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Mildly annoyed with VB

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UmmYeahOk

UmmYeahOk

Jedi Warrior
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Ive had issues with them before. Sometimes their fault, sometimes mine, but theyve always come through for me. Well today I ordered a bunch of stuff from them. A couple hours later the winter catalog comes in the mail. I quickly look, and sure enough almost everything I ordered is on sale!!!

So I quickly called them up. Im thinking they can either do a quick price adjust, or cancel my order and simply reorder. But the lady swears they dont have a winter catalog. I mention that Im looking right at it, the fall is SG.60 and has a blue spitfire, the winter is SG.61 and has a red spitfire. She puts me on hold for a short time. When she comes back she explains to me that they cant charge winter pricing until Dec 1!!! Thats wed!

Normally I would have just canceled, and ordered it later, but the hope is my car will get painted next week, and need a part before then.

Way to celebrate Cyber Monday VB! :frown:
 
That call needs to go to a senior manager. Those people are smarter than to do something like that to a repeat customer.

And if they aren't, they better get smarter soon, as this is always a problem when catalogs go out in the mail. Therefore, this should not be a big deal for them to adjust in your favor.
 
As I've said many times before, the worth of a company is not the problems, but rather how they handle them. As Paul says, go higher up the chain of command.
 
Try this person:
Connie Ridgeway,
Director, Marketing
Long Motor Corp. (VB Parent Company)
913-541-1525
 
Gliderman8 said:
As Paul says, go higher up the chain of command.
Click to expand...
6TTR3A said:
Try this person:
Connie Ridgeway,
Director, Marketing
Long Motor Corp. (VB Parent Company)
913-541-1525
Click to expand...

Thanks. Well, I totaled the amount and it ends up being a little over $13 that I would have saved, (I bought a lot of tiny items) which is why I was "mildly annoyed" rather than seriously ticked off. I actually had been wondering when the new catalog would be coming out since I saved hundreds last year. So with that small amount, I dont know if its worth harassing the chain of command over. Especially since I had already decided that I would have to spend that much anyway. If it were truly an error, than yeah, especially if I were trying to order after the fact. But you cant even order from the winter catalog online as it doesnt exist on their site. This computer glitch may be why the customer support had no idea about the new catalog. Question though, is it a glitch, or did they do it on purpose? Ive worked in retail for over 7 years, and Ive seen WRONG customers fight and fight just to save a nickel. So when something rings up wrong when Im a shopper, I just dont know what to do. I dont want people to see me like I see those people. Ive ended up losing money simply because I was too afraid to hold up a line.

The way I shop on VB is I use the catalog and make a grocery list with part #s, then enter them straight into my shopping cart. However one time I entered an item and it kept ringing up wrong. Much more expensive. I couldnt figure out why, and was going to call, but it was very late at night. But when I opened the pdf version of the very same catalog I was ordering from, when I clicked on the same part number, it landed in my shopping cart with the correct price. Strange, and because I found the fix, and didnt complain, I doubt anyone at VB knew about it.

As for treating a customer right... ...I own a GT6, I know there may be other spitfire sites out there, but Im big about pricing. SpitBits is good, but Ive heard about return issues. And Rimmer Bros, with shipping theyre going to cost more than anyone else. Actually, I think they may have a deal with VB, as I once got a part from VB with a RB label on it. I quickly looked up the part and it was cheaper at RB! But only by a few cents, and when you consider shipping, VB is the winner.

Anyway, do you all thing I should call back and try again even though its only $13 and my stuff probably has already been shipped? Does Connie have an email address? Thats one thing about VB that I dont like. The lack of online support. I would much rather email total strangers than call them.
 
Two comments you made:

"Strange, and because I found the fix, and didnt complain, I doubt anyone at VB knew about it."

If they don't know, they can't fix what's wrong.

"Thats one thing about VB that I dont like. The lack of online support. I would much rather email total strangers than call them."

That's where being "old school" works. "Online support" is a total oxymoron for me. I want to talk to a real person, and write down the gist of the conversation, with date, time, and that person's name. Though I spend far too much time at this keyboard, I still don't trust it.

But then, I'm a Luddite - can't help myself!

Hope you get it worked out.

Mickey
 
Oh, and I just remembered: I had a problem with an interior kit I ordered from them; one of the pieces was wrong. I called them, gave them the order number and the issue, and they sent the right piece that day.
 
Call. It's your money, you're a repeat customer. Look at it this way in any situation: if it's only a dime, but it keeps happening over and over because everyone says "it's only a dime", that's a lot of free dimes that company got. I've learned that I work hard enough for my money to where no one gets more than they deserve. Just call, explain the situation, and ask if they can help. I've had places tell me they can't refund the difference but will give me a credit, which at a parts place is good enough, as I always need something.
 
Mickey Richaud said:
Two comments you made:

"Strange, and because I found the fix, and didnt complain, I doubt anyone at VB knew about it."

If they don't know, they can't fix what's wrong.

"Thats one thing about VB that I dont like. The lack of online support. I would much rather email total strangers than call them."

That's where being "old school" works. "Online support" is a total oxymoron for me. I want to talk to a real person, and write down the gist of the conversation, with date, time, and that person's name. Though I spend far too much time at this keyboard, I still don't trust it.

But then, I'm a Luddite - can't help myself!

Hope you get it worked out.

Mickey
Click to expand...

Well, I do most of my online shopping after hours. In that situation I fiddled with that part number for a good 5 minutes. With a simple email address, I would have emailed them instantly. Even after I found a solution, they would at least know about it. Even if it were a user error, they would know about it, and may try to make it a little easier for customers. However, a case like this would require me to wait till the next day, take time to make a call, possibly even order over the phone, where I may not even get an email receipt. And since a solution to the issue was found, it wasnt worth my time, to report such an error.

Mickey Richaud said:
Oh, and I just remembered: I had a problem with an interior kit I ordered from them; one of the pieces was wrong. I called them, gave them the order number and the issue, and they sent the right piece that day.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like I said, Ive had issues before. Whether it was my fault or theirs, theyve always fixed the problem. Once they forgot an item. When I called they acted like it may still be hidden in the box (since they like to bury things in billions of peanuts) Even though I told them that I checked, and dumped everything out, they left me looking again. I was a little upset by it, but after several days went by, I was going to call again. However they called me back (different person) asking me if I had found the part. When I said no, they quickly shipped me a new one. Considering that theyre paying shipping, and that I could be a liar, and simply wanted a freebie, thats a pretty big move to help out a customer.

Theres really only 2 things Id change about VB:

1) their 180 day return policy. Ok, so, how many retailers are that awesome at accepting returns so late? 30day? 60day? I mistakenly ordered things I didnt need, only to discover the issue about a year later. Because I keep all my receipts, they accepted all of my returns, however a restocking fee was applied due to the lateness of the purchase date.

2) their obnoxious packing system. The catalog says that their peanuts biodegrade in the sun. I took a couple of those suckers in a clear bag and left them out in the blazing TX sun for several weeks. Nothing happened. I then tossed them in a larger bag where they could not see sunlight, along with all the others. Anyone whos ever had more than 3 orders from them, will understand my issue. They claim its environmentally friendly, but what about peanuts that instantly degrade when exposed to water? What about plastic air pockets? I dunno, just something Ive always wondered about.

6TTR3A said:
<ConnieR@longmotor.net>
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks
 
I agree with the packing issue. I have several large boxes and a few bags sitting around full of the peanuts. Fortunately I sell on Ebay so I can reuse them for shipping but still. I've had issues with them not including something that I ordered and they always sent the part right away. Got a bugeye clutch from them a couple months ago that turned out to be defective, they shiped me out another one before even getting the defective one back and this is not a cheap part. Overall I'm pretty happy with their service. Of course I spend several thousand with them a year so maybe they are just trying to keep me happy. The thing about the catalog is kind of BS, it seems like if they sent them out then they should honor the pricing in it. I havn't got my winter catalogs yet, looking forward to seeing more things to send them my money on.
 
Sweet. Connie rules!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Dear Niki,

I am so sorry about the situation.
I went to the Customer Service Supervisor and she will be taking care of
this for you.
Thank you so much for your contacting me and thank you for being a loyal
customer!
Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. [/QUOTE]
 
You might as well talk to a person at Sears about your vehicle. I use them only as a last resort. The person that answers your call knows nothing about what you want, just the part number. Avoid, in my opinion.
 
Thats why I make sure I have part #s and order #s in hand. Im assuming the person who answers the phones for VB not only is dealing with austin and jag orders, but Chevy pickups, and RX-7 orders.... ...Im just thankful theyre call center is still US based.
 
Got a call from them today. They said they're refunding me $7. $13 was the real price difference though, not including shipping differences. But I didn't argue because they explained to me where it said "Dec 1," page 3. After looking all over, in the lower left hand corner, it reads "Effective: December 1, 2010." Just above that it reads "copyright 2011." Now how did they do that? They sell parts for deloreans too?

I guess the customer support and website don't get the catalogs until that day, but hiding a date like that is like putting the expiration date of coupons on the back, in smaller print, hidden with the cashier instructions (which even cashiers don't ever read)
 
Wonderful...

...so I needed to buy 2 door hinges. The old "fall" catalog says theyre $24.95 a piece. Well their "winter" catalog says theyre $34.95, but with the winter special its $29.95. It says "Lower Prices on Door Components!"

In addition to this annoyance, when entered in my shopping cart it sells for $34.95!!! This is they price they "claim" is what they sell it without the special, even though thats $10 more than a few days ago. To correct, one must again click the item in the catalog, and not just enter the code... ...but its still $5 more than it was a few days ago WITHOUT the sale.
 
Me, I like TRF. Don't know about their support for the GT6, though. Just sayin'.
 
Strange, I'm on my phone so I can't check, but I checked TRF last night and they were $29.99 a piece. It even listed it for the GT6 even though I assumed they would just be listed for just the spitfire.

And spitbits had them for $39.99, plus I already have an issue with them due to a poorly made part that only they sell. And Moss Motors also sells them for $29.99, but their diagram is confusing.

I did shop around. I swear I didn't see that TRF price, otherwise I'd go with them. I went ahead with VB because not only did they have it cheaper or equally priced, but I already had an account with them. Sometimes convience is worth patronage.
 
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