Frustrated while waiting on parts

[TheJDMan]

I'm not trying to start anything and maybe my expectations are simply too high, but I am curious. Is my build schedule or the vendor's delivery schedule a higher priority? I seem to be waiting on vendors to deliver parts that I have ordered months ago. I have a build deadline for a family wedding that I would like to meet but that will be impossible if I am waiting on parts much longer.

[THE TECH]

I am quickly learning as time goes on that customer service is becoming a thing of the past. I have had several supposedly great vendors here make promises to me and have come nowhere near what their word or supposed reputations have led me to believe. Right now I am waiting on wheels that were promised in 4-5 weeks that I ordered 8 weeks ago today. Once they get your money, I have found that that's where the customer service ends. The only vendors I can honestly give a thumbs up to so far here are Summit and Scott's Hot Rods. I feel your pain brother.

[parsonsj]

Is my build schedule or the vendor's delivery schedule a higher priority?

Can you clarify? Are you saying you expect vendors to change their build order based on your schedule?

[THE TECH]

He just seems to be frustrated by the long wait for parts but I agree, needs some more clarification.

[wmhjr]

Guys, we need to be careful about our expectations. I'm as frustrated as others in many cases, but I also understand first hand how big of a problem this is.

If you are frustrated with vendors who are reselling products, I'll tell you that they're at the mercy of the manufacturers, who especially over the last year or so have struggled quite a bit and have been having availability problems and forecast issues far more than in the past. I've personally witnessed and experienced where a very large manufacturer of stuff we use promised a vendor parts availability within days, and watched while that turned into 2 months of delays. The manufacturer themself ended up contacting me directly and validated that it was in fact their issue and not the vendor.

Manufacturers have their own issues to deal with. Many use contract manufacturing, and many here know how problematic that can become because so many contract manufacturing shops are currently running on a shoestring. Others are forced for economic reasons to try and take as much cost out as possible, so reducing inventory as much as possible becomes a reality - which so often results in order backlogs.

Even look at Summit. I can point out parts that used to ALWAYS be in stock and ready for immediate delivery, but now? Drop ship. It's affecting everyone. It sucks and doesn't mean that we should not be holding vendors and manufacturers accountable, but we also need to understand that many of our parts are not exactly high volume money makers and as important as we think our schedules are, they need to make it work financially to stay in business. I would not want to be in this business for a living.

I would not consider this a lack of customer service. I had one of the manufacturers calling me several times a week for a single order worth about $2K trying to keep me up to date. The only thing I could ask for more would have been to ship the product, and let's face it - they wanted to ship also. It's not like they enjoy not having product to ship.

BTW, this issue is in no way restricted to our hobby. It is pervasive all over. We deal with this in my real job all the time. That's why in the larger corporate world, supplier qualification and logistics management has become so incredibly important.

[Damn True]

BTW, this issue is in no way restricted to our hobby. It is pervasive all over. We deal with this in my real job all the time. That's why in the larger corporate world, supplier qualification and logistics management has become so incredibly important.

This is absolutely the case in my industry as well. Processors are now the only thing we can order "just in time" everything else has to now be forward ordered based on demand management.

[Zachalanche]

Unfortunately I have noticed that lengthy ship times are becomming an industry standard. Even some of the better companies I have delt with still promise 3 weeks and ship months later. I wish there was a way around this, but I suspect witholding payment will only prolong the process.

[wmhjr]

True, do you happen to work for a "sunny" company recently purchased by Larry E?

[TheJDMan]

Can you clarify? Are you saying you expect vendors to change their build order based on your schedule?

No, I understand production schedules! I am asking if I am expecting too much from a vendor to deliver parts in the time frame that they give me at the time I place my order. For example, if I am told 3-4 weeks when I place my order, should I not expect my parts in that time frame not three months later? Again, I am not directing this at anyone, it's just that I am finding my build being delayed while I wait for overdue parts to be delivered and it seems to be a growing trend.

[Flash68]

All of these slow shipping/not shipping parts/complaining threads could be mitigated for the most part if the companies were just honest about ship times or simply communicated delays and estimates/updates/etc.

Agree 100% that this is affecting all kinds of industry.

Just be careful (as always one should) who you do business with. And try to manage your expectations appropriately.

[THE TECH]

No, I understand production schedules! I am asking if I am expecting too much from a vendor to deliver parts in the time frame that they give me at the time I place my order. For example, if I am told 3-4 weeks when I place my order, should I not expect my parts in that time frame not three months later? Again, I am not directing this at anyone, it's just that I am finding my build being delayed while I wait for overdue parts to be delivered and it seems to be a growing trend.

This is the EXACT situation I am dealing with.

[parsonsj]

I am asking if I am expecting too much from a vendor to deliver parts in the time frame that they give me at the time I place my order

OK. I've changed your thread title to better reflect your vent.

[wmhjr]

No, I understand production schedules! I am asking if I am expecting too much from a vendor to deliver parts in the time frame that they give me at the time I place my order. For example, if I am told 3-4 weeks when I place my order, should I not expect my parts in that time frame not three months later? Again, I am not directing this at anyone, it's just that I am finding my build being delayed while I wait for overdue parts to be delivered and it seems to be a growing trend.

Unfortunately, in some cases yes - you are expecting too much. Again, if by "vendor" you're talking about people who resell parts, they are subject to the same delays as you and I and don't know about them either because manurfacturers are struggling. Doesn't mean it's right, but it's not always the "vendors" fault. Now for large manufacturers, I do believe there are some improvements that need to be made. One recently really irritated me - AND the vendor I ordered through.

[SLO_Z28]

I used to work in retail parts business, we did about $20,000 a week in outside purchase resales, and I can tell you if a manufacturer told me that they didn't have a product in stock and that it would take 4 weeks to get it, it would be the same as telling me its not available at all. As far as Im concerned as a retailer if you don't have a product in stock, or cant get it to me in less than 2 weeks, it doesn't exist. I was able to completely avoid problems like this with customers, and they were happier as a result. DId I lose sales because of this? Of course, but its not worth dealing with a manufacturer when they cant get something to you quickly. Truth is there is usually an alternative manufacturer with a comparable product in stock.

[wmhjr]

I used to work in retail parts business, we did about $20,000 a week in outside purchase resales, and I can tell you if a manufacturer told me that they didn't have a product in stock and that it would take 4 weeks to get it, it would be the same as telling me its not available at all. As far as Im concerned as a retailer if you don't have a product in stock, or cant get it to me in less than 2 weeks, it doesn't exist. I was able to completely avoid problems like this with customers, and they were happier as a result. DId I lose sales because of this? Of course, but its not worth dealing with a manufacturer when they cant get something to you quickly. Truth is there is usually an alternative manufacturer with a comparable product in stock.

Sorry to say it, but using your logic you would not have a business in this market - period. Exactly how many aftermarket high performance brake manufacturers are there? Not to be blunt, but you would not be selling either Baer or Wilwood products. Good luck with your business.

You can't treat every "retail" market the same. People who own businesses understand that each market has its own problems and strengths. You have a very limited supplier of high performance products for many of these vehicles. And they - like everyone - are stuggling with issues in these economic times.

Sorry but as someone who has owned businesses doing far more than $20k/week in somebody elses product, that's just the way it is. Owning a business is not for the faint of heart.

[SLO_Z28]

Sorry to say it, but using your logic you would not have a business in this market - period. Exactly how many aftermarket high performance brake manufacturers are there? Not to be blunt, but you would not be selling either Baer or Wilwood products. Good luck with your business.

or AP Racing, or PFC, or Howe racing, or The Brake Man, or Brembo, or SSBC, or Kore 3, Or Flyenbye..... Theres always other manufacturers. This isnt an apples to apples comparison because we dealt in a completely different market.

Ill tell you one thing, I dont miss working retail one bit, the job is terrible.

[69cortezsilver]

one would think, in todays less then stellar economy, that customer service would be at all time highs battling for your buisness! It floors me that some vendors are still hard headed and do not care for repeat customers...just looking for the quick buck, and move on to next..and hopefully survive! good luck with that!!!!!!

[wmhjr]

or AP Racing, or PFC, or Howe racing, or The Brake Man, or Brembo, or SSBC, or Kore 3, Or Flyenbye..... Theres always other manufacturers. This isnt an apples to apples comparison because we dealt in a completely different market.

Ill tell you one thing, I dont miss working retail one bit, the job is terrible.

There are not always other manufacturers. We have a pretty insignificant market to be honest. You can list those other manufacturers, but while I appreciate them, they don't have the scale or breadth of products that some do. And frankly, there are other issues there. For what I wanted as an example, there was no reasonable solution that I was interested in from the brands mentioned above - not that there is anything wrong with them. So, you would have lost me as a customer. Because you were unwilling to deal with the fact that sometimes, crap just isn't available.

Guys, I'm not saying customer service doesn't need some work in many of these instances. I simply think that to believe a vendor can eliminate product availability issues is simply nonsense. I've lived it, as have many others here. Was I happy that Wilwood was almost 2 months late delivering parts that THEY initially claimed would be available in 3 days? Heck no. Do I give them a pass? No. Do I hold the vendor I purchased through liable? Also no. It's the way it is, and to be honest, right now we're darned lucky to have so many options available to us. Remember that the guys running those businesses are struggling with the exact same issues we are. They're getting shorted on contract manufactured parts, having raw materials issues, having to run with staff at minimum levels, worrying about whether or not we're going to have enough disposable income (because that's what all this stuff is paid for with) to spend money on those parts, and the list goes on. I'm still pissed at Wilwood for their delay. It cost me seriously valuable time that I won't get back. But many of these shops - ESPECIALLY THE VENDORS - are guys just like us, running a family business and trying to keep their necks slightly above water. This ain't the 50s.

[Jim Nilsen]

Your supposed to be able to cut the picture out of advertisments and put them on your car, Right!
I had a customer one time tell me that his innerdoor panel trim was available from Ausley's because the catalog he had said they were available. They hadn't even produced any when the catalog went to print. He tried to tell me I was wrong when I told him they are not available. I had contacted Ausley's and spoke with them about it and knew it was probably not going to happen anytime soon.I proceeded to find him his trim pieces used in less than 2 days and at a price much lower than the repros.

The lesson to be learned here is that there are ways to get around some delays and come out ahead if you are willing to sacrifice something. In the case above the guy had to settle for perfectly fitting trim pieces that needed to be buffed but were used. Had he waited for the NEW ones he would be inyour same boat.

The 48 Hour Camaro showed what proper planning and the right parts from vendors can do for a build time, but it doesn't reflect the time spent making sure those parts were available and the time spent chnging things to make it all happen.

Even having all of the parts you need doesn't make it go any easier when you find the parts don't fit or are defective. Deadlines are for people who are not interested in accepting that money can't buy time, all good cars are built in the time it takes to get it right rather than the time it takes to have to go back and redo things because you were in a hurry to meet a deadline.

I worked and worked for years to try and get my car done, thinking it would be done and I could take my dad for drive in it. He passed away before it ever happened.
Now that's a deadline that you just can't change!

Learn to accept the delays and be thankfull when you have it done right instead of on the time of a schedule with problems.

[Flash68]

The 48 Hour Camaro showed what proper planning and the right parts from vendors can do for a build time, but it doesn't reflect the time spent making sure those parts were available and the time spent chnging things to make it all happen.

Jim I agree with most of what you said in your post, but using the 48 Hr Camaro as an example of proper planning and parts procurement is not a fair example. Bret and the ridetech people will always get a part faster and at a higher priority status than Joe Blow down the street. That's just the way it is.