General TR Poor Customer Service -

Be very careful ordering windscreens as I just had a bad experience ordering one at (PM for company). I ordered a Triplexx windscreen along with some other small parts back in February and it arrived in apparently good condition, wrapped in bubble wrap within a large cardboard box. The box was about 40% larger than the windscreen and there were no peanuts or anything to stop the wrapped windscreen from moving around inside the box. It arrived promptly via Fedex International and the box showed no signs of any abuse whatsoever. I unpacked it and everything inside and everything appeared to be in good condition. I did not open the bubble wrapped windscreen wanting to protect it until I had the time to install it and placed it carefully in the trunk of my TR where it remained until the other day.
After taking my windscreen apart and removing the new windscreen from my trunk, I removed the bubble wrap and protective plastic and discovered to my dismay that the corner was completely cracked and unrepairable/unuseable. (see pic below) I contacted ...the vendor...who denied any liability using the excuse that "too much time had expired" for them to submit a claim to Fedex. The truth be told, according to vendors in the glass industry FEDEX will never accept liability for breakage and most vendors will just eat the cost http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?53585-Making-a-claim-with-fedex-for-broken-glass so ...the vendor... basis for liability denial falls fall short of the truth. Since the box itself was undamaged, the damage was surely caused due to poor packing by Vendor’s shipping department not securing the bubble wrapped windscreen within the box itself. (There box should have been stuffed with peanuts or large pieces of plastic bubble to secure against movement within the cardboard),

Between the cost of a replacement windscreen and shipping and clearing I am out probably 270 or so British pounds (about $350 USD), not an insignificant sum. I promptly wrote 3 e-mails to The vendor customer service and after attempts at resolution including an offer to split the cost of Windscreen replacement they refused any help whatsoever standing on the claim that Fedex would no longer accept a claim of liability.
IMO this is extremely poor customer service and one should be very concerned about ordering parts from them.

Re: Poor Customer Service -

I'm sorry to hear about this incident with the vendor, but you do realize that you should have taken off the bubble wrap and carefully inspected the glass as soon as the item arrived. So, it this regard you have to share in the responsibility. However, poor packaging on Rimmers part also puts them in a responsible position, and your offer to split the costs should have been a workable solution.

A friend of mine with a TR3B ran into the exact same problem with Moss. Although his windscreen came well packed, he also didn't fully unpack it until he asked me to come help him install the screen about a year after he received it. He unwrapped it, and a piece was broken from one of the lower corners. Since he basically restored his whole TR with parts from Moss, I told him to give Moss a call and see what they will do. Without even seeing the broken glass, Moss stepped up to the plate, and sent him another windscreen and all he had to pay was the shipping. When asked if they wanted the broken one back, they told him to just junk it. In this case, I'm sure it was because my friend spent so much money with them over the years he was doing the resto.

Re: Poor Customer Service -

Art I agree that Moss and TRF both have excellent customer service. Having done 3 full frame off restorations and driving all of them over the past 30 years As you can imagine i have placed at least 100 separate orders and if ever there was an issue it was resolved both quickly and without argument. Amongst them was exchanging an entire interior kit when i discovered that my tr3a never came in that color for that particular year and them replacing three times one of those new improved leakproof rear engine seals as well as resending parts that were charged for but never sent.

I don’t think it has anything to do with how much one spends with the suppliers but more on emphasis that they try to do their best to give great service and that they know the value of goodwill.
You are right i should have checked the windscreen for damage when it arrived but whether or not it would have been reported earlier, i suspect that vendor would have passed the buck in the high likelihood fedex would have denied liability since the glass was clearly not secure within the box.
To me it is a great example of very poor customer service in a business where word of mouth is very important.

Re: Poor Customer Service - Rimmer Brothers -

You might contact your credit card provider. Often they will come to your aid and help resolve the problem.

Just a friendly reminder that we ask folks not register complaints about vendors by name. I know some may disagree with rule #7 but I do have reasons for it. This is not to suggest you don't have a legitimate grip (sounds like you probably do). You can discuss the issue you had generically and if someone wants to know who the vendor is, you can certainly tell them by PM (Private Message).

That said, I know it stinks when you run into these kinds of problems (I have had similar issues with other vendors). I saw one suggestion to contact your credit card company - that might be worth a shot.

Apologies Basil i was not aware of your rule.

As an interesting aside someone on another forum pointed out that the fracture was odd in that it did not appear to be from an impact and speculated that it may have been caused by a windscreen frame screw. I think he hit the nail ( "screw" ) on the head when he stated that he thought that the windscreen was a “return”. He noted that the fracture appears to be from something pointed putting pressure on the side of the glass rather than being cause by impact. I inserted the glass into the frame and lo and behold it lines up almost perfectly with the top hidden screw that holds the 90 degree steel corner to the frame. I would bet that someone replaced the screw with a longer one and while trying to screw the frame back together, the screw put pressure on the glass until it cracked. Then they sent the windscreen back for credit and no one at the supplier (PM for company) inspected the return.

I suppose this does not speak highly of the suppliers (PM for company) verification of returns process, imagine any supplier who sends out returned and damaged items to a customer without properly checking that the item being returned is not damaged.....and they implied that I was neglectful in not verifying immediately that the item was received damaged, it now appears that this was not a damage sustained in shipping but one of negligence on their part and I have to pay the price!

Have you considered small claims court? Not sure if it would be worth it but maybe an option. Your speculation about how it got damaged sounds very plausible. I don't know how much time elapsed before you discovered the damage, but your experience serves as a good reminder for all of us to be sure to inspect parts as soon as you get them.

I actually bought a windshield from local nation chain not too long ago “Sound Auto Glass” for a tr3 for about 125.00 and they ordered the glass out of Canada. Plus I heard Amazon has them and will guarantee shipping satisfaction.

Basil, i’m in canada and the supplier (pm for company) is in the UK ......small claims court is not an option

Your credit card issuer should help you. I would also call the supplier (they have a toll free number from US don’t know about Canada) and speak with a MANAGER.

I will third the credit card company suggestion, some friends mentioned disputing charges to me a few years back. I have done it in a couple instances now with two different companies and gotten charges completely reversed. In the 2nd instance it was with a rental car company where what they told me did not match what the written contract. They took my word that the company misrepresented. Anyhow, if you win with CC company you win with vendor, as they won't get paid or will get a debit on their account for the item.

[FONT=&quot]I ordered a wind screen for my 1961 Triumph TR3 from [/FONT][FONT=&quot]ProSource Glass International in Andover MA[/FONT][FONT=&quot], very reasonable cost. Richard told me it was the last one in stock. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They shipped immediately UPS and I had it within 2 days...Well when it arrived the box had been damaged, even though the markings on the box clearly indicated how to handle.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sure enough one corner was broken, layers and layers of bubble wrap and packing material and UPS still managed to damage it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I emailed photos to Richard at Pro Source who promptly replied, they ship all over the country and never have a problem. He offered me several options on how he could remedy the problem.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Did I mention it was the only one he had in stock, a new shipment wouldn't be in for several weeks, he offered me an upgraded windshield ([/FONT][FONT=&quot]Triplex in stock) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]at an additional minimal cost that he could ship in a few days. He also offered other options, a full refund and even offered delivering it himself on one of his monthly trips to CT.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The second wind screen was re-shipped and arrived safe and sound...whew! [/FONT]
[FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]That is CUSTOMER SERVICE!! [/FONT]
[FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I have gotten in the habit of photographing parts and packaging as I order them, my restoration took more years than I like to think about so it's helpful to have a record of there arrival and condition.[/FONT]
[FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Cheers[/FONT]
[FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Colin[/FONT]
[FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1961 TRA - TS/81208[/FONT]

My TR3A came with a spare Wind Shield. It was supplied by TRF in this wooden box. I put the 2 strips across the front to replace the pieces that the PO had removed when I presume he was checking the screen. This was purchased in the late 1990s. I do not know how they ship their screens today but back then they did a great job.

David

TRHARDTOP said:

[FONT=&quot]I ordered a wind screen for my 1961 Triumph TR3 from [/FONT][FONT=&quot]ProSource Glass International in Andover MA[/FONT][FONT=&quot], very reasonable cost. Richard told me it was the last one in stock. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]They shipped immediately UPS and I had it within 2 days...Well when it arrived the box had been damaged, even though the markings on the box clearly indicated how to handle.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Sure enough one corner was broken, layers and layers of bubble wrap and packing material and UPS still managed to damage it.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I emailed photos to Richard at Pro Source who promptly replied, they ship all over the country and never have a problem. He offered me several options on how he could remedy the problem.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Did I mention it was the only one he had in stock, a new shipment wouldn't be in for several weeks, he offered me an upgraded windshield ([/FONT][FONT=&quot]Triplex in stock) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]at an additional minimal cost that he could ship in a few days. He also offered other options, a full refund and even offered delivering it himself on one of his monthly trips to CT.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]The second wind screen was re-shipped and arrived safe and sound...whew! [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]That is CUSTOMER SERVICE!! [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I have gotten in the habit of photographing parts and packaging as I order them, my restoration took more years than I like to think about so it's helpful to have a record of there arrival and condition.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Cheers[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Colin[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1961 TRA - TS/81208[/FONT]

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Collin, I am glad to hear that you had such a good experience with Prosource as that is precisely whom I ordered the replacement screen with. In fact, Richard answered my inquiry on Sunday (which vendor does that nowadays???) My experience with the other vendor (PM if you wish to know whom) would make for a great Harvard case study of how NOT to treat a client. Of course I suppose that the Brits standards and expectations of customer service might be somewhat lower than ours in North America. To put a final end to my travails in this regard, I e-mailed the vendor whom I had originally ordered the windscreen replacement from in a final attempt to give them the opportunity to reconsider their denial of responsibility and explained to them exactly how I surmised that the windscreen had been damaged in a previous attempt by another previous client at installation including a picture showing exactly where one of the one of the screws holding the corner steel bracket would have caused the damage leaving absolutely no doubt as to what had caused the damage and that clearly the damage to the windscreen was not done in transit. So what do you think the vendor did? They sent me back an e-mail saying that their technical department and management fully agreed with my assessment and that indeed the damage had not occurred in transit and then went on accusing me of doing exactly that, that I was the one who damaged the windscreen trying to install it. Now that REALLY BLEW ME AWAY! Like which twit would cause damage, tell them exactly how they misused the product and then demand a replacement?????? They surely must take their customers for complete fools to even suggest such a thing. Of course being a valued customer they were gracious enough to offer me a 15 BP credit (on a 250 BP loss) to keep me as a customer which I then instructed them to donate to their favorite charity. Truly an unbelievable experience leaving me in utter disbelief at how badly one could handle a customer complaint. RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!