Getting ripped off by thieves and vendors (Sometimes at the same time)

[214Chevy]

Originally Posted by novanutcase

....Keep in mind that even manufacturers are beholden to their raw materials/parts suppliers. If their suppliers are not able to deliver the parts needed for whatever end product the manufacturer is producing then they are, in effect, in the same boat as their dealers in terms of being able to deliver on time.
John

I agree with you wholly John, but I think the matter at hand here with 95% of the people was monies that were taken and orders never replaced or parts not received as a result of never being placed. I'm sure others would agree and probably be more willing to wait on product if their orders were at least placed and it was a legit deal and they were assured they were placed by an order number or confirmation number. We all know and understand the business of parts available can be slow at times. I know many on here have said Frank was a good guy. He could have taken a million dollars from a guy, but if the guy called 10 manufacturers and all 10 said we have your order and it has been paid by Prodigy, but we are having a hard time getting materials from their supplier, the guy would be 100 times more understanding than if the company said we have no such order from a Prodigy Customs and never have received a million dollars. That's where the doo-doo hits the fan. Lastly, even after all of this...at least be able to refund a guy his money in the end. No matter if a vendor "so-called" forgot to place the order, the order was wrong, etc. Don't have a guy waiting on money and never get it back even 6, 9, 12, 18 months later.

[camcojb]

When an order is placed and paid in full with a dealer, the dealer should immediately place the order with the supplier. There is NO EXCUSE for not doing so. NONE!

In the case of a group buy where a certain number of orders are required to get a discount, then the dealer should not be taking payment in full up front. He should either get a list of customers wanting in, maybe a small deposit to hold their place, but full payment should not be made until the order is being placed with the supplier.

Any dealer that has a pattern of taking payment in full and holding the order for weeks/months has severe cash flow problems. You can forget once in a long while I guess if things are hectic, but when it's an on-going issue over dozens and dozens of customers and several years there is a big problem.

[novanutcase]

Originally Posted by 509Chevelle

I agree with you wholly John, but I think the matter at hand here with 95% of the people was monies that were taken and orders never replaced or parts not received as a result of never being placed. I'm sure others would agree and probably be more willing to wait on product if their orders were at least placed and it was a legit deal and they were assured they were placed by an order number or confirmation number. We all know and understand the business of parts available can be slow at times. I know many on here have said Frank was a good guy. He could have taken a million dollars from a guy, but if the guy called 10 manufactures and all 10 said we have you order and it has been paid by Prodigy, but we are having a hard time getting material from their supplier, the guy would be 100 times more understanding than if the company said we have no such order from a Prodigy Customs and never have received a million dollars. That's where the doo-doo hits the fan. Lastly, even after all of this...at least be able to refund a guy his money in the end. No matter if a vendor "so-called" forgot to place the order, the order was wrong, etc. Don't have a guy waiting on money and never get it back even 6, 9, 12, 18 months later.

Agreed! This thread was originally pointed at dealers but I wanted to at least give a fair shake to manufacturers as they also encounter problems that hold up production. It's just a fact of life when it comes to manufacturing.

I guess my point is that, on the dealer side, customer service is their lifeline and that is what needs to be paramount in regards to the transaction at hand. They have no control over what the manufacturer does but if they aren't even placing an order? Well....that's where the 48 hour order confirmation comes into play.

I only mentioned the manufacturer issues because they were also mentioned as part of the problem in terms of not being able to supply their distributor with the required parts.

IMO when a customer calls a dealer to order a particular part, either, the dealer needs to have an up to the minute inventory from his manufacturer(not likely), or, he needs to make a phone call after the order is placed with him but BEFORE he charges the customer. This way he gets a definitive answer from his manufacturer in respects to part/kit availability. If they have it in stock he then runs the customers credit card. If not he calls the customer and gives him the scenario at hand. Let the customer decide what he wants to do. Once the amount gets approved he then calls the company and places the order. Once the order is placed the manufacturer either emails or faxes a copy of the order to the dealer. The dealer blacks out whatever pricing info is on the order confirmation and that gets emailed or faxed to the end customer. This is standard operating procedure for most any major supplier/dealer. It's not a hard system to setup and maintain and will instantly boost customer service while dramatically reducing the time spent in dispute with customers that "fall through the cracks".

Time is money but, more importantly, if you are able to service your customer they will come back. Re-orders are the gravy for any business.

John

[Vegas69]

In todays society, you just can't run a business this poorly and expect to stay in business long. Frank, you're running out of mulligans.