Hot Rods So-Cal Speed Shop after sales Suck – Time to burn all their T-Shirts

Some folks have real problems.

 

If that's the only problem I ever see with a supplier. My oh
My. What were you expecting? A partial refund? This isn't Prada.

 

Small problem easily fixed for sure. Some times you just have to suck it up. But as a small business owner the principle holds water. What's the old saying? " treat people right and they will tell a few of their friends, treat em bad and they will tell everybody". Mistakes happen. At our shop we call it " falling on the sword" sometimes we ( the business owner) eat the cost if we goofed or a detail was mis communicated to make it right. But personally I'd take the wrong colored part, shake my head, spray it red and get on with it.

 

Paint it red..dye their T-shirts black.
Agreed their response was lame.

 

Paint it and use their shirts to wipe up the drips and overspray.

 

JEEZ!

 

Really it is a minor issue. But the real deal I believe with the OP is the web site said Red, the packing slip said Red, the box said Red. But SoCal says we don't offer Red any longer. I can understand them not updating the web site the person in charge of that probably knows nothing of any Hot Rod part. But the box and packing slip is a real simple fix that the person working in the shipping department should know. Scuff it down paint it Red and have a couple cool one's to cool off! Maybe they will send ya a couple new bright shinny T-shirts! Joe

 

Oldsjoe I think you hit it right on the head-"the person in charge of that probably knows nothing of any hot rod part". Any way you look at it it is poor customer service.

 

No shit ! 5 minutes with a spray can and it will be red again ! I am glad SoCal finally got rid of that red one and went to black, I have had to spray paint mine every time I bought one.

If this is the biggest complaint you have in your life, you are very lucky.


Don

 

Reminds me of a local fellow who was in the fiberglass parts industry for yrs. If you took a part back to him and informed him that it wouldn't fit as described his patent response was, "Well were you able to make it fit!?".........I understand your frustration and agree that the SoCal response was lame but, in the big picture, it's small potatoes.

 

I have used So-cal Arizona with good luck

 

Totally agree. But with the iconic name of So-Cal in the hotrod biz since damn near the beginning, it becomes a simple matter of honor & principle. DO the right thing, no matter the size of the potato. Credit the guy a few bucks for his trouble, would be a nice gesture.

 

Don't buy their spoon pedal... just saying...

 

Apparently the email didn't get the point across. I know it's "small potatoes" and every is telling you to suck it up but lets be real, everyone who just told you that has flipped out for something that is just as trivial.

It it were my business and because of the internet error I would have compensated for the incorrect info was posted on the website. They are running a business. It is their mistake to fix if they have any integrity at all. There should have been an email before anything ever shipped informing you that they no longer carry red and would you want black. If you didn't want black I would have given you a full refund before shipping. At this point I would do a chargeback on my credit card. They can send you return postage if they want the item back after that.

 

Read their response:

“HI GARY

WE ARE NO LONGER DOING THE RED SHOCKS OR STABILIZERS. SORRY THE STABILIZERS WE ONLY HAVE BLACK. THE RED OPTION

SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN OFF THE WEB SITE.

RAY”

What more did we expect them to say or do ? They did apologize, explain the problem, and they even took the time to answer his email. All for a $39.00 part that can be bug bombed red in no time or effort. Hell, I have two red ones on my 27 that I added at Turkey run to solve my worn kingpin problems so I could use the car during that show, and I will have to paint one of them black when I redo the front end.

I just think the OP is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Don

 

...seems like red would stick out more than black to me, unless your whole front end is red,...

 

I've been a So-Cal dealer for them from the start and have always been treated great. Never any problems if a mistake was mine or theirs. This is a minor glitch in the radar, maybe a little better wording on their response would have worked. Time to put this one to bed!

 

You should get what you ordered and paid for ,nothing less.

 

So what is the level of inconvenience that a customer is supposed to tolerate?

Let's look at two different ways the OP can "deal" with it, as sending it back is not an option.

Say the OP (assuming he needs paint/etc) now has to drive into town buy a can of paint, sandpaper, masking tape, come home and spend some time scuffing it up, spray it.

Ya, just a few bucks in gas and materials and maybe a few hours of his time.


Say he sprayed his chassis at home, so has the paint..let's see, sand it, mask it spray it.
Now stop and take more time to clean out his gun..maybe a few hours again?

Face it, SoCal effed up and all the OP get's is a "sorry"?

How about if you're a shop owner and you have to pay you employee to fix it?
How about if you are a one-man-band shop owner who charges 80-120 and hour and you have to fix SoCals mistake instead of spending the hour working on someones car/issues/etc?-you just lost money.

 

I believe I know who you talking about Don....I know my 29 roadster body that I got from a fiberglass maker in Maryland sure as hell didn't fit, the doors, or trunk, or frame....and yes I did have to make it fit. no fiberglass ever again for me!

 

More Tuesdays than I can count have passed, and I have yet to see a dime of the money owed for those cheeseburgers...

 

...........Yeah, I didn't want to mention any names 'cause he really was (is) a good guy. Long out of that business now, he still pops up at events now and then.

 

I know what your saying, I went there because I had heard for a long time that he made good stuff, but it was right after he had sold the business I believe. all good now it only took 4 years of body work but it turned out good.

 

I have a few bones to pick with so-cal myself and as much as I'd like to join in with you I just can't. Everything you said is 100% true but it's just color. The color of a suspension part.
Plus the OP's email doesn't really elicit a polite response or a sorry let alone grease. Every single part I get needs modified in some kind of way. What's the big deal about the color. Bomb it red and move on.

 

If you ordered a Big Mac and received a Filet o Fish you would be disapointed. Its not what you ordered, poor response for running a business. But they are still willing to keep your money and not back up their mistake. I don't eat Mickey D's just saying

 

I agree with Spoggie here buy a can of red spray paint and go to town.

On the T shirts to burn them is like cutting off your nose to spite your face unless they were free. Either give them away or take a black indelible marker and write BLACK is the NEW RED or VOID over the socal speed shop and wear them in protest

 

little pills make a fellow mellow...

 

I painted her like you said and shes not too happy about it either ..


as for the one person like they said the person pulling the part should have questioned it and made some sort of attempt of contacting him to see if they still wanted it specailly for the pace it was going too ,
when I worked auto parts we didn't assume it was ok we verified , because if we did and the customer specified a brand name and sent them the cheaper one and billed properly, our ass was consumed by them on the phone ! ( when a mechanic wants moog you send it, not a off brand part ) and it happened to many of my then co workers who wouldn't spend 5 minutes contacting them and see if they will take the other part . and today its a simple e mail , no longer do we have to worry about time zones and waking people up at 2-3 in the morning .