WTF is it with customer service in this sport..

Rich

Rich

Asshole at large
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Central PA
This isn't intended to turn into a "good vendor/bad vendor thread, so please don't start naming names...

But as a whole, we put up with shit that wouldn't fly in any other industry.
o- Orders of in-stock products taking weeks (or more) to ship.
o- Not returning phone calls, e-mails, or any other form of communication to let the paying customer know you're still around.
o- Charging someone's card weeks before you ship.
o- Continuously wrong or incomplete orders.

We seem to go out of our way to gush over service that is expected and demanded in other industries, yet get little in return
I'm sure part of it has to do with the industry as a whole growing, and there being so many "1 man show" vendors that just can't keep up with that growth.

I'm sure it's not intentional, but sometimes, there's only one vendor who has certain products you need, and you're forced to deal with them.. You simply can't take your money elsewhere.
 
I feel your pain. I can't understand why this seems to be the norm now. Esp telling you it has shipped, or will ship today for days/weeks on end. If you don't have it, that's fine, but how about telling me you don't have it.
 
Frankly I think customer service has slipped in a lot more than just our hobby/industry. To me a lot of it boils down to the mentality that cheaper is better.

Look at how many threads are out there asking, "where can I get item-x for the cheapest." That spawns businesses that put price above anything else. It's far more common for someone to brag about the low price they paid than the service they get from a loyal shop owner.

I deal with it at work all the time, too. I do software support and since we're looked at as a drain on the company (we don't directly produce income), our help is farmed out overseas. Customers gripe when they deal with some of our counterparts, but ultmately they're getting what they're paying for.

Bottom line, as long as there's a premium put on the price paid (lowest is best), you're going to get the service you're paying for.

My 2 cents worth (that you could probably get for cheaper elsewhere).

Jeff
 
I find myself willing to pay more for an item if its from a larger vendor whom I know I can count on. I'm sure there are others that do the same thing.
 
2KFLEXJ said:
I find myself willing to pay more for an item if its from a larger vendor whom I know I can count on. I'm sure there are others that do the same thing.
Click to expand...

I've come to realize this as well, while I try to support "local vendors" whenever possible... lately, its been easier to buy stuff from larger companies that have it on the shelf, or from one's that I've dealt with in the past.

Even when trying to help "local vendors" get their orders filled/questions answered I get the run around or no answer at all... :shaking:
 
rockmafia said:
Esp telling you it has shipped, or will ship today for days/weeks on end. If you don't have it, that's fine, but how about telling me you don't have it.
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X2



2KFLEXJ said:
I find myself willing to pay more for an item if its from a larger vendor whom I know I can count on. I'm sure there are others that do the same thing.
Click to expand...


X2

I am willing to pay more to get what I want, when I want it, from someone I have confidence in.
 
Coming from some one ho has ,and would work again for a medium to large vender in this Hobie, most of the time the smaller vender's are only telling you what their suppliers are telling them. So thay are getting fu@ked around with , as well.:popcorn:

Im not going to name the vender i worked for but it competes with fourwheelparts year after year and it only has only about 6 imployes.


thats my 2cent

Adam
 
I've run into it lately with a "large" company, who is supposed to be one of the most reputable shops in the country.

I wish I could charge people for propane, then deliver it whenever the hell I felt like it.

But, that seems to be the norm with MOST vendors in this industry. I could give a long list of good and bad experiences with companies.
 
The largest problem in this sport and industry is there are vendors that do not have a shop space and they just sell out of there home, so NO overhead to pay for,

then they will sell a part at bottom dollar pricing just to get the sale..becasue if they can sell enough product in a year then the following year they get a bigger price cut for products the next year...

and they do not care about customer service , and they usually never actually check with the company they buy from to make sure what is in stock or not..

they never keep products on head, they are just middle man resellers..
 
And all this time I thought it was just us redheaded stepchildren of the American 4x4 hobby, the Suzuki crowd, that got crapped on continuously by vendors! One of my theories is that with MIG welders getting so cheap, and every douchebag with two hands thinking he can weld, lots of people are just copying major vendor's products instead of buying them, And honestly, that scares me. I know we've all seen some spitwad-welded monstrosities that are street-driven. For God's sake, people, that's just not safe! Your rebar Z-link with joints that look like somebody spat loogies on them is NOT going to hold up at 75 mph! But that's another rant.

Another problem is, have you sold anything lately? Customers are getting bitchier every day! I know of one instance in particular, where a customer left negative feedback and demanded money for a scratch on an item that was DOCUMENTED AND PICTURED in the description!
 
It took "x-manufacturer" about a month and a half to ship me spring plates. If I would've known it was going to take that long, I would've just made some myself. I didn't want to go through the whole process of cancelling my order because if it took that long to ship spring plates, there's no telling what they would do with a credit card.

By the way, they told me it shipped out about a week after I ordered it.
 
Rich said:
This isn't intended to turn into a "good vendor/bad vendor thread, so please don't start naming names...
Click to expand...

Rusty's probably told you it was back ordered, you might not have heard..........
 
i just waited 4 weeks for rings to widen my hummer wheels finially they show up and it is not the rings but the entire piece of the wheel widened and already welded not such a big deal but i had also ordered pvc inserts and they didn't even come. I call and tell the guy about it and he says that he thinks i am lying because the shipping weight says 51 pounds and that is close to the weight of a ring and insert it is bull crap. The sad thing is i will probably have to order from them again and that really chaps me
 
greg slade said:
Rusty's probably told you it was back ordered, you might not have heard..........
Click to expand...

:lol: Yeah, when will my long arms ever arrive? :lol:

Sad thing is, I'm not talking about resellers.. I'm talking about actual shops that make their own products and sell them.. So when the guy (the ONLY guy) who runs the place says it's in stock and will ship, well, ya gotta think he's looking right at them.. they don't offer many products, just a handful.

Funny thing is, the parts I could have made myself showed up fine.. It's the things that there's no way in hell I could make that are giving me trouble..
 
Actually, Ballistic came through quickly with the heims and inserts I ordered, and the order was 100% accurate. I'm happy with them.

The one that's killing me right now is a NP205 clocking ring. paid for over a month ago. I'm sure it won't be hard to figure out who, hardly anyone makes 'em for the figure 8 pattern
 
I don't like link brackets where the beef has been taken out to make them "look cool" or to put a logo in them.. Gimme solid brackets any day.. they cost less too.
 
So do these companies pick and choose which customers to give good service to ?

Seriously the vapor parts crap has to stop... and... it's in stock means...'It will be drop shipped from the manufacture'

Or the pre-sales conversations aren't as helpful as the post sales conversations..
 
They made it right as much as can be expected. Anyone want to buy a 8" upper link tower w/ no cutouts? They sent me one to replace the one that broke, but it didn't come in the day I hoped it would, so I repaired what I already had and plated over it. All in all, I'll buy from them again.
 
I had a problem with Crane a while back. They kept saying the diff cover was going to ship out in two weeks and 5 months later I got the diff cover. They were pretty good at compensating me for it taking so long and sent me some t-shirts.

So I finally get the diff cover and the threads on the fill plug are messed up. I just bought a 1" pipe tap and cleaned them up but still...geez...
 
I like how the thread on PBB has now been deleted. Apparently BTF has 'friends' at Pirate4x4.
 
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