customer service experience

[bret]

Every once in GREAT while I run across an experience that just has to be shared. I will attempt to relay this info as accurately and as non biased as possible and offer no additional editorial.
I have a Fuel Safe fuel cell in my 69 Mustang. Beatiful piece...expensive, but if you are ever upside down on fire...priceless!
A couple of nights ago I was trying to determine why my fuel gauge was not reading correctly...it read empty but I know [thought?] there was at least 5 gallon of fuel in the cell. The fuel level sending unit is installed [by Fuel Safe] in the top of the tank towards the front passenger side, accessible from the trunk. [in a Mustang the top of the gas tank is the trunk floor]. It is installed with the typical 5 machine screws that [I thought] threaded into a blind nut plate that was molded [again, I thought] into the bladder like the other bladder connections.
Anyway it seems as though the nutplate for the fuel sender is not molded in but loose and when the fuel level sender is removed the nutplate falls down inside the fuel cell.
I spent a day or so in therapy over this and then decided to call the company to see if there was a magic fix. Worst case I figured that I could get them to send me another nut plate so I wouldn't have to remove the cell, drain it, remove the foam, and find the original nut plate to install it. Several hours of messy work could be avoided if I could simply remove the nearby bolt-on fill plate and slip in a replacement nut plate.
It seems as though Fuel Safe will only sell through it dealers, none of which stock this service only part [they tell me]. The dealer could special order the part, but it may take a "few days" to process the order. By the way...they have a $100 minimum order policy. I may have attributed this bit of frustration to the methods of a single sales guy, but I went through 2 of them, Drew and Harold [who had answered questions for me before] and got the same "it's company policy" response.
I will now keep my promise of no additional editorial.
If you have made it this far...thanks for enduring my way-too-long vent.

[novanutcase]

Check......Fuel Safe! Off my list of vendors..........

[Steve Chryssos]

I once got my hand stuck in a fuel cell trying to fish out one of those nut plates. The wife asked what I was doing. I said I was trying to fish out a nutplate. Her response to my response was: "YOU'RE a nutplate!"
Your sender is probably too short. And it is probaby made by these guys.

http://www.isspro.com

[ProdigyCustoms]

LOL! Not laughing at you, but with you. I know the situation all to well. I had a similar experiance today with a bad tachometer.

Called the company:

ME: Why is my tach reading 9000 RPMs when it was really 1100RPMs?

THEM: Check the date, oh, you got the one built in October? Thats a bad one, we had a problem that month.

ME: Ok, silly humans! I will send it back right now. In the meantime, Can I get you to overnight Fed Ex me one , charge my card, and refund me when this one arrives to you?

THEM: Sorry sir, it is company policy we must have the old one back before we send anything.

ME: But I am willing to pay for it.

THEM: It is too much accounting sir, I appoligize.

ME: But I have $12K coming when I deliver this car, and another car scheduled to come into it's spot tomorrow?

THEM: Sorry sir........ It's company policy!

I ordered one red label from a vendor, so I am going to have one in stock now after I go through the couple week process. But this car has to go so......................

UGH!

[shmoov69]

Dang, did either of you "name drop" and tell them who you were? If so, imagine how cruddy the service is for us "little people"! LOL!
Is this the silver and black Mustang?

[Jim Nilsen]

Business must be so good for them that they forget that customer policy is to tell others and stop using them for a vendor or service of their products.

They could have drop shipped you one for any of their vendors to bill you or many other creative ways to get you your parts. Sounds like the accountants think they will have a job without the customers just because they want to be lazy and whiny. When they finally have less work they start looking for other employees to get rid of instead of the person responsible for creating the problem.:headbang:

[CraigMBA]

This is, frankly, fairly standard for most companies.

[bret]

Since I am [sometimes miserably] familiar with both sides of this situation, I have thought about this quite a bit. We have all had similar experiences as a customer. After some cussing and venting we all typically follow along like sheep and go on to the next project [as I will]. The only way to "passively resist" is to keep as many people informed as accurately as possible. I am fully aware that there are at least 2 sides to every story, and that I have only presented my side. As a business owner I can only hope that IF we ever treat someone in this manner we are made to answer for it. We deserve it.
I also think that the specific problem at any company who operates like this is simple ignorance. The people who make these policies simply don't have the "nuts and bolts" knowledge to make an informed decision...and the people eho DO havethat knowledge are not entrusted with the authority to do so. I can't believe that a company who otherwise make a clearly excellent product would readily approve of such a couterproductive policy.
I think the thing the bean counters miss is that we are all spending diposable income. This is not grocerys or medicine...no one NEEDS this stuff. It all exists for our collective amusement. If we are not amused, we will not spend. Pretty soon there will be no beans to count.

As far as telling them who I am...it doesn't matter at all. I am simply someone who wants to fix his hotrod so he can drive it this weekend. I am one of you. If dropping the Air Ride Technologies name or my position there would have changed the situation, it may have solved my particular problem, at the expense of everyone else. Actually, I did identify myself at the beginning of the conversation and [to their credit?] it made no difference.

[ProdigyCustoms]

As far as telling them who I am...it doesn't matter at all. I am simply someone who wants to fix his hotrod so he can drive it this weekend. I am one of you. If dropping the Air Ride Technologies name or my position there would have changed the situation, it may have solved my particular problem, at the expense of everyone else. Actually, I did identify myself at the beginning of the conversation and [to their credit?] it made no difference.

Exactly!

[BADVELLE]

This is, frankly, fairly standard for most companies.

Your right, for the ones that don't want repeat business! When you don't get the customers coming back, eventually the well runs dry. The advent of the internet has given us this real time info, is'nt it great all the free bad publicity this company (persons) are getting! Thanks Bret.

[Restomod]

I these times we live in and the ability to post the story for MILLIONs of people to see it would pay them to have sent you the plate for a fair price. Now they may be off of many peoples shopping list and costing them.........the beans are thinning as we speak!

[CraigMBA]

Your right, for the ones that don't want repeat business! When you don't get the customers coming back, eventually the well runs dry. The advent of the internet has given us this real time info, is'nt it great all the free bad publicity this company (persons) are getting! Thanks Bret.

Who else are you going to buy a fuel cell from?

This company doesn't sell direct anyway. There is a reason they have a minimum order. And a dealer network.

The 'servicing dealer' who sold this piece has no responsiblity here?