So I thought I would give this person a try since they are a vendor on this forum and ordered a few small but important parts I needed to finish up my car. The parts included the top metal bumper bracket and rubber strip, lower radiator & condenser rubber rings, and the fuse box/ cruise control cover. I sent money via paypal and closed the deal.
today I got the package only to find the top metal bumper bracket missing.

I was a bit pissed since these parts are vital to finishing the front end on my car which was scheduled to be installed this saturday.
His replay which claimed I had not right to be Flipping out, Also included a short history lesson on how long they have been in business which I didnt think was needed and further pissed me off.

As a business owner myself I let him have my opinion and told him that after "6" years you would think they'd learn to double check orders before they ship.

Well, he felt he didnt need to hear anything from anyone and instead of sending me the part I waited and Paid for he was going to refund me my money.

What kind of customer service is this ? At least be a man about it and finish what you have committed yourself to and leave your smug pride at your house before you goto work in the morning.

 

So you got your order, a few small parts were missing, you called him raising hell and he asked you to calm down, then offered a refund..........

...............what a bastage.

 

I "called him" raising hell ? I never called so get your story straight.


"WTF where is the metal strip that goes with the rubber one for the bumper, I paid for that !!!!"
this is far from raising hell.

 

OK you nitpick and I'll stick to the facts. Your contact was less than pleasant enough to require him to try and calm you down and then further offer customer service.

 

2.5tsoarer:
"WTF where is the metal strip that goes with the rubber one for the bumper, I paid for that !!!!"

R&J:
"HI there....maybe we made mistake, but you don't have to be all fliping out over it, our shipping guy prob just forgot to put it in the box, we have been in business over 6 years, carry over 100 lexus SC in lot for parts, we will make the order right....so no worry there, and here is what we can offer to you, and we will ship you the bumper metal trim with it...

passenager door lower molding---------$20
highbeam headlight brackets (4 pieces)-----$20
s/h-------$10

total of $50, and you can place the order just like last one..thanks"


2.5tsoarer:
"I have every right to "flip" out since when I place an order as simple as this with someone I expect it to be correct, This car is set to be assembled this weekend , this is a very important part since it HOLDS the bumper on. I will assume you will send my part with faster shipping to make up for the mistake and lost time . I don't need anymore parts I for the brackets for $5.

Thanks for the history lesson on your company , but the only thing it has proven is that after 6 years you guys still don't double check your outgoing orders..."

R&J:
"Hi there...since you are not happy with our service...we are gonna go ahead refund you on that item, becuase we don't need someone to tell us how to run our business...thanks"

2.5tsoarer:
"Wow this is some great customer service. Maybe within the next 6 years you'll learn to take constructive criticism and advice from other people.
I have owned a Printing company for 11 years and Learn something everyday and even if I didnt like what the customer said I have too much pride in my business not to follow through and make whats wrong right."

 

Oh, Im supposed to be over joyed I didn't get the parts I needed this week
Horray for missing Parts !!

Hurray for delays on what I had scheduled !!

If some one ordered a cluster from you and they got it back with one needle not done and they were pissed , What would you do ??
Give them a refund for that one needed or FINISH the job ?

Regardless on the customers reaction, YOU the business made the mistake.

 

Hmmmm....

something that toyota made a few million of that can be purchased anywhere on the planet or something that can only be had in one spot on earth. Yeah, I'm not seeing why a refund is a problem if the vendor didn't want to deal with you berating them any further and sent you elsewhere where things are freely available. Right to refusal is not leaving you high and dry, it's opening up your options to other vendors.

 

Dude you were being rude and flippant, I wouldnt have wanted to deal with a customer that acts like a spoiled little kid either.

You basically told them that they sucked and they said fine if we suck so bad you can buy your crap elsewhere.

Just lilke you aren't obligated to buy from them, they are not obligated to sell to you.

 

Spoiled kid ? I'm just used to people paying attention to detail as I learned in the Military.
This was an important item that was paid for and intended to be installed this weekend. and his idea to fix the problem was to try and sell me more parts and charge me for shipping on those as well as the part I was missing.

 

A number of your word choices and the general tone of your responses were definitely a bit out of line. Had you maintained a normal blood pressure and responded to their error in a more rational manner, I am sure that they would have responded more positively.

That being said, my summer of employment at KFC in high school taught me that the customer is always right. In R&J's position, I would have still complied to your request of expedited shipping even though your contact was initiated in a rather unprofessional manner.

In your position, I would have not began my initial claim to them with a vulgar internet acronym. Addressing them simply as "R&J-" and explaining more rationally that they must have made a mistake in shipping would have likely garnered a different response from them and a different course of action all together.

All things considered, I would phone your local Toyota/Lexus dealer in the morning. Fort Wayne Lexus can get me a part the very next day so long as I place the order with time enough for them to phone the regional shipping warehouse by 1pm. Given that the metal strip you need is probably an often ordered part for collision repair, I would bet that the regional hub would have stock. Even though tomorrow is Friday, my Lexus parts guy is open until 3pm on Saturday for parts pick up.

If you refuse to pay the dealer price, I would call your local junk yards. But, you may struggle to find an SC that has not been damaged in the front. Being such a flimsy, but critical, part, you will want to make sure that you have one in perfect condition.

In summary:
(1) People treat you how you treat them. Had you brought this mistake to the attention of R&J in a more professional manner, I am certain that they would have dealt with the manner more professionally.
(2) Call Toyota first thing tomorrow morning. I would bet that they could have the part for you on Saturday, and your car will be reassembled on schedule.

 

I would pay money to hang out at your business and wait for you to make a mistake. I'd love to see how you would react.

So what else are they supposed to do? Human error was made, and your money is now back in your pocket.

You may live in a perfect world, where this never happens, but customers deal with issues such as the ones you discribed, and worse, and learn to live with human errors. It's obvious that it was an honest mistake, and they refunded your money.

I've had issues like that with the best vendors out there, and they work to make it right, and thats as much as they can do, they cant raise your pet back from the dead you know.

I dont even know these guys, but I can tell from YOUR side of the story that they are a great company, and I will be adding them on my list.

 

I have great news for you, you don't have to pay, you can come to my company and sit there all day and watch how we take care of customers regardless of how they act. We all know we make mistakes, but we find a way to make it up to the customer and come through with what the initial order was.

So your call, you let me know when you want to hang out at my place of business to witness this good customer service.

I wasn't asking for a dead pet to be brought back, I simply wanted the part I paid for sent faster at no cost to me. not another sales pitch with shipping charges so he can send the missing part in it.

 

i think that ur missing the point that yes, they could have helped u a little better, by sending u the part instead of "just" refunding ur cash.

but you could have asked them MUCH more politely, you didnt HAVE to flip out over a minor error, im fairly certain that if you had just called or emailed them and calmly asked "i didnt receive ______ part with my order, could you please send it out to me by ____ date" then they prolly would have been MUCH more accommodating.

 

Wow... seriously? You need to take a couple of deep breaths and chill out. So they made a mistake - too bad they're not the holy savior of a business that yours is...

Javier

 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...12/ai_59282155

To say Robert Lutz is unconventional is about as remarkable as to observe that Robin Williams is funny. From his stint at Chrysler (last job there: vice chairman and president) to his present position as chairman, president, and CEO of battery-maker Exide Corp., Lutz has always managed under conditions analogous to a pressure cooker. While other people might be beaten down, he seems to rise to the occasion.

Some of what he's learned through the years he's distilled in a book titled Guts: The Seven Laws of Business that Made Chrysler the World's Hottest Car Company, portions of which he shared at AMT--The Association for Manufacturing Technology's annual meeting last fall.
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Lutz has codified what he "modestly" calls "Lutz's Immutable Laws of Business." Among those he explored at the meeting:

* The customer is not always right. Lutz pointed out that if you purely listen to what the customer wants, it is probably something it already has. He suggested that people in a given business ought to be the experts on the product; therefore, going beyond what the customer wants can be key.

* The goal of business is not to make money. No, he's not recommending profligacy, to be followed shortly thereafter by bankruptcy. Rather, it's simply that companies that concentrate on great products and services generally end up making money as a result of doing that, as contrasted with companies that are so busy worried about turning a dime that they make products that few (if any) people want.