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

[Blake Foster]

i wish some of these large companies did not have a middle man and would sell at a fair price to all.i have been in the transmission business for 30 years and i don't have any middle men and i deal with over 150 shops and customers right off the street and it has worked for me.

The shop is the middle man? your just the manufacturer in this case
There are alot of manufacturers here that will sell direct.

[214Chevy]

Originally Posted by killer69

...There are alot of manufacturers here that will sell direct.

I know and I hate it when I call a manufacturer to buy from them direct and they won't sell to you, forcing you to go thru a dealer.

[Bucketlist2012]

I have no input other than sorry to the guys who get taken...

I am not here to fuel any fires.

I have been lucky thanks to people telling their story..

I was fortunate to find a great shop, with an honest Guy, and all the parts came in and were installed right.

Tough to right a 5 figure check for parts without having some trust in who you are dealing with..

Been near enough horror stories to not end up in one...

Sure there are two sides to every story, but when one story gets told by many people, caution should be used.

We cannot afford to buy things twice..

Or worse, pay for parts and labor twice.

[novanutcase]

Originally Posted by greg5436

I wish some of these large companies did not have a middle man and would sell at a fair price to all.

Originally Posted by 509Chevelle

I know and I hate it when I call a manufacturer to buy from them direct and they won't sell to you, forcing you to go thru a dealer.

Unfortunately, dealers/distributors/middlemen are a necessary evil when you're trying to get the word out on your product. Without them many manufacturers would have to charge much higher prices as the volume sales that they enjoy from this sales force structure helps keep their pricing competitive through mass manufacturing. Without them they would not have the exposure they need to make it feasible to manufacture on that large a scale.

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. That being said, to try and run a business with a supply chain that only has one supplier in that respective category is just asking for the problems that we are seeing. This is where management is at fault as they are not doing their jobs correctly. ALWAYS have a back up plan!

Originally Posted by solarguy09

We cannot afford to buy things twice....Or worse, pay for parts and labor twice.

So true! I know how you feel as this has happened to me also! Still waiting on some parts I paid for to be shipped to me.........

John

[Bucketlist2012]

Originally Posted by novanutcase

Unfortunately, dealers/distributors/middlemen are a necessary evil when you're trying to get the word out on your product. Without them many manufacturers would have to charge much higher prices as the volume sales that they enjoy from this sales force structure helps keep their pricing competitive through mass manufacturing. Without them they would not have the exposure they need to make it feasible to manufacture on that large a scale.

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. That being said, to try and run a business with a supply chain that only has one supplier in that respective category is just asking for the problems that we are seeing. This is where management is at fault as they are not doing their jobs correctly. ALWAYS have a back up plan!



So true! I know how you feel as this has happened to me also! Still waiting on some parts I paid for to be shipped to me.........

John

Actually, the good news for me is that it never happened... I found the right shop the first time...So I cannot imagine having that happen to me..Mine went like clockwork form A arms to wheels...

In fact , the shop I am at , does many do overs that someone else did not do right..

So, that is why the guy is crazy busy because of repeat customers and referrals. quality work and honesty.

But I feel for you guys...

[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.

[Fluid Power]

Originally Posted by 509Chevelle

I know and I hate it when I call a manufacturer to buy from them direct and they won't sell to you, forcing you to go thru a dealer.

Here is the difference. I distribute for a lubricant manufacturer. I buy product by the skid and sell to the end user one or two at time. I sell a ton of lubricants. Imagine my manufacturer dealing with the 1000's of phone calls and emails from people buying 1 can or just 1 case. They would rather sell to me at a discount and make me buy it by the skid. Plus, they have a built in sales force with my guys in plants pushing product. It costs them NOTHING to have my sales guys working for them.