The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Seems that I got the package that quality control at both Lee and Midway USA missed. I'm setting up to reload the 8mm by 50 Lebel and decided to purchase a Lee portable press and Lee dies from Midway USA. Picked up the package at UPS yesterday evening (my house doesn't have any outside location where a package can be safely left) and opened the die set to find that the powder dipper and shell holder were missing. As it was evening, I would have to call Midway in the morning to address the problem. I did send an e-mail to their customer service address regarding the problem.

I called Midway first thing in the morning (8AM their time) and gave the customer service rep my order number and proceeded to explain the problem. He conceded that it was possible that the missing shell holder and dipper could well have been left out by the factory and said that they would send a replacement shell holder, but that since they did not have the single dipper, I would need to order that from Lee. I politely but firmly reiterated that my issue was with them, not Lee. They were the ones who sold the kit. I also pointed out that they sold a Lee powder measure kit with eleven dippers of various sizes and given that their quality control failed to detect the missing contents, it would be reasonable customer service to simply ship a kit to resolve the matter (it retails for $11.00). We went back and forth for a couple of minutes on that point, at which he realized that I wasn't going to give and asked if I would mind holding for a minute. He came back on the line a couple of minutes later and said that his boss said to substitute the kit for the missing dipper as it would take too long to obtain a replacement from Lee (one to two weeks they said).

So the replacements are due to go out tomorrow and I should have them Friday. Shortly after I got to work, my e-mail had the standard messages that the order was being processed and the UPS tracking number sent. I also got a follow up e-mail from customer service acknowledging receipt of the e-mail and noting that I had called and that the phone representative had resolved the matter. I always tell folks that being polite and considerate makes a big difference when dealing with customer service. At no time did I ask to speak to a supervisor-the rep was the one who decided to take it to the supervisor. That and I called first thing in the morning while folks were still in a good mood. At my office, almost all of my interaction with the public is over the phone-mostly as tech support dealing with problems with electronic filing. They rarely let me work the counter anymore-they say I scare the customers too much. Not really-it's just that with my technical skills and additional duties, I'm more useful doing other stuff than working the counter.

Update on the parts. Replacement part and kit arrived today and I got a small batch test loaded. Loaded 150 grain Hornady Spire Points and 32.3 grains of IMR 4895 which is the starting load that Lee indicates on the data sheet.

Good to hear but I agree (to a degree) with Midway. The issue is with the Lee product they sold you. Midway did the "right" thing and although they took a minor loss, they did not lose a customer and he (YOU) have spread the word that Midway is a great outfit to deal with, which in my opinion improves Midway's reputation. If they had said, send up the original items and then returned them to Lee, waited for Lee to make it right and then returned them to you, we would have had a ticked off customer (YOU again) bitching for the entire time and they still could have lost the customer.

I don't remember if my die set came with the shell holder or dipper. I have a dipper set that I never use, I always weigh each charge using the RCBS scale. The dippers can sometimes run light, and this is one area were I want exact precision.

All I use the dipper for is to spoon the powder into the pan on the scale.

awalker1829 wrote:All I use the dipper for is to spoon the powder into the pan on the scale.

+1

I buy my Lee stuff from Titan reloading. They're located right down the road from Lee so if they don't have something, they will actually run down the road and get it. They've beaten everyone elses prices on everything so far, fast shipping and great customer service to boot.

Unfortunately, only folks that have Lee products locally are the box stores so they only have the common Lee items in stock. Personally, I prefer Dillon products as they are in Scottsdale, Arizona and I go there several times a year on business. Their shop is just down the street from the office, so I can literally run over on a break and get stuff. That and since I'm employed by a state agency, I don't mind paying state sales tax.

Lee, RCBS, Lyman, Dillon, and others, they all work well for me and I have had no problems with any of the gear I use. Nobody local sells any of it so it all comes to me by mail.

+1 for Titan! I have purchased from them countless times over the years and they always have fantastic customer service! If I need something for the reloading bench I check with them first.