Please allow me to rant, support your vendors!

[Rybar]

Originally Posted by monza

Welcome to the world of wonderful world of retail! Operating 6 specialty store fronts and internet, I've seen it all. People amaze me... there should be laws or a test about who can breed in this world! Some people will do 'anything' to save small amounts of money.

Frank nailed it in his business plan.
Damn I want to buy something off you right now Frank!

Mister Grinder- I do think you forgot about Mister Grinder, don't you get the guys that just grind the shiz out of you relentlessly throwing down every angle at you for a better deal, I used to play along. I even gave a grinder five bucks once for gas to go shop at my competition; he came back, I knew they didn't have what he wanted. I break the rules now, after 20 years I just can't stand them anymore. I walk away and send in someone else who can't give them deal. I hate them!

I hope most people reading this thread would support the Vendors, but for sure a few of you cheap focks have made it this far in this thread ... support the damn Vendors! Good for the Karma.

Well said Dave, I am in the retail Furniture Business www.furnitura.ca as you know and "the Grinder" are the people I cant stand the most. I used to play along as well, now I just tell them to get the #^%$ out of my store.

Jon, I understand your points 100%. I too can't stand the fact that a guy like Tyler at ATS has to close the doors.

The problem with people or the consumer is that 90% of them dont give a **** about you or your customer service. All they care about is the bottom dollar price. Those are the people that will grind you down, and take your quote elswhere only to grind somebody else lower until they find somebody desperate enough to sell to them for that price.

I can't stand those people, but must admit those are the majority of them. And then you have the loyal customer who appreciates your service. But I'd have to say there aren't very many of them.

Support the vendors guys!

[DriverzInc]

Thank you to all of you who posted in response to my post. I think MuscleCarJohn touches on a small point to be made too. With the dawn of the internet, and with forums like this one, we often forget that there are REAL people on the other side of the keyboard, trying to make a living doing this very thing.

Will we discontinue giving away technical assistance to our customers who call and email? Definitely not. How could we, its our lifeline. We might be a little more selective with how much we give away, or how we give it away, but we need to continue in order to let customers know we are making available the best fitting product to fit their application. We can only hope and keep our fingers crossed that the majority percentage of those customers who we do help, will eventually buy from us, or at least call us back and give us the opportunity to match a better deal if they find it elsewhere. In most cases, we've already dropped our prices on what we can to the best possible price, but if you found it 10 bucks cheaper somewhere else, let us know.

I also am very aware that times are hard, and many customers can't not afford to shop around. But in many cases, we're very much in the same ball park on those very same parts, and when we're talking about a matter of a few dollars, remember what those few extra dollars are paying for... better customer service, and product knowledge. And judging by some of the previous stories told in this thread, may save you heartache and additional costs in the future.

This is what we love. It is why we do it, and why we continue to work hard, and spend countless hours on the phone, on these forums, on the road at shows, or in the shop... There's no way I would want to go back to a desk job. But in order for us to continue doing what we do, we will need to depend on loyal customers to come back to us in support of all our hard efforts.

[buickfunnycar.com]

well said Jon...

[brans72]

I try my best to support you John at Driverz inc and Frank at Prodigy these are 2 main companies I have used here besides ats which has closed it doors. Both will get my business again ( ask John or Frank I will call ask ask ask then call back and order). I know some times you think people are just check prices,bsing ect but ask any of them 2 I stayed trued 2 to vendors.oh by the way guys you don't know if they will discount unless you ask won't hurt! I have got free shipping,lower prices or something if you just ask. Thanks so far to all vendors here and ones that have helped my Dream come this far.

[DOOM]

I started my parts purchases for my build with Frank and will continue! All of my other needs will start with these supporting vendors to our left if Frank can't help me . Im in the collision buisness and I could write a novel on people . Frank is soooooo on the money with what he said. Lets all just keep supporting our vendors !!!! Mario

[Spiffav8]

Tyler and ATS have been with me since day one! Yeah I have a few DSE parts on my car but I was directed to them by Tyler. He has never given me bad advice. I know I've paid more in some areas, but over all I saved a ton of cash on my upgrades. More importantly I have a dedicated team to back me up every step of the way. Put a price on that!

Vendors work hard to earn a good reputation. It's important that we all keep in mind the reputation we build with them. That guy on the other end of the phone will be happy to help you once or twice, but when he see's that your taking your business elsewhere just to save a few dollars that will end quickly.

I am a firm believer is supporting our vendors...especially if they are local. To few places to get all the cool parts we all want. Seeing them go under makes it harder on all of us.

[DRJDVM's '69]

My build is a prime example of what Rodger said....

I talked to him and some other guys on here about doing my car. I shopped around a fair amount. I tried to balance price and someone I thought I could trust....and I think many of you know how that all turned out Big big mistake....

Now in total, I'm spending more than I would have originally had to spend to have the car done right the first time. Plus its delayed my project considerably. Its in great hands now, but its taken alot to get it to the stage its in now. Thank you Bruning Auto Design....

Rodger is a perfect example to me. I should have listened to him the first time. He's also been helping me alot in the last 2 weeks trying to get some questions answered by Procharger. He's answered a ton of emails from me without hesitation and has been putting in alot of effort to try and get the needed info from Procharger. When/if I do decided to go with a Procharger, I will send my business to Rodger.

He's been great.....and all despite the fact that I missed like 10 of his phone calls on his way to my house and got him lost in Manteca with his huge trailer, and on the "second round" of my car, I didnt choose his shop.

Can I get the stuff cheaper somewhere else?.....maybe....but what he has done for me cant be matched by some faceless internet site. Its worth the confidence I have in him and the help he has given me.

MuscleRodz has also helped me out with my project after the "disaster".....I will be ordering somer parts from him soon too....can I get them cheaper somwhere else ? Maybe......but once again, what he has done for me cant be matched by saving a few $$


I'll also be brave enough to admit it......I've been a shopper (and maybe a little bit of a grinder, but I hope not too bad if at all) on lots of stuff over the years. I have expensive taste and a tight budget. Some of the time it works out okay and other times its come back to haunt me later. Some of the time its allowed me to do stuff with my car that I wouldnt be able to do otherwise. Othertimes it ends up preventing me from doing other stuff on the car because I made a bad choice.

For all the guys on here that have helped me over the years, whether I bought from you or not....THANK YOU.....

[ccracin]

First let me say I agree completely with the sentiment here. This community is something unique and is great to be a part of. The excellent service and support from the members and vendors here are a large part of what makes the Lateral-G community great.

I do have a counter point that I think is a part of the reason you see the grinders etc........ In the normal world outside our hobby, it has been my experience that the kind of service and support you get from the vendors here is very hard to come by. I am forever navigating automated answering system menus etc. trying to get normal everyday customer service issues taken care. Alot of the time it takes 2-3 calls to speak to someone human. Then after you get a human, you have to navigate through multiple levels of idiocy before you get to someone that can help. This type of thing happens with the phone companies, cable companies, and for most consumer products you buy on a daily basis. It is therefore my opinion that when a person deals with this day in and day out, it becomes a matter of getting what you can for the least amount of money because frankly, a majority of the time great customer service and support are not there. I think it then becomes difficult for people to give the benefit of the doubt and automatically search for the least expensive product.

All that being said, it is for those reasons that this site and it's vendors are special. Let's face it not all vendors in this hobby are as good as the one's on this site. As people realize that it becomes a breathe of fresh air that makes these builds even more satisfying. When we started our project, alot of vendors on this site were very willing to give me information without the promise of spending a dollar. When we did start to buy parts, the first vendor we used was PRRC from this site. All I can say is what a pleasure to deal with. Our project has been on hold for about a year or so now due to some personal family issues. Those issues are almost resolved and we will be back online soon. When we are PRRC and other site vendors will be our source of supply!

I just wish the attitude and mentality of the people on this site would spread to the rest of the world and maybe this country wouldn't be in the shape that it's in.

[DRJDVM's '69]

Chad has some excellent points too. I couldnt agree more.

As a whole, many consumers have developed a mentality of discount prices, 50% sales, buy one get one free, free shipping, online promotions, coupons, we'll beat anyone's price, ebay auctions etc etc. Everyone is looking for a bargain on everything. Can you blame them ?? That stuff is everywhere.....we all get bombarded by it every day.

I see it in veterinary medicine every day. We get dozens of calls shopping on vaccine prices and prices for the exam or spay/neuter surgeries etc etc. We do our best to describe what they get for their $$ and why we are more expensive, but the best value because we do the best job.

If you've never went to a different store because you found the same item cheaper....you're either the tiny minority or a liar. We've all done it.

Customer service has become the secondary factor, not the primary for the majority of consumers out there. Thats why you get more automated phone customer service and fewer people to directly talk to..... people want stuff cheap and they cant have the best of both worlds. The company can offer the product cheaper if they have less overhead. That spills into the car business too.

The real issue of this thread....at least I think so.....is don't take up alot of extra time and effort from the business by asking tons of questions and taking advantage of their customer service and then go buy the same item somewhere else just because its alittle cheaper. Thats just wrong.

[Vegas69]

At the end of the day it's business and most people won't change. Good thread through.