disgusted in VW shops

I had to have a winge!!!

I have sent several e-mails, to three differant VW shops, requesting prices for stock;
Type 3 lens and
Rubber kits

I have had no reply from any of these shops....😠😠

Has any-one else had trouble like these

yeah still waiting for vvw to get back to me on a price on maxx struts and pop outs

hmmm interesting!

yep, sent 3 emails to one shop after they didnt answer phone in hours, then after the 3rd one, all i got was "Not in stock yet dont have prices" .... thought it was prety rude seeing it was listed as instock on the website that has no prices

but hey what do i know im just a consumer..... oh wait am i the one that they rely on? hmmm yes .... i think these shops should wake upto themselves

thanks
adam

try these guys u wont be disappointed www.mullerandmuller.com

Ive tried to call them and they didnt answer.

Cheers
Dave

i have got to say there are good places out there, Volkshaven and VVDS are great, same with mullers all good blokes, and i wouldnt hesitate giving them my business

57kombi wrote:Ive tried to call them and they didnt answer.

Cheers
Dave

telstra stuffed their lines up a couple of weeks ago:cussing

trust me they will always answer 🙂

Gotta realise these guys get hundreds of calls from guys like us who are often wishlisting. Sure we all buy stuff, but how many times do you ring around checking prices or finding out a price so you can save for a future purchase? That all takes up their time. They'd be rapt if every call led to a sale, but that aint the real world. Just think next time you call or email, that one of us is probably on the other line taking up their time, quizing them about something we might buy in the future. I doubt they sit there listening to the phone ring, wishing it'd go away. If it takes days for a response, they're either real busy 'cos they're good, or they're not. Their reputation should help you sort that one out.

was listed as instock on the website that has no prices

Putting prices on the internet is insane. Australian trading laws say that a currently advertised price must be honoured. With the internet so many ISPs are dirt cheap and cache vast amounts of info that the pages you see have been updated on the original site - changes which are not reflected in shared caches or proxies.

So to the "in stock" listing. Most people don't do their own maintenace so there can be a considerable delay in updating information on the web - a delay which is compounded by ISP caching and users own caching.

Emails unreplied... A lot of these would be unintentional. Any business with there address published onthe web is ging to be hammered by spam. Unless you are very clear with a subject line and content and are using a verified email address your messages may get sorted/filtered as spam.

Well if they can not keep thier internet site acurate then the information should not be on there at ALL! I am tired of hearing Lame ass excuses why internet sites are so inacurate

custom offroad is brad / dave / terry. One of them will answer the phone or answer an email fairly quickly.

they don't stock heaps of stock vw stuff, but I think you could get nearly anything ordered in or imported through them

I don't think they really care! They know they'll get our money either way, because where vw nuts who love what we do.

Well if they can not keep thier internet site acurate then the information should not be on there at ALL! I am tired of hearing Lame ass excuses why internet sites are so inacurate

Not accurate or update on your side but accurate and up to date on their side. Perfectly possible.

Most people who whinge about not getting the most up to date pages have their browsers set up to NOT get the latest versions (if their ISPs even let them). Make sure you are set to look for the latest version on every visit and check to see if your ISP is caching and their proxies are not allowing you to get new pages everytime.

As I said - putting prices on the web is stupid. You are asking for trouble because you cannot control what the end user is doing.

"i have got to say there are good places out there, Volkshaven and VVDS are great, same with mullers all good blokes, and i wouldnt hesitate giving them my business "

so adam, why would you bother with the others? if they are stuffing you around jsut stick to who you know. i have no hesitation in ringing mike at VVDS... the same for mike at CBB. i will go half way round australia to get my work carried out by CBB. i know i can trust them and i know the results are great. so why bother playing around with a half cock who might save you a couple of dolars. espesh if they frustrate.

I am sorry but who cares if they only get people calling to check prices, who cares if most of the calls dont end up in a sale.
The companies are there to SERVICE US, they should be doing everything in their power to help us and to answer calls and give good service.
Most VW shops I have spoken to are very slack on customer service.
If they have a web site why not put prices on it and keep it current, they are there for US, without the customer they would not be in business.

In my opinion, the majority of shops have been around for quite a while and have had it too good for too long, charging stupid prices for stuff we see for sale at half the price in overseas mags.

Before I organised my trim from Classic VW (Pacific), free plug for good service.
I contacted a company who advertised trim and safaris in VW Aust mag, they said it hadnt arrived and would be in in 2 weeks, they also could not give me a price, I then phoned every 2 weeks for 4 MONTHS and it was still 2 weeks away and still no idea on price.
Who advertises stuff and then doesnt have it, they also ran the same ad in the next issue which was 2 months later and I called them and they still didnt have it.
I also left my number 5 times and never recieved a call back.
Now we are not talking of a few dollars here we are talking about $1000. but they couldnt be bothered.

As I said before , some have had it too good for too long.

Cheers
Dave

I am sorry but who cares if they only get people calling to check prices, who cares if most of the calls dont end up in a sale.

If they are stropy in providing prices or slack in dealing with enquiries they will NEVER turn into sales.

Its all just another reason I buy from overseas now. You can order over the net as they put up their prices and you get it within 4-10 days for a far cheaper price.

HotRodMatt wrote:so many ISPs are dirt cheap and cache vast amounts of info that the pages you see have been updated on the original site - changes which are not reflected in shared caches or proxies.

So to the "in stock" listing. Most people don't do their own maintenace so there can be a considerable delay in updating information on the web - a delay which is compounded by ISP caching and users own caching.

HotRodMatt wrote:Most people who whinge about not getting the most up to date pages have their browsers set up to NOT get the latest versions (if their ISPs even let them). Make sure you are set to look for the latest version on every visit and check to see if your ISP is caching and their proxies are not allowing you to get new pages everytime.

Don't agree. Proper web programming can fix this. You can set a webpage not to be cached in the header of the page. Dynamic websites (such as this forum) have this value set. Any page that is generate on the fly (ASP, PHP, DHTML, CFM) etc are not cached.

There are many things a website provider can do to fix these issues. A dynamic database driven website will set a company back about $2K. It would seem most companies don't want to spend this. They just blow their money on out of date ads in magazines instead.

The first VW company in Oz to have a true off the web ordering system like many of the big US companies will do well. People can order goods at night when the store is closed. How powerful a advantage is that over 9-5 companies? Someone just has to put the $ on the line.

Good One Mike...
There are still some companies that don't have an email address, and don't even use computers...
Some have only installed anti virus software this year....
plus they just don't know the power of the internet...
and don't want to spend any money on computer software..

I know some companies put emails in the too hard "round basket" [rubbish] and You never hear anything..

Mick & Christine at Mick Motors always return My emails,,,

and usually have the parts... too..

I have dealt with MOST VW shops in NSW & QLD ...

Lee --

I find the freight a killer on overseas Buying

-- unless the parts are very SMALL and Weigh NOTHING....

The freight is the killer...

then there are the smaller VW parts shops in the USA that won't take mastercard etc from overseas....
and want to send the goods by AirMail Courier...
they seem to be really against selling outside the USA...

Lee

I think that just about everyone here (that buys parts from suppliers) has some sort of poor service story. I know that I have - I'm not going to mention any names, but some are definatly better than others for service.

It's a shame really - the number of local companies that supply parts for our hobby is increasing almost daily and with the increased use of the internet, it's getting easier and easier for us to deal with companies overseas too. Giving bad customer service, not being willing to quote prices (particularly over the phone) and taking forever to get parts to complete orders will, eventually, give them a bad name. This will (also eventually) cause them to loose customers, and as anyone in business knows - no customers = no money. We have such a close knit community in the VW world - it won't take long before a bad reputation causes trouble for a business.

And, whilst I am raving on about this - this principal applys to businesses that charge high prices for goods and services... take a look around and have a think - I'm sure most of you (who have been around VW's in Aust for a while) could think of at least one business that has sucumb to their reputation for over charging thier customers.

I s'pose that what I am saying is: If you own a business and can identify yourself in any of the above ramblings, perhaps you might have just enough time to turn things around if you act now... but a bad reputation is something that sticks around for a very long time (some people never get over it). If on the other hand you are a customer, make sure that you take your business elsewhere, as I said before, there are plenty of places out there to choose from.

Take the time to listen to what others are saying about businesses that you are planning on dealing with. It may just save you the frustration and hasle that you know that you don't want or need.

It may be wishful thinking but one day I will get my crank bearings for my 1835......

...ok, off my soapbox now 🙂

R

twoguns wrote:so adam, why would you bother with the others? if they are stuffing you around jsut stick to who you know. i have no hesitation in ringing mike at VVDS... the same for mike at CBB. i will go half way round australia to get my work carried out by CBB. i know i can trust them and i know the results are great. so why bother playing around with a half cock who might save you a couple of dolars. espesh if they frustrate.

Wes, I agree, but this was a place that had stuff advertised, and stuff that i was very interested in getting, i didnt see the need to ring 3 shops that might have it if one place advertised they had it ..... does that make sense lol

but i agree, i now only deal with those who are very helpful and those who i mentioned

Iam having issues with delays in work at present with one show. Alwasy seems to be "be ready for you in 3 days time". now its a really simple job that shoul only take about 4 days at the most, but is getting close to 12 working days. Its one plcae I will not going back to!!!!

i dont want to advertise but on what 57kombi said about
classic vw (pacific) i asked for prices on parts for splitscreens
last week & today received a thirteen page price list on
everything you can put on the car.
(i think thats good for future budgeting)

i have dealt with a couple of VW people now...
mick motors is awesome...i have done several C.O.D's with him and they're perfect every time...plus i ordered through Vintage Vee dub for a heap of rubbers and various other stuff..they we're expensive...but the girl on the phon i nice aswell as answering to my e-mails....plus i have been to volksbahn...and that lady who works there...holy crap....she knows what she's talkin bout and she's nice...plus their dog is cool...and i also imported from T3D's...and they are awesome aswell....
maybe u guys just gotta be choosey where u go...classic vee dub is another goodin...

lol..thats a few places....maybe i'm just lucky

jonno

I think you will find that most VW shops would prefer to do business over the phone. I know that several dont even have computors...

It much easier and pleasent to deal with a person over the phone.... Ive seen most of the questions ask from a few shops and most time the people who are enquiring dont know what they want or dont know whats available.

Its pretty simple Pick up the phone, if you have no luck with the internet

frenzix wrote:shop overseas

If every one shops O.S. .........soon there will be no Aus shops willing to risk keeping any stock, then we won't have the choice.
So All our stuff will be Chineese , no one in Oz will bother.

I agree, but some of the prices, and service isnt the best, and you get better prices and service from Overseas. For eg, I got my dropped spindles for a bug landed and taxed for $380 Aussie dollars. Now how much are they at a VW shop? Im sure they get them for a cheaper rate than CB offer them to the general public. If they were at the mid-high 400's I would have bought them local, but at 250-300 extra, I will buy from o/s everyday of the week than buy local.....That is for big things. Little things, I dont even bother, and get them local.

But thats just me.....Volksbahn and volkspower are great to deal with. Havent bought anuthing from the others. Have spoken to VVDS but were out of stock of the items I was after a while ago. Since got from elsewhere.

N!

What if you can't get any-thing in Australia ??

There is a Large CNC machine shop near me , he does lots of Proto type items for some big name Aus shops who then get the stuff mass produced in Tiawan, This guy is a genius but will soon be closed due to poeple sending his production work OS cause they say he is too expensive !!!!

I wonder how they are gonna go getting proto type work done in China etc...
Try getting good service from OS , not likely..(a few exceptions)

I am generally shocked at the poor service in we encounter in Australia. It seems that the "She'll be right 'attitude is firmly breed into our culture. I have had a hell of a job getting parts for one of my projects but finally had very good results from Classic Vee Dub in Sydney. Today I paid a visit to custom Off road and was impressed with there service and attitude as well. New owners and keen to be successful.

Generally the perception by employee's is that customers are a pain in the arse but reality is they turn over the cash registers. I have found that if you state when you call that you are looking for a competitve price on a particular article that will set the tone and you will either get their attention or incur their anger. But at least you are being honest and if you have to say that "Hey that price is too expensive" they then have the option to discount or piss you off. Another option is to ask for a cash price as to most small businesses this is the nector of the Gods.

It is funny how you will remember a business and whether you deal with them or not by the service and quality they give long after you have forgotten the price.

[Edited on 6-10-2004 by Limbug]

As I have a conflict in Interest here I will just add that email is a funny thing and often the business does not receive it. Not saying it is anyones fault but their own just pointint it out.

I recently stuffed up some mail server settings on the Custom Offroad Website and am still paying the price. Worst part was that I didn't realise until I got an abusive phone call from a customer who had sent me an email and never heard anything back.

I am currently working on a receipt invoice so at least people will know that the email was received.

I have brught quite a few bits from Mick Motors this last year. Most of the time the parts I need were in stock and VERY fast delivery service and good prices.

Custom Off Road were also very helpfull with information and prices last week(placing an order soon!), they know their off road stuff!🙂

I am currently working on a receipt invoice so at least people will know that the email was received.

yeah how do u do that Brad ??? let me know

hasnt this post stirred up the hornets nest!!!!

I stick with my local and Mickmotors over the phone...will be using CVWPacific too.
the bad thing with us Dubbers is that we usually want our parts Yesterday,I'm shocking for this and I'd say most of you guys are the same too.
in the end you got to stick with what you know.
Rob

......love this one......."plus their dog is cool" LMAF😀

I too have had some good dealing's with some VW shops!! CustomVW offroad is one!!
But, when you send several differant e-mails to several differant companies, over a week ago you would expect some sort of reply

We are a new business on the block, we have tried to answer all enquiries as soon as we can because we appreciate your business. This might be within minutes or if we have to wait for an answer ourselves it may take a few days.
For example 2 people asked about Splitty ute trays, we turned over a few stones and found genuine 4 pce trays available.
Pop outs for beetles, we have emailed and faxed all of our suppliers and more, we finally found some.
So there is more work to it than meets the eye.
However, sometimes and I have been guilty on occasion, an e-mail is lost in the pile of paperwork or a number is scribbled down then the paper accidentally thrown away. These things happen occasionally.
But I have found from experience, some outlets actually neglecting thier customers, because they believe there is a captive market here in Australia. As what already has been said, buyers will look overseas.
We ask our customers for thier suggestions so that we can improve our service.
In the next few weeks we are hoping to bring in a system that will not let anyone slip through the net.
Thanks to all who have tried us and if we havent replied drop us a line and remind us.
All the best
Roy

You didnt send one to me Mattie did you!!!!!!

Hey , Its Mitchell here hello!
LOL Mittcy

Adam those colour charts went in the post on Monday to you.
Let me know if you dont get them

Hey Walter Mittcy

Hello is alex here!!

alex

thanks ClassicVW, and rest assured it wasnt your business that i recieved rude emails from, ......

thanks and i will be intouch
adam

I am still curious as to why i can buy individual parts from an overseas business cheaper then a shop here that would have better buying power as they could place a bigger order????? For example Autometer gauges are about two thirds or less to my door from an OS shop compared with any of the speed shops or autobarn here.

[Edited on 6-10-2004 by Andy42]

If you want to see great customer service, in all industries go to Japan. No matter what they will always be polite and treat you with respect! They will bend over backwards to get what you want.

overseas stuff copes a lot of Tax if you bring it in the front door.

For example if I buy a 100 part for a bug ( new part ) I have to pay 15 % on it. It cost me say $20 to get it here. Then when it arrives I have to pay 10% GST on the cost plus tax plus postage so it now owes me $148.50. Then if there is any customs fees on top of that or quaranteen then this is extra. So it lands oweing me $148.50 add say 20% for profit and now it has to sell for $178.20. As you can see it gets up there pretty quickly. Now if the customer pays for it on Credit car I loose 1.5% to the bank and then back 10% on GST ( I can claim most back at BAS Time )

Anyway I guess you get the idea..

When you buy direct you avoid most of the costs and keep it cheaper. As for buying power on O/S items ..... give me till next year ..... :P

I know phones are friendlier...
but emails are cheaper.... especially if the call is Interstate..
and You can write down all the info needed... on an email & You know they have the information..
It IS a bit different if You don't really know what to order....
The Phone IS Better then...

I suppose if You know Your prices are NOT the cheapest
then You CAN disregard those customers.... who rang asking.

There are some companies in the US that sell good quality VW parts at the cheapest prices...
Not the CHEAPEST [garbage] Parts.... but Quality parts...
That is what I am always looking for... Not the cheapest
brazillian rubbish -- maybe the BEST out of Brazil...
I bought some heavy duty Brazillian running boards a few ago and it has turned out that they are - Heavy Duty Brazillian running boards and I can stand on them....
Now thats what I want in VW Parts.... I bought quality ball joints made in Switzerland -- etc...
If We can STOP some of the VW shops from buying most things in Brazil .... would be a start...
Many VW items are now made in the US...
And all the ones I have seen are good quality...
I'd rather buy US made parts than Brazillian or Maxican Junk..
The parts made in China to USA Specs should also be OK...
I'm NOT talking about engine etc parts...

Lee

You want to try bad service? Go to any shop in London..........

kkk

Just been to Classic at Rydlemere in Sydney, George has or will get just about anything...cant wait til his flat 4 stuff arrives in the next few weeks, some stuff will be hundreds of dollars cheaper than other vw shops in sydney, tears will be flowing...ah well some people have had it too good for too long at my expense...

Visit Classic Vee Dub or call George 02 9638 4200

Nah, got stuff on, wont be there all weekend...

George is great. Always helpful and always willing and able to beat anyone's prices! He knows volume and happy customers is better than huge margins.

You know the saying "what goes around comes around", there will tears flowing tonight at vw shops around sydney...

Classic Vee Dub
Bridge St Rydlemere
9638 4200
Will ship anywhere in Aus....

Tim, bad weekend, end of school hols, voting, V8's, good swell, its all happenning...
Next time dude...beers on me

Hi,
I have had no problem with Mick Motors. I e-mail what I require and the if I want to call later they know what I am after.
I think they run system where they check all e-mails at fixed time. Send out answers, quotes etc which gives them more time for phone etc.
MB Spares in Canberra are great on e-mail for MB parts.
Warren

Hi Guys,
Hey I have read this post with interest and being new to the V-Dub business scene I hope I have a solution to some of the email issues. I have just launched the new Custom Offroad Site ( www.customoffroad.com.au ) and am trying something different. The computer should generate a receipt number for you when you submit a question / enquiry. This way you know we got it and we know we have it so we can respond to you.

Although this maybe consider a shameless plug I am really just trying to design a system that provides the best service we can give. Email often go missing so hopefully this will get around it ..

Cheers,

Dont know how good Classic is in Sydney.
I phoned them last week and got the answer machine stating they would call me back , waited 3 days didnt here from them.
Called again last Thursday still not heard anything.
Is it because I was only after a pertronix ignition worth about $70.
I had mentioned this on the first phone call.

Sorry but If I have to make 2 calls interstate and they cant be bothered to call me back, they have lost my business.
Some might say it is an isolated instance but in my books a call wont hurt them, and to ignore my call once is once too many.

Will not call them again.

Cheers
Dave

Yeh this a topic that i have a real opinion about,only thing to say most of these shops,They like taking the money and your arms then leave you in the black hole.There is a shop that burnt me bad and slagged me after putting thousands of dollars into there shop at the same time earning interest of my money wanting for a product over a couple of years and still did not finish building it and quoted me and still asked for more money,but hay i was young and easy bought now iam wiser and know who looks after you.Gentlemen go for great customer service and a shop that gives you time to pay of your product without the bullshit.I can only tell you this from experience,goodluck gentlemen do your homework.JVLRacing

Roy at ClassicVW(pacific) on the Goldy , excellent got back to us same day each time.
😎

Thankyou

Ive also had good dealings with Roy, thats why I made sure I put Classic Sydney in my post above.
Ive had nothing but good service from (Pacific)

Cheers
Dave