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Subpar Manners Stocks Inletting

Jigstick

“What’s the matter colonel sanders….chicken?”
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jul 21, 2017
    2,244
    2,960
    Pittsburgh PA
    Ive built on Manners stocks before. All of them have required some mild touch ups on the inletting, specifically in the barrel channel and bottom metal areas. Its to be expected.

    However, Im currently building 7 rifles. I received 5 of the stocks today. And 3 out of 5 of them have the wrong bottom metal inletting. Its not even close. Im talking like the wrong CAD file was used to do the bottom metal inletting. The other two stocks arrive tomorrow so Ill have to check those as well, but I don't have my hopes up of them being correct.

    Ive waited eight months for these stocks. Im going to call Manners tomorrow and see what they say. But have any of you guys dealt with this type of problem before? If so....was Manners prompt with providing good customer service?
     
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    Good luck hearing ANYTHING from them, if anyone even picks up the phone. I've got PM's and emails into Tom and Robert, Crickets.

    30 of my friends on here took up a collection to gift me a Manners Stock, which I've always wanted. I'm honestly not certain it's even being built, and this gives me even more concern.

    How in the hell do they even stay in business?

    Good luck.
     
    I had the exact opposite experience when I had issues with one of my Manners stocks. Tom himself called me on my cell during a match. He overnighted me a couple of different mag catch releases of different heights to get my set up running. All I can say is, in my opinion, their CS is amazing...
     
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    I've had great experiences with them on the forum and email. Sometimes phone requires more than one call. As someone who has worked in customer service, I don't get offended by that.

    I somehow managed to strip a sling stud from the stock. I think with shipping it was gone and back in around a week, no questions asked. Reach out, they'll make it right.
     
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    I just sent back a Manners that had an ugly inlet. They turned it around quickly. Not sure how long it would have taken if they had to re-make it.
     
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    It can’t be that hard

    They’ve had the same molds forever

    Open mold
    Paint on release agent
    Lay in glass or carbon fiber
    Close mold

    Holy shit...

    If it was hard every boat/glider etc would sink.

    WTF
     
    Ive built on Manners stocks before. All of them have required some mild touch ups on the inletting, specifically in the barrel channel and bottom metal areas. Its to be expected.

    However, Im currently building 7 rifles. I received 5 of the stocks today. And 3 out of 5 of them have the wrong bottom metal inletting. Its not even close. Im talking like the wrong CAD file was used to do the bottom metal inletting. The other two stocks arrive tomorrow so Ill have to check those as well, but I don't have my hopes up of them being correct.

    Ive waited eight months for these stocks. Im going to call Manners tomorrow and see what they say. But have any of you guys dealt with this type of problem before? If so....was Manners prompt with providing good customer service?

    Hi jigstick, just sent you a pm, shoot me a pm with your build numbers and contact no, I’ll give you a buzz ASAP and get right back to you ASAP. Thank you, I will also shoot you pm.
     
    Good luck hearing ANYTHING from them, if anyone even picks up the phone. I've got PM's and emails into Tom and Robert, Crickets.

    30 of my friends on here took up a collection to gift me a Manners Stock, which I've always wanted. I'm honestly not certain it's even being built, and this gives me even more concern.

    How in the hell do they even stay in business?

    Good luck.
    Hi 1104, shoot me pm and I will get back to you and get you squared away ASAP. Not sure why you are getting crickets, we have 4 dedicated customer support people. We do get extremely busy at times, but if a phone message is left we should be getting back to you with in the following day. I will also shoot you a pm with my personal email and cell phone number. Thank you
     
    Hi 1104, shoot me pm and I will get back to you and get you squared away ASAP. Not sure why you are getting crickets, we have 4 dedicated customer support people. We do get extremely busy at times, but if a phone message is left we should be getting back to you with in the following day. I will also shoot you a pm with my personal email and cell phone number. Thank you

    @1J04
     
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    Sometimes phone requires more than one call. As someone who has worked in customer service, I don't get offended by that.

    It shouldn't. You should.
    If a company can't answer or return a call within 24 hours they're not doing customer service correctly.
    If they have a "Contact Us" form or a direct e-mail on their site, and they don't respond beyond a canned "Thanks for contacting us", then they're not doing customer service correctly.

    These things may not matter to them when they have plenty of orders coming in and are booked up on production for months, but they need to think back to leaner times and how eager they were to talk with a customer - ANY customer - and humbly consider that those times can come back, and that there's always someone out there looking to pick up what they're ignoring.
     
    I’ve had excellent experiences with Manners customer service - phone calls, e-mails, and contact forms. Spoke/e-mailed with Tom a couple times. All 5 of mine required minor opening of channel, bolt, etc. and a couple needed the mag release trimmed down. Nothing major, and I’ll continue to buy from them.
     
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    It can’t be that hard

    They’ve had the same molds forever

    Open mold
    Paint on release agent
    Lay in glass or carbon fiber
    Close mold

    Holy shit...

    If it was hard every boat/glider etc would sink.

    WTF
    You do realize that the OP's problem has nothing to do with the stock's layup, curing, or fill; and everything to do with the machining after. Right?
     
    Yeah...just got lazy on my phone.

    Same thing...it’s not that hard to run a couple of holes after it’s cured.

    Just lazy QC and taking the customers for granted.
     
    Tom Manners has reached out to me. I didn't start this post to have it turn into a "bashing" thread. I was simply asking a question. And to see how things played out for other customers. I have received a response from Manners and will let things play out privately between me and them. If I feel its proper I will publicly disclose how things turn out.

    Yeah the problem is with the inletting. Unfortunately the inletting is much larger than what I ordered it inletted for. So there really isn't a way to fix the problem without hogging out the stock in some areas and using copious amounts of Devcon to fill in the large gaps that would be present. Im just not willing to do that on a $5000 rifle.....let alone 7 of them.

    I just don't see a way to fix these without having the stocks remade. Real bummer. Because our rifle season starts in 4 weeks. And we would have been using the new guns if not for this hiccup.
     
    It shouldn't. You should.
    If a company can't answer or return a call within 24 hours they're not doing customer service correctly.
    If they have a "Contact Us" form or a direct e-mail on their site, and they don't respond beyond a canned "Thanks for contacting us", then they're not doing customer service correctly.

    These things may not matter to them when they have plenty of orders coming in and are booked up on production for months, but they need to think back to leaner times and how eager they were to talk with a customer - ANY customer - and humbly consider that those times can come back, and that there's always someone out there looking to pick up what they're ignoring.

    I wasn't referring to a call back within a day if you leave a message (Ive always gotten one). I've always gotten prompt response to emails through their website too. I was referring to getting a live person on the line right now, every time you call. At my job I take one call and get two voicemails while I'm taking it. I don't mind leaving a message and waiting for a call back, but some people here do. That's all I was getting at.
     
    Spoke to Tom directly this morning. Customer service has been great. Which honestly I expected. He's looking into what happened and handling it. Im confident it is all going to work out. FWIW the stocks are amazing. Finish is excellent as is the weight. We were able to mock up the stocks with our Defiance Rebel Sheep Port actions and PR carbon wrapped barrels and these suckers are LIGHT.

    Once we work through this issue I think the end result is going to be 7 badass lightweight mountain rifles.
     
    Oh and to correct my previous time frame. Its been more like 6 month wait. Ordered on April 12, 2019. Stocks started shipping around Oct 30 2019. So just over 6mon wait.
     
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    I have two manners stocks and hope to add more to the herd in the future. Sometimes shit happens unfortunately, but I am sure that Manners stocks & Tom will make it right for you. May not quite meet your timelines, but am glad that he reached out and contacted you.
     
    Good luck hearing ANYTHING from them, if anyone even picks up the phone. I've got PM's and emails into Tom and Robert, Crickets.

    30 of my friends on here took up a collection to gift me a Manners Stock, which I've always wanted. I'm honestly not certain it's even being built, and this gives me even more concern.

    How in the hell do they even stay in business?

    Good luck.
    Hi Larry, I shot you a few PMs this morning, please ping me back and I will get you taken care of asap. . I tracked down the info on your stock. Looks like between you the office and Robert there is a bunch of emails. You had stated that the guys on the hide had gotten together and raised 2k for you to purchase a stock, it was your first high end stock and manners was very happy to be part of it and got it in with a discount because the hide guys raised money for you. I also did see where you did shoot me a few PM on June 25th that I did miss. Like I said in the PMs this morning, sorry for not getting back to you there was no excuse for that. The last week of june and the first week of july is prep time for the king of two mile match that both I and Robert are heavily focused on. I also found where we did get the order approval back from you on June 25. The office got you a confirmation and got the ball rolling on it that day. There is also a email chain first of August, where the stock finish was updated from approved standard gel coat finish to the elite black forest. At that time, Robert put it in as a hot stock because the finish changed. Today I got the stock tracked down in production and got my hands on it. It is in the finish department and should be close to going out next week. That should put it ahead of the quoted lead time even with the updated the finish. As of now you are about 4 1/2 to 5 months on a 6 month quote. Thank you
     
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    I've had to return stocks before too. Even after having a stock remade I had to recut the barrel inlet because it was the wrong profile. Tom offered to give me a 50% discount on another stock to make up for it. I didn't ever take him up on it because I'd have to order direct and suffer the same long waits and incorrect order details. I like Manners stocks but there's no way I'll buy one to-order, it has to be in stock or I'm not interested.
     
    Hi Larry, I shot you a few PMs this morning, please ping me back and I will get you taken care of asap. . I tracked down the info on your stock. Looks like between you the office and Robert there is a bunch of emails. You had stated that the guys on the hide had gotten together and raised 2k for you to purchase a stock, it was your first high end stock and manners was very happy to be part of it and got it in with a discount because the hide guys raised money for you. I also did see where you did shoot me a few PM on June 25th that I did miss. Like I said in the PMs this morning, sorry for not getting back to you there was no excuse for that. The last week of june and the first week of july is prep time for the king of two mile match that both I and Robert are heavily focused on. I also found where we did get the order approval back from you on June 25. The office got you a confirmation and got the ball rolling on it that day. There is also a email chain first of August, where the stock finish was updated from approved standard gel coat finish to the elite black forest. At that time, Robert put it in as a hot stock because the finish changed. Today I got the stock tracked down in production and got my hands on it. It is in the finish department and should be close to going out next week. That should put it ahead of the quoted lead time even with the updated the finish. As of now you are about 4 1/2 to 5 months on a 6 month quote. Thank you
    Careful, you might make @1J04 cry
     
    Hi Larry, I shot you a few PMs this morning, please ping me back and I will get you taken care of asap. . I tracked down the info on your stock. Looks like between you the office and Robert there is a bunch of emails. You had stated that the guys on the hide had gotten together and raised 2k for you to purchase a stock, it was your first high end stock and manners was very happy to be part of it and got it in with a discount because the hide guys raised money for you. I also did see where you did shoot me a few PM on June 25th that I did miss. Like I said in the PMs this morning, sorry for not getting back to you there was no excuse for that. The last week of june and the first week of july is prep time for the king of two mile match that both I and Robert are heavily focused on. I also found where we did get the order approval back from you on June 25. The office got you a confirmation and got the ball rolling on it that day. There is also a email chain first of August, where the stock finish was updated from approved standard gel coat finish to the elite black forest. At that time, Robert put it in as a hot stock because the finish changed. Today I got the stock tracked down in production and got my hands on it. It is in the finish department and should be close to going out next week. That should put it ahead of the quoted lead time even with the updated the finish. As of now you are about 4 1/2 to 5 months on a 6 month quote. Thank you


    I'm close to home heading in from morning Elk hunt. Will make contact shortly. Thank you.

    Someone kicked the beehive I'm guessing......
     
    I've had to return stocks before too. Even after having a stock remade I had to recut the barrel inlet because it was the wrong profile. Tom offered to give me a 50% discount on another stock to make up for it. I didn't ever take him up on it because I'd have to order direct and suffer the same long waits and incorrect order details. I like Manners stocks but there's no way I'll buy one to-order, it has to be in stock or I'm not interested.
    this is kinda how i feel. mine had to go back for an incorrect LOP and had a note to confirm barrel channel diameter and confirm inlet (both originally noted on build order) for an origin which has a swept handle. got it back and just did the work myself and will figure out how to touch it up and fix the bolt knob area and paint barrel channel. wasnt gonna spend another $50 to ship both ways. only way i'd get another is through a smith on a full build...which i dont see happening anyways
     
    I have had one Manners stock. Took me about 6 months to get it. Ordered it with their DBM and barrel touched to one side (Rem/Sendero profile) and contacted them. Got a phone call the next day, either sand it out myself and they would ship me out their 2 part paint/epoxy or ship it back and they would fix. I chose to do it myself with their paint/epoxy. No biggie.
    I would think with the backlog they would train/hire more people to keep the work no more than 3 months out.
     
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    My intention here was not to poke a hornets nest. So far the situation is being handled in a timely professional manner and Im 100% happy with how its all progressing.
     
    I have had one Manners stock. Took me about 6 months to get it. Ordered it with their DBM and barrel touched to one side (Rem/Sendero profile) and contacted them. Got a phone call the next day, either sand it out myself and they would ship me out their 2 part paint/epoxy or ship it back and they would fix. I chose to do it myself with their paint/epoxy. No biggie.
    I would think with the backlog they would train/hire more people to keep the work no more than 3 months out.
    I didn't have any problems with my TF3A, but the wait is just too long when I can have a chassis right here and now.
     
    I’ve had the complete opposite experience with them. I got the stock how I ordered but after a few weeks decided I wanted a rail up front I nstead of a sling stud so I asked if they can install it. Said sure. I sent it back and paid like $30 for the rail. They didn’t charge me labor or shipping back. Pretty sure they lost money on that.
     
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    I have had my manner stock for 9 years now about and have dealt with manners a few times even for warranty works. They have been professional and always eagar to help . Once I sent in my stock because there was a slight design change and was ask to send in my action. I gladly did it because they wanted to get it done correctly. It came back a week or two later professionally done. SOmetime its hard to get things perfect with the amount of action designs out there but I cant say Id stop usingi t hem. Their stocks are great and i love them more than any chassis.
     
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    OP, I'd like to apologize for the temporary hijack of your thread, but I just got off the phone with @tmanners regarding our Comms issue and must say I'm impressed with not only his candor and passion for what he does, but for his personal support and reaching out. Tom has done more than make this right, and it's greatly appreciated.

    On my end, and in hindsight, I should have called to follow up on an email, and a couple PM's I had sent before posting up, but honestly, as I told Tom, I'm not into hounding anyone for services. I just fired a gutter guy for not showing up when he was suppose to, and then wanted me to call him back in a week or so to see if he was going to be available to take my money. I'm just not into that.

    I can say this, because it's from the man himself. If ANYBODY has ANY issue with Manners, just call Tom. He wants EVERYONE to know you are more than welcome, actually encouraged, to phone him direct with any questions or issues.

    Tom Manners 816 210 8108

    Thx again for the temporary hijack and best to you.

    Larry
     
    ^ and this is exactly the reason why I keep buying Manners stocks...

    This is the reason I want to buy another Manner's stock and don't even have plans for a new build hahaha! Fingers crossed I can pull some certs off a table at a match in the new year.
     
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    Tom and Josh @ Core (Altus) have gone above and beyond to get a stock in my hands even though I'm not in the US.

    Super guys to deal with

    I've had 2 of them and both are excellent stocks
     
    OP, I'd like to apologize for the temporary hijack of your thread, but I just got off the phone with @tmanners regarding our Comms issue and must say I'm impressed with not only his candor and passion for what he does, but for his personal support and reaching out. Tom has done more than make this right, and it's greatly appreciated.

    On my end, and in hindsight, I should have called to follow up on an email, and a couple PM's I had sent before posting up, but honestly, as I told Tom, I'm not into hounding anyone for services. I just fired a gutter guy for not showing up when he was suppose to, and then wanted me to call him back in a week or so to see if he was going to be available to take my money. I'm just not into that.

    I can say this, because it's from the man himself. If ANYBODY has ANY issue with Manners, just call Tom. He wants EVERYONE to know you are more than welcome, actually encouraged, to phone him direct with any questions or issues.

    Tom Manners 816 210 8108

    Thx again for the temporary hijack and best to you.

    Larry
    A small piece of me is saddened that you got support. The psychological torture on your part was partially feeding me.

    ?????????
     
    I had a strange snafu with a Manners order. The issue, in my specific case, was much like the game telephone depicts with children. Manners has so many options to customize/personalize, that it takes literally a miracle to complete accurately, but that's the nature of the game. Now, Manners is in a unique field of business, one that very few, myself included, can understand. Are they perfect? No, it's a rarity for most companies to be. Do they try? Yes, yes they do.

    I think the effort both Tom and Robert put forth on this forum and others is a testament to that effort to right any potential wrongs. But stuff like inletting is very hard to make perfect for everyone. Sometimes poop happens, you just need to factor that into build times and estimates.

    Jerry
     
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    Can one order a custom Manners stock, but without any barrel/DBM inletting?
     
    Can one order a custom Manners stock, but without any barrel/DBM inletting?


    Based on their stock builder program on their site, it's not an option, but I'm sure if you called them and placed the order over the phone, it might be a possibility. But this is something best answered by @tmanners, hopefully he has time to chime in.

    Jerry
     
    Can one order a custom Manners stock, but without any barrel/DBM inletting?
    I asked Tom about that a couple years ago, he said you could. If my memory is working, there was very little price difference but he said you would get it quicker than a finished one.
     
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    Ive built on Manners stocks before. All of them have required some mild touch ups on the inletting, specifically in the barrel channel and bottom metal areas. Its to be expected.

    However, Im currently building 7 rifles. I received 5 of the stocks today. And 3 out of 5 of them have the wrong bottom metal inletting. Its not even close. Im talking like the wrong CAD file was used to do the bottom metal inletting. The other two stocks arrive tomorrow so Ill have to check those as well, but I don't have my hopes up of them being correct.

    Ive waited eight months for these stocks. Im going to call Manners tomorrow and see what they say. But have any of you guys dealt with this type of problem before? If so....was Manners prompt with providing good customer service?
    Got my one and only manners years ago and it was inletted for something completely different from what I had ordered. Emailed them, they said send it back but didn't offer a return label. Returned it on my dime and waited patiently for it to be fixed but nothing after 5-6 months. Called and the surly bitch that answered said that they never received the stock and in any case, she wasn't going to go looking for it at the end of the day. Somebody else finally did go looking for it and found it on a shelf somewhere. They reworked it and shipped it out and guess what, inlet was still wrong (action may or may not have been right but the barrel channel was 6 or 7 contours too small so who knows). I sent them another email telling them that they sucked and I would talk shit about them at every opportunity from that point on. Lo and behold, get a response from the owner saying that they'll fix it. Nope, too little, too late. Offered it up at a loss on here, don't know if the buyer ever got it to work.
     
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    Got my one and only manners years ago and it was inletted for something completely different from what I had ordered. Emailed them, they said send it back but didn't offer a return label. Returned it on my dime and waited patiently for it to be fixed but nothing after 5-6 months. Called and the surly bitch that answered said that they never received the stock and in any case, she wasn't going to go looking for it at the end of the day. Somebody else finally did go looking for it and found it on a shelf somewhere. They reworked it and shipped it out and guess what, inlet was still wrong (action may or may not have been right but the barrel channel was 6 or 7 contours too small so who knows). I sent them another email telling them that they sucked and I would talk shit about them at every opportunity from that point on. Lo and behold, get a response from the owner saying that they'll fix it. Nope, too little, too late. Offered it up at a loss on here, don't know if the buyer ever got it to work.
     
    So far I think it’s being handled appropriately. We identified the problem and steps are being taken to make it right. Hopefully it is remedied in time for us to put the rifles together in time for our Dec 1st rifle opener. Right now it just comes down to time. I’m happy with how I’m being treated.
     
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    Tom and Josh @ Core (Altus) have gone above and beyond to get a stock in my hands even though I'm not in the US.

    Super guys to deal with

    I've had 2 of them and both are excellent stocks
    I’ve bought 2 stocks from them, top notch guys! I will continue to do as much business as I can with them.
     
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