My customer experience with Prodigy Customs

[garickman]

Originally Posted by XcYZ

Frank needs to make this right or Prodigy no longer needs to be a part of this community. This is the 3rd time in recent months this exact story has unfolded with Prodigy, months of waiting, charging when parts were never ordered from the manufacturer, no communication (or flat ignored), etc.

Three strikes... Frank needs to make this right (like, Today) or he will no longer be a supporting vendor here.

I feel our community is being taken advantage of without regard of consequences.

I respect how you administer this site and look after the members of the lateral-g community.

[fesler]

I too am a vendor on this site and I think it’s funny how some people defend the hell out of others with excuses. We as vendors are all extremely busy and our top priority or at least it should be is taking care of our customers. We have all been there and we have all made mistakes, it’s how we handle them that makes us a good or bad vendor but charging someone for parts and not following up with them is not acceptable unless they are made aware up front that things may take a while. Maybe Frank is just that busy that he can’t keep his head on straight but I am sure he will chime in here and make it right.

[bret]

I am going to take off my RideTech hat and install my "friend" hat here. It is not my intent to minimize this issue, but to hopefully place some perspective on it.

Frank and Lisa are friends of mine so feel free to color any of my personal comments as you wish.

In my opinion, Frank suffers from the same ailment that mnay of us do...he is a nice guy who finds it hard to say "no". He also suffers from the same time management shortcomings as many of the rest of us. Those 2 traits, coupled with the fact that his business has increased greatly over the last couple of years, have led to the growing pains that he [and now some of his customers], may be experiencing.

In a perfect world we could all buy our parts from a vending machine...stick your money in, get your parts out. [That is, IF you knew what to order?] That is how larger businesses are run and how my accountant would like to see mine run. The reality is, we are talking about humans. Humans who may not be as effecient as a machine or a computer.

However, the same traits of being a nice guy have led Frank to assemble 30 years of valuable car knowledge. This is knowledge that has been earned by reading, talking, listening, and most importantly, being there and doing it.
This is the knowledge that we all crave...offered at no charge by someone who can ignore politically correct influences to make sure our projects have the best chance of success. Vending machines cannot offer this service.

So, does Frank and Lisa being "nice people" excuse their perceived spotty delivery record? [I say perceived because I do not have first hand knowledge of the facts of this specific case]
No, it does not.
BUT...[there's always a but involved, isnt there?] I was at Prodigy last week for a visit. They are currently working 16-18 hours a day moving into a new building that is at least double the size of the old one. This will allow them room to manuver instead of repelling over the stacks of inventory that resided in the old building.
Most importantly, he is in full search for a person to coordinate the ordering and delivery of his products. Although this detail may be taken for granted by civilians, it is a crucial position that requires complete focus...focus that a business owner simply cannot provide. I do speak from experience on this point.

My point: Carbuff has every right to be mad, and in my opinion, every right to express that anger and relay his experiences.

It is Franks right to respond, should he choose to spend his time in that manner instead of tracking down deliveries.

It is our collective responsibility, should we choose to accept it, to NOT lust after his blood like a pack of wolves.

As far as banning Prodigy from this or any forum, We will all be poorer because of that.

[Vegas69]

I went through a partial restoration and have purchased most of my parts from Frank so I feel I know him better than most. He was to busy then and I'm sure it's multiplied since. I can honestly say that he always treated me right.

I agree with Bret, he's a wealth of knowledge and consumers take advantage of it. They know they can call him and get the answers they need. He does offer free planning and advice and I'm sure there are days when he wished he didn't.

I know that his move to the bigger shop is all part of his plan to create a more efficient business. There comes a time in every business where customer service suffers from a one trick pony. One man can only do so many things in a day. Things are easily forgotton. Believe me, I've been there and still suffer with it. Once he gets the new shop set up and a new assistant that's focus is customers and orders, things will smooth out and likely be better than ever.

I certainly not trying to say what happened to the poster is right. I'm sure he'll make it right and remember, there are always two sides to every story.

[garickman]

I think Bret and Vegas69 bring up valuable points. However, and this is just me, I would have more respect for a vendor to tells me as a customer "look I am growing faster than anticipated and at this time I can not guarantee you the customer service you are entitled to. Rather than taking your money at this present time, let me point you in the direction of someone who can help you right now. I hope after this move and the growth of my company you will continue to be a loyal and valued customer."

I just think that would be a whole lot more professional as opposed to taking someones money and making them wait months on end because "your just to busy". Just my opinion.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Bryan, I have no voice mails from you, none, and the email below is the last communication we have had. I have seen your threads asking how to measure backspac so I assumed you was handling it yourself, but still have recieved no intructions from you? I guess there was a question for me to answer in reference to factory width I missed. opps. BTW, i do have the specs now from the other car we did for Telly, but have no way of knowing if you guys both have the same rear or not. If you could get that simple question answered from you suspension guy, were ready to build.

As for the parts from the other order, I need to look into it but I can tell you the oil adapter is here somewhere in the pile of parts we are loading on shelves now, BTW, the $150 oil adapter was free be sure to mention that.

As Bret mentioned I am in the shop till midnight everyday right now building the perfect facilty to handle the growth. So if someone calls and DOES NOT leave a message I have no way of knowing. I have no missed voice mails from you in recent weeks I can find.

Some asked in a another thread if I had "fallen into a hole" as I have not been on the board much. For the last couple months I have not been chasing sales. I actually have tried to throttle it back while we get set up in the new place and have a couple people in place to handle orders. Sure we have been taking orders if someone calls in, but we have not been promoting or creating sales until just the last few days as we are about 80% functional now.

I see Modern Museum chimed in, he was the last person I had this issue with Scott refers to. Maybe he can chime in, he has got all he had coming and more as we have handled some issues for him that were not our problem. And no, the thread had nothing to do with why i sent him free stuff he needed we were not responsible for, nor did it make the missing parts we could not get magiacally appear. There were a couple more threads that popped up after our thread people struggling to get the same things he was missing. So no, the "thread" was not what made it happen.

In your case Bryan a email or voice mail would be all you needed to do.

Our last communication, have you have something different please let me know.

From: Bryan Cope <@carbuff.net> (Add as Preferred Sender)

Date: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 12:14 pm
To: [email protected]


Folder From Subject Date Size
Hi Frank,

Still trying to get final information the wheels. I know the fronts are
going to be 18" x 10" with 7.2" of BS, which I think would work with the
centers you have.

On the rears, I'm still trying to determine what I need. I think I'm going
with an 18" x 12" wheel, but the BS is my issue. Do you know what the
factory rear axle widths on the second gen Firebirds is? My axle is going to
measure 61.25". That's going to put the BS somewhere around the 6.5" to 7.5"
range, but I just don't know exactly... Do you have any that you have done
on these cars?

Thanx!
Bryan

[ProdigyCustoms]

Originally Posted by NvrDun71

I can only chalk it up to them being extremely busy with the move of there shop as I have called several times over the last couple weeks in an attempt to place a parts order and have left voicemail's with no response back. Seems odd after the positive experiences I have had with them in the past.....

If it was a voice mail to place a order it is on a note pad full of custmers wanting to buy stuff. For 2 weeks we were running off laptops while the new server was installed. I could not take a order for a week or so as we switched accounting and invoicing systems also.

As I said we are at about 80% right now I am still in the shop all day but if you get the voiuce mail I can call back.

Hopefully in the next couple weeks the phone will be answered live by a receptionist and someone will be in place to handle NON technical orders. And let me focus on the orders that require tchnical advise and decisions.

[Blake Foster]

Originally Posted by bret

I am going to take off my RideTech hat and install my "friend" hat here. It is not my intent to minimize this issue, but to hopefully place some perspective on it.

Frank and Lisa are friends of mine so feel free to color any of my personal comments as you wish.

In my opinion, Frank suffers from the same ailment that mnay of us do...he is a nice guy who finds it hard to say "no". He also suffers from the same time management shortcomings as many of the rest of us. Those 2 traits, coupled with the fact that his business has increased greatly over the last couple of years, have led to the growing pains that he [and now some of his customers], may be experiencing.

In a perfect world we could all buy our parts from a vending machine...stick your money in, get your parts out. [That is, IF you knew what to order?] That is how larger businesses are run and how my accountant would like to see mine run. The reality is, we are talking about humans. Humans who may not be as effecient as a machine or a computer.

However, the same traits of being a nice guy have led Frank to assemble 30 years of valuable car knowledge. This is knowledge that has been earned by reading, talking, listening, and most importantly, being there and doing it.
This is the knowledge that we all crave...offered at no charge by someone who can ignore politically correct influences to make sure our projects have the best chance of success. Vending machines cannot offer this service.

So, does Frank and Lisa being "nice people" excuse their perceived spotty delivery record? [I say perceived because I do not have first hand knowledge of the facts of this specific case]
No, it does not.
BUT...[there's always a but involved, isnt there?] I was at Prodigy last week for a visit. They are currently working 16-18 hours a day moving into a new building that is at least double the size of the old one. This will allow them room to manuver instead of repelling over the stacks of inventory that resided in the old building.
Most importantly, he is in full search for a person to coordinate the ordering and delivery of his products. Although this detail may be taken for granted by civilians, it is a crucial position that requires complete focus...focus that a business owner simply cannot provide. I do speak from experience on this point.

My point: Carbuff has every right to be mad, and in my opinion, every right to express that anger and relay his experiences.

It is Franks right to respond, should he choose to spend his time in that manner instead of tracking down deliveries.

It is our collective responsibility, should we choose to accept it, to NOT lust after his blood like a pack of wolves.

As far as banning Prodigy from this or any forum, We will all be poorer because of that.

I would have to agree.
I would also add that I deal with people on this forum and others on BOTH sides of the purchasing experiance as a vendor and a customer.
let me tell you comming strictly from the "Customer" side and moving to the "Vendor" side........... WOW I think if most Customers actually had to be the Vendor it would change your outlook, I am sure Brett and Chris and any of the other vendors on here would attest to that, and Frank isn't MAKING any parts.

just my .02 worth......... sorry change not given at this machine

[XcYZ]

Originally Posted by bret

As far as banning Prodigy from this or any forum, We will all be poorer because of that.

I'm not looking to remove anyone, Bret. I'm looking for resolution. I know there are 3 sides to every story...

[carbuff]

Frank,

If you don't have any voicemails from me, then you have lost 2 on your end. I just went and looked at my AT&T account, I made 1 call from my cell phone, and one from my work line which I am unable to access records for:

DATE TIME CALL TO NUMBER CALLED RATE PERIOD FEATURE MINUTES
04/29 01:58 PM ORLANDO 407-832-1752 DT 2

The email you quoted was the one I sent you before the 2 phone calls. When you didn't reply, I then made my calls.

Regarding this:

BTW, the $150 oil adapter was free be sure to mention that.

That is completely untrue, and I don't appreciate the implication. From Prodigy's original invoice, there was an $88 charge for a Wegner oil cooler adapter. Per conversations between you, me, and Wegner, it became apparent that this was a one-off item that Wegner had built for someone and was not manufacturing. As we discussed that, you stated that you had found the Mocal unit at PRI and that "we need to get your one" if it would work with my oil pan choice. Never was there discussion of giving me the item for free, nor was a price discussed. I inferred that this item would replace the one that I had already paid for, and wasn't receiving. So please don't try to make it sound like I am getting something for nothing here as I most certainly am not.

Somehow it feels as if the finger is being pointed back at me, THE CUSTOMER, for not following through and making phone calls or emails (which I have in fact done) to chase down the parts that I am owed. Please explain to me how that makes any business sense from a vendor's perspective? The fact that I have had to tell you on multiple occasions (yes, I too could quote emails but really don't feel like having to dig through them again...) during this transaction what I am still owed is ludicrous to me! I have well over $15k spent in parts from your company, parts that were paid for in December. Why am I even having to address this at all, publicly or privately? When did it become the customer's job to ensure that the vendor's supply chain was doing its job? I noticed that you didn't even address the actual issue of payment being received and parts still having not shipped, instead deferring to other issues in your reply.

With regards to the other vendors and friends of Frank's who support him, I expected those replies, and I have no problem with them. I have no personal beef with Frank, and honestly I give him credit again for his willingness to help out the PT community by answering questions, and other acts like his help of James & Mary last week. Another part of the reason that I gave him my business was due to his knowledge and the time he spent with me on the phone answering my questions before my purchase. This post wasn't meant as a personal attack, it was simply an effort to inform others in this community about my experiences with a vendor who actively promotes and works to attract business through this venue.

That said, all of the vendors on this site, and any vendor anywhere for that matter, made a choice to go into this business. In making that choice, you have accepted the responsibility for taking (sometimes large) payments from customers and delivery of goods and services in return. If you cannot do so in a timely manner, for whatever the reasons, it's in your best interests to be proactive and communicate the issues with your customers, in the name of promoting good relations. I am MUCH more tolerant of problems and delays if someone I'm dealing with makes an effort to communicate with me (and I say that as someone that has run a business where I was in this situation, dealing with customer issues.). In this case, all communication has been initiated on my end asking where are my parts.

Oh, and I still don't have an explanation as to why I don't have my parts...