Bad business practices....'splain dis ta me!

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Rob LaMoy

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OK, gotta vent a tad. I have had my share of run ins when it comes to getting any kind of work done on my boat. Now call me demanding, but when someone gives me their word, I expect them to KEEP IT!



My TM has had some use put on it in the past year and not surprisingly, the bushings have gotten a little worn. So when I let off the pedal, it rattles a little. No super big deal unless you're fishing shallow, spooky, fish in a tourney. So it's under warranty, I'll get it fixed. I call my rep and she says the nearest authorized repair cntr is in Ferrisburgh, VT. OK fine, a $20 ferry ticket and about 120 miles round trip right. I called the guy last week and asked him if I brought it to him on Monday, would he be able to have it ready for me to PICK UP by this morning or earlier, "Sure, no problem", he says.



So I bring it over on Monday, go through the details again with him, and explain that I HAVE to have this motor back on my boat by Friday. "We'll have it done on Thursday", he says again.



Now call me the skeptic, but to be sure, I called again on Wednesday to tell them that Doug would be picking it up for me as I had to work and I didn't think I could get back in time from over there AND to be SURE it would be ready. Owner once again assures me, "Parts are ordered, they'll be here tomorrow morning, we'll get right on it, you can grab it at 9:00AM on Friday"



Whew....great........





So Doug calls me this morning and says, "Um....Rob, your motor isn't ready yet." WHAT????

I asked if he was kidding as I know SOME NTOWS members have been known to pull some stunts on me like this in HIGH stress times when I least need it. No joke, it's for real. The owner told Doug that he would have his guy right on it at 9:00 when he came in. "But Doug, it's 9:20 ALREADY!"

"Uh, YEAH, I know" Says Doug. Well, now I feel even worse because Doug has gone out of his way and now has to kill more time and miles until it's ready.



Well, I won't go into the call I immediately made to the owner, but if a customer calls you THREE times to verify his motor will be ready, dontcha just think a lil that he NEEDS IT by that date???



'Lil tip for any dealerships or repair centers out there:

If you give someone your word....KEEP IT!!!! Or pick up the damn phone and tell them there's a problem ASAP!!!



Well, I just got a call while typing this saying it's all set. All I can say is that it had better work flawlessly, or I'm gonna flip!



Then I went to a marine dealership here that was supposed to have my 2 new drain grates for my floor yesterday.....yup, you guessed it, not in until late this afternoon. They took my name. They took my number. They TOLD ME THEY WOULD BE IN ON THURSDAY!!!! So why not the call to save me the extra 20 minutes and 15 miles of driving out there to THEN tell me, "Oh no, we don't have them yet"



Now am I being too demanding, or do I just need to lower my standards to the sub par, ridiculous, lazy, don't give a crap if I get repeat business or if my customer's are happy, mentality of these shops?



 
Rob,



I hate that. I would prefer if a place is waiting for parts, to not specify a time. There are too many variables to get an exact time and you are right, if they aren't going to make it, a 30 second phone call explaining the delay is in order.



Rich D
 
Rob,



You are not to demanding and you should not have to lower your standards. If they give you their word, they should deliver.



I work in customer service and there are times that our parts miss shipment or the wrong part arrives. If we know that we going to miss a commit date, we contact the customer immediately. They are not always happy, but at least they are informed.



As I write this, I'm waiting for a part that should have arrived by 9am so I can repair one of our customer's systems. As soon as it arrives, I will be scrambling for the rest of the afternoon and will probably stay late to finish.



Bob G.
 
I dont think your being to demanding. Your looking for service and its too bad that a rarity these days. I have a list of places that i wont ever shop at again and it grows every day.



When i ordered my new spring parts last month they forgot to pack the shackles i ordered and paid for. i called them back to find out where my shackles were and they said oh those are on back order. WHY COULDNT THEY TELL ME THIS OVER THE PHONE WHEN I ORDERED THEM????? They gladly took my money but didnt tell me i wouldnt be getting all my parts. So i go off and make two sets at my fathers machine shop. The parts finally areived a yeasterday, over a month later now that i dont need them anymore.
 
Now everybody knows why I don't accept crap like that anymore:( Took my truck to have the tranny fixed..they told me I could come and pick it up later the next day. Three days later I picked it up and told em' they surely lost my buisness for flat out "lying". If I don't get what they tell me I'm getting or when something is not done on time..

THEY ARE HISTORY! AND I make it a point to hurt their buisness anyway I can. And trust me if you know the right people...you can hurt their buisness:) As a matter of fact...an un-named marina here in Sprigfield was actually PUT out of buisness because of their bad rep.
 
Must be a virus, seems like everyone I sent my trolling motors to they came back in worst shape than when they left.

Today societies philosyphy is, "if it's broke, throw it away and buy another."
 
That's not what I'm sick of...IT'S THESE TUDES PEOPLE HAVE;(

Nobody worries about doin' a good job anymore..just halfa$$

works for the most part.

Boy, sure am glad I'm not part of that group.... a good job has takin' me a long way in this life from toolmaking to Accounting:)

A bad job gets you nothing but heartache:(

 
Bob, I hear ya. Here at work, we call immediately if there are any problems with a customer's order. And we are the biggest in our industry because of our service standards. I wish more companies got that in their heads.
 
You can't get good service anywhere anymore.

They've been paid by the bank already. You're just a P.I.T.A making them actually work.
 
I personally am a little more forgiving with places. If they are sincere and take responsibility for when they make a mistake - I am not that upset if they show genuine sincerity in correcting the problem. To me it is not so much expecting everything to go flawlessly - it is their attitude that I look at. If it is bad, they will lose me as a customer. Sometimes you gotta look at yourself and think, how many times have you made mistakes? Especially in something that you do for a living. I know I am very far from perfect, and sometimes, even when I don't make a mistake myself, situations beyond my control can change a situation and upset a client. Now if someplace has a consistent habit of making mistakes, then I question their competency and probably won't go back in that case either. Give me a good attitude with a decent level of competency over a bad attitude anytime. IMHO

-Carl
 
Me thinks you need to chill out a bit.



There are so many outside variables that come into play.



When I put my equipment in for service, I always know the dealer will be a day or two off their estimated times.



Life is wonderful, slow down a bit and enjoy the view.



Bill
 
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