• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Am I the only one?

Share this page

LearJeff

LearJeff

Freshman Member
Offline
I've had it up to here, that's all there is to it. At first, I chalked it up to bad luck or coincidence, but after numerous "dealings" with these people, I had to vent my frustration somewhere and that somewhere is here.

There is a certain "factory" located in the Eastern U.S. that specializes in supplying sundry parts and pieces for our wonderful Little British Cars that many of us refer to as "roadsters". Maybe you've heard of them or even ordered things from them. I know I certainly have, to the tune of hundreds and hundreds of dollars, as I have been restoring my 1974 TR6 body off frame.

Their catalog is wonderfully written and illustrated, easily the best in the parts supply industry. Reading the entertaining parts descriptions interspersed with fun and informative anecdotes is an enjoyable way to spend some time.

However, the fun seems to end as soon as you call their toll free number to place an order. Am I the only one who finds EVERY single person I've EVER dealt with there to be rude and utterly obnoxious? I'm not sure why their people seem to exhibit such bad "attitudes" but a few of my buddies have related similar experiences.

I've been dealing with their attitudes for months now and I'm simply sick of it especially after today. Because today, I made the UNTHINKABLE error of calling their main number and asking if anyone was available to answer a technical question concerning cam shaft timing. The error? Calling before 12:30 PM Eastern Time. Because, as I was quite firmly informed by the terse receptionist, the TECH SUPPORT line does not open until 12:30PM. Having been put in my place, I timidly asked if I could be transferred to sales to place an order instead. "Which Sales, Sir? Level One or Level Two, there is a difference!" Oops, I didn't have their catalog in front of me, so I couldn't remember which one was which, only that one level was for people who knew the part number and the other level was for those needing "assistance". Before I could get the explanation past my lips, I was transferred to Level Two.

"Level Two sales, John." (Names have been changed to protect the guilty.)
"Uh, Hi John. I was transferred to you from the receptionist. I had originally called for some technical help, but I guess I can place an order instead. What I need is a..."
"Tech Support does NOT open until 12:30!"
"OK, no problem, I'll call back at 12:30. Anyway, what I'd like to order is a..."
"I should know because I am the person who answers the Tech Support line, but since you've managed to somehow bypass the system, I guess I'll have to try and answer your question."

Huh? Bypass the system? What?

In addition to the hundreds and hundreds of dollars spent at this particular "factory", I've also spent at least three times that amount at Moss Motors. And as of today, unless I absolutely cannot find it ANYWHERE else, I will not spend another dime with the "kind" folks at the "factory".

Thank you Moss for being the polar opposite EVERY time I have ever called to place an order. Thank you Moss (in particular Oscar and Jason) for actually recognizing my name and even asking me how my restoration project is coming along when I call to place an order. Thank you Moss for shipping my parts in two or three days TOPS, as opposed to telling me it's in stock but then not shipping it to me for a week or more. And finally, thank you Moss for being pleasant and courteous to your customers, obviously recognizing the value of repeat business and word of mouth advertising.

Looking back at the above paragraph, I'm wondering how many posting rules I've violated but so be it. Even if this post is deleted "post haste", at least I got it off my chest.

Am I the only one?
 
When I order fron ***, I always do it online. Parts in stock arrive in two days. If they don't have the parts, they may or may not eventually arrive. But when I call to cancel, it's always a pleasant experience and no problem. Even the time I missed the $5 weekend shipping deal by a couple of days, they give it to me anyway.

Sometimee the products they "manufacture" are Taiwanese junk that I return but you get this from all 3 vendors.

Sorry you have had troubles with them; I'd give them another shot, they're good people, really.

Everyone has a bad day - you just had one at the same time they did.
 
Let's keep this a generic discussion (I suspect most know who he's talking about anyway).
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
I too find myself going elsewhere first. I try BP Northwest first, very helpful, knowlegeable and friendly. Plus free candy with every order!
Moss is my other choice, much better selection though.
My complaint with TRF is back orders, which seems like every time I order! I'm ok with that as long as I know when to expect it to be filled, TRF never knows when that will be. My impression is lack of capital, so ordering is spotty at best. I had an order on BO for almost 2 years. I actually forgot about it, until I recieved a postcard from them wanting to know if I still wanted the items, although no longer at the same price that I ordered them!

Cheers,

Rob
 
Interesting post. I have dealt with these folks since they opened. 99.9 of my dealings with them have been pleasant. I have however encountered the tech fellow that you mention. I was trying to figure out which slave cylinder a customers TR4A a) had, and b) which one that it was supposed to have. I initially found this soul to be short in temper, and a bit gruff, and very very sure he was right. I have been fixing these cars for 30 years or so, and the one thing I AM sure of is that there are always exceptions to whatever it is you are doing. I had the parts book, and the parts in hand. After I finally got the fellow to actually listen to me, his demeanor changed, and after a bit he discovered that I was correct in this instance, and he solved my problem post haste. I nearly blew a gasket before we got there though. I would think that if this has been a recurring problem, perhaps you should drop a line to Charles Runion, and explain how you feel you were treated. They are a small company, and I am sure that they would rather not lose your business. This is a correctible problem, but if they don't know about it,how can they ever improve? That being said, I used to work with a chap at Start Your Engines many years ago, who moved "back home" to western Pa. and worked for "that" company. He was the gruffest SOB that I ever worked with, you know, just plain abrasive. The reality was, he is a helluva nice guy, and 25 years later I am always glad to run into him a Carlisle. Maybe folks from that region are just that way. Another thing I have learned after all these years is don't burn your bridges.
 
LearJeff, TRF has been a leader in getting obsolete parts remanufactured and has been in business along time and most of their parts are quality, But I have gone through the same as you for along time, I use to buy all my parts there and have spent thousands of dollars there but still get treated the same. They still have a back order problem that was there (when I started with them)19years ago, I call them the-Back Order Factory-. So now I only buy from them when they have the best price (which is not very often) or the part is only available from them. I now do most of my buisiness with British Parts North West, the treatment is alot better and their website is easy to navigate.
 
No, you are not the only one. I have had similar experiences in level one, but have had good service from Dave, Tim and Dan in level two. Dave is very technically oriented and will help in any way that he can, at least from my prior dealings with him.

I receive the weekly emails from Charles, who by the way does not EVER interact with a customer or return emails sent to him through the website email link, which is the one and only method of contacting him, since no operator will ever put a call into him. And yes, I've read how happy he is to pay his employees the monthly bonuses for making it over the top in sales (which we all make happen, not them!) and all of the details about HIS restoration of the black TR3. Somehow, I have a feeling that he could care less about any of his customers (unless you attend the summer party and buy more parts), some of whom have spent thousands with him to restore our cars. Yes, we get the flowery emails and the fluff about the employee bonuses, but I really don't think that the employees are all that happy and it shows in the phone attitudes.

How can you expect a business owner to understand how some of his employees treat his customers when he won't call or return an email from a customer who has spent thousands and has a real problem. Maybe he thinks that his weekly email will make it better, but Charley, here's a tip for you....it won't make it better and you'll lose big time if you don't soon start to pay attention to what is going on in your little slice of heaven.

Just for the record, I grew up less than 15 miles from his facility and the people back there are very nice people. Johnstown was and is known as "The Friendly City". I worked in Indiana for 5 years and the folks there are great as well. I have relatives living within 3 miles of his store and they're quite normal, so maybe the problem is inside those walls.

Basil, I apologize if you find this out of line, but I'm not a flamer and I've only stated what is obviously true. If you feel my post is not acceptable, please feel free to remove it. You are the man and I will comply with your rules and judgment.
 
No one has mentioned a certain Kansas company (VB), they seem to be helpful, friendly, quick. Is TRF better somehow?
 
Rob, I too have had to cancel several long term back orders...

Peter, after cooling off a bit this evening and re-reading my post, I'm sure it comes across as very petty if viewed as "one bad day". I only wish my experience was limited to today. I somewhat agree with you regarding internet orders in so much as you insulate yourself from having to deal with them over the phone! However, there is no internet access at my mechanic's shop and we are "up against it" so to speak trying to bring this project to its conclusion, thus the requirement to place orders via phone the past several weeks. Plus, I would refer you to Rob's comments regarding back orders. Otherwise, you are correct, ordering from them via their website is imminently more pleasant, times ten!

Finally, Basil, I apologize for using this wonderful forum to "bash" anyone or a company. I'll refrain from doing it again in the future. I did make an attempt to keep my description as generic as possible, however!
 
I'm sure your not alone in your dealings with "that shop". I have had my moments as well, especially with the tech guy "John" . He can be helpfull if he wants or frustraiting & rude as well. I have hung up the phone many a time wondering why I bothered.
On the positive side, most of the time I have found the staff to be easy to deal with, knowledgable and pleasant. I also appreciate the fact that they don't hit you as hard with the shipping as Moss. Many times I have found the quality of goods better than most other parts houses.
Moss definitely gets an A+ for R&D into the future of the Triumph mark, making advances in fuel injection, supercharging and many improvements to make the car more reliable. They also get high marks in customer service. They have covered defective parts, incorrect shipments & assorted problems with a smile.
Overall I would not cross anyone off my list. They both have something to offer.
 
Well, since I am usually on the MG side of things I like to order from MOSS....I've been ordering from them since the 70's and until recently have been quite satisfied. I've had a few disappointing experiences with them recently, especially when filed a complaint and still haven't heard back(almost 9 months now). VB is also pretty good, and offer a few parts MOSS doesn't....The problem with them for me is that they don't carry T series stuff.
As far as the *shop in question* goes I haven't had any bad experiences with them, but I haven't delt with them since the 80's.
 
I never ordered from the company you are venting about but I know all of us have probably had bad dealings with one company or another over the lifetime of our restorations. Especially if you do the work yourself and don't have the pull to get your order pulled correctly, in a timely manner, or get the discounts that some of the restoration shops have. For example some of my better moments include... purchase of used trunk lid and six months later a crushed trunk lid arrives. Ordered four 48 spoke wire wheels get three 48 spoke and one 60 spoke, order new ten inch rear brake shoes give shop old original shoes (which had the original green stripes in lining still) for core and wait almost a year to get rebuilds which looked like they belonged on a toyota. I also never got those original shoes back. I ordered a new gas tank and the outlet is suppose to be on right side of the tank. I get tank with outlet in center. Ordered intake and exhaust gasket for high port head snd I get I don't know what and it took a month to straigten out. I kept a journal of all these fun moments during my initial restoration life and how much it cost but I have them sealed away in an envelope so my kids can open it and get a good laugh at how stupid the old man really was when it came to this car. Anyway if you got a laugh out of this and you felt a little better about your parts problems then it was worth it for me to type it.

Harry
 
I been fortunate I guess. I've never had any problems with any of the mail order parts places. I usually order through Moss (simply because their on line order system is so easy and complete), but have ordered from most all of them. I tend to think of things I need late at night a lot. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I'm with Kurtis, I tend to order from Moss because of the On line system too and their shipping is excellent. If I order parts before 3:00 and they come from the NJ site, I will have them the next day. If they come from Cali. it usually takes three. TRF just seems to be hit and miss lately, I've had a part on BO for two months and no word as to when I will get it. I agree that it seems to be a capital shortage problem with them, to bad I hope they work it out.
 
this sort of struck a nerve. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
The "other side of the coin" is,I don't want to see any of these places go out of business.I only hope that they're watching (& listening with open ears),to places like this
so that they can improve,& still be around.
It's kind of like bypassing the local small business to
shop at MallWart.After a while people say "Whatever happened to that small store that we USED to shop at all the time?"
- My 2 cents.

- Doug
 
Obviously there is not a moderator online at this time of night on the west coast...

I'd suggest we all just let it be. The line of libel and slander has been crossed. I'd be very surprised if this thread makes it past noon tomorrow.

Re-read the rules of this forum.
 
I won't get anything from the place with the initials "VB". Last year I ordered some parts and was sent the wrong items in baggies that were labeled with the part numbers of what I had ordered. Customer service was non existent! Spoke to 3 different reps over the course of 2 weeks and they treated me like a thief! They basically said that I made up this situation and that I had gotten the correct parts. I persisted and finally was able to speak to the manager of customer service and she admitted to me that this was the fault of a vender/fulfillment house. After 6 weeks of trying to get a refund it finally happened and I have never even considered getting anything from them again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
I heard from someone else about my frustration with this particular company and he encouraged me to view the situation from a different perspective: Customer Support. Only not in the traditional sense. In his view, we as customers should try to support our limited number of vendors as equally as possible in order to stave off the day where maybe only one "Giant" remains, thus garnering the ability to dictate prices and generally monopolize the Triumph parts supply business.

I admit, I hadn't thought of it that way. That line of thinking goes along with what a previous respondent to this thread said, "Don't burn your bridges." Perhaps you both are right, but I would still add that Customer Support should still work the "traditional" way as well.
 
I'm glad that this post has been allowed to ride as even those who have had quasi-positive things to say in R's defense have helped to sober the atmospere. My dealings with them have been on-line with NO human interaction. Maybe the humans at the factory need to be cut a little slack, maybe their leadership has lead them to a less than optimum environment. I'm glad they are still available to us and I hope they learn that WE ARE ALWAYS RIGHT (even if that's hardly the case) or Moss and Vicky and Ebay will take up the slack...

Ach
 
Back
Top