Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:45:22 -0400
Reply-To: "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Ordering Parts Online
In-Reply-To: <DE668AA0-181F-4EB8-B17C-53D7774643C3@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
I am probably a little too lenient when it comes to returns and warranties,
etc. I just hate for a customer to have a bad experience with us so I try
to do whatever I can to make them happy. However there are still folks out
there who are completely ridiculous in what they expect in a warranty.
I recently had a customer email me who had bought a header system from us
back in the days when we used to sell S&S Headers (before they bit the
dust). We had been trying something new at that time and having the
headers ceramic coated. This customer was from Canada and he wanted the
extra protection because of the climate. So we shipped these off to him
and about a year later he emailed to say that the ceramic coating was
starting to peel off, etc. I ended my experiments into ceramic coating for
just this reason. I told him the only way we could help him out is if he
removed the headers, shipped them back to the coater and we could get them
re coated for him for free. I never heard back from him for a long time.
Just a few months ago I got an email from him saying that his headers had
failed and if there was still any warranty left on them. I have all my
records back to 2000 so I looked this customer up and saw the invoice from
where we sold this to him... in 2001! So this customer wanted warranty on
an exhaust system that he bought 12 years ago! Yeah,
Vanagon owners are usually some of the most nice and reasonable people you
will ever run across. Occasionally you have to deal with the other kind of
customer who has no idea what is reasonable. It is all of you nice ones
that keep us going :-)
PS I am not really speaking to the current situation that started this
thread at all. Just sharing my experience for the fun and edu-tainment of
all.
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
On Thu, Jun 20, 2013 at 5:51 AM, Frank Condelli <RAlanen@aol.com> wrote:
> Ron, glad you replied and I will back you up. I just launched my
> on-line parts website some four weeks ago and let me tell you it's one
> hell-of-a job, most folks have no idea what we go through. We as vendors
> do not manufacture these parts, we purchase them from distributors or
> importers or import them directly. These supplies can change due to who's
> manufacturing what at ay given time. We should be happy anyone is actually
> manufacturing any parts for 30 year old vehicles, so we put up with what we
> can get. The parts in stock here are what I picture when I put the part up
> on the site, then those parts get sold and new stock is brought in,
> sometimes the part may differ and a new photo is needed, well, that a full
> time job just to keep up with that, and let me tell you I try my best to
> keep up with it even to the point that I built my own white box to take
> photos of the parts but with all the other stuff going on here it just is
> not always possible. We do try to keep it straight but wow, you folks ask
> a lot of the small vendors. We are not Walley World with hundreds of
> staff. Here at Frank Condelli & Associates it's me and sometimes Rita if
> she's not working her Hospital job. So, please bear with us as we are here
> to help you and we are doing our level best to do that.
>
>
> On 2013-06-19, at 10:37 PM, Automatic digest processor <
> LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> wrote:
>
> > Allow me to fill in some of the blanks here
.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Frank Condelli
> Almonte, Ontario, Canada
> '87 VW Westy, '00 Kawasaki 250 Sherpa, "98 Ducati 750 Monster & Lionel
> Trains (Collection for sale)
> Frank Condelli & Associates - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the
> Ottawa Valley
> BusFusion a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, June 06 ~ 09, 2013
>
--
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
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