Hot Rods 1st experience with Bob Drake Automotive was less than pleasant.

One pannel

 

Fine. I'm not a metal fabricator, so I have no idea if your one panel is the equivalent to stamping out big '40 Ford parts or not. But, let's say you're completely right and that I not only can't remember the story but that it was wrong to start with. Feel better?

I think this thread, started about a customer service issue, is more than done.

 

Woah ... Not arguing with you or putting you down at all ... just making you and who ever else reads this the power to weed through bullshit we been told .

It pisses me off when I hear " we don't have the capability to make it here" spewed by some suit .. Just want people to open their eyes and see how they were sold out and by who...

My dad made a huge effort to by USA stuff in the 80s and 90s... i didnt care as much then ...so im as much of the problem as many others ...

we are now a society that expects inferior parts , and waiting inline for terrible service..and shocked when its a quality piece that fits or we get excellent service.... because "thats just the way it is these days"


Not going any further , as I'm hingeing on " political" already

 

We have the same name for him in England, I won't buy there anymore

 

I'm not hiding from nobody. I didn't realize my age is not on my profile and don't see the relevance. I'm not a liar so...... . The most important point I wanted to make is that we need to put the word out on below par companies. An informed consumer is a smart consumer. The rest of the points? We can simply agree to disagree with no shouting or anger ( I refuse to participate in that anyway.) Am I a sweetheart or what?

 

You may have missed this in another post and it may change your mind: "Bob pours his heart into every part." Damn, I got a tear runnin down my cheek.

 

Signature of a member here; "Treat me good, I'll treat you better- treat me bad, I'll treat you worse" "Sonny" Barger, President of a group of Motorcycle Enthusiasts in San Bernardino, Calif.

Customer service is becoming a lost art- what I always figure is even if you loose a little money, you're better to have a happy customer dropping your name than one that's pissed off. Remember the "Limeworks" fiasco last summer- lots of negative shit flying around, not good for business.

Good luck getting it straightened out.

 

Just tried to order some parts and take advantage of the free shipping. Out of stock on the parts I wanted. D

 

Once again for those that couldn't make it through the drivel

- I wonder if Bob remembers what he was/is good at ? -

I understand there is an cost/hassle associated with ordering from any industry giant. How long am I supposed to be loyal with my cash based on a Bob Drakes "legendary reputation" in the industry? I just want to know if I'm getting close, at this point I'm thinking I should have bailed the 3rd time I made an order and was disappointed. Or maybe I should be on the hook for a couple hundred more in R&D just to show my thanks because after all without him where would I be...

 

I'm sure, the flip side there are plenty of people who make it their hobby to be complete douchebags over trivial shit, the "somethin' for nothin'" crowd et. al, and the Perpetually Outraged that seem to be growing in number. I would find it difficult to remain cheery with folks who deserve something less than that. Jus' Sayin'.

 

Good reply, I agree.

 

That's my 82 year old father-in-inlaw, was using his 40's International Dump on the farm, load went up, load stuck at the top and BAM, pins in the rear box pivot broke!! He's lucky to be alive.....again! He thought it was funny, he's 87 now and still farming, bought a new 1973 dump truck, he should write a book!!

 

This was my original post. Thank you all for the feedback and education regarding my post. I thought maybe Bob Drake Co. might respond in some way but .....nothing. I'm still without all my parts and they have full payment. I'll fabricate the rest, live and learn.
"I have worked in parts departments, dealerships and now in purchasing so I feel I can comment about my first transaction with at least a little knowledge. I ordered a shock kit for a stock chassis ford and it went down hill from there. The order was a debacle of damaged package (not their fault), missing parts, incomplete second order for missing parts and duplicate parts sent that I already had. I've sent pictures of what I had and also conversed via phone and e-mail several times and still I am short parts. They asked me to send it all back and they would start a claim with FedEx and start over with a new order. I said it's been 3 weeks and this job can't wait another week or 2 or 3 for you to get this right. I have 80% of the kit and they have 100% of the cost from me and I'm going to make it work. Unfortunately this had been an unpleasant 1st experience but one I thought was worth mentioning."
Bryan

 

Excellent !

 

If I was the Bob of this discussion: I would say,
"I AM GOIN' FISHING" Have an auction, and rent out my buildings, collect rent and live content ever after.. I quit !!!!

I still don't believe Bob OR Dennis, wake up and say: "who can I make mad today?"

 

Hmmmm, maybe that's what happened. I believe you're on to something.

 

Moved to Maui with "Limey" Steve??

 

Hi all, reading through this thread with interest and just thought I'd throw a few comments out there from the other side of the parts counter.
I run a small business in Australia supplying restoration parts for mostly 50's/60's/70's era U.S.A. GM cars and trucks, and have worked in automotive spare parts for the last 35 years.
Firstly, I have never dealt with Bob Drake or handled any of their product so any comments I make are based on the previous posts on this thread.
Re customer service: This is paramount to me. I try to live (at work or anywhere else) by the old adage:- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
Most of us make mistakes, I know I do, but the important thing is how you handle the aftermath. Bob's staff should be bending over backwards to resolve this situation, treating it as though it was their name above the door. Unfortunately these days to an ever increasing extent, it seems to be 'Care Factor Zero' with a lot of staff.
Some have stated that it's a challenge trying to get to speak to Bob re any issues. I would ask that you at least try. If he doesn't know there's a problem he can't attempt to fix it.
Re the quality of imported parts: The lack of homegrown product is a real problem in Australia these days, as I know it is in the U.S.A. (Has anyone tried to buy a good quality motor mount lately!) Plenty of factories that seem to have been around for ever closing down or downsizing. I think a lot of this is brought on by companies trying to compete on price alone. I know we all like to save a buck where we can, but I believe a large percentage of the market are still willing to pay a little more for a good quality product.
My goal in the business here is to supply a decent quality product at a decent price, i.e. something that I'd be happy to receive in the mail at a price that I thought was fair. In short, if I can offer a $ 40 part that you'll need to bend over your knee/elongate two holes/grind 1/4" off one side to make it fit, or a $ 75 part that you can pull out of the box and fit to your vehicle with all the correct hardware supplied, I'll stock the $ 75 part every time. I have no interest in being the cheapest in the marketplace at the expense of quality/poor customer satisfaction.
Whilst some of the 'imported' product is o.k. a lot of it falls short.
Sorry, I'm rambling a bit here, but to sum it up I think as others have said, Bob may need to think back to what made his business successful in it's early stages. I'm guessing it was supplying a decent quality product, at a decent price, with decent customer service.

Arnold.

 

When was the last time Bob was on here? He must be dozing to let this shit happen.

 

Alcoa used to be the acronym for "Aluminum Company of America", now the corporate name is just "Alcoa"... hmm. Spent a few years working for this outfit after they took over our plant. Not fun; I don't miss them at all... and now the plant is due to shut down in a few months. The modern, American way of doing business.

As far as Bob Drake goes; I've ordered quite a bit of stuff from him over the last 30 years. Other than stuff being on back-order, I've never had a major problem. The quality is still pretty good, though it seems to have diminished a little since production was shifted overseas.