Vendor not delivering parts Part II

[wmhjr]

John, not saying I disagree. However, it's also significant to note that the OP was pretty level headed in his original post, and was open about the result. I think it deserves note that even the OP that was posting the issue seemed to at least publicly treat the vendor pretty fairly - though clearly at least a very major part of the communication gap was the responsibility of the OP.

[dhutton]

His first post says the following:

"I've sent him numerous emails(no reply) and actually talked to him several times. "

So apparently he had been talking to the vendor at some point. Emails or not, surely there is no good excuse for holding someone's money for 8 months without following up with them. Any competent vendor should have systems in place to track and follow up on open orders, especially ones that are 8 months old...

Just my two cents,

[1969CamaroRS]

He also admits not calling the vendor for the entire time before posting his thread.

Not sure where you saw him state that. From what I read he seemed to indicate he should have tried to contact him more after the emails were not being returned.

I'd call that a failure to communicate, and as a moderator, I think we did the right thing by closing the original thread down. If you don't call the vendor, you shouldn't be posting a thread.

jp

Completely agree, only after repeated attempts to contact them by both email and phone should one even consider a forum thread. And more often that not, least for the smaller vendors, they could be at show that week or vacation etc. Best to ask if anyone has had trouble contacting them (seen a number of those threads), usually someone knows and you get a quick answer.

This is my rule of thumb:

If it is something that doesn't need an immediate response

1. I'll email the vendor my question, this lets the vendor respond when things are slow for them.
2. If no response in 48-72 hours, I respond to my own email asking nicely if I can get an answer to my question (they can then very easily see I am asking the same question a 2nd time).
3. If still no response after another 24-48 hours, I'll pickup the phone and call them.

That gives a vendor basically a week to turn around email. Unless I caught them just as they left for a show or 1 week vacation even the smaller vendors have had reasonable time to respond to email.


If it is something I need a quick response to I'll pick up the phone and call them

1. If they don't pickup, I'll leave a message with a quick summary of my question, my name, and my number, with a kind request that they return my call.
2. No response in 24 hours and I'll call them again and leave another message if I still don't get them asking nicely for a return call stating I already left a message.
3. If still no response in 24 hours, I'll randomly try them over the course of the 3rd day to see if I can get them on the phone, no message is left (they already have two).
4. I might consider at this point emailing the vendor asking for them to contact me via phone if I haven't emailed them already.
5. If still no luck after a 3rd day of trying to call, then I'd probably consider trying in the forums if anyone has had trouble contacting a vendor.

Most likely after 3 days of calling, its due to a car show, heavy backlog or vacation related (had all of those happen), once even a vendor had just recently gone of of business.

[parsonsj]

So apparently he had been talking to the vendor at some point. Emails or not, surely there is no good excuse for holding someone's money for 8 months without following up with them. Any competent vendor should have systems in place to track and follow up on open orders, especially ones that are 8 months old...

Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to rationalize the vendor's actions. You're right: the vendor should have processes in place to be aware of this.

It's just that the first thing we told the OP to do was to call the vendor. Many of us assumed that he had, but it turned out that he was sending emails to nowhere. Once he called, the email situation got straightened out, and his parts came right away. If he had called, say, last June, all this would have been avoided.

jp

[rogue]

Funny, but if you look at the history on this site, you see quite a bit of members posting a positive comment about vendors - and very rarely a harsh word concerning a vendor. Start by looking at some of mine.

You make negative comments about vendors, you're making negative comments about the cashflow for the forum. Thats a quick way to get banned.

[critter]

OK, why would you say that? Do you know of a single person banned because of negative comments toward a vendor?

[kochevy67]

Glad it worked out now we need to move on.

[andrewb70]

OK, why would you say that? Do you know of a single person banned because of negative comments toward a vendor?

I am quite sure that this has never happened in the past and will not happen in the future. We aren't exactly ban crazy around here.

Andrew

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Federal Trade Commission require regular updates on backordered items? I know they used to, and probably still do. At least one of the vendors I use has sent me FTC notices before.

[TheJDMan]

There are a couple of suggestions that were proposed in this thread that I think could work if combined.

1. A vendor section with sub-sections for each vendor. This would be a specific place where users could communicate with a specific vendor one on one.

2. A moderator option to lock a thread within this vendor sub-section so that only the user/vendor could post. This would eliminate disinterersted third parties from getting in the way of the discussion between the user and the vendor.

[ModernMuseum]

You make negative comments about vendors, you're making negative comments about the cashflow for the forum. Thats a quick way to get banned.

That's silly and irrational. A lot of vbulletin sites have vendor rating integration, which are valuable to both parties.

His first post says the following:

"I've sent him numerous emails(no reply) and actually talked to him several times. "

So apparently he had been talking to the vendor at some point. Emails or not, surely there is no good excuse for holding someone's money for 8 months without following up with them. Any competent vendor should have systems in place to track and follow up on open orders, especially ones that are 8 months old...

Just my two cents,

Agree. There is no good excuse for holding someone else's money for any amount of time without proper communication of an order's status.

As in the past to many people jump on the bandwagon when their is a service issue or unhappy customer. Most resent that I can recall was a shoot at Frank at prodigy. I have been here long enough to know better and was glad to see a thread by the same person appologizing for his actions. We do not need that crap on this site.

To the OP why 1 year to speak up. This should have been brought up to a mod months ago to try and help out. That has been done in the past. If at that point nothing would have been resolved than yes a thread with the issue naming the sponsor would be acceptable. BUT no one else should be allowed to chime in until the said sponsor would have a chance to post his side.

Posting facts in a thread by hitting the "reply" button instead of the "new thread" button isn't jumping on any bandwagon. The OP of that thread had exhausted all of his resources and used the forums as a last resort, and I'm sure he thought long and hard about the repercussions of doing so. I posted in that thread to add merit to the situation with my own personal experience, without intent to debase anyone. If you had bought 5 figures worth of parts and waited almost half a year to receive them and had communication problems with the vendor, you probably would have too.

[parsonsj]

The OP of that thread had exhausted all of his resources

Let's see. He sent emails to a non-responsive address. If that's exhausting all his resources, I'm afraid we disagree on the definition of "exhausting".

jp

[rogue]

OK, why would you say that? Do you know of a single person banned because of negative comments toward a vendor?

I've seen it on other forums, never here. Its common.

[rogue]

I am quite sure that this has never happened in the past and will not happen in the future. We aren't exactly ban crazy around here.

Andrew

No not here definitely. I used to admin at 300cforums and saw hennessey melt down, and the admin ban people for talking negatively about sponsors. Don't know about here, but at "the other forum" I receive this little threat simply because my opinion differed from an admin.

Either clean up your posts or simply don't post. It's your choice. Your holier than thou attititude with snide connotation is growing very thin.

Take this for what it is, a simple request - and not just from me, but also from many members of our community that I talk to on a regular basis.

This PM isn't a debate or a discussion.

Thanks,

NO DEBATES OR DISCUSSIONS ON A FORUM.

[dhutton]

Let's see. He sent emails to a non-responsive address. If that's exhausting all his resources, I'm afraid we disagree on the definition of "exhausting".

jp

I must be missing something here. His first post clearly stated he had talked to him several times. Has he retracted this statment?

[parsonsj]

His first post clearly stated he had talked to him several times. Has he retracted this statment?

All of the verbal discussions took place either before, during, or immediately after the order. The long period of "the vendor has my money, and I don't have any parts" period was marked by no communication, other than the invalid emails.

Here's what he said over on Lat-G:

It appears this vendor was not getting my emails. I know the address was right because when I wanted to write him i'd respond to one of his old emails. I'm guessing he was not getting my emails because of his spam filter. when talking to him on the phone he seems honest and straightfoward. When my emails were 100 percent ignored, i thought he might be just stringing me along. The truth is I wanted my parts. Plan to order something from him in a few days. this is partly my fault for not asking him if he was getting my emails, i am sorry for that.

jp

[67zo6Camaro]

Post #36 from XLuxusTech

Yes,,, good point. Most of us have seen similar concerns posted on this forum "paid x amount up front and have not received goods, and now the vender will not respond to my inquiries", yet we see the vender repeatedly chime in to make a sale or gloat about their services. So, it is conveyed that they have little time to complete a business transaction, but have plenty of time to engage in more transactions to receive more funds.

Also, I do not see the vender coming forward in any of these discussions about vender complaints and/or buisness etiquette. In my opinion, it is not proper buisness behavior to ask for large sums of money up front, and then float the product way past a reasonable time for the industry.

Now on the side of the forum administrators, in my opinion, you can not run a forum (a place for open communication) unless you have some fair system in place to openly discuss experiences with venders requardless if the vender is a forum supporter. Doing so, just waters down the forum's credibility for true and accurate information.

Forum members should be allowed to simply, and factually, post, "On this date I purchased.... and paid.....it has been x amount of days....product did or did not show up, and vender was able or not able to respond to my complaints." Something as simple, even form like, would allow for factual/objective information to be displayed. In addition, the vender could have a reply spot to this post. This type of post will allow readers to make their own judgement whether or not that type of business transaction is up to their own set of standards before they engage in a transaction.

The forum already has plenty of freely expressed praise about vender transactions, now let's work on the other side of the two-way communication dealing with fair criticism. It is the back bone of open communication. Otherwise, this forum may need to seek counseling on how to communicate fairly and openly to satisfy all parties involved.

Brett

[67zo6Camaro]

First off, Larry you got an awesome site and you have made it a place where we can hang out and BS and make new friends
Which brings me to the second point. We (or most!) on here have become friends in a pretty real sense. If I was going to open a door that had a mugger behind it and my friend knew it, I would be seriously pissed if he didn't tell me BEFORE I opened it!! Rather than hearing AFTERWARDS, "dude, I knew you were going to get your butt kicked and left to die, but I thought I'd let you figure it out for yourself!". I know that it is a sticky situation, but we are all pretty much buddies here. Most of us would open up our house or garage to eachother to help out if given the chance. That is how much I feel we trust eachother here. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. Most if the sponsors here are real people and car people too. Maybe just tell the sponsors when they "sign up" that this is a community of friends and that if they don't conduct themselves in a professional manner, then they are subject to being "exposed" to the entire "family" to see. Obviously it would have to be moderated and kept civil by many of the ideas stated earlier. But seriously, we need to watch out for eachother.....that's what friends do!
My .01 worth! LoL

x2... in similar words.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

I figured that what made the bond between boys here was the fact that you would give them headsup and opinions on what and who to deal with if you couldnt do it yourself.

Ive had my fair share of getting burned.. and i would have LOVED it if someone gave me headsup on it... i would surely look out for them in the future..

sometimes good advice is hard to take.. and even more so FOR a Vendor.. which may in tale telling them you could be doing better business..

I dont see why the mods on here are so vigilant FOR the vendors.. hell i even seen them backup shops that arent even vendors.. almost never the individual.

and ive been on here a while now..

matter of fact..

the only times i seen individuals GET AN ANSWER for the missing parts, or shetty work, or getting burned.. is when they NAME DROP the person, and SHOW THE EVIDENCE...

then after i seen them do that.. BOY.. does an answer pop up QUICK THAN A MUTHA from said person or vendor.. THEN there is dialog.. with everyone watching to see how it goes..

IF the person MAKES IT RIGHT.. everyone puts down their torches and THE VENDOR looks good..

ive seen that before... and its great when that happens..


but this locking everything is some old bull if you ask me... If anyone wants to know the opinion of whomever ive bought parts from, or built any of my cars I WILL GIVE THEM MY HONEST OPINION.
and thats it...

looking out for my homies on here.. get that?

[joejaze]

I figured that what made the bond between boys here was the fact that you would give them headsup and opinions on what and who to deal with if you couldnt do it yourself.

Ive had my fair share of getting burned.. and i would have LOVED it if someone gave me headsup on it... i would surely look out for them in the future..

sometimes good advice is hard to take.. and even more so FOR a Vendor.. which may in tale telling them you could be doing better business..

I dont see why the mods on here are so vigilant FOR the vendors.. hell i even seen them backup shops that arent even vendors.. almost never the individual.

and ive been on here a while now..

matter of fact..

the only times i seen individuals GET AN ANSWER for the missing parts, or shetty work, or getting burned.. is when they NAME DROP the person, and SHOW THE EVIDENCE...

then after i seen them do that.. BOY.. does an answer pop up QUICK THAN A MUTHA from said person or vendor.. THEN there is dialog.. with everyone watching to see how it goes..

IF the person MAKES IT RIGHT.. everyone puts down their torches and THE VENDOR looks good..

ive seen that before... and its great when that happens..


but this locking everything is some old bull if you ask me... If anyone wants to know the opinion of whomever ive bought parts from, or built any of my cars I WILL GIVE THEM MY HONEST OPINION.
and thats it...

looking out for my homies on here.. get that?

Well said. I will add that I have seen the same course of events played out on other forums as well.