Getting Disgusted

[C5Rick]

The only way I could afford a Vette was to sell my soul...
now that I did I try to add a few things to make it mine, but since it's a "Corvette" things seem cost a lot more then other cars. OK, I'll go in hock a little more, but why can't the things one purchases live up to the hype or cost.
To get ready for the Venice show last year I purchased a set of C6 Z06 wheels in C5 stock sizes from TomZWheels in Texas. This vendor is a sponsor on Corvette Forum and had a lot of good things said about them. They also had one of the best prices, not being cheap, but it I have a very limited budget. When the wheels arrived, there were three different size wheels and the I thought the finish on two of the wheels was questionable. I immediately phoned TomZWheels about this and emailed them pictures. I told them I would help pay for expedited shipping, I needed the wheel in 5 days. They said they needed the wrong wheel returned first. I was willing to accept the poor finish, but now I was upset and said they could have all the wheels back. I had to pay shipping both ways, even for the wrong wheel, my cost was approx. $185.00. I also had to send them back to the importer/distributer, Replica Wheels in Chino Calif .
I've always loved the look of the Caravaggio Rear Spoiler and finally saved enough to get one. I was first impressed with the customer service. I emailed Caravaggio Corvettes (located in Canada) on a Saturday not expecting a response until Monday. Later that day I received a reply from John Caravaggio and the again on Sunday when the deal was finalized. I knew these were made upon order and would take a couple of weeks. During the third week I sent a email inquiring about a ship date so I could make arrangements with the painter. I received no reply. I finally called and was told it would ship on Friday; it didn't. With-in the next 10 days I emailed a few more times and phoned twice with no response.
The spoiler finally arrived and I dropped it off to be painted. Four days later it was finished, along with my hood. This was a day early and I was happy until I picked up the car, the spoiler was not on square . Needless to say, I was again upset. I've never had a problem at GT Graphics before I let them know I was satisfied. I decided to take the car somewhere else for a removal and re-install. This is why I went to Auto XTC on Friday morning. After John got the spoiler off, tough job, he and Larry went about removing all the old tape. After this was done some test fitting. John then told me the spoiler wasn't made right If you centered it then it wouldn't sit square. If you squared it, it wouldn't set square. The cost of the spoiler including shipping and bank charges was close to $700.00 not including paint and installation charges. I told John and Larry to stick it on. They did the best they could, but today I noticed the one side is lifted because of the twist in the spoiler.
I have to stop by GT Graphics and apologize for the discussion I had with them last week.
Maybe I just expect to much for the cost

Finally, I will say, The BB Bullets I ordered last year are great, and the service I received from TKO Performance was up and beyond with a phone call from Ed the owner when a problem popped up. Also the install by Greg at Anti Venom was first class.

[Rich Z]

ALWAYS pay for your purchases with a credit card. If the merchandise is not to your liking, you always have the final say by disputing the charge with your credit card company. You do NOT have to pay for merchandise that is not acceptable.

My policy is that when something like that takes place, I notify the seller and tell them that their merchandise is unacceptable and I will NOT pay for return shipping because of a problem THEY caused. I expect them to pay to have their property returned to them. If they balk, I tell them I will be disputing the charge on my credit card and THEIR property will be sitting on my porch until they send me a free return call tag, or it gets stolen, whichever happens first.

Which reminds me that I had something like this happen to me recently concerning a wheel that I need to post about.

Too many companies are just sending out crap these days and expecting their customers to be satisfied with it. If THEY have to lose money on the shipping, that will be incentive to clean up their act and deal only in quality merchandise. I don't have any problem whatsoever in contributing to the demise of any company that tries to make a living pawning off junk.

Personally, I am EXTREMELY critical about the stuff I buy and just will not accept it if it doesn't meet my expectations.

So as I mentioned above, use a credit card when you buy something sight unseen. That gives you the last word if what you get is not what you had hoped for.

[Shadow]

with Rich. Use the CC and dispute the charges. Simple as that. Make them pay for returned item if the problem is caused by them or thier vendor.

There's always the court system. If you win, you can usually recoup your costs as well, it's then a matter of public record and you can take it from there

On some websites such as ours, you can make a publilc complaint about a vendor. We ask (as you've done) for details and that you have supporting documents or evidence to back it up should a problem arise.

On others as the one you referenced and a couple others, I've seen too many times, the staff protecting a vendor, simply because they're a vendor; and instead of assisting the member in resolving the matter, action is taken against the member

Thats not the way it should be.

What are your plans on the spoiler?

[C5Rick]

Originally Posted by Shadow

with Rich. Use the CC and dispute the charges. Simple as that. Make them pay for returned item if the problem is caused by them or thier vendor.

There's always the court system. If you win, you can usually recoup your costs as well, it's then a matter of public record and you can take it from there

On some websites such as ours, you can make a publilc complaint about a vendor. We ask (as you've done) for details and that you have supporting documents or evidence to back it up should a problem arise.

On others as the one you referenced and a couple others, I've seen too many times, the staff protecting a vendor, simply because they're a vendor; and instead of assisting the member in resolving the matter, action is taken against the member

Thats not the way it should be.

What are your plans on the spoiler?

I don't have a credit card so everything is a cash transaction for me.
As for the spoiler, it's on the car, off some, but for now on the car. I can't afford any more fix attempts right now. I'm close to a $1000.00 invested in it. No more Canadian stuff, ehh

[98 softtail]

Rick, that is a bummer about your spoiler. Have you tried contacting the mfg'r to let them know that it is a defect and you expect a replacement? I am sure they will try and blow you off as long as possible but stay focused and pester the heck out of them. You could even file a small claims case here in florida against them. Stick with it.

[9T8Vette]

Originally Posted by 98 softtail

Rick, that is a bummer about your spoiler. Have you tried contacting the mfg'r to let them know that it is a defect and you expect a replacement? I am sure they will try and blow you off as long as possible but stay focused and pester the heck out of them. You could even file a small claims case here in florida against them. Stick with it.

I agree C5Rick. If you had purchased it from eBay then you would probly be chit out of luck.But being a big company like them they should replace it. I must have the same luck as you Rick.Maybe it's the name.My is Rick too

[85vette]

The power of the pen is mighty, brother. Don't be afraid to use it. Big companies don't like bad publicity and smaller companies can't afford it. Remember, the customer is always right, no matter what some people think. If we stand up to these jerks that sell junk, they'll have to treat us right, or they'll just need to be finding something else to do.

I have had similar incidents with several companies, large and small. I had an issue with a car I owned. I won't say what manufacturer it was, but it was not a Chevrolet. They stated the car was out of warranty, sorry, have a nice day.(It had over 75K miles on it) After trying unsuccessfully to have my issue resolved at various levels, I posted my problem on several internet websites. A reporter from a large midwestern newspaper saw my article and contacted me, asking if he could use my story in an automotive weekly column he wrote. I gladly gave him permission. That was on Tuesday. On Friday I received a phone call from a Vice President of the manufacturer directing me to take the vehicle in question to a certain dealer and the problem would be taken care of. I was also reimbursed for previous repairs made on the car. I feel it was well worth the time and effort it took to get their attention.

[Shadow]

Rick, they are right! Start writing, calling and e-mailing. If you need assistance I'll be happy to help.

Lets see if we can get this corrected for you bro.

[Rich Z]

One of the reasons I set up this Board of Inquiry forum is because it provides a public stage for posting problems of this nature. Yeah, this site is still small and doesn't have that much pull, but once the thread is posted, it WILL be picked up by the search engine spiders and a Google or Yahoo search will quite likely bring a prospective customer looking for info on the company HERE for them to read about this issue.

The potential for having a negative publicity incident on the search engines should be a powerful motivator for any company to seriously try to make good on any quality control issues their company may be inflicting on their customers.

[C5Rick]

Monday I'll rip off an email to Carvaggio Corvettes.
Funny, last night I wanted to buy a new hat to go with the Jake on my hood. West Coast Corvette had one I liked. I was getting ready to order and the Shipping came up, $18.95 to ship a hat