Personal Weapons Development in Greenwood - completely unacceptable behavior

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Beowulf

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    66   0   0
    Mar 21, 2012
    2,880
    83
    Brownsburg
    I debated putting this post up, but I decided to do so because the actions of the folks at PWD were so egregious that I think people should know who they are doing business with.

    This happened to a friend of mine, who is/was in the process of heavily customizing his Beretta 81 (we can debate the concept of putting so much money into a $250 gun, but that's really a separate discussion, and frankly makes sense knowing my fiend). My friend is a machinist as well as a programmer. He love building precision parts, so much so, that he runs a business custom manufacturing precision spinning tops (the ones that spin for 10 minutes+).

    So, when he got his Beretta 81, he wanted to customize it from stem to stern. He skeletonized the hammer, machine custom sights, crowned the barrel, customized the guide rod with spiral lightening cuts, customized the grips screws, and a bunch of other work. He put 14 hours of shop time into it.

    He wanted a custom coating to go along with his work and to have the barrel and guide rod TiN coated. He went with PWD and they quoted him $500 and 2 weeks work.

    After 5 weeks went by, my friend was informed by PWD that his custom parts were stolen from a shipment to the TiN coating shop. This is where everything went off the rails. Despite being assured that the shipment had been insured (which supposedly also contained several $1k+ target barrels for other customers), the owner made several statements that seem to contradict this. My friend provided replacement value for his parts, including machine time, and the owner lost his :poop:.

    My friend went to the shop to discuss this, which results in him being insulted extensively and then physically assaulted by person I presume is the owner. After the police were called and a report filed (referred to DA if charges will be filed... knowing Greenwood, I'm sure that will go no where), PWD then insisted that the new price for the work done was $700 (cause "things came up") and that he was SOL on the lost parts until USPS finished their investigation.

    As it stand, the gun is still with PWD and this is likely to go to court.

    If you want a more details summary, you can see what my friend wrote on the Beretta forum where he had been documenting his custom work in a thread.

    https://berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=144658&page=9


    TLDR - the people that run Personal Weapons Development may be good at doing coatings, but they are terrible people to do business with and take no responsibility for their own mistakes (and apparently, will just assault you if you question them). I'd steer well clear of these folks. There are plenty of other very reputable businesses, many of them run by members here on INGO who will do great work on your guns without all the drama.
     

    Alpo

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Sep 23, 2014
    13,877
    113
    Indy Metro Area
    I don't know what Judge Judy would say, but I would suspect your friend is SOL on his personal customizations. They have value only to him and not to a readily available market.

    As to the rest....I don't know the guy or your guy.
     

    weevilbasher

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Feb 6, 2019
    63
    8
    Indianapolis
    I’m not a fan of his work. He Did a horrible job on my coating and he was hard to get ahold of and failed to show on a couple agreed meetings (it was a year ago so I can’t remember but I know he failed to show once but I think it was twice). As far as him being confrontational I did not have any issues with that. It was actually opposite for me. the two times I met with him he seemed really outgoing and friendly.
     

    Beowulf

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    66   0   0
    Mar 21, 2012
    2,880
    83
    Brownsburg
    I don't know what Judge Judy would say, but I would suspect your friend is SOL on his personal customizations. They have value only to him and not to a readily available market.

    As to the rest....I don't know the guy or your guy.

    The value you he's putting on them is replacement value. If they can replace them for less, then fine. The trick is here they took responsibility for the gun and the components, they subsequently lost them, and now they are refusing to take responsibility for the lost parts, dumping that on USPS (without confirmation they even insured them). The owner proceeding to get so angry that he physically assaults a customer is simply beyond the pale. He can certainly disagree with the valuation my friend put on his custom parts, but I don't think anyone can disagree they have value. Then to change the agreed upon price for the services and hold what's left of the gun hostage with that is further proof of a terrible company no one should deal with.

    But you are certainly free to disregard this story. Even the worst shops, manufacturers, and dealers don't have 100% negative customer experiences (if they do, they don't typically last very long). That being said, I'm putting this out there so people can make an informed decision on who they entrust their firearms and hard earned money with. If you want to do business with them, then caveat emptor.
     
    Top Bottom