The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

Order All Wrong

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

I posting to explain the current situation I am in after ordering parts for my car. I'd like to hear from those on the board who have ordered many parts for their cars and if they've had any issues. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me in such a great magnitude.

Last Tuesday (Feb. 21) I ordered a set of axle backs and was told delivery would be 3-4 business days. (Website information) On Friday, Feb. 24 the order had not shipped out but I had received the billing for the product. I called the company and they stated the parts come from the manufacture and they just sell/distribute.

The company reached the manufacture and they informed them their parts/shipping guy has been on vacation and my order was not shipped out when received. They apologized and immediately gave me a tracking number.

I looked up the tracking number and saw it was scheduled to deliver today (March 1) but also saw the number of packages was 3 and the weight over 50lbs. This was strange as I thought it should only be 1 package and under 30lbs.....but nothing I could do about it, so I awaited the delivery.

Today the UPS guy showed up and delivered the said three packages. As I put them in the garage, something just didn't add up. When I opened all the boxes, I was surprised to see what I did.

First, the original delivery date was wrong and second the parts I ordered were not correct in the shipment. In the shipment was a set of axle backs (like the ones I wanted) just not black powder coated.

Now is where the story really turns interesting. In the other boxes plus the ones holding a set of axle backs was a complete exhaust system! I had the x-pipe, long tube headers and 3'' exhaust with axle backs.

Obviously this was a mistake and I couldn't just let it be. I know some may say it's their fault but I have a conscious and would always do the right thing. So I called the company and informed them of what was done through their customer service department. The personnel in customer service was understanding and said he would call the manufacture......of course they were closed being on the east coast.

Now he said "they" (not sure if he means his company or the manufactures) would make sure this was made right. The question remains, what exactly will they do? We are talking about an approximate $1,500-$2,000 mistake.

As I said earlier, this is the first time I've really ordered any car parts for this car and first time having a mistake like this made. What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter and what's a fair compensation if any? Should I say or ask for anything?
 
SUPRMN said:
What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter and what's a fair compensation if any? Should I say or ask for anything?

Sounds like you did the right thing .... you asked for opinions so .... if it were me I would not ask for anything but if they offered something like a refund of your shipping costs I would take it and be happy.
 
2012YellowBoss said:
SUPRMN said:
What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter and what's a fair compensation if any? Should I say or ask for anything?

Sounds like you did the right thing .... you asked for opinions so .... if it were me I would not ask for anything but if they offered something like a refund of your shipping costs I would take it and be happy.
I agree with Scott. Unfortunately stuff like this happens. What really matters is if the company addresses your concerns and it genuinely interested in your business. If not don't order from them again. I recently had a bad experience that was related to the parts manufacturer and not the reseller. The reseller was very good about following up with me and took care of my concerns. Even though the part I ordered was two weeks late I will give them more business in the future because of their good customer service.
 
You ask if you should say anything? Yes. Absolutely you should. If you were the owner of the company where this happened, would you want to know? Yes.

Stating the obvious here: There's a breakdown in a process/system/ at some level----- whether in an human error process, ordering system, a fulfillment system/linkage/, shipping cross reference/etc.(stating the obvious).

I can assure you that someone with a vested interest in the revenue and expense controls of the company wants to know about these issues and trace the root cause to explain why this kind of leakage/error occurred. Did it manifest on the distributor end? The manufacturer end? It is honest folks like you that reach back and report the issue and allow the opportunity for someone to rectify and prevent this from happening again. Whenever this has happened to me, I always ask to speak to leadership and whoever I can identify that has a major vested interest at the companies. Then have a focused conversation. Kudos to you for reaching back to them.....
 
I agree with both of you! Mistakes happen all the time and the last thing I want is someone getting into trouble for it.

Hopefully the company will do the right thing as I did. It would be nice for them to address the main issue here which is getting me the correct part I originally ordered. By the time this is all done, the parts will have taken over 2 weeks to get here vs the 3-4 business days as stated.
 
And, to clarify, my purpose for talking to leadership is not that I want anyone in trouble.(unless there is a systemic issue). Far from it. I want to help them find the issue and breakdown if there was one. If it's an honest mistake and everything checks out with the process, then wonderful. It's an honest mistake. We all make them. I hope this gets rectified to your satisfaction and they treat you right. Stellar customer service these days is sometimes very hard to find. It's always refreshing to find it(with correct orders). And, even more refreshing when customer service is given to correct any wrongs.
 
I would be willing to bet that the company will be more than happy to exchange the parts they sent for the ones you want without cost to you. It would mean they are saving a ton of money getting the other parts back.
 
PTRocks said:
I would be willing to bet that the company will be more than happy to exchange the parts they sent for the ones you want without cost to you. It would mean they are saving a ton of money getting the other parts back.


Well the above statement couldn't be any further from the truth!!

I heard back from the manufacture and they just said "sorry" for the mistake, we will issue a call tag for UPS to pick it up. I got a small thank you and basically end of conversation. When I mentioned the possibility of any type of reimbursement, I was referred back to the original company I placed the order with.

To top things off with the manufacture, I asked about my original product order and they stated it wasn't currently in stock. However, they would ship it out by Monday. This just set me off because not only did they seem somewhat ungrateful but their website with said product showed it was in STOCK.

I called the company I placed the order with and we spoke about my conversation with the manufacture. The company was more than happy to refund my shipping and handling but only after I said something about it per what was not said by the manufacture.

In the long run, I told the company I understand the manufacture needs to make money off of them and they (company) need to make money off of me......it's sales! So the decision for me was to cancel my order all together since I don't feel comfortable giving my money to a manufacture who seemed indifferent about the whole thing.

We know when it comes to parts, the manufacture doesn't spend nearly half as much as what they or others charge for the part. JMO

Back to square one I guess.
 
That's pretty typical for manufacturers honestly. They're in the business of making things. Dealers are in the business of selling things. The manufacturers are good at design, engineering and production, but not so much at customer service. Dealers excel at sales and customer service. If manufacturers excelled at sales and customer service, they wouldn't need dealers :D Just my $0.02
 
In the day and age of the internet and social media, I can say it may be best for businesses to remember what customer service is all about!

It would be simple of me to just blast the manufacture through Facebook, Twitter, Message Boards and more but that would just mean I am no better than they are.

Thanks for everyone's input or two cents.......I will just move on and know what I did was the right thing.
 
And now the plot thickens!!

The company whom I ordered the parts from deducted my bank account in less than 24 hours. I have cancelled the order and awaiting my refund which after 2 days hasn't arrived.

The manufacture just sent me a call tag for their misplaced order and is valid for 30 days.

Personally (correct me if I am wrong) but the manufacture will not get their product until my refund is credited. I will be calling the company tomorrow since nothing has been credited.

Love how when you purchase something they immediately want payment but when you return something its whenever they feel like getting to it!! JMO
 
Okay. Have you spoken to someone who has real authority? You need to do that and get a commitment from them to see this through in total and make it all right. Start working your way up the chain with formal, direct, and firm conviction. Don't return anything yet.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top