Reviews of Companies and People you have done Business with.

[monza]

Really can you say anything bad about the SHAMWOW it's absorbs 12 times it's weight in water and the Germans made it....

[Spiffav8]

Originally Posted by monza

Really can you say anything bad about the SHAMWOW it's absorbs 12 times it's weight in water and the Germans made it....

...and you know the Germans make good stuff.

Scott,

While I think it is important to take care of our members as well as our sponsors, I don't see a rating system being a good thing for the site. Yes there are those who will bash a vendor to death over what they consider a bad deal. We've seen that and I think the community will call B.S. when they see it. We've also seen just the opposite, where a vendor or shop has done a customer wrong. Again the community picks up on this and word spreads quickly. I don't see a rating system improving that at all.

I do like the idea of educating our members. It is the best defense one can have to keep from getting taken. We have some amazing shops and members here that are always willing to jump in and answer a question when one is asked. I would like to see more of this. How to go about it is the question. Some vendors have their own forums and will answer questions about their products there. Others chose to post more in the general forums. Honestly, the ones I see being the best in this area at the moment have been made by Chris Fessler. He has a few threads on cars that have been brought to his shop for repair only to discover a disaster. Disasters that the owner could have possibly avoided had he known. I am sure that most all of our vendors have stories like these that we can learn from. I see threads like those being very educational. I would love to a thread that gives more info on what a buyer should look for and be aware of when buying a project car. And another that gives really good info on what to look for when choosing a shop to work on it for you. I see this information coming mainly from the vendors and shop owners. There's a long list of people that help us regularly. All have different information to contribute. So if LG wants to do anything that will help members while rating vendors, I say start a forum where the vendors educate us. Those who contribute will earn their ratings by educating all of us. It's pretty much already happening, but putting it in a forum might be a good way of narrowing it down. Just a thought.

[tyoneal]

To All:

I have had this happen Twice.

Took my car to have something done, and it either wasn't done correctly, or I was over charged, or they were just terrible to deal with.

Money is tight and getting tighter, most if not all of us can't stand to take a huge beating by some jerk and not ruin the hobby for us.

It would seem in people's best interest to have a "Safe" place where you could go and use the vendors knowing that they are good and have a good track record with the people there.

Fortunately, all the vendors here, and on Pro-Touring.com have been fine so far. I like to think that the people here have been members long enough for people to know they are probably safe using someone to work on their cars. Especially if it requires you sending your car off to another state and spending 1000's of dollars.

Would it be easier for people to list a couple of vendors to the group, and people who have had a good or bad experience can send them an email about the vendor in question?

For instance, I will be doing a lot of work to my car in the near future. These are the vendors I plan to use whether in a small or large way. To make sure people are getting some help from the group, the person asking can ask the group about, "These" people. If they don't receive any help, the person asking can add to his post that he has not heard from anyone yet. If they have enough information, they can inform the group thing are good.

This way it would keep the "Bitching" off the main board and private. If there was something terrible going on, the person who was the customer could file a complaint with the AG of the state of the Vender.

Once someone has filed the complaint (Which they would probably do anyway if it was something big) then the problem could be announced to the group. False complaints can get into deep you Ca-Ca, with the AG.

I know this is long winded, but it would give everyone a chance to learn about the vendors, it would make the customer go out on a limb with the AG to keep the BS down to a minimum, plus alert people of the problem.

Thoughts??

Thanks,

Ty

[MarkM66]

I trust buying off ebay. As much as buying from Summit, Jegs, etc.

I was burned once by a seller on ebay, they never sent the item, paypal refunded my money, and seller is now no longer registered. I take part of the blame because I made a quick buy, and didn't even look at the poor seller rating.

People act like ebay makes poor products, or falsely advertises items. Ebay also doesn't make people buy cars without looking at them first. Due deligence is the buyers job.

Ebay is an advertising site, that's all.

[tellyv]

I'm all for it I know personally I would change some stuff I'm doing right now if this was in place! I think bad mouthing is'nt going to get very far so set up something with just good feedback don't let people bash, then if someone wants to buy and someone has a ton of good feedback you'll know that there a reputible company. If theres nothing said about the parts or company you were looking at stay away or be very carefull.

[dhutton]

I don't see how something like this can remain impartial on a vendor supported forum. It just doesn't make sense and I would take the ratings with a huge grain of salt. The best way to solicit honest feedback is to send someone a PM asking them about their experiences with a vendor or product as suggested earlier.

Don

[DRJDVM's '69]

I think this site should stick to what it does best..... act as a great source of info....both from the pros and from the amateurs. I think it shoud stay away from directly acting as a site that reviews companies. It just has too many pitfalls that in my opinion may end up tarnishing a great site.

I do think that any company that acts as a sponsor here should be held to a certain level of accountability. That accountability should be dealt with by Scott and the other moderators of this site, preferrably "behind the scenes"...... if a person has a problem with a sponsor company here and cant directly resolve it with that company, then contact Scott...voice your issues and complaint. In the event that Scott sees a trend with the company, then he can ask them to leave.

Maybe a few stickies or a forum that deals with "tips and tricks" to picking a shop or reviewing a car before you buy etc etc. Pointers by the pros....but not promotions or bashing of any particular company or shop

[RECOVERY ROOM]

Very well put!!

[CRCRFT78]

I vote no on the rating system. There are just TOO MANY determining factors to know whether or not anyone is actually getting a good/bad rating based on actual facts.

Why not require the sponsors to have an actual involvement in the forums other than just advertising. Sort of like a quota of some sorts. I understand the advertising dollars help maintain this site but if there is no actual involvement from the vendors then they shouldn't be allowed to peddle their wares here. Yes it takes some BIG cajones to tell a vendor to take a walk but in some cases that's what's needed to get the point across.

[Roadster Shop]

I think that this will be a bad idea for everyone.

Every single build has problems regardless of whether it was built by a professional shop or in your own garage. Everyone has parts that they will never use again... but there are probably plenty of people that will only use that same part because it has worked for them. I have a strong feeling that this will turn into a running list of everyone's minor problems and complaints, eventually dragging all vendors names in the dirt. Every vendor has an angry customer or two that can stem from delays, fitment issues, misunderstandings, quality issues, etc... The bad review will always travel hundreds of times farther than the good review.

From a consumer side, education is everything. Learn who you are dealing with, get references, talk to people in the industry and get their opinion. As great as it sounds, there can not be a magic place that you look and it gives all of the answers.

On the other hand, we have gotten screwed over pretty badly in the past, even by sponsors on this site costing us significant amounts of money, and losing customers as a result. After talking to other people in the industry, they have had similar situations and results. In that case, a heads up definitely would have been appreciated. If it is something major, or repeated on multiple occasions maybe post something in the Open Discussion section to let people know what's up.