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
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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