Of course I shouldn't have had the problems to begin with!

[Hobie]

That is a NEAT search tip!

PS - I would have answered sooner but, I WAS HAVING FUN! There are 47 PAGES of photos from this forum...

[bcp]

That is a NEAT search tip!

PS - I would have answered sooner but, I WAS HAVING FUN! There are 47 PAGES of photos from this forum...

You can search for specific images within a site, too. Put your search word or phrase after the url, like this, to find 336 photos on this site:

site:http://www.levergunscommunity.com 336

Bruce

[Ysabel Kid]

I can't imagine, given the "fear buying" that has caused record gun and ammunition purchasing, that Ruger has had to cut staff. In my businesses I have found that staff has been reduced to the point where every employee left is doing 2-3 jobs, and is stressed out to the max. Glad to have the job, but really, really stressed. Not an excuse for a lack of friendliness. They need to understand that every interaction with a customer or potential customer is an opportunity to win over a life-long loyal customer. Just a possible explanation though...

[TedH]

Last time I called them they were very friendly and helpful, but that's been a year or so ago. I called to ask about the DOM of an OM Blackhawk I had bought. The first lady transferred me to another gentleman, who was equally as pleasant and got me the information I wanted.

[Kansas Ed]

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

With this tool it archives parts or whole websites for many years. I've used this to find stuff that the company has been deceased for several years....

A third of the way down the linked page there is a button that says "take me back" right before that is the slot you type the URL in that you want to view...hit the "take me back" button and you have choices listed by date of the times the website was archived.

Have fun....

Ed