A Testament to Glock USA Customer Service
One of the best parts about working in the gun business is having friends in notable companies across the country. So when my friend Benjamin asked if I had any friends at Glock USA, I was able to reply that yes, I do.
Benjamin had recently purchased a Gen 1 Glock 17. He was elated. 1988 birthday …excellent condition inside and out … except …
Benjamin’s a shooter – and he immediately recognized there was something not right about those horizontal striations. Was it a blemish? An error in the forging? He didn’t know, so he contacted me – and neither did I. Benjamin submitted the question to Glock USA customer service and I emailed my contacts.
Within a day, Benjamin received an email from a Glock armorer, and I received a phone call from the Director of the Technical Service/Warranty division – both very much along the same lines: nobody had seen another one like this. Whatever it was, it was rare.
Benjamin,
The marks on the lugs are tool marks, however I have not seen anything quite like the marks on the barrel. I suggest you send it in for an evaluation. I will attach some shipping instructions.
It was sent, and within a few days Benjamin had received updates both by phone and by email.
I have looked at the barrel under close magnification and can see where the cracks go all the way through. I will replace the barrel with another Gen 1 barrel so you will at least have a barrel that will work in that pistol.
And with that, Glock sent him a replacement original part, free of charge, that hasn’t been produced for nearly thirty years. It’s important to note here that any number of conditions could have caused this flaw. I doubt we’ll ever know if it was a rare (if unheard of) defect in a Cold War era Austrian factory, or more likely in my opinion a test load from an overzealous owner. What we do know is Glock’s current employees are serious about keeping customers happy and safe. Benjamin was thrilled and, well, color me impressed.
This is what Customer Service is supposed to look like.
Corey R. Wardrop is the Museum Curator for the Institute of Military Technology in Titusville, Florida where he manages one of the finest, if not the finest, firearms collections in the country. Corey is a former OIF infantry Marine and has worked professionally in the firearms industry for over 20 years. In 2014 he obtained an unrelated Bachelor of Science degree from one of the nation's leading diploma mills. Through his work at IMT he is currently studying CAD design with an emphasis in reverse engineering rare firearms.Corey asks forgiveness for his novice-level photographs and insists they are improving dramatically thanks to certified rockstar http://nathan-wyatt.com/. Corey can be reached at coreyrwardrop@gmail.com and always appreciates suggestions for future articles.For the record, Corey felt incredibly strange writing this bio in the third person.
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The Armslist ad probably read something like, "FS is my mint Gen 1 G17, this is a safe queen and has less than 100rds through it. Selling it because I never shoot it, my loss is your gain. $750 or trade for Colt Python, LWRC AR, or your first born child."
Ten years ago I bought a used Gen 3 G17 at a pawn shop. A visual inspection told me it was in good shape, but I wasn't satisfied with that. Since I live in the Atlanta metro I drove directly from the pawn shop to Glock headquarters in Smyrna. After a safety check at the gate I was directed to the building that housed service work. Within 10 minutes a Glock technician greeted me and took my gun into the workshop. Less than 20 minutes later he brought my gun back and told me he had replaced the firing pin and cleaned and lubed it, and also test fired it. He told me it was in perfect condition. Since then, I've fired about 5000 rounds through it and still get a 2" group at 15 yards.