Going the extra mile

[Schwartz Performance]

Being in the car building business along with manufacturing & sales, we deal with a lot of different people. Vendors/manufacturers/warehouses, DIY customers, other shops, and end users.

I have seen a few threads pop up about bad experiences with products, shops, or just customer service in general. We've had many problems with other manufacturers & such recently, but how about we forget about the negatives and step into the positive realm.
(Let's not get into customer service problems with AT&T or other non-auto related experience..!)

Let's hear some good genuine stories about companies, shops, acquaintances, and strangers who have gone the EXTRA MILE to help you out!

-Dale Schwartz

[shmoov69]

MSD. I bought a set of wires from a local speed shop after the Taylor's spontaneously combusted (literally). I thought that maybe there was some blow by oil on them or something. After running the new wires for a couple months, #2&4 caught fire again when idling for awhile. I called them and they didn't believe me because "silicone doesn't burn", but asked me to send them in with a pic, so I did. They sent me a new set cut to fit that matched the others. I ran them for a couple months and started missing. I called them after I ohmed them and they couldn't believe it, but asked me to send them in again. They sent me two sets back that were the "super, double throw down wonder wires"!! Literally, they have the heat shield top to bottom with the "top fuel" style double heat shield on the bottom 10" with the aluminum boots. Both sets cut to fit.... At NO CHARGE!! Pretty cool in my book!

Next, Comp Cams. Anyone remember me puking my transmission on the chassis dyno at their open house on the Power Tour in 2000 (I think). Blew up, caught on fire and threw parts everywhere at about 3:00 PM. They got me a BTE transmission, converter, mount, fluids and a driveshaft made, gave me a guy to help me and let me use their tools and shop and was back at the hotel (20 miles away) at 8:00pm ready to finish out the PT, all the way to Florida. THAT one is hard to beat!

[Schwartz Performance]

Wow that's great.. !

Back in 2001 Jeff and I were on the Power Tour.. The 82 Caddy broke down in Arizona.. Engine failure. A stranger who's car broke not far before us pulled over in a newer Mercury Cougar (2 seater) and offered a ride to San Bernardino Cali.. His son was my age and we got along. We all became friends and have done business together.. Just saw him a couple days ago for the first time in years, actually.
-Dale

[newsshooter23]

AnvilAuto. Purchased some parts over a holiday weekend a year or so ago via the website. Due to a software glitch, I get charged four times. As soon as I realized the problem, I emailed customer service. The following Tuesday (next business day), my credit card was adjusted to show one purchase...not four.

Customer service that answers Emails on holiday weekends? Yes, please!

Also, I should add...the parts I ordered were to be matte finish, but one of them came as gloss...in a box marked as "matte". Another email, and I had a pre-paid shipping label in my in box.

-Mike

[protouring70]

Hey....I've been using a local builder and when I run into something unexpected on the truck he realizes my financial situation he helps outs every time

[tflyboy77]

Great Thread!!!! Nice to see something uplifting on here from time to time.

[mitch_04]

I'm restoring a 1970 Datsun 2000. After having my engine at the machine shop for 6 months (trust me, he is not the "good guy" in this post) I stop by to see how its going. Parts haven't moved since the month before when I checked, but since I'm there he quick checks a few thinks. He notices a few valve retainers are cracked. I went home and posted on a Roadster site asking if anyone had some for sale. Someone sent me a message and said he just had some custom ones built and would send me his old ones in exchange for "...some good roadster karma". I have never found a better following of people than the Datsun roadster crowd...it's is seriously like a family. Reminds me of the thread where the kid was getting into cars and everyone from PT sent him parts. Just amazing.

[SSLance]

Ron Sutton... Stranger (now acquaintance for me anyway) that has gone the extra mile for a lot of us on here by freely sharing his expertise.

He saw a video of my car on the track in a thread where I was asking for help figuring something out with it, contacted me and offered to help with it. What has happened since then has blown my mind. Several others on here have seen the same from Ron and who knows how many others he has helped out along the way, I'm certain its plenty.

This weekend will be the first test with the new setup Ron helped me put under the car...can't wait to feel the difference.

[Schwartz Performance]

Nice posts so far.

Yes our PT community is amazing. So many willing people to help others.
-Dale

[bret]

I think that customer service ranging from adequete to truly stunning is really the norm. So much so that anything less is quite visible and alarming. The recent rash of small players who have gone under have not helped that scenario.

Well over 95% of companies work damn hard [and are successful at it] to make sure their customers have no problems with product or service. It is much less expensive to deliver a competent product the first time than to have to re-address the issue later.

The other 5% WANT to do that but are filleted by time/money/experience/insert circumstance here. The smart ones work smarter and recover, the others panic and don't.

And then there is that one ***** exception that proves the rules above. They seem to get all the headlines in the feedback threads.

Dale...nice work exposing the good side of things. Very proud to be one of your supplier partners!

[bret]

Having said all the above, I'd also like to point out that we not only manufacture suspension systems, we build our own cars. If you look closely, you find many of the same companies components on all our cars...Baer, Vintage Air, Forgeline, Summit, Speedway, Lingenfelter, Bowler, Moser, Holley, MSD, Racepack, Centerforce, Falken, Dakota Digital, Flowmaster, optima, Ricks Stainless, Autometer, Lokar, etc.
This is not because these companies give us free product [as some perceive]. It is because I know that when I order a component, the correct component arrives quickly, it works as intended, and all it costs is money. The time wasted on late shipments and poorly performing parts is far more expensive than the original monetary cost.

The companies I've referred to above are not the only companies that provide execptional products and service, but they are my best and most recent examples of who has made my life easier in the world of car building. Keep it up!

[Steve Chryssos]

Thanks for starting a great thread, Dale. It's so good to see the next generation of pro-touring stepping up in a big way.

[BuddyP]

While there has been a bunch of help via this forum, I want to list a few that have been great help through my project.

Vince Ortiz - Meanstreets Performance Fabrication - Vince has helped me with a few misc parts I need for the project. He has been top notch in both customer service and product quality

Tobin at KORE3 - I haven't even ordered parts yet (will be soon) and have already had beyond exceptional customer service

Zak at Boze Forged - Zak was of great help when ordering my wheels. Cut me a great deal and they came out great.

Trey aka 'WS6' was great help with getting me setup with misc engine componants, accy drive pats, cam, etc.

Jason Mitchell, electrical guru. Drove 2 hrs one way several times to help me wire the car and motor.

My paint guy and buddy of mine - would have cost me twice as much anywhere else!

[mitch_04]

I have to throw a shout-out to Ron Sutton and Exwestracer as well. Both have taken my suspension knowledge leaps and bounds beyond what it was. Now if I could just take the theory and apply it as practice....

[renegade6]

I haven't done a lot of purchasing other than a frame from...Schwartz and I can't say enough about the support they provided. More recently, BK Rodz in Harrisburg has been fantastic to work with.

[Project92rs]

At SuperChevy Phoenix in 2011, we broke a Wilwood caliper on the autox. TCI was sponsoring the autox and Wilwood was sharing a booth with them next to the autox. After hearing the caliper lug snap at the end of the course we put the car up on jackstands to check it out. Jeff B. from Wilwood came over to look at what happened and immediately offered up a caliper from the display that, while not identical, would fit the same mounting pattern. Sal and company from TCI gave us a set of pads from their own car that would fit the caliper so we could drive the car the 50 miles to get it home from the event. Neither vendor had been directly involved in selling us the brake kit on the car so they could easily have told us "that's too bad, call customer service with the issue on Monday" but they didn't. They offered up parts and hands to fix it and get us home safely that day.

I can't even complain about the quality of the Wilwood caliper as it turns out it was a non-Wilwood component of the brake kit we are using that failed leading to the caliper failure.

[protouring70]

And just to point it out...if you have ever been to any events ALL of the vendors hang out snd get along very well. THAT in its selfs says a lot!! Thank you!

[TheJDMan]

I have to give a big thumbs up to Summit Racing. They have reasonable prices, quick shipping and a great return policy. I ordered 5 sets of headers before finding a set I was happy with. Summit never questioned any of the other sets I returned and in each case issued credit in a timely manor.

[Nicks67GTO]

Ill say ive had good luck with most. A couple that stand out are Marc Savitske from SC&C and Right Stuff detailing {brakes} Ive had bad luck with a couple and I think that one guy is out of business now.

The truth is with the amount money spent, if you don't have at least reasonable customer service, you're going to be out of business awfully quick with the internet and information spreading fast. $1000 bucks is a lot of money weather you make $25/yr or $250k/yr. We all spend that routinely and no one likes to be treated poorly.

[scottymonte]

One of the most important things I believe is good communication, a phone call / email or text goes a long way. If I am spending $500 or $5000 I would at least like a status update or a honest estimation on lead time.

My best experience lately has been Cleveland-Pick-A-Part. Excellent customer service, friendly staff, good prices and the LS1/T56 I bought was in pristine condition.