Date:         Thu, 19 Feb 2004 13:14:06 -0500
Reply-To:     Vanagon Man <vgonman@MSN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Vanagon Man <vgonman@MSN.COM>
Subject:      Re: R.I.P. 'Rocky Mountain' Motorworks
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

One thing RMMW did do was believe for the most part that the "customer was
always right" .  Now that is definitely pie in the sky, but some of the
remaining vendors could sure learn from that model, as well as shipping
parts correctly and promptly.  I use several vendors, and I generally base
the decision on customer service, knowledge, and how quick i will get it
shipped to me.  There is a small parts place up in NC, and Fisher buggies in
Fl for example....are parts a little higher?  Yes.  But will be ship my
stuff that day for regular UPS?  You know it, as well as answer my
questions.




Adam P
Charleston,SC     Coburn, WV
81  Westy "The Brick "
70 Single Cab "Whitey"
74 Beetle "Ol Yeller"
73 Transporter (STILL at paint shop)
1988 Vanagon Wolfsburg
1976 Transporter (New CA bus)
1974 412 "Goldmember"
Used Vanagon Parts for sale (mostly aircooled)
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: R.I.P. 'Rocky Mountain' Motorworks


> > They were a great company to deal with.  When you called
> > there, you got a knowledgeable employee.  And they made no
> > excuses.......your parts went out THAT DAY.  No paying extra,
> > no expedition fees........just the way it was. They really,
> > really knew what customer service was.  They offered a
> > lifetime warranty, which i took advantage of a few times.
> > Prices were still competitive, too.
> >
> > Hopefully another company, or existing company for that
> > matter, will follow their model of customer service.
>
>
>
> Most of what you say is true. But while I respect their business model
> from a consumer's standpoint, it was also part of their undoing. Like
> too many other companies that ultimately fail, they overspent. With tons
> of employees waiting by the phone for your call, or standing in the
> warehouse waiting for your order, sure customer service is great. But at
> the end of the week you have to pay all of those people even if sales
> are slow. I gather that at one time they had roughly five times as many
> employees as we did per dollar worth of parts sold. That's a lot of
> payroll. Similarly, their "lifetime warranty" resulted in
> floor-to-ceiling stacks of installed and returned parts that they had to
> write off (some of which were not actually defective at all). Their
> prices were as a rule significantly higher than ours, but still not
> enough higher to fund their spending. Yes, there were other factors as
> well (diversification into unprofitable categories, and to a lesser
> extent a trademark infringement suit; it was ultimately settled). But
> high overhead had a lot to do with it. You can offer your customers the
> moon if you throw enough money at it, but in the end it all comes down
> to one thing - you have to spend less money than you make. Rocky
> Mountain ultimately failed this test.
>
> It's a tough economy right now, and the spiraling U.S. dollar isn't
> helping when it comes to imported parts. (Yesterday the U.S. dollar
> reached all-time lows against the Euro, not a good sign when it comes to
> the future of VW parts pricing.)  Motorworks was not the first to fall
> and probably won't be the last. If you leaf through a VW Trends magazine
> from a year or two ago, most of the biggest advertisers are gone now.
> Even the big auto parts chains are feeling the crunch; Pep Boys closed
> about 40 stores and laid off 1000 people last year. In times like this,
> the lean survive. You have to be realistic about how much you can spend,
> or you'll end up with a bloated infrastructure that can't survive a
> prolonged economic downturn.  Sometimes you just have to say, "yes it
> would be nice to offer that, but we can't afford it," and instead look
> for alternatives that will get you close for less (such as improving
> efficiencies instead of adding manpower).  The ones who stay lean, and
> make those tough choices, will be the ones who are still here to supply
> you with your VW parts a year or two from now. (As for us, we had our
> best year ever in 2003, so we're sticking around. :-)
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   www.busdepot.com
>   (215)  234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
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>