Strange Customer Service Scenario. Am I an A-hole?

Lof8-

If you still want the parts in the future, if you can figure out who they contacted to drop ship the parts directly to you- cut the middle man out, and get them.

I was "burned" this way- getting some Miata parts from a SM racer who theoretically made his own parts. Much to my surprise, the box was shipped from someplace else, and the name on the box had a different name. I could have saved $20 per part had I just got them from the cheaper place- since they turned out to be exactly the same part.

The internet is awesome for skipping the middle man.

Unfortunatley, with Bilsteins you cannot get them direct. Always has to be a distributor etc. Sucks. Greta product, terrible product placement.

In reply to Bobzilla:

From the other side, it's nice to be a dealer for a product that the manufacturer isn't competing against you.

Tell us which kit it was and I bet it can be bought somewhere else. Amazing what you can do if you know a part number.

Rob_Mopar wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: From the other side, it's nice to be a dealer for a product that the manufacturer isn't competing against you.

Fun story. I worked at a wholesaler who SWORE to their distributors they would NEVER go direct. At the same time they build a secret retail site and started undercutting their own distributors. Word got out and all hell broke loose. I know at least one multi-million dollar customer walked. I don't miss working in the parts business.

spitfirebill wrote: Im a little puzzled by one thing. The parts were ordered at 10pm. Was there someone working then to pull parts? Was any inconvenience caused? Or was it just a buzz kill.

Without knowing what the order was, or the company in question's website, I do note that a lot of import tuner shops will sell OE replacement parts through Worldpac. At least, I assume it is Worldpac, as the inventory and layout is identical to what I see here at work with the Worldpac app.

Worldpac isn't a monolithic entity, they seem to be kind of a routing company. (So is Rock Auto. At least, I was behind the scenes at a local jobber's warehouse and noticed rolls of Rock Auto packing tape on one of the machines...) Make a Worldpac order, they route to one of their suppliers to make a shipment. Canceling the order means you have to back-navigate through the chain of supply and there may be fees involved, even if you canceled 10 seconds after submitting.

You have to realize that you're dealing with a business. It's not a democracy, and he doesn't have to deal with you if he doesn't want. Sure, his tactics might seem odd, or rough, but who places an order worth that much money, cancels it an hour later, then starts a thread about it on a forum ?

I run a small, niche business. You wouldn't believe the ways people come up with to waste my time. Yes, that's part of being in business, but telling a potential (or not) customer to berkeley off is also part of it. While I would prefer not to, sometimes it just has to be done.

As much as you're baffled by the company's choice to handle the situation that way (your words), I'm sure he's equally baffled by yours. I bet you won't do that again.

but he will ... we've seen this exact story before

wbjones wrote: but he will ... we've seen this exact story before

It's like I woke up this morning to Sonny and Cher on the Radio singing in harmony. Every morning.

wbjones wrote: but he will ... we've seen this exact story before

He's in the habit of placing an expensive order, then cancelling it? Then he really is an A-hole

Zomby, I'm fairly certain he's talking about the company owner.

If a single cancelled order can berk your whole day, you're doing it wrong (and yes, I've been in organizations that can count it's employees on a single hand).

Zomby Woof wrote: You have to realize that you're dealing with a business. It's not a democracy, and he doesn't have to deal with you if he doesn't want. Sure, his tactics might seem odd, or rough, but who places an order worth that much money, cancels it an hour later, then starts a thread about it on a forum ?

Your leaving out the part where the company owner threw a fit and banned him for life. I think that's why he made the thread. If they had just refunded the money and left it at hat I don't think he would have made the thread.

Leaving it out? I'm applauding it.

Zomby Woof wrote: Leaving it out? I'm applauding it.

You know, I don't necessarily disagree with the action--but it wasn't handled very maturely. There isn't anything wrong with that, assuming that he is making money, but it isn't a place I'd like to give my business and it sounds like a lot of folks here agree.

Does that matter? Yes. But it matters very little--the folks reading this forum are about the only ones who will know it, and we're a tiny bit of their customer base. But the whole thing seems like it could be avoided with a restocking fee, or a policy of no returns/refunds.

I'm sure we're missing some of the story, but the basic facts make it… awkward. Guy makes a purchase (amount doesn’t matter). Guy decides he made the wrong decision (ever berk up? Happens to me all the time). Emails the company to cancel the order, basically immediately. He wasn’t rude, he wasn’t trying to force anything, he apologized, and the company effectively said here is your money back and berk you you berking berk.

Zomby Woof wrote:

wbjones wrote: but he will ... we've seen this exact story before

He's in the habit of placing an expensive order, then cancelling it? Then he really is an A-hole

not that him ...the other him .. but of course you knew that

Zomby Woof wrote: Leaving it out? I'm applauding it.

That's Fair.

Get it?

So Fair is a lot like TunaDad. From the outside, that is. I'm sure Fair is nice to his kids, assuming he has kids. He's an ass (My Dad). He has always run his own business, since high school. He always does OK, and rarely has a lock on any field, though I feel (and I am likely bias) that he's very good at what he does.

One time a delivery guy parked in front of my Dad's shop for the second or third time in a row after being asked not to. When he returned, his truck was gone. Dad towed it a mile or so into a field behind the shops.

Another time he (from the drivers seat) told a customer to close the door of the tool truck. The guy stepped inside, and Dad says "No, with you on the other side".

There are lots like these, and they are funny, but tragic. They are terrible over-reactions to a problem that could have likely resulted in better sales and rapport and less stress overall by being cool-headed and creative with how to deal with tough customers.

Plus, the second time I brought an Alphi toy to the dinner table, it ended up lodged in the wall. The same can be said for a number of circumstances (not just as his kid) that it was pretty obvious the reaction he gave was pretty terrible, and alienated more people than it helped.

As was said numerous times here on this very thread, "Order cancelled, sorry we couldn't make it happen this time. Let us know when you're ready to order again!" E-mail would have made the OP happy, not caused this thread, and likely made him a good customer for the next time. But instead, ironically, claiming time and stress constraints, the shop goes into full combat mode and makes everything worse. It took more time to deal with, cost more money, and more potential customers.

And what did it help?

I am late to the party but I suspect that guy has a struggling business. If you don't learn how to manage and pass on your overhead, every order that comes in is like a life line. And when a lifeline is pulled away you feel even more desperate and take it personally.

Done correctly, you can put a cost to cancelled orders, average it out over total sales volume and incorporate the cost into future sales. It is not like competing businesses do not deal with the same thing. People are fickle. And if you develop better ways of minimizing cancelled orders(like some of his competitors I suspect)then you have a competitive advantage.

I should say that I know how this works through long and bitter experience running my own business.

Zomby Woof wrote: Leaving it out? I'm applauding it.

I meant in your timeline of the OP original actions. I'm sure he wouldn't have made his thread if fair hadn't thrown his fit.

The original poster asked if he had done something terribly wrong.
No, not really, though it might be annoying to a business.
Then why the reaction?
Because it's Terry Fair. He's like this sometimes.
Original poster should not feel bad. I'm sure Fair doesn't feel bad. If this affected anyone's opinion of Vorshlag then......OK? I don't think we need to defend either party. Sometimes people just don't get along.

Swank Force One wrote: Terry Fair sent you a Star Trek meme? You should be honored, not upset.

This, you should just be glad he didn't send you a 15 page bitchfest over the whole thing.....Terry must have had his coffee that morning.

WOW Really Paul? wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Terry Fair sent you a Star Trek meme? You should be honored, not upset.

This, you should just be glad he didn't send you a 15 page bitchfest over the whole thing.....Terry must have had his MEDS that morning.

FTFY lol

Bobzilla wrote:

WOW Really Paul? wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Terry Fair sent you a Star Trek meme? You should be honored, not upset.

This, you should just be glad he didn't send you a 15 page bitchfest over the whole thing.....Terry must have had his MEDS that morning.

FTFY lol

Nah, I still believe coffee. I admit, I hadn't read his responses when I typed the above. I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure.

I personally enjoy the amusement factor of it, but I learned long ago. Terry's still a lot better than KO Performance however.

In reply to WOW Really Paul?:

I too find it entertaining. Every time. Working retail-ish for so many years I almost admire the guy, but then he goes and jumps the shark.... Meh. Still fun to watch. Like a train wreck..... from a distance.

Zomby Woof wrote: Leaving it out? I'm applauding it.

Wow.

This is the equivalent to responding to a mention of a pop culture happening with the ubiquitous "never heard of them" response.

smh

Ive been thinking about this all day. Could it have been handled better? Probably. Ive had plenty of drunken orders that ive placed in excess of 2k (how do you think coilovers on the ms3 happened, not to mention my entire challenge car. When i do something, i consider it a commitment. End of story. However, things can change. User error or not, theres a million reasons why 2500$ in suspension was a good idea at night, and not so in the am. No matter what, it affected terry's business. And therein lies the rub. Its Terry's. He can do whatever he wants with it. If he decided to start selling giant purple dildos tomorrow....guess we have vorshlag dildos.

And truthfully, i sort of applaud his reaction. Too many are too concerned with kissing ass to make sure that the customer shows. Its the reason theft and dishonesty is so high, people can get away with it. Terry's reaction might have been overkill, but....hes not kissing ass, and i respecr that.

Same here

4cylndrfury wrote: smh

Never heard of this