floridaben

On April 12, 2006, we decided to order wheels for my mothers Lexus LS430 from a company I have visited many times online called “Lakeshore Wheel and Tire”. My parents wanted to go with The Tire Rack, which had a proven track record with them for years, but I pressed for them to go with Lakeshore Wheel and Tire and boy was that a mistake. We decided to go with Lakeshore because they honestly did have a great selection to choose from, however, knowing what I know now I would never recommend their business to anyone and I have posted this horrific incident in the 22 automotive forums that I am a member of, potentially reaching over 1.1 million automotive consumers. The wheels were ordered that afternoon on April 12, 2006 by the online ordering system. The order was processed and a confirmation email was sent stating that we would receive an email when the order was processed. On April 16, 2006, I called and spoke with “Alicia” who informed me that the credit card was billed on the 12th and that the order was sent and that we would receive our order within 8-10 business days. She went on to state that she would email us the tracking number as well so we could track it online. After allowing a few days to pass and not receiving neither an email or a courtesy phone call with the status and the tracking number, I called again. I was informed that they were busy and that they had not received a tracking number yet from the supplier. She did state that the order was shipped and that there had to be a tracking number if it were shipped. She again stated that she would call the supplier a second time to get the tracking number and would personally call me on my cell to give me the information that day. I waited 2 days and heard nothing, yet again. I personally called 4 more times and spoke one of a handful of people in the office. Each time I spoke with her, she stated that the wheels were ordered and on their way. Finally on April 28, 2006, I called yet again and spoke with Alicia again. She stated that she has yet to get a tracking number and would thus call the supplier and put me on hold for 5 minutes. At this point when she returned back on the phone, she stated that she spoke with her supplier and though the wheels were charged, the supplier did not have a tracking number because they never shipped them. Apparently on the website it stated that the wheels would have fit the LS430 but the supplier stated that the wheels would not have cleared the brakes and decided to not ship the wheels out and decided to not bother notifying the customer and Lakeshore Wheel and Tire. So, during this time frame of Lakeshore trying to contact them, the wheels were never on there way and Lakeshore did not follow through on their own without me constantly checking on the status. Meanwhile, the charge remained on the card as though the order had been shipped.

When Alicia got to the bottom of this, she stated that she would come up with some alternative solution and call me in an hour. An hour and a half went by and then I decided to call Lakeshore. I got “Cheryl” on the line who then transferred the call to Alicia. We then ordered a set of 18X8, Chrome Veloce Verzios that were $28.00 more but, Alicia stated they would eat the cost on those. She then stated that we would get a tracking number from her that day or Monday at the latest as she would be out of the office on Tuesday. We never received any status back.
On Tuesday afternoon, May 2, 2006, I called and got "Cheryl" on the phone. I informed her that I needed the tracking number for the order and she put me on hold for 6 minutes and then came back on the phone to inform me that she was on hold with the supplier and asked me if I would continue holding. I told her that “I would not mind as I need that tracking number”. She then put me on hold for 43 minutes, all the while the hold message for Lakeshore Wheel and Tire is a sports cast, slightly unprofessional. Finally there was a break in the hold message as someone picked up the phone to just hang it up. Furious with the level of unprofessionalism with this company that is clearly showing a lack of values and ethics in the business environment, I called back at 1:45 Eastern Standard Time. Being on hold again this time I received a message stating that all reps were busy and that I should leave my name and number, then the line disconnected. After repeatedly calling back, I then got a representative that patched me thru to Cheryl, who was obviously very put out that I was calling back to check up on an order. She stated to me “There was nothing that she could do”. She never apologized for the hold time, never apologized for hanging up on me and never event took any responsibility for the lack luster customer service. She stated that she was too busy to deal with me and that she would get me a tracking number. I informed her that we were told this week upon week and that the promises made by the company have no credibility. She talked over me rudely and tried to control the call in an unprofessional way and stated that she had customers waiting on the line and then released the call.
I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor or manager. The individual that answered the phone was stated “what can I help you with”? I asked, “are you a manager”? He asked again, “what can I help you with”? I then asked his name and he replied with, “Jon”. I gave Jon a very brief overview, as he was equally as unprofessional and rude as the others in the office. He stated that the wheels were ordered and stated we would be sent an email confirmation, yet their answer for everything. Jon continued to be rude and over talked me in an unprofessional manner. He then went on to tell me that there were only a couple of people in the office and that he did not have the time to deal with me and hung up the phone.

At this point, I called information to get an alternate number for the company and was informed that they changed the name to AAA wheels and tire years earlier, yet this is what still appears when they run the charge. We notified the credit card company to be aware of the business practice for future reference and went on to introduce a private investigation service to provide information on the company and their ownership. The company was formed in 1998 and is co-owned by the two brothers, Tim Van Huis (President) and his brother Jon Van Huis of Holland,MI (Vice- President). I contacted Jon at his home residence and spoke to his wife who stated she would contact Jon and he would email or call me personally. We received nothing until the afternoon of the following day, May 3, 2006 with a tracking number, no apologizes. If any of you go thru this level of unprofessional business practice and/or are the subject of paying for goods without any stated timeframe delivery, contact your local police department to make them aware of the situation, along with the Holland Michigan Police Department located at 89 West 8th Street in Holland, or reach them at 616-355-1100. There are measures you can take to ensure that companies like this do not continue doing business in the manner they choose. Another step is to contact the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint against them Their email address is www.bbbonline.com. You should also contact your state Attorney Generals office in your particular state as well as contacting Mike ***, State Attorney General for Michigan. You can file with the State of Michigan at 1-877-765-8388, within Michigan, or email him at www.michigan.gov/ag. Their address is PO Box 30213, Lansing, MI 78909.

Also file with the Consumer Protection Division, Special Litigation Division at 517-373-1123 in addition to The National Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center which is located at 600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20580. Their toll free number is 877-382-4357 or you can email them at www.ftc.gov. I would also notify the Michigan Retailers Association at 517-372-5656, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce at 517-371-2100. I would also file with www.ripoffreport.com. A website that reaches worldwide consumers to make them aware of such business practice.

I would never recommend this company to anyone and the experience with Jon Van Huis was horrific at best. He was rude and arrogant beyond belief and when reading the feedback comments on EBAY the fact that he would reply to dissatisfied customers by calling them childish names like “Psycho” leads me to believe that this individual himself has some serious issues that professional help may assist with. I recommend he take a few business classes as well as seminars on how to interact with customers and individuals within a business environment. Based on our experience, in my own opinion, I would avoid doing ANY dealings with this company as well as avoid them on EBAY, where they are listed as: lakeshorewheel (2153). If you receive the same level of dissatisfaction from your dealings with him on EBAY, you can file a complaint at: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php by filling out the online form as well as reporting them to EBAY as well.

If any of you have difficulty with this company, please document and use the internet along with your local resources and agencies to assist with his business and contact information to hold him responsible for his actions. Protect your rights along with your finances by not allowing companies as such to continue in this level of business practice.

To close out, we received the wheels on May 4, 2006 and were very nice. One wheel had a broken “rivet” and another had a tiny scratch. To us, it was not worth returning and having to deal with the customer service of Lakeshore or the immaturity or lack of professionalism of the staff. The time frame between this last order was honestly, very quick. Meaning, when Alicia placed the order on Friday, we received them the following Thursday. Where the problems arose was the lack of communication between the supplier that Lakeshore uses and their lack of ethical business practice by not only notifying the customer, but taking our phone calls and not repeatedly hanging up on us stating they will give us a tracking number/phone call/email, and they never followed thru. If you take a look on EBAY, check out the comments. Granted they have quite a few positive regards, it’s the negatives that show their true colors as a business is only as strong as their weakest link.

I hope all of you think very carefully before any business ventures with Lakeshore. In my honest opinion, it is my responsibility to state the facts and protect other consumers from this type of treatment. Rest assured, there are MANY other outfits out there to obtain wheels and I would highly recommend companies such as The Tire Rack that have a superior level of customer service.

floridaben

Those front calipers are brushing against the inside of the rim when turning and braking at the same time. So, a spacer is needed, I am thinking a 5mm...what do you think? Are we talking big bucks here?

LXOGOOD

Looking at about $75-90 bux for front 5mm spacers.

SSK0771

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate circumstance.

I think customer service is very import. The companies that do well susally have great or high customer service rating.

What they put you through is unacceptable.