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View Full Version : Did customer service and quality control go away?



Taylor1969
06-20-2011, 05:14 AM
Just wondering....

I just finished an LS2 swap into my 69 Camaro and had a TON of issues with multiple vendors...

Wrong parts shipped, huge delays (with no warning), things missing in boxes, overcharging, bad attitudes, etc. - just seems to me like a complete lack of service quality and concern for the customer.

Is my experience isolated?


On a positive note -
Jeff at Engine Power Systems is fantastic to deal with - helpful, prompt, and went out of his way to help me with EFI Live.

Daytonayellaz (from our board)- who supplied my engine. He went out of his way to ship quickly, talk with me on the phone and delivered on time with no issues.

Summitracing.com - gotta hate the big guys, except they delivered on time, had great prices, customer service and attitudes.

SpeedInc - Another great vendor - good prices, fast shipping and Tom is quite knowledgeable about swaps.

parsonsj
06-20-2011, 06:06 AM
Moving to Feedback section, and as such, Feedback rules apply.

Bill Howell
06-20-2011, 06:06 AM
I will weigh in on this one as I had a very good conversation lately with a couple vendors and two manufactures.
It seems this is a trend that forums and internet has caused to a degree.
There are two sides to any coin, in this case one side is supply and demand and the other is customer services. Anyone can be a dealer/vendor and sell parts. Any of those dealers/vendors can cut the price to get the sale. The one thing NO DEALER/VENDOR can do is cut the price til there is no profit and still offer unlimited customer service. Think about it guys, you want cheap or you want quality, long lasting dealers that know the product lines and how to fix issues? Sure, Summit and Jegs can certainly usually match prices, but the big stores are what ran the mom and pop shops out of business in the first place and a lot of the people working the phones are clueless when you are talking about a brake kit or clutch for some strange application. If their computer can not answer that question, then they are guessing, or waiting on "tech" to help you.
I know vendors here on this board, paying/supporting vendors that have gotten away from taking orders because members pit vendors on pricing, beat them up on things that have no real margins on and wait for the cheapest price.
IF you do this, that is your business, just remember, the repercussion is you get what you pay for, and once there is an issue that cheap price vendor may not be able to help out with how to correct something, and the quality, knowledgable vendor is not going jump in and help out since you were too cheap in the first place to let them make a reasonable profit.
The Internet has been a wonderful thing in a lot of respects but one of the downfalls is there is much more to selling than being the cheapest vendor and human nature in us all wants the cheapest price. Sometimes we forget we are giving up other services by jumping at the cheaper price.
OP, not jumping on you here, this may not be your issue, but since this conversation seems to be coming up a lot lately, I thought I would pass on information I learned recently.

Taylor1969
06-20-2011, 07:49 AM
I am not trying to start a flame war...

I purchased from all of the "Major" vendors for my build and was not out to get the cheapest parts...

I spent well over 6K on parts on top of the engine i purchased, so by no means was this a "budget, hack price" build.

I failed to mention Hector @ Rick Stainless Tanks. He really pulled me out of a bind when one of the vendors on the site dropped the ball.




I will weigh in on this one as I had a very good conversation lately with a couple vendors and two manufactures.
It seems this is a trend that forums and internet has caused to a degree.
There are two sides to any coin, in this case one side is supply and demand and the other is customer services. Anyone can be a dealer/vendor and sell parts. Any of those dealers/vendors can cut the price to get the sale. The one thing NO DEALER/VENDOR can do is cut the price til there is no profit and still offer unlimited customer service. Think about it guys, you want cheap or you want quality, long lasting dealers that know the product lines and how to fix issues? Sure, Summit and Jegs can certainly usually match prices, but the big stores are what ran the mom and pop shops out of business in the first place and a lot of the people working the phones are clueless when you are talking about a brake kit or clutch for some strange application. If their computer can not answer that question, then they are guessing, or waiting on "tech" to help you.
I know vendors here on this board, paying/supporting vendors that have gotten away from taking orders because members pit vendors on pricing, beat them up on things that have no real margins on and wait for the cheapest price.
IF you do this, that is your business, just remember, the repercussion is you get what you pay for, and once there is an issue that cheap price vendor may not be able to help out with how to correct something, and the quality, knowledgable vendor is not going jump in and help out since you were too cheap in the first place to let them make a reasonable profit.
The Internet has been a wonderful thing in a lot of respects but one of the downfalls is there is much more to selling than being the cheapest vendor and human nature in us all wants the cheapest price. Sometimes we forget we are giving up other services by jumping at the cheaper price.
OP, not jumping on you here, this may not be your issue, but since this conversation seems to be coming up a lot lately, I thought I would pass on information I learned recently.

Taylor1969
06-20-2011, 08:22 AM
By the way. I pretty much knew what I needed. It was a matter of major vendors (the good ones) putting the right parts in a box, and shipping on time.

Why does this type of honest feedback where I dont mention specific vendors need to be validated before the information gets out there. We see all of the positive stories - why not share other examples so that we can learn for each other.

I have no other hidden motive.

Chris

parsonsj
06-20-2011, 08:31 AM
Chris,

The entire PT Staff along with significant input from members came up with our current rules, and we've been operating this way only since mid-April. Let's stay with our current rules for the time being, and see how it goes.

DarkBuddha
06-20-2011, 08:37 AM
I think the issue I seem to encounter generally (and not just within the automotive industry) is a lack of personal investment by those either providing the part(s) and/or service(s). I've experienced this over and over... question/issue/problem comes up, contact customer service, person on the other end demonstrates a fair amount of interest in helping, seems to do an okay job trying to help, but when the question/issue/problem is either out of their comfort/knowledge zone, goes beyond their view of their own realm of responsibility, or isn't a relatively easy fix, then their personal commitment wanes and they shuffle it off or gloss it over. And that's where the disappointment really begins. It's not even necessarily that customer service rep's fault... companies have procedures, expectations, and barriers in place to make having a personal commitment difficult to maintain, especially if/when that company has to rely on outside vendors/suppliers. The end result is a bad experience for the customer. I at least liked my job at a credit union when the credit union allowed me to make a personal commitment to resolving customer issues and gave me the leeway and tools to do the things that needed to be done to make it happen (including $$$, if it was reasonable).

And that's what I think kills the experience for customers... screw ups and mistakes are tolerable if handled with a personal commitment to see them corrected and compensated for. Should we pay more for that? Maybe. But we shouldn't pay more to compensate for a lack of it. So if a company is selling a quality part at a price that reflects that quality, they sure as heck better have the customer service and personal commitment to back it up. Just my .02.

parsonsj
06-20-2011, 08:45 AM
Chris,

One more thing: this Feedback forum is for use for both positive and negative feedback, and to eventually provide a quick searchable area for potential customers. Since you've posted positive feedback that is reason enough for this thread to be moved to the Feedback area.

BulldawgMusclecars
06-20-2011, 10:12 AM
A major thing that has to be kept in mind is that a lot of the products we use on our projects are niche items...no one has them all on the shelf, even the people who make them, so plan accordingly. This goes not just for the mom and pop vendors, but the big corporations, too.

Taylor1969
06-20-2011, 02:02 PM
A major thing that has to be kept in mind is that a lot of the products we use on our projects are niche items...no one has them all on the shelf, even the people who make them, so plan accordingly. This goes not just for the mom and pop vendors, but the big corporations, too.

I think I planned accordingly. 6 weeks out ordering a part only to be told 3 days before it was to be delivered that they had no idea when it was to be shipped... Agreeing on a part and price only to be charged 25% more upon delivery... Ordering a part and being sent the wrong thing... Ordering a custom part only to be sent somone else's... Ordering a "kit" that is missing crucial items.

The list goes on...

You can blame the "niche" parts, but in my day job these are inexcusable mistakes that show an overall lack of detail and concern of quality.

Am I really the only one who thinks shelling out a lot of money should result in hastle free positive experiences?

DarkBuddha
06-21-2011, 04:56 AM
Am I really the only one who thinks shelling out a lot of money should result in hastle free positive experiences?
No. But I don't think it has anything to do with how much money is spent... as if because someone spends less money that it gives the company license to provide horrible, aggravating experiences. That is what happens, but it doesn't mean it's okay.