I will never buy from Eckler's again!

[vette8t7]

Originally Posted by NOBCKSEAT

Hi everone. Timing is everthing. I too have had a very recent experience at Ecklers that I was very unhappy with. I sent an email to them and when I got no response, I posted it on the C-5 forum as ELTRONVETTE on Corvette forums.com last week. It is based on my observation and my experiences and my expectations. Apparently I'm not the only one unhappy.

I read your post and also posted a long elaborated reply. I have been a member of several of the corvette forums for several years. I rarely post on them and don't really go on them much. Why? It seems to be the same old stuff. Always a slew of recent new members. Some seem to be in some kind of competition to increase their posting numbers by posting one worded meanlingless responses. People having "Senior" forum levels that don't know diddly about their vettes as all there posts have been or or what have you.

Now my take on singling out Eckler's and painting them about "how I will never shop there again" is just wrong. Heck, people act like they don't have any problems anywhere else. I can get up and walk into Wal-Mart and start having issues with "something". Eckler's IS NOT the only one with their share of problems. Plenty of people have problems with other parts outlets.

Your posting on the corvetteforum in particular seemed to do a lot of nit-picking....and almost like you were *looking* for trouble when you went in and perhaps you are *easily irritable*. Surely if you went in there to spend a couple of hundred dollars you researched what you wanted to buy on their website or catalog BEFORE you went in there...

I don't know, I don't know you, you don't know me. We only are hearing your side of the story. It seems a lot for people on these forums love to post bad experiences with the showroom and how they will never got here again and how they will shop somewhere else. Ironically those that are happy with their experiences don't post as much about the positive. I guess it's human nature to jump on the negative bandwagon.

Maybe Eckler's should just close the showroom?? Then we'd see a slew of blasting threads about that. You can't please everyone.

[Nytro]

Wow that was quite a reply you made there vette8t7, very interesting some of your thoughts. As far as singling out Ecklers I think the original posters thoughts about never buying from Ecklers again stems basically from the fact that he wasn't recieving the proper customer assistance. Basically in his first communications from Ecklers they were in a round about way calling him a liar in a nice way telling him they never recieved his return, funny because they got the other piece he returned with it. I can see his frustration in the way he was delt with, and to be quite honest I have a couple of "I will never buy there again's " on my list. One being Applebees, I know millions of people have eaten there with never a problem but I had one. One night my wife and I went in there to eat and I ordered one of their burgers. It arrived and looked nice but after a couple of bites something didn't taste right. I proceeded to pull a hair about four inches long out of my mouth. I kinda blew it of, cause I was hungry, but with the next bite I pulled another hair out of my mouth. I called the manager over and informed him that I had a two hair limit and I had no intention of paying for the meal. He apologized and told me I could have anything off the menu and if I wanted my wife and I could drink ourselves into a stuper, we declined. That was seven years ago and I have never been back. Another little interesting tidbit is one I had at Wendys. Dave Thomas was a likable guy and he did much for orphans in his life. It was winter time in Mass and we went into a Wendys to get a bite to eat. Now there was snow on the ground and salt and sand on the walkways that had also been tracked onto the floors of the store and the employee work areas. We ordered our food and I ordered a cup of chili. The employee went to scoop out the chili from the pot and proceeded to drop the ladle on the floor. Can you guess what happened next, you guessed it, the ladle went from the floor right back into the pot and scooped out a cupful for me. Fat chance. I informed the manager of what happened, he apologized and asked me which employee did it. I told him rather than single out one employee there was probably a need to speak to them all, and tell them that you don't use a utensil that has been dropped on the floor to serve food without cleaning it first. That was 11 years ago and I have never been back. Moral of the story is, if you feel that you have been treated unfairly you have the right to not patronize that establishment and tell people of your experience. Part of being an internet community is sharing your experience with the people you have become friendly with to tell them of your negative experience and collect their thoughts which is what happened here. People advised Scott to keep after them and they finally did the right thing and credited his account. So, all that said vette8t7, I'm sure you have had some bad experiences dealing with vendors, restaurents, car dealers or whatever, why don't you tell us how you would have handled an experience like this.

[vette8t7]

Originally Posted by Nytro

Wow that was quite a reply you made there vette8t7, very interesting some of your thoughts. As far as singling out Ecklers I think the original posters thoughts about never buying from Ecklers again stems basically from the fact that he wasn't recieving the proper customer assistance.

WHICH reply were you referring to? I wrote up a rather long and in depth post about Eckler's on the Corvetteforum in the thread that NOBCKSEAT on this forum referred to posting there under ELTRONVETTE.

As far as the orginal poster of THIS thread is concerned I posted two different replies towards the end of the thread relating Eckler's volume of sales.

[vette8t7]

Originally Posted by Nytro

Basically in his first communications from Ecklers they were in a round about way calling him a liar in a nice way telling him they never recieved his return, funny because they got the other piece he returned with it.

Well....read my response on this thread #18 first and ask that question again. It wouldn't say they were calling him a liar in any way. The may have never seen the returned item if the item he returned for warranty work with an RMA# on it it arrived in receiving they relabel it and it is either picked up or shipped to the supplying vendor for warranty work. In that post I also posed related questions that woud help give insight on what may have happened, but the original poster hasn't answered. It oculd be that Eckler's NEVER opened the package or did and it had no associated order number. Meanwhile in the case that the initial person or whoever he talked to (which is in a different building at a desk) is sitting there and has nothing to go on.

Now keep in mind another point, people come and go constantly. Good help is hard to find. There are sales people that I see there one time and they are gone the next. For example, Bob sends Joe and e-mail to help with a problem he has and he says he'll look into it. Next week Joe leaves as he found another job or Joe decides at the end of the day he's had enough of customers calling in and yelling at him. Meanwhile whatever Joe wrote down or whatever e-mail he got from Bob may or may not get passed on to someone else. But Joe's out of there so he doesn't care. Say no one else got his notes on Bob's issue. Or someone else looking at his e-mail sees it is empty or doesn't know what he did or didn't take care of. Or maybe his terminal sits there unused for 3 months. Who knows. The next thing you know there are 10 people in Bob's boat that have been waiting 3 months for a call back or answer.

[Nytro]

Originally Posted by vette8t7

Well....read my response on this thread #18 first and ask that question again. It wouldn't say they were calling him a liar in any way. The may have never seen the returned item if the item he returned for warranty work with an RMA# on it it arrived in receiving they relabel it and it is either picked up or shipped to the supplying vendor for warranty work. In that post I also posed related questions that woud help give insight on what may have happened, but the original poster hasn't answered. It oculd be that Eckler's NEVER opened the package or did and it had no associated order number. Meanwhile in the case that the initial person or whoever he talked to (which is in a different building at a desk) is sitting there and has nothing to go on.

Now keep in mind another point, people come and go constantly. Good help is hard to find. There are sales people that I see there one time and they are gone the next. For example, Bob sends Joe and e-mail to help with a problem he has and he says he'll look into it. Next week Joe leaves as he found another job or Joe decides at the end of the day he's had enough of customers calling in and yelling at him. Meanwhile whatever Joe wrote down or whatever e-mail he got from Bob may or may not get passed on to someone else. But Joe's out of there so he doesn't care. Say no one else got his notes on Bob's issue. Or someone else looking at his e-mail sees it is empty or doesn't know what he did or didn't take care of. Or maybe his terminal sits there unused for 3 months. Who knows. The next thing you know there are 10 people in Bob's boat that have been waiting 3 months for a call back or answer.

OK I will ask the question again......as soon as I finish trying to piss up this rope

[vette8t7]

Originally Posted by Nytro

Part of being an internet community is sharing your experience with the people you have become friendly with to tell them of your negative experience and collect their thoughts which is what happened here. People advised Scott to keep after them and they finally did the right thing and credited his account. So, all that said vette8t7, I'm sure you have had some bad experiences dealing with vendors, restaurents, car dealers or whatever, why don't you tell us how you would have handled an experience like this.

True people post whatever they want and whatever thoughts they have within the internet community. It would nice to also have the people that start these "negative experience" threads follow up on the same thread down the road when they encounter having problems at the B and C places. I mean they will never shop at A again, and their money is going to B and C. Fine, but all the reader sees in the thread is negativity towards A, but doesn't see within that thread issues down the road with B and C. It may end up in a different thread on a different forum. That's why I said it's unfair to single Eckler's out as everyplace has issues. It seems half the time orders I place to Jegs and Summit don't go without flaws.

>So, all that said vette8t7, I'm sure you have had some bad experiences >dealing with vendors, restaurents, car dealers or whatever, why don't you >tell us how you would have handled an experience like this.
Well, let's see. Finding the right person in anycase is the key. A majority of the time I know people at the establishments and/or the owners and deal either directly with them, through them or someone they recommend.
In the case of car dealers, I have only really dealt with them for club events until recently when I bought my wife a new car..and I know the dealer personally. He actually went on vacation when my wife and I started to wind down on our purchase and assured me I was in goods hands while he was gone. Well, a few on the sales staff decided it was time to play, but I had kept the office manager and the dealer in the loop and resolved the issues. This dealer was better than the alternatives in the area, plus this dealer sponsors our club for events whereas the others seem to care less. I will also note I had the dealers cell # and e-mail address. It was also my first new vehicle purchase.

In the case of this thread and Eckler's I will be very biased as how I would handle things with them as I know a lot of them as I have interfaced with Eckler's as a customer and through the club for a number of years. How I handle things with them might be different as I know who is at the top and down. Again, people come and go so I don't really know that many on the sales staff except for those that have been there a while.

Now, in my case say I ordered something from Mid-America and had an issue. Well, I don't have a clue of anyone that works there. But if it did not seem like the issue was moving I would ask or request to be helped by a manager or supervisor. Instead of posting a thread "I will never order from MA again" I would post one of "Does someone know someone at MA" that can help resolve this. Part of the issue how you appraoch an issue or problem, the other part is WHO you talk to.

If I called in to resolve a problem and spoke to someone I would write down that persons name so if the issue were to remain unresolved I could call back that person and ask what the deal was and stay on them or then switch to their supervisor and explain you had called so and so several times and nothing is moving on this issue and you want a refund.

That said knowing the people I know at Eckler's that have been there for a while typically address the issues directed to them. Perhaps the complaints involving customer service involve new people or people that are in the "there and gone" realm.

[MADN3SS]

Originally Posted by vette8t7

Now my take on singling out Eckler's and painting them about "how I will never shop there again" is just wrong. Heck, people act like they don't have any problems anywhere else. I can get up and walk into Wal-Mart and start having issues with "something". Eckler's IS NOT the only one with their share of problems. Plenty of people have problems with other parts outlets.

Don't tell me I'm wrong for saying I won't shop there again. Or posting about it. Just because I had a bad experience doesn't mean you will. So keep shopping there if you want. If they aren't going to conduct there business to a level of satisfaction that I can accept, I won't go there. There are plenty of other suppliers out there that will.

Originally Posted by vette8t7

Well....read my response on this thread #18 first and ask that question again. It wouldn't say they were calling him a liar in any way. The may have never seen the returned item if the item he returned for warranty work with an RMA# on it it arrived in receiving they relabel it and it is either picked up or shipped to the supplying vendor for warranty work. In that post I also posed related questions that woud help give insight on what may have happened, but the original poster hasn't answered. It oculd be that Eckler's NEVER opened the package or did and it had no associated order number. Meanwhile in the case that the initial person or whoever he talked to (which is in a different building at a desk) is sitting there and has nothing to go on.

Inside the box I returned was a handwritten letter that included my customer number and both order numbers for the items being returned. Also were the names of the individuals I had spoken with. I gave them ample information to take care of the problem and it was not.

Like Nytro, I have had good and bad experiences with vendors, restaurants, retail chains and any other type of business that one might use. Some I have gone back to, some I have not. It really depends on the severity of the situation. Ecklers was just an overwhelmingly bad transaction and that is why I will never do business with them again. I usually try and post good business transactions as well, but lets face it, you're more likely to tell people about a bad situation. It's called venting.

[vette8t7]

Originally Posted by MADN3SS

Don't tell me I'm wrong for saying I won't shop there again. Or posting about it. Just because I had a bad experience doesn't mean you will. So keep shopping there if you want. If they aren't going to conduct there business to a level of satisfaction that I can accept, I won't go there. There are plenty of other suppliers out there that will.

Inside the box I returned was a handwritten letter that included my customer number and both order numbers for the items being returned. Also were the names of the individuals I had spoken with. I gave them ample information to take care of the problem and it was not.

Like Nytro, I have had good and bad experiences with vendors, restaurants, retail chains and any other type of business that one might use. Some I have gone back to, some I have not. It really depends on the severity of the situation. Ecklers was just an overwhelmingly bad transaction and that is why I will never do business with them again. I usually try and post good business transactions as well, but lets face it, you're more likely to tell people about a bad situation. It's called venting.

Hmm...did I say YOU were wrong for shopping there or YOU were wrong for saying anythig about it?? See this is the problem with the internet and forums in general things are EASILY taken out of context. If you had noticed that whole paragraph spoke in general and heck it wasn't even quoted to YOUR post. So since you say "I" said you were wrong for shopping there or saying anything about it could you show me where I included your name??

Okay, so now we have a piece of the puzzle that both the order numbers were included. Did they give you an return number or something to write on the box for the warranty work item? Such an box may just be forwarded to the vendor.

You keep saying you will never do business with them again, but in another thread you about the reunion you stated "you've been keeping your eyes on a few things and you'd guess you'd have to stick with items that are in stock". Hmm...

True human nature is to vent and rant about something gone bad. I don't know who you talked to at Eckler's. I do know WHO you can talk to to resolve matters there. I did not see any postings on this forum related to "I am having an ongoing issue" or "Anyone know anyone at Eckler's?" or the like. You in particular did say you called back a few times and talked to someone about the issue. However, if you had asked for one of the supervisors I find it hard to believe they wouldn't take care of it right away. That was probably who you talked to the last time and I have a pretty good idea who it was that fixed it.

If you or anyone else has problems in the future I can tell you who to get in contact with at Eckler's.

[vette8t7]

Well, I went into the Eckler's showroom Saturday and purchased a few hundred dollars worth of stuff. There was an issue with my credit card-a credit card that I have used in there many times before. It was a Visa, issued by Providian with the Paypal emblem on it. The sales clerk said they don't accept Paypal. They had some kind of issue with the way they process their transactions. I told her it wasn't a Paypal debit card or whatever it was a Visa and I had used it there before. But, maybe something had changed and they WERE having problems with it. As far as I was concerned if it was a Visa card and they accept Visa there shouldn't be an issue, but maybe there was something I didn't know about. So I gave her another card knowing I could follow up on the issue.

A few hours ago I sent one of the supervisors an e-mail about what had happened. She asked for the number and bank on the back of my card. Got their accounting involved and corrected the situation. The supervisor said she would inform her staff.

Sometimes knowing who to talk or talking to the right person leads to a quicker resolve....

[MADN3SS]

Originally Posted by vette8t7

Hmm...did I say YOU were wrong for shopping there or YOU were wrong for saying anythig about it??

Originally Posted by vette8t7

Now my take on singling out Eckler's and painting them about "how I will never shop there again" is just wrong.

Seems like you did.