WOW 20% restocking fee for ATS parts

[Al Moreno]

Originally Posted by ironworks

Alright I'm going say something in the middle of this pointless discussion. The reason I think topics like this are pointless is your never going to get to any kind of conclusion. If Tyler got on here and took his lashings for whatever he has done or not done, is that going to solve anything? There are 2 sides to every story. I'm not choosing sides I'm just sick of seeing more and more people think it is OK to bash someone before they have done all they can to investigate the problem, good or bad. People bitch about shipping and parts that show up not how they expect, even before they contact the vendor they just post away. Then come to find out the Original basher just miss understood or ordered the wrong part. I have been on both sides of the fence with these issues and they really get no where, even if your Mother Theresa, or Charles Manson you cannot prove either side.

Sure Tyler has been through the ringer with some tough times and his customer service I'm sure has slipped from what it used to be. Heck the guy moved from Las Vagas to LA to get another full time gig, to survive and is doing ATS on the side, while relying on GM parts suppliers who's stability is questionable day to day. Have you seen how much the price of Corvette hubs have increased in the past year? Supply and demand, the price has gone through the roof to the Point that the ZR1 hubs are considerable option at 300 bucks each so there must be some demand.

Either way at the end of the day, if the oil pan gasket is all that held you back on your time line to get it installed before the baby, then drive down to your dealership and buy the 30 dollar ( I think it is ) gasket. Maybe Tyler thought he had it on the shelf when he sold it to you on the phone and went to fill your order and found an empty bin. Should you have to do that? NO WAY, is 30 bucks cheaper then a restocking fee? ( I think so let me take my shoes off ) We get parts in my shop all the time that I have to work on to make work like they were supposed. Could or Should I have sent them back, YES SIR, but the show must go on so we fix it. Or maybe he was totally descieving you to rip you off. But at least you got the main part you needed and could do something. If you do anything with cars you will find lots of people sell crappy stuff everyday. Some companies sell crappy stuff for 100's of years and make tons of money, will those parts ever make it on my car or my customers, ONLY ONCE.

I send Tyler pm's and emails and I never hear an answer and I have his 50/50 project sitting in my shop. Is he avoiding me, I doubt it or I'm going to have pretty nice tube chassis camaro. But we are all busy and drop the ball from time to time.

Camaro2nv we have spoken on the phone a few times and I'm not trying to defend anyone. Apparently you should have bought an Autokraft pan, and motor mounts. ( Just stating matter of factly ) But if at the end of your project this is the worst story you have tell from your build, You are doing well. Quite Well.... CAN I GET AN AMEN....

Moderators, could we have a special forum for people who just want to rant and bitch about valid or invalid points. I come to this site to see the cars and builds and join togther with other people who share the same addiction, but does anybody need to get on here just to rant about someone or some vendor in the open discussion? Maybe I'm alone on this but I'm sick of seeing members and moderators start thread to bitch and then turn into pointless beauty shop drama. Things happen and we all make mistakes, some intentional and some unintentional.

IN CLOSING, If I wanted to hear all this drama I would listen to all the stories my wife tells me everyday after work about how this person is 2 faced and this girl did this to that girl and Blah blah blah blah blah blah.............


If you don't like what I said, SORRY, I put my size 15 foot in my mouth quite often, just don't start a thread about it......

I not sure I agree with your philosophy. I don't see this as a pointless discussion. As a consumer, a HUGE benefit of the internet and a web site like this one is people with a common interest and goals can learn from each other.

One of the last thing I want to do is put myself in a position were I'm dealing with somebody that going to put me through the ringer. So if these discussion can avoid another member from going through the same serious, than this is just as beneficial as knowing the experience our members had with different control arms........

I think Camaro2nv has made a case for himself, just my opinion.

[Flash68]

I'm not choosing sides here either, and I understand vendors don't want people just throwing up threads as soon as they aren't happy or don't get a response within 24 hrs from someone..... but this poster seems to have been more than patient and has provided what looks to be pretty detailed and damning evidence to support his beef.

These are exactly the type of posts I WANT to see about vendors when a problem like this happens. If you have a complaint, back it up and support your case.

Again, I am not siding with anyone - I almost sent my car to Tyler for him to finish last year and had some really good discussions with him - but members need to know what to expect based on others' ordering experience with these paying vendors.

[ironworks]

Originally Posted by Al Moreno

I not sure I agree with your philosophy. I don't see this as a pointless discussion. As a consumer, a HUGE benefit of the internet and a web site like this one is people with a common interest and goals can learn from each other.

One of the last thing I want to do is put myself in a position were I'm dealing with somebody that going to put me through the ringer. So if these discussion can avoid another member from going through the same serious, than this is just as beneficial as knowing the experience our members had with different control arms........

I think Camaro2nv has made a case for himself, just my opinion.

Like I said I know both guys and can and never will know the story, I don't have a dog in the fight.

All I'm saying is, what does all this prove? Can we know for sure That Tyler lied to him? Or was there just major communication issues. There have been some pretty substantial judgements made about peoples character. Does Tyler have to get on here and defend himself? If the Internet did not exist would anybody approach anybody like they do on a forum in real life? I would hope not.

If it will help I have an extra oil pan gasket sitting in my back room you welcome to have for "free". Maybe I look at Lateral-g as my Disneyland, but the reason I like this site is because it is not like the others.

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

I think alot of the people are focusing on the lying part... Sometimes things happen and it isnt on the shelf like it should be.. I seriously doubt it was a lie... When the realization that the part wasnt there, perhaps a heads up or notice would have been the thing to do... Scratch the lying part and focus on the customer service part. Definitely lacking, and I dont think anyone can argue that point...

Not absolutely sure the full story, but waiting Months is too long... Missing parts without notification is wrong. No call back is wrong. P.M. without Responses is Wrong. Quite frankly, charging a restocking fee on an incomplete order is wrong, unless it is a special order scheduled to be delivered in a stated time.

Hell, I had two special orders that I returned the customers money in full, because they fell on hard times. Also had a couple of damaged kits that I replaced at my cost even with questionable cause of damage, because the customer didnt verify the content at delivery.. I would rather endure a little bit of expense to have a happy customer, than give a negative experience.

I dont know if anyone in here is calling out character...If they are, business is business, and outside relations is totally something else.. We all go home and seperate ourselves from our work, business, or career if we are lucky. Personally that doesnt work in my case. I have my contact number, and I am available 24/7. Believe me, some take advantage..LOL

[camaro2nv]

Originally Posted by Iamtheonlyreal1

I think alot of the people are focusing on the lying part... Sometimes things happen and it isnt on the shelf like it should be.. I seriously doubt it was a lie... When the realization that the part wasnt there, perhaps a heads up or notice would have been the thing to do... Scratch the lying part and focus on the customer service part. Definitely lacking, and I dont think anyone can argue that point...

Not absolutely sure the full story, but waiting Months is too long... Missing parts without notification is wrong. No call back is wrong. P.M. without Responses is Wrong. Quite frankly, charging a restocking fee on an incomplete order is wrong, unless it is a special order scheduled to be delivered in a stated time.

I dont know if anyone in here is calling out character...If they are, business is business, and outside relations is totally something else.. We all go home and seperate ourselves from our work, business, or career if we are lucky.

Heres the last PM I got from Tyler

There is a 20% restocking fee if you decide to go that route. We just got the UPS notification that our gaskets shipped (I ordered 20 of them to fill B/O and include them in remaining stock) so if you can wait a few days you will get them.

OK, if you read the part about filling back orders that tells you that if he had back orders for gaskets then he knew that the part was not in stock when he said it was. That right there gives it away.
Rodger, I wont go into your post and break it down line by line. I will just say this, Ive received four PM's from other members about problems with ATS. For some reason they didnt want to post, maybe their waiting for parts, I dunno. But I will say if there would have been other posts like this one I wouldnt have ordered from him to start with! Thats why we have sites like these. So we know what Parts, Vendors are good. Now if its keep getting swept under the rug then no one will know.
Those who know me know Im not here to bash anyone just because. I didnt "jump" to anything, I waited for weeks.
As for going to buy a pan gasket and fittings.
1. I didnt get the part until a couple weeks ago.
2. I assumed it was just a pan gasket so the part would follow soon, maybe a week.
You know the crazy part is. I paid extra for this setup. I didnt try and get a deal or skimp. In the end I got a pan that has been cleared over rust and Im still out parts.
I have to go change the baby,lol.

[awr68]

Originally Posted by CRCRFT78

Maybe this should just get locked for now and once Tyler responds (if he responds) then open it up again. Not choosing sides but this is going no where until we hear both sides of the story.

Just my .02

If we lock it then Tyler can't respond...............

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

Not sure how you can say it isnt going anywhere.. There is a healthy debate here on whether or not this type of information should be shared. To be honest, it appears he has representation on here, and I am sure this thread is known about by now..

Only a couple of people have made Claims, and more have stepped up in defense. So, it does appear to be fair so far.

[novanutcase]

As far as Tyler, from what I've read it seems that Tyler is being called out and he hasn't responded which starts to raise some doubts. I can understand when parts get backordered and that, with Tylers new schedule, he's backed up but to NOT RESPOND AT ALL is unforgivable in my book.

Rodger, whenever I have a question you respond to me in less than 24 hours no matter what you are doing. That is the responsible thing to do and is one of the major factors in why I chose you as the person to take on the build we currently have going on. Your customer service is impeccable. I've known you for a few years now so I have a fairly intimate insight into your personal life and I know that it is every bit as hectic as Tylers so for people on here to claim that his misfortune is the reason why there is no communication is BULLSH!T!!!

I want to hear what TYLER has to say about this and Feslers issue, I've heard a few stories about Feslers issue but I want to hear it from TYLER!!!

I'm not accusing him nor excusing him. I just want to hear the truth because there have been some pretty harsh claims thrown his way and I've not heard any resolve to any of these or any claims by him that would refute otherwise. If I've jumped the gun and put forth an accusatory tone in my post then I apoligize. That is not my intent. I just want to find out if the claims that have had no response, publicly or privately, are true or not.

John

[Steve1968LS2]

This thread is done..

It's not going to turn into a general pissing match.


If either ATS or the thread starter want to add to it they can contact a mod...

[Teetoe_Jones]

To the members of Lateral-G.net and to Steve Norton-

You are all very much correct about all you’ve said regarding ATS and our customer service and product delivery.
While we have not ever shut down as a business, we have had every issue known to man thrown our way since November of 2008 when it comes to getting ahead in this game.

We did tell Steve we had the pan in stock because we did. I did not have the gasket in stock and I knew it, I just figured I’d get it from my dealer in Vegas in a reasonable time frame. When I order from them they wait until they have all the items in stock to ship my order; if they are missing 2 out of 20 gaskets, the order sits. I still owe Richard Farmer, EVS motors, Jeff Thomey, and Classic Industries gaskets/fittings.

It costs money to run a business; packaging, credit card processing fees, and shipping all add up and that’s why returned items get a restocking fee. At this point I’ve contacted Steve via Email, something he didn’t bother to do for me, and gave him 4 options on how to proceed. After reading this thread, I’m narrowing it down to one: Full refund including shipping and without a restocking fee. I’d rather not have someone who is as unsatisfied with my products keep them on his car; I can tell he is less than pleased with us and our product so I’d like to put him back to square one so he can explore other avenues for his project. The reason I didn’t respond to this thread was because I was stuck in AZ with a broken car for the last 4 days. Had anyone bothered to check the last time I was online they would have noticed it was in the morning on the 25th of August. Thanks for thinking I was lurking and reading this all but then ignoring it. Curtis called me to let me know about the entire thing on Sunday night.

I didn’t intentionally try to deceive Steve about any portion of this. I had the pan, windage tray, pick up tube, port plugs, hardware, and O-ring in stock to send, but lacked the -12 AN fittings and GM gasket. I figured that I would get them in stock in a reasonable time frame; I didn’t and here we are. We are the only company that includes all those items in our oil pan; you will still need to come out of pocket for that stuff when going to any of our competitors. Does our delivery time suck at the moment? Yes it does. Do I have less than stellar customer service at this point? Yes I do; but I’m trying my hardest to get back on top of all this. I work at Anvil Auto from 8-6 every day and then run ATS part time at night. Anyone that has dealt with me at Anvil knows I still take care of our clients and I do exactly as I say I will. If Steve wants to talk with Matt or Manal instead of me to order that’s his choice. We will still provide a great level of service to him and deliver product like we say we will. I have no bad feelings or malice towards Steve, and I feel his concerns are completely valid. I do feel he should have contacted me via email or phone instead of posting up a thread, but that’s just my feelings on this whole matter.