In fact, I feel pretty foolish about this, since Cannon has always had a reputation as "good guys."
A little more than a week ago the battery leads on my electronic lock on my big Cannon safe broke off. No big, I think, Cannon's good for it. A matter of them removing the circuit board and replacing the leads. As their website reads:
...As you browse our site, we want you to know that we at Cannon are committed to your total satisfaction. By manufacturing top rated security products, with the most competitive pricing points, we further that commitment to excellence by standing behind them with the absolute best WARRANTY and CUSTOMER SERVICE in the industry.On the spot...fancy that! It took multiple phone calls and emails to reach someone at Cannon — okay, it's the holiday season, so some slack is due there. When I finally reach someone, I explain that I'd be happy to pay whatever was necessary to get this repaired, plus extra shipping, as not only my guns but year-end financials, business papers, etc., were in the safe.
We believe SECURITY SAFES are a permanent investment. When protecting money, family photos, collectibles, firearms, irreplaceable documents, or any other items that are of the utmost importance, you should have sincere peace of mind that these valuables are fully secured – that ULTIMATE security is part of our promise to you. We believe you should have real security at an affordable price, quality in all aspects of the product, as well as a LIFETIME WARRANTY, which means you are actually protected from fire, flood, attempted break-in and manufacturing defects – FOR LIFE. As a proud Cannon Safe Owner, you will also have access to knowledgeable service technicians with the authority to fix any Cannon Safe issue on the spot.
I was told that Cannon doesn't repair parts. Okay, I say, the leads broke off, and your site says you warranty manufacturing defects for life. Absolutely right, the gentleman said, and we'll send you a new lock.
That seemed easy enough. Will it, I ask, include instructions for resetting the combination? There was a long pause. You can't reset the combination. In fact, he says, you're going to have to hire a locksmith to drill the safe and install the new lock. That's hundreds of dollars, I said. Well, said the nice technician after explaining to me that he had had a bad day, that's just the way it is. My safe is older than 5 years, he explained, and apparently "Lifetime Customer Satisfaction" ends at 5 years. Besides, he says, his safe didn't fail; the lock failed! Kind of a specious argument, if you ask me.
He also told me that I'd better listen closely and not say anything bad about Cannon, because, "you know, there's laws..."
Yes sir, Mr. Knowledgeable Service Technician With the Authority to Fix Any Cannon Safe Issue On the Spot, there are indeed laws against libel. However, the ultimate defense against libel is truth, and I would love to play that game with you!
So I'm going to get my safe drilled open, then at SHOT arrange to purchase a real safe from somebody like Ft. Knox. I'll use the drilled Cannon for what it's apparently designed for...storing power tools in the garage.
108 comments:
Someone once told me companies lose more business because of their own poor customer service than then by all the efforts of the competion.
I'll have to check out the leads on my Cannon safe when I get back home.
Michael, no stinking drilling.
Semtex and det cord!
Shooting Gallery Special Event on Gun Safes Gone Bad!
Ratcatcher 55
Can't say that I am surprised about them passing the buck on an electronic safe. Always figured that would be the case, so feel even better about just spinning combinations the old fashioned way.
_CCD
Oops.
This is going to cost them a whole lot more that fixing your safe would have.
Ironically, I'm in the market for a safe - going to be one of the first major purchases of the new year.
When I by one, I'll send a copy of the receipt to Cannon and tell them why they weren't even a consideration.
If there is enough metal left to make contact, you may be able to get your stuff out without drilling. You will need electrical tape and wire. You need to tape the batteries in place and use the wire to connect the batteries in the configuration you need for your safe.
Since the lock is already broken, it is worth a try.
Taking what Tim said a step further, use a set of probes to probe the protruding wire nubs & feed the juice that way. Just needs to be connected long enough to open it. I'm sure you can determine what lead goes where - usually by color.
Like he says - what have you got to lose now? and when you get it open, just replace the guts & it will be as good as new - for what it's worth.
Go Liberty Safes...cheaper than Ft. Knox and great reputation.
+1 on Liberty... And mechanical locks.
Perhaps a future post on what to look for in a safe and the questions that need to be asked.
Liberty? Blech!
Weak, weak, weak doors. Take the panels off and compare door rigidity to quality constructed like Browning.
I have a Fort Knox Defender. Dang big safe. I am starting to have issues with my electronic lock as well. I believe that it is the motor, maybe not. I need to find out if I can easily convert it to a standard lock.. :(
Besides.. that would be better for that whole EMP burst thing and then not being able to get my weapons..
I would guess that the technician you spoke with will have a really bad day after his boss learns about your experience and subsequent blog report. The boss just might make his almost former technician carry a brand new safe on his back to your house and install it in order to qualify for his final paycheck. The only catch for you, of course, would be an obligation to report this development with equal prominence to your devoted audience.
If I'm wrong, and this never happens, I'd bet Cannon is on the verge of filing a Chapter 11, and no longer gives a fecal pile what anyone thinks.
I am in the market for a safe...so noted...thanks
I'll "second" the opinion that there's always some lead left that can be connected. Then, all you need to do is get the door opened and repair facilitated. Sometimes, I've been able to push a hot and freshly tinned new wire lead into the hole that seems to be left where the old wire goes into the base and got connectivity. If it doesn't work at first, then try pushing a needle into the stub's insulation, to make a better channel to the wire that's left in there. Pointed test probes will work too, then all you need to do is jury-rig test clips between the probes and the temporary battery connection. You can get this stuff at Radio Shack.
In the end, go with a high quality mechanical tumbler lock. It might be worth getting a safe retrofitted if it came with a cheap, push-button, or electronic model.
As an engineer, I can tell you that the most reliable assembly is one that has no moving parts and requires no batteries! "K. I. S. S." :)
Life Member
(P. S.: This is kind of like having a tactical light with low-hour rated batteries, in an ice storm caused power-outage!)
Folks, don't be fooled into thinking the mechanical locks are bullet proof. I've seen S&G locks where the internal wheels failed from aggressive spinning of the dial, also required drilling.
Please, please, please film your safe purchase at SHOT and post it on DRTV. I would love to see that.
For those interested, here is how to contact Cannon Safe, Inc.
Cannon Safe, Inc.
216 South 2nd Avenue
San Bernardino, CA 92408
909-382-0303 phone
800-242-1055 toll-free
Hmmmm...one might think that poor customer service for a guy with a TV show might be a bad plan.
Give them another chance, Michael. I agree with the other posters that once the higher ups see what happened, someone's tune might change.
Make up a little battery pack with a set of alligator clips. That should get you enough juice to open the thing up.
A thought - is there, someplace on the innertubes, a primer on failing safe locks? It might be worthwhile to be able to know when a lock, be it a S&G or an electronic, is exhibiting symptoms of impending falure.
From Hoovers....
Cannon Safe, Inc Executives
Title Name
CEO Steven Baker
Secretary Chris Baker
Controller/Comptroller Steve Holt
I've had a similar experience with another company that supposedly offerred a lifetime warranty. It seems that customer service is taking a hit with the economy being what it is.
I don't blame you one bit for posting this. I won't buy from Cannon and I'm sick of companies doing this kind of thing. I hope it costs them dearly in the long run. You can't do this to consumers.
It should not matter that MB has TV show or two, and web forum. Service is the name of the game.
Buy a "real" safe. Contact a used safe dealer in your area. These are commercial safes, many used in the pharmacy and jewelry trades. They are much better built w/ better insulation at similar to slightly higher price then a consumer gun safe.
I have actually been shopping for a safe for the last couple of months. I will not be getting a Cannon. I hope I live longer than 5 years...
Send it to Knob Creek for some destructive testing
I must be missing something (don't own an electronic safe) but can't you just solder the lead back on?
I am sorry to hear about your predicament. The part of about the lack of service is one thing. It is what it is. The company exaggerated its claims about a lifetime warranty. The other part though, when the guy threatens you not to say anything, cannot be excused. You are right: The truth is the defense against accusations of libel. You have the truth on your side. That the person on the phone would even dare utter a threat as he did is grounds for immediate termination of employment. I would demand nothing less from Cannon. Meanwhile, good luck with finding a new safe. Let us know how it goes.
The question is has anybody who works with another safe company seen this and figured out that they should contact Mr. Bane to offer him a good deal. Of course that would require a keen marketing sense and fast action, neither of which the firearms industry is known for.
I swear by Secure Container Inc. which makes Spartan safes. They built two semi-custom safes for a close friend and also built/installed a vault door in his basement gun room and the workmanship was absolutely top shelf. Not a household name by any means but his work is good enough for the NRC (he built/installed numerous storage unit/safes for the security detail at a nearby nuclear facility) and in a pinch a can go over and yell at Dave in person if you have a problem.
And, of course, I get no kickbacks for the mention...maybe he'll buy me a beer next time I see him though!
I emailed them your rant, hope it pisses them off knowing that they just shit in their own soup.
You shouldn't have to be a gun writer, or industry insider, or have a TV show, or a popular gun blog to have your defective safe warrantied. What about the rest of us "little" guys, that don't have those connections? I guess we're screwed...
Rick S.
I too, will be buying a new safe in the near future as I need a new one for both firearms and business.
Cannon will NOT be considered (and I think I'll stay with old fashion combo type).
I paid more - for a smaller safe - in order to get a mechanical lock. As a systems manager, I realized there were too many failure paths to a computer-controlled electronic lock.
Hell, the word "computer" was enough to give me the willies.
And poor show on Cannon. And any other company that pushes their customers down that path.
Sell the Cannon safe as scrap metal. Take the money and put it towards a new safe. Video the whole process from complete safe to cut up chunks of metal going into the melting pot. Then burn a copy to CD/DVD and mail it with a letter of explanation to the President of Cannon Safes and include the name of the customer service representative to whom you spoke. Explain why you'll never buy another Cannon safe ever again. Then CC a copy of CD/DVD and letter to the idiot over at CS.
I know I won't ever buy a Cannon safe now. They just lost a potential customer in me.
I don't know if this is relevant but here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Q3aDy-BUc
And this guy has an awsome post on safe selection:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2008/10/safe-storage-of-firearms.html
I'm also in the market for a long-gun/fire safe, and can comfortably cross Cannon off my list now.
FWIW; I've never even read your blog before (don't take it personally...), but heard about this story and had to check it out. The ripples of their substandard customer service are reaching far beyond your *dedicated* reader-base; I can attest to that confidently.
I can also cross an electronic lock off my feature-shopping list...
Thx for the write up!
As far as how secure most of the safes are, they are all UL listed "Residential Security Containers" and have similar specs at similar price points more or less. Like a previous poster said, you can get a "real" safe but they are much heavier and in my shopping MUCH pricier. Even the used ones were way, way up there.
A determined professional thief is getting your stuff. RSC's protect against common punk smash n' grabbers and do a pretty good job at that. But they are what they are. Most of us are not likely at risk to be hit by professional safe crackers.
Mr Bane, I'm sorry to hear about your issue with Cannon. However, I'm glad I found your blog about this when I did. I too am in the market for a new safe. With Cannon now scratched off the list and electronic locks too, can anyone recommend a safe company with a mechanical lock? Thanks in advance.
Also safe shopping in the new year. Cannon is off the list.
Ric
UNFAIR TO CANNON SAFES. Read their warranty. Lock labor is only warranted for one year while parts are warranted for a lifetime.
Electronics fail. TVs, computers, dvd players, and electronic locks.
Get someone who knows electronics to fix your leads, open the safe, then replace the lock that is being sent to you free of charge.
No, spin dials aren't bullet proof but a heck of a lot more reliable than anything electronic.
You called them once where you actually spoke to a peckerwood in customer service who basically told you that you have to pay for labor, and you give up and look to buy a new safe. A brief letter to the CEO of Canon Safe sent Express Mail would probably have the whole issued resolved within two or three business days, and save you lots of money too.
All the best,
Glenn B
I'd take the hard-line approach. Go to SHOT Show and get a new safe from a different company but film the entire process and put it up on Down Range (and here). Then let people send that link to Cannon Safe.
You almost certainly have tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff in the safe. Buy a real safe. Not Cannon or Ft Knox, they are just expensive boxes with limited security. Go to a safe dealer, not a gun dealer, to buy a safe. Get a UL TL-15 or TL-30 rated safe. Like http://www.amsecusa.com/gun-safes-HS-main.htm
It's not going to cost a huge amount more than the fancy Cannon or Ft Knox, but unlike them, it will keep out burglars with power tools for more than a few minutes.
Sorry about the safe going south, bubba. Just another reason to hate those electronic locks.
I have a Ft. Knox with the mechanical lock and it's a fine machine, I definitely recommend them. Never had trouble with the safe and I've never heard a bad word about their customer service, either, from customers or from people in the business.
Mr. Bane.
I have always had luck with finding out who the CEO of the company that i am having trouble with, and sending them a registered letter with proof of delivery. On two occasions this has been sucessful and my problem was solved.
Last resort is small claims court. This worked once for me.
regards
rick wagner
" UNFAIR TO CANNON SAFES. Read their warranty. Lock labor is only warranted for one year while parts are warranted for a lifetime."
AND
"You called them once where you actually spoke to a peckerwood in customer service who basically told you that you have to pay for labor, and you give up and look to buy a new safe."
From, er, READING the post, it seems that the author DID offer to pay for labor.
I am looking for a new safe to buy, which will be my first big purchase of the new year. Needless to say, my new safe won't be a Cannon!
I bought a "fire-resistant" safe a few years back. The safe is fine, but the company "upgraded" me to an electronic lock instead of the dial it was supposed to come with. This was not mentioned until the safe was wrestled into the garage and uncrated. I was furious. I loath electronic locks. They are much easier to crack and if you have a fire, the safe will need to be drilled open by a pro at huge expense, right when you most need your important papers.
"Upgrade" my aching butt. I was able to get a "discount" equal to the usual price charged for the electronic lock, but I was not a satisfied customer. The company is now out of business. Wonder why.
Likekwise - if anyone from Cannon is reading this, please be advised that I'll be buying from your competition henceforth.
This will be the most expensive dumb@$$ move you've ever made.
Way to soil your own nest.
DD
Bought a Ft. Knox Yeager-top of the line- a few years ago. Ordered a mechanical lock, but had the same experience as cited above: after wrestling a one-ton safe into my basement I found it had a keypad. I decided to live with it. After two years the keypad began to fail. Wouldn't recognize any of the several combinations I have. I'd have to wait out the lockout period and try again. Finally ordered a mechanical lock and had the local Ft. Knox dealer walk me through installation over the phone. I'm all set now. Ft. Knox makes great safes, but any electronic device is vulnerable and usually fails in ways you can't fix. I'll never trust keypads.
Bought a Cannon in 1992 with mechanical lock and it has been just fine; it defeated a burglar's attack a few years ago.
Well, the warranty terms posted on the Cannon website state "Electronic and mechanical locks carry a one year warranty for labor; a
lifetime warranty for parts." Your safe is more than 5 years old, so you do not qualify for labor costs. Next, they will provide total replacement and cover all costs only if the damage is the result of burglary, fire, or natural flood. Unless you have a warranty card or owner's manual that says otherwise, you are out of luck in getting them to spring for the cost of a locksmith to open the safe.
I had even worse luck with Cannon! My safe was just over 5 years old when the electronic lock (a LaGuard Model 1 apparently) failed. When I called Cannon they said "tough luck, call a locksmith." Locksmith charged $400 to get the safe open and install a real lock (S&G mechanical).
I'm sorry but to the person who said that cannon is probably on the verge of filing chapter 11, you are so wrong. Let me explain, I use to work for cannon and the worse the economy gets the more safes and more money they make. People don't trust banks or other people so they get paranoid and go out and buy a safe to store all their valuables in. Cannon laughs at all the problems the consumers have, they don't care about you after you have already purchased a safe, heck they only have two phone techs to help you with Ny problems, now that's only two reps for the hundreds of thousands of customers that have purchased a safe. The tech phones are constantly ringing off the hook, their machines are packed full with calls, complaints and problems and the president of the company Aaron baker does not want to spend any money to hire anyone else because he is too greedy, yes Steven baker is the owner/CEO but now he is too old and sick to run the company so now aaron took over. Here's the breakdown.
CEO - Steven baker
President Canon safe - Aaron baker
President gunvault (cannons sister company) mike baker (he also sticks his nose in cannon and helps run portions of that company as well)
Controller - Steve Holt
HR manager - Shelley baker
IT manager - Ryan
Logistics manager - jose Martinez
Sales manager - Jesse bugarin
Cust serv manager - April garvin
Phone techs (the two who are suppose to fix you problems) David Milne and kenny
Mexico plant manager (yes your precious cannons are made in mexico as well even though they claim they are all made in America) Angel
Gunvault tech - (that's right only one tech to handle all gunvaults problems) Chris strautmen
The president Aaron baker has no respect for his employees and openly calls them pre madonnas. He also openly makes racist jokes toward mexicans which I don't understand since he has mainly Mexican employees. If you think you can fix your problems with them by sueing them then think again, if there's one place cannon spends plenty of money it's on their attorneys, they wine and dine them so when the little consumer tries to be tough the attorneys pull out all the stops. The only way to avoid this troublesome company is to avoid doing business with them in the first place.
Oh and to the gentleman who said that a brief written letter to cannon via snail mail would have probably rectified the problem. You are so wrong, cannon reads those laughs and then throws them away. Don't waste your time.
MY CANNON SAFE CAME BROKE RIGHT OUT OF THE CRATE.
i have a cannon safe the 400 pound albatros found its way to my basement. I was excited to finally have a nice big electronic safe. COSTCO special of sorts. Well I slid that BEAST down the stairs all 400lbs+ put that puppy in position made my combo open her up. closed and put my combo in again and spun the handle to oper back up and the whole handle just came out with the shaft. called customer service and got Jack Teegarden. I am no expert in this safe stuf but the dirctions jack told me to do less that supportive and i was the one that needed to do all the cordination with the locksmith and pay for it my self and get reembursed from cannon. Ok so i called the local lock smith and they very clearly said that it could very well be above the $300 dollar repair limit cannon/ Jack said they would cover. so i called jack back and he would not call the lock smith to discuss exactley what they were going to do the repair and open my new safe. many emails to jack and now no response from anyone. THIS SUCKS. Getting this BEAST our of basement if going to be fun. Does any one KNOW the top managments email. i would like to forward on my emal string to them.
Mexican pharmacy serves your medical needs like no other!
Ever since the era of online pharmacies has started, there has been gradual improvement in the comparison between the best and the worst. The quality of products, customer service and security has never been better. But this doesn’t mean that the need for a safe shopping pharmacy, has been met.
The Mexican Pharmacy is the benchmark of best services in the Greater Americas when getting medicines. The human need to be healthy cannot be complete without the right set of medications to ward off everyday illnesses. The Mexican pharmacy makes this easier for you.
The state regulated price of drugs has been the apex reason of it being phenomenally successful. If this was not cheap enough, there are special offers and giveaways to get your first aid box filled at throw away prices. Don’t be startled, the medicines are not junk!
The drugs available have confirmed to the rigorous testing of its manufacturers, and have been found authentic. The Mexican pharmacy deals with health, not giving it a blow!
You can find more info at: http://ipicante.com/mexican-pharmacy.html
Buyer Beware!!
I recently purchased a Cannon/Oxbow safe and the safe had a mechanical malfunction within a few days of having it delivered. This was a 72” tall x 48” wide Oxbow with an electronic key pad. What a piece of crap this safe proved to be. After multiple phone calls with condescending, rude, totally unprofessional , so called technical representatives, they dispatched what could only be described as a grossly under qualified locksmith to try and repair the safe. Although he was successful in getting into the safe, the problem was not corrected, as it malfunctioned a second time within a week, leaving my guns and valuables locked up with no way of getting in. After a second attempt to repair the safe, the same situation occurred, leaving the safe locked up for almost six weeks while my phone calls and voice messages were virtually ignored. My frustration led me to go to the gun store where I had purchased the Oxbow. They contacted Cannon and this led to the same condescending pricks calling me and complaining to me about how much money they had spent in the attempt to repair their safe. I was so flabbergasted to hear this that I did not even dignify it with a response, like how much money I had spent on this piece of crap and what “lifetime warranty against all mechanical defects” really means, not to mention the time and aggravation I had wasted meeting with locksmiths that had no idea how to fix their product. The third attempt to repair the safe (with a different locksmith by my request) was a miserable failure with the locksmith failing to even get the safe open. This guy made the previous locksmith look like a master safe cracker. Several days and several unanswered voice mails later led me to call the safe rep at the gun store to try and get some answers about what they planned to do to get my safe open. Miraculously, he was able to get the technical rep to answer his phone or return his voice message only to be told that they were not going to do anything more to my safe and that they had called me and let me know this. This was a bold face lie, nobody had called me and the safe rep at the gun store knew they hadn’t. What they also said was that the safe had been abused by me (according to the expert opinion of the so called locksmith) and that had violated my warranty, which was also a bold face lie. Thankfully, the owner of the gun store came out to my house to inspect the safe. He surmised that the safe had not been “abused” and that the safe had a mechanical malfunction, as I was already well aware of. The gun store owner was a man of his word and agreed to replace the Oxbow free of charge. However, I told him that I did not want any Cannon products and would never deal with them again and that I would pay the difference for a Ft. Knox safe, and that’s exactly what I did. If the gun store owner wouldn’t have stepped up to the plate for Cannon, I would have been out of $1500 dollars and would have a permanently locked safe full of guns and valuables, on my own. This is a totally unacceptable way of doing business and how they are staying in business, in a recessional economy, is a mystery. I would highly recommend the Ft. Knox line of safes. My Ft. Knox has operated flawlessly since I bought it. Their company and products eclipses Cannon in every respect, quality, security, durability, customer support and most importantly, integrity.
Sincerely,Nate
I love e-locks. a dial is like a bike compared to a car-its for old farts plus dials are guranteed to fail. e-locks if they are type 1 security is the only way to go.
I have a problem my father passed away and I was left with his cannon safe before I could get the safe one of my brothers took a hammer to the keypad and destoryed it I need to get it open any suggestions would be wonderful it has four wires hanging out of the front door I think there is a red,black,green,yellow any help would be nice thanks
I have been very happy with my cannon safe. i got a partriot model and it weighs about 600 lbs.. got it for 900 out the door. sometimes shit breaks and what are you going to do. just like your doorknob or your used car, who do you think has to pony up for the fix!!?? I am not going to hate on cannon.. it is a shame that they dont honor their warranty completely, but at least they are sending you a lock. next time ask to talk to the reps manager.
I've got a Canon Triumph with the electronic lock. It worked great when I first got it but now that it is around 5 years old the lock is starting to eat batteries. I SO WISH I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE MECHANICAL LOCK!!!!! I can't tell you how many times I have had to replace the battery when it has just been sitting there and then when I try to open it I have problems because the battery has gone low for NO REASON. It's ridiculous that I would have to pay over $200 for a new locking mechanism as well. NEVER AGAIN WILL I GET AN ELECTRONIC LOCK!!!!
I just had a S&G combination lock fail on my safe. I know they are good, but just proves dial locks aren't perfect either. You can have problems with anything mechanical or electronic.
we have a cannon safe and are experiencing all the same problems. Oh yes, they will send a new lock, but they fail to mention the $300-$700 it will cost to have the locksmith drill a whole in my safe. A hole??? That doesn't even sound like a logical idea. Doesn't that tell any idiot who breaks in my house where to drill?? AND don't hold your breath if you were expecting them to call you back the same day after you leave a message..
frustrated in Ohio
Just a comment on electronic safe locks. My locksmith told me that the way they open an electronic safe is to take the battery out for two weeks and the lock will reset to the delivery combination. That sure turned my head. Now I only put mechanical locks in my safes. Nobody is going to get a freebee out of me just by pulling the battery for 2 weeks. For what it's worth!
I had a failure with my 2 yr old Cannon safe. The wheel started to spin free ( my fault). Called Cannon they sent parts to repair it to a local locksmith. He came out and repaired it at no cost to me. As with any product you can have problems and you can have problems with any customer service also. I had more trouble with another local locksmith than with Cannon.
Unfortunately I have a Cannon Safe en route. Purchased at Costco, I thought I was getting a great deal. Now I need to re think this whole thing. After reading so many posts from people that have been abandoned by Cannon, I will probably just refuse delivery and get a refund. A five year life span for the electronic lock just won't work for me! I'll do more homework before buying a safe in the future. You can bet it won't be a Cannon, and you can be sure it will be mechanical!
I was looking to buy a cannon safe but they just lost a customer. It is sorry how a company can just burn people and think it is funny.And the way they said not say anything bad because there were laws !!! It sounds like they were threating a customer with a lawsuit.I guess the next time a co. doesn't want to be bothered with a unhappy customer they can sue you??? I would call the BBB and report if it happened to me.
Interesting read. Glad I found it, as I plan on purchasing a gun safe in the next couple months.
I have an older American Eagle safe made by Cannon and it functions just fine. It has a traditional rotary combination dial on it instead of an electronic one. Batteries, wires, leads, contacts, etc. can all fail. The combo lock could fail too but I think there is less chance for it to fail compared to the electronic kind!
If you indeed feel you have been treated differently than the warranty stated then you should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. If you ALSO file a Small Claims case you will win the judgement because Cannon will not appear. It will cost them more to appear than to just accept a judgement.
I bought a Champion Safe 3 years ago. I looked @ Liberty Safes & found a model I wanted for $2800. The Liberty store said mechanical locks were $100 more. I then found a Champion somewhere else that appears EXACTLY like the Liberty for $800 less! (I think the same company makes both). I called Champion when I first got the safe about getting a spin dial installed & not voiding warranty. as long as a locksmith installs spin dial the warranty remains good. I HAVE HAD NO ISSUES WITH MY E-LOCK BUT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED THE SPIN DIAL from the beginning, but since the safe was EXACTLY as I wanted except for the e-lock then I settled.
I will look @ the warranty again but I think Champion only covers your safe when a tradgedy happens (fire, burglary, flood etc..
Intersting.
I found this web page trashing the cannon when I searched for "How to Crack a Gun Safe with Electronic Lock". I have ALWAYS been concerned about how an easy trick may be out there on how to open a gun safe with these electronic pads cause they are so easy to remove from the safe to begin with. seems like all one needs to know is which of the 4 wires one needs to put 9 volts to. I have been wanting to convert mine to a spin dial since I bought it.
Just like KwikSet door knob "Bumping" there is likely a clever trick out there some where to trick the E-Locks on Residencial gun safes
I have a problem with my Cannon safe door not closing. It took numerous calls and emails. Finally I get a call back telling me they are replacing the safe, then change ones mind!
Be far-warned when buying a Cannon safe!
I stumbled upon your blog trying to find the warranty info for my Cannon safe (mine is locked in the safe) after reading all the comments posted about failed electric locks, bad customer service and everything else I was really nervous about calling Cannon about my electronic lock not opening only 6 months after we purchased our safe. We replaced the battery before calling thinking that was the problem even though the key pad still beeps when numbers are pushed, the old battery had an expiration date of March 2013, the new battery has an expiration of December 2014. When I called Cannon and asked for a technician and explained that there is no "click" or unlocking sound when we put in our code, and that I replaced the battery and still nothing. The technician whom I could barely understand because of his thick accent walked me through turning the knob to the right all the way, put in code, any sound? No, turn knob to left, did it unlock? No, take out the battery, what is the expiration? Dec 2014. Well there is your problem, you need a battery that has an expiration date 5 years from now or more. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! SERIOUSLY!!! Come on and own up already! I wish I would have seen this blog BEFORE we purchased the safe! Hopefully and it's a HUGE bottle of HOPE, when I call next time with the "right" battery expiration date they will decide to fix my safe!!!
History of polo ralph lauren. Polo fashions had its humble beginnings in 1968 when tie salesman Ralph Lauren gave it a kick start. By 1969 he had a boutique polo ralph lauren factory stores within the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's. ... Brands and luxury standard. Since Ralph Lauren's first brand, Polo Ralph Lauren, was launched, the company has expanded to include a variety of luxury brands such as Polo Golf, Polo Denim, Polo Sport. You can buy cheap Ralph Lauren Clothing at Ralph Lauren outlet.Also We provide polo shirts
Ralph Lauren polo shirt, 50% OFF! polo ralph lauren outlet online is your best choice!In 2006, polo ralph lauren outlet became the first designer in Wimbledon's 133-year history to create official uniforms for the tournament. As part of this year's event, which starts next week, polo ralph lauren sale will introduces the first ... determination to maintain and enhance the values for which our two brands are famous throughout the world. The rugby ralph lauren brand brings to Wimbledon the look of timeless elegance, drawing on our rich history and traditions
I usually wear cotton tory burch flats sale velour pants on an over tory burch shoes discount night trip since they are so tory burch reva sale comfy, and flats are a must with any cover tory burch sandals sale up for warmth for sleeping. The tory burch sale blankets are too large, if they are tory burch flip flops sale still given to passengers. I also tory burch reva flats check all luggage except for a hand tory burch white flats bag I can use as a pillow tory burch shoes along with the one given. That way I tory burch ballet shoes can exit without the struggle to tory burch reva ballet retrieve over head luggage. Yes, I keep a clock on the tory burch ballerina time of where I'm going and the previous night go flats tory burch shoes to bed by that time, wake, eat and discount tory burch flats am ready for the air tory burch reva ballerina flat port terminal tory burch flats suede and the lengthy wait tory burch leather flats before boarding. All hints are appreciated.
Thanks for posting this story. I have a Liberty LX 35 and am in the market for an additional safe. I'm keeping an open mind and making comparisons. Frankly, after reading of your experience with Cannon, they are now out of the running. I liked the way they were built, but if they treat customers like they treated you, I'm staying away. I hope for the sake of the company, they improve.
Thanks for not backing down.
ive been having issues with my cannan safe lately. it less than a year old. it would take 3-4 times of entering the code before it would actually unlock, it would make a light click where it tried to unlock on the failed attempts. yesterday it took me about 10 tries before it worked. once open i tried it many more times and it worked fine. had to get back into it today and it took my about 30 times of entering the code before getting in. i always enter the right code and have tried new batteries. my cannon safe is very safe, it even keeps ME out of it!!!
when you buy a CHEAP safe, you certainly get a CHEAP safe with cannon. i dont trust it.
Venice too was a highly important center of painting in the sixteenth century. Venetian painters adopted a practice emphasizing the sensual qualities of color and light. Brushwork or facture was paramount to these results. Titian (born Tiziano Vecellio), along with Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto (born Jacopo Robusti), are artists associated with creating this painterly idiom where subjects are treated with a breadth and liberty of execution.
Everything I read here reflects my experience with Cannon safes. Customer service people will stall you off with the battery expiration date, shaking the handle, etc., and they have no intention of ever helping you. The Cannon warranty is just a piece of paper. It has no value. I was considering ordering two safes at the time I ordered this one, and now I am so glad I didn't.
oops sounds like i just screwed up i bought a cannon safe 4 hours ago and guess what happened you guesed right the battery wire broke so i think i call back to where i bought it and see if they will help me problem is though i live 40+ miles from the store and gas is just so cheap now haha
im from San Antonio and i bought a cannon Eagle combination tumbler, have had for about 7 years. one day the combination would'nt work anymore. i knew i had a life time warrenty so i called cannon and they instructed me to try about 50 different combination numbers, i still have not opened that safe ands its bee two years. i'm gonna torch it and hope to sve some of my items and then its going to the junk yard. i have no reason to hide my name Proudly,
C. G. McGraw.San Antonio, Texas
I am in the market for a safe. I just got an ad for a Cannon safe for sale at Costco for $200 off. I went right to researching and found your blog. Now I'm going with a different brand. Do they understand that they are losing money?
Bought a 14 gun safe on sale from Academy on Thursday. It has a mechanical lock. I have been in and out of the safe a half a dozen times now the combination does't work. I called Cannon and they have me trying the +1 or -1 method when I get home. Hopefully that works. Academy will take the safe back, if I have just get my guns out its going back. I also found out from calling around there are several safes in Academy's system just in the Dallas area that won't open.
I bought a mesa. Its way cheaper and reliable. Their elock replacement is only 50 bucks and you get the same combo. Problem solved.
One of the more impressive blogs Ive seen. Thanks so much for keeping the internet classy for a change. Youve got style, class, bravado. I mean it. Please keep it up because without the internet is definitely lacking in intelligence.
Athens Hotels
Oh No! I am in the same boat, i'll try rowing to those sacred cannon shores. I hope they help.... for my guns and my piece of mind!
i had a cannon gun safe passed down to me by my father i thought the lock had went bad but after doin some reasearch i found out that actually the code had malfunctioned, after looking around the internet i found a man who had the same problem he told me to take the battery out for about 20 to 30 days and it will reset the code back to default in my case it was 123456 and what would you know after about 4 weeks i went and hooked up the battery and it came open, thankfully it saved me about $250 to hire a lock smith to come out and and drill it and reinstall the lock.
Thanks i am in the market for a safe and you just crossed cannon off my list.
KASA ÇİLİNGİR+KASA ÇİLİNGİRİ+KASA ANAHTAR+ŞİFRELİ KASA AÇAN ÇİLİNGİR
Ä°STANBUL
Kasa Çilingir Anahtarcı
Kasa Çilingir 7/24 ANAHTARCI ve ÇİLİNGİR
0534 476 13 80
Ä°stanbul Kasa da GEZÄ°CÄ° ANAHTARCI ACÄ°L SERVÄ°S
GSM NUMARALARIMIZ
0534 476 13 80
İSTANBUL ÇİLİNGİR VE ANAHTARCI SERVİSİNİ acil çilingir ANAHTAR VERİR.
KASA ÇİLİNGİR+KASA ÇİLİNGİRİ+KASA ANAHTAR+ŞİFRELİ KASA AÇAN ÇİLİNGİR
Ä°STANBUL
Kasa Çilingir Anahtarcı
Kasa Çilingir 7/24 ANAHTARCI ve ÇİLİNGİR
0534 476 13 80
Ä°stanbul Kasa da GEZÄ°CÄ° ANAHTARCI ACÄ°L SERVÄ°S
GSM NUMARALARIMIZ
0534 476 13 80
İSTANBUL ÇİLİNGİR VE ANAHTARCI SERVİSİNİ acil çilingir ANAHTAR VERİR.
The email I sent them about the features of their safe went unanswered. I find repeated instances of disgruntled customers with the same experience. They just lost some money from this guy. Good luck with getting yours open sir. =(
I just had a similar experience with my Cannon safe; the leads are in tact, but it appears that the solinoid is stuck. They will send me a mechanical lock (my request, no more electronic locks for me) for free, and a locksmith has quoted me about $350 to drill out the old lock and replace it. My safe is only two years old. I will no longer buy Cannon products, their so called lifetime warranty is a joke.
I purchased a cannon safe and had issues right off the bat. My property was locked in the safe for months while I went back and forth with tech support. They finally sent over a local locksmith who told me that the lock was shot. I watched them open it and noticed all the plastic parts within the lock. We agreed that the lock was very poor quality. Cannon told me that they do not make the lock. They told me that they would replace the substandard lock with a new substandard lock. I had to pay the locksmith " who was great " to install a quality lock. Cannon customer care is a joke. The lock is the heart of the safe. I will never recommend cannon to anyone due to their customer support and very poor quality locking mechanisms.
Signed, Steve in Manchester Ct.
Wow.....Glad I came across this read....I am looking for a safe and I will be staying away from these guys. Thanks for all the info. I will be going in a new direction now.
Mr.Bane
Just an update. After having problems with my safe door not closing, Cannon did replace the safe with a new updated model. Cannon even kicked in a few extras!
Did intend to update your readers sooner, but forgot all about my post on your site.
Cheers!
B.kiever
Fedearal Agent (ret)
firearms Instructor / Armorer
The details are spelled out in the warranty: "Mechanical locks carry a lifetime warranty for parts and three years for
labor. Electronic locks carry a lifetime warranty for parts and five years
for labor."
That's it.
I just skimmed through your blog while holding my credit card in one hand.i was double checking reviews as a last minute attempt to not need anger management later . and bingo here it is dont buy that cannon safe with $200 off coupon from costco cause your gonna be sorry ,,
so before i wrote this i noticed at this point just the confirmed losses from people posting they wont buy should send a message to cannon. Just think People are lazy many more will shop elsewhere but not bother to post. But hey the economy is booming hell i bet they sell thousands per day whats a few hundred lost sales ...so far
thank you all for saving me the $800 and the trouble of getting ripped off . Robert V in oregon
Thanks, I almost bought a cannon, not now! This company will sink itself. Thanks for saving my hard earned pesos! Gracias. Hecho en Mexico. No thanks
Thank goodness for Google...and thank goodness for people like you that tell it like it is and warn the general public! My wife and I are about to purchase our first safe. I searched around and was impressed by Cannon's warranty, so I had almost settled on that brand.
While searching on Google to see if I could find the model that I liked with a combination lock instead of the electronic lock, I ran across this article. Thank goodness I did. I knew it sounded too good to be true!
I currently have a Cannon safe. We have had the safe for over 15 years with no problems except needing new batteries every few years. We have friends in the market for a new safe and I was going to recommend Cannon. After reading the poor service and unresolved warranty issues, I will not recommend them. I am a Hunter Education Instructor for the Nevada Division of Wildlife. I get many questions about what type of products I use. This is bad publicity for Cannon.
Any recommendations from the reader?
Get a Graffunder safe....
if you can afford it. :)
This blog only shows the times of posts and not dates, so no idea how lively it has been lately. However, it is now Jan 2013 and between your blog and numerous crappy customer service comments on Amazon, I just reversed the decision to buy that Cannon safe at Academy that seemed like such a good deal.
Seems like those who have recently purchased in 2012 still have the same experience you did, almost 5 years later, so Cannon has not improved their ciustomer relations at all.
Thanks to Mr. Bane and all the others who shared their stories.
Have the exact same problem with electronic lock and received the exact same response from Cannon...the safe is 7(seven) years old and they have since stopped using the style of electronic lock on my model. No problem with parts warranty, though... in fact my new(improved?)parts are already shipped. Problem exists with the local locksmith wanting to relieve my wallet of $450.00 to drill the existing failed lock and install the new parts. Cannon's warranty does not cover labor beyond 5 years.
Have the exact same problem with electronic lock and received the exact same response from Cannon...the safe is 7(seven) years old and they have since stopped using the style of electronic lock on my model. No problem with parts warranty, though... in fact my new(improved?)parts are already shipped. Problem exists with the local locksmith wanting to relieve my wallet of $450.00 to drill the existing failed lock and install the new parts. Cannon's warranty does not cover labor beyond 5 years.
Try to get into a digital safe after a EMP hit!!
thanks you just made me change my mind about a Cannon!
We will give examples of repairs and prices and if you give us a call we will try and help you diagnose the fault with your iPhone over the telephone we are a smartphone repairs company. We are located on the outskirts of Belfast,
I was going to get the Cannon due to the unique electronic/spinning manual combo lock. Now I guess I'll just spend the extra money and get the American Security.
Post a Comment