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Date:         Wed, 24 Apr 2002 09:56:35 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Re; Bus Depot Problems
Comments: To: Doss88Wkndr@aol.com
In-Reply-To:  <53.15a8d4f8.29f80394@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Brian (and others),

It always upsets me to read this sort of comment. I am very much aware that over the last year or two our customer service had declined. It was basically a result of our incredibly fast growth. Frankly our need for employees outpaced our ability to find good ones in this somewhat remote part of PA.

While I wouldn't claim that everything is now perfect, I have taken major steps over the last several months to make improvements to our customer service, and they have been paying off.

The improvements were on several fronts. Perhaps most importantly, as I mentioned on this list before, we brought all of our email response back in-house instead of farming it out. The prior arrangement had resulted in numerous complaints about slow email and poor communication, but at the time we just couldn't find the manpower and time to do it here. In the few short weeks since it's been back under my control, we have already cut the email response time in half, and each outgoing email is now individually checked for accuracy by myself or my store manager before it is sent. We also upgraded to new custom-designed point-of-sale software that makes it easier to track, fill, and separately charge for backorders, and rented additional warehouse space so that we could keep more in stock (reducing the number of backorders in the first place). Finally, I let go two employees whose performance and/or attitude toward customers was in my opinion sub-par. This left us shorthanded, creating other short-term problems until we were able to find suitable replacements, but in retrospect it was the right thing to do and I should have done it sooner. Overall, the crew that we have now is much more responsive, dedicated, and thorough.

I'd be lying if I said that everything were perfect. We still make more mistakes on orders than I feel we should, and you still may have trouble getting through during a busy morning, as even now we can never seem to quite catch up with the demand. (The faster computers should help a bit, once they're all running; also remember that email is the easiest option if you can wait 12-48 hours for a reply.) And the real acid test of all of these improvements is yet to come, in July and August, where things get so busy that even if we had so many employees that we were tripping over eachother it still would hardly be enough.

Also, you must remember what our focus is and is not. We do not promise much in the way of tech support. We do not promise particularly fast delivery unless you order via expedited service (in which case we DO promise fast delivery - don't overlook this option!). If you call the toll-free order line, we do not provide any customer service at all other than taking orders by part number. And even otherwise, our level of customer service is intended to be appropriate for a discount house, not a "full service" retailer. As I've said before, think Sams Club, not Macy's - our primary focus is on product and price. That said, and within that framework, I think our service is now getting much closer to where I want it to be, and certainly much better than it was a year ago. I hope you'll try us again now that we've finally had a chance to put some of these changes in place. And if the service that you receive is below your expectations, please do not hesitate to email me directly at ron@busdepot.com .

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. (215) 234-VWVW www.busdepot.com

_____________________________________________ Toll-Free for Orders by Part # 1-866-BUS-DEPOT

> When I first bought my Vanagon, Ron was a real help to me on several of > occasions. I became a loyal B.D. customer. But, I have to admit, since he > hired on help, it has been nothing but aggravation for me dealing > with them, and hence, I have found other, shall we say, "customer friendly" > sources for my parts. I have even bought parts from local dealers knowing full well I > was paying through the nose, and swallowed the extra cost with a > spoonful of peace of mind. I honestly believe that our little Vanagon > community would be a darker place without Ron's help and the Bus Depot, but I really > do resent spending my money anywhere where I don't feel genuinely appreciated as a > customer. If you read the list for most any given calendar > month, you will no doubt stumble across a thread of B.D. flaming - but to B.D.'s credit, > there is always an equally fiery group rising to his defense. I > have always avoided getting involved in these disputes in the past, but for > some reason, I felt compelled to give my two cents today, and in the most positive of > spirits. So, in closing, I submit that I probably represent a handful of > people who want to say; "Ron, we love you... but weed out the Soup Nazi's > from your good people, and we will all live better lives".


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