We have been doing business for a very long time and we do understand that problems in business transactions will happen from time to time. It is simply part of doing business. What really counts is how a business reacts to a customer's concern in solving their problem.
The notion that we would intentionally send damaged and/or used parts to anyone is ludicrous. In the past couple years, we have dominated the forced induction section of this forum and this market segment of the aftermarket industry. We didn't get to this point by luck or with shady business practices. We believe that when a customer pulls the trigger and invests in a forced induction system, a serious long term relationship will be established between the customer and the shop. Repeat business and our reputation is everything. Getting a couple thousand dollars from someone is way too short sighted in our opinion and is something that our competitors seem to do. We are in it for the long haul plain and simple. We have far too much passion and pride in what we do. Sure, we need to make money to feed, clothe and house ourselves, but that is not the end all be all motive of our company.
That said, there is an interesting twist to the story. What makes a customer go to this extreme and start a smear campaign like this?
Did we tell him to go screw himself? Did we cheat him out of money? Did we not take care of his concerns? Did we not go above and beyond to take care of him?
You be the judge.
A guy named Joe called us and wanted to order a turbo kit for his 370Z. The gentleman is in the armed forces and we could not ship via FedEx or UPS. For the first time we made an exception to our policy and made an arrangement to ship an $8000 turbo kit via the United States Postal Service. To add to the dilemma, he was stationed in Guam. The arrangement with Joe was to divide the turbo kit into multiple boxes due to the weight and size limitations of USPS shipping. What does that mean for us? Extra time, five trips to the Post Office and the risk of the parts never arriving. It was agreed and understood by both parties that we will ship one box at a time to ensure that Joe gets all the parts. In the event that the first box did not arrive, then a different logistics strategy would have to be implemented. That is the only reason why it took as long as it did to deliver the product.
Joseph started receiving the multiple shipments and then on the 3rd package, he indicated that some of the parts were damaged. I asked him to send me some pictures to verify his concern. Once I saw the pictures, it was very clear to me that such damage would have been done by someone dropping the intercooler, something running over it, or something went wrong with shipping. There is no way we would send anything out in such a condition. The thing that really got me concerned that Joe had stated that although these parts are damaged, there was no physical damage to the outside of the box. We started discussing options and within a two minute conversation, it was clear that Joe would like us to send replacement parts (intercooler and piping). Two points that we would like to clarify:
1) There is no company in the world that will send you replacement parts worth $2,000 before receiving the original parts, but we did!
2) We could have said "sorry Joe, these parts were damaged and we'll have to file a claim with USPS". We bought insurance for the shipping and had that as a legitimate option. But instead, we focused on taking care of Joe.
3) They requested for us to pay for the shipping of the damaged parts and they would not ship them back until they received the money. We agreed to do that.
We honestly thought it was a bump in the road, and that it is a big inconvenience and all we could do was focus on getting this resolved as quickly as possible and moving forward.
Everything was on track for a successful resolution until a friend of Joe's decided to post in our White Dragon thread. I happened to be working in the shop that Sunday when I saw that post and picked up the phone and called Joe and I expressed my disappointment and asked him verbatim "what gave him the idea that we're not going to take care of this?". Keep in mind this happened after we agreed on the terms of resolution. His exact reasoning behind it was that "it wasn't me, it was a friend". While I was on the phone with him, a female voice interrupted the conversation and introduced herself as his wife and that Joe needed to go to work. For the most part, it was a pleasant conversation and she expressed how heartbroken Joe was over the delay. In a nutshell, I got the impression that sending replacement parts was not good enough for her and that we would have to do something more than that. After listening to her complain over and over again about Joe's disappointment, despite it being out of our control, I offered to give them a Defi boost gauge, free of charge since Joe was looking into buying one.
Here's an e-mail we received from Dawn:
On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 10:44 PM, Dawn XXXXX <XXXXX@gmail.com> wrote:
Sam,
Thanks for taking the time to resolve the issues that we've been having with the GTM Kit that we received. It has take a lot longer than we liked or anticipated. Hopefully this can all be resolved in a timely matter. We did receive the tracking number for one product that you've recently sent( # CP890202589US ). Please keep us updated with the tracking numbers of all products sent. I'd also like to Thank you again for your offer to send us the complimentary gauge.
To keep things simple; until we receive our undamaged and properly packaged items. At this time we will not be making any further purchases with GTM. Once we have receive the Kit and gauge in satisfactory condition. We will reevaluate if we would like to continue to do business with GTM or not. In regards to the last email we received from you. I believe the item link in your email is the incorrect gauge. Below you will find the link to the correct gauge.
GTM Motorsports*::*ELECTRONICS*::*Gauges*::*Innovate DB-Gauge & LC-1 Combo
So please be sure to refund (for shipping)
Amount: $161.20
As soon as monies are credited into our account.We will ship you back the damaged items we received promptly.
Also,when you send the complimentary gauge listed above. Please email the tracking number as well.
Again thank you for you time. Have a pleasant day.
Please send a conformation email in regards to this matter.
Dawn
(we edited out the last name, e-mail address and phone number as any honorable business would do)
Details about shipping the replacement parts:
Since that was a hard lesson to learn, and we're out $2,000 worth of product, we decided to document the replacement parts, packaging, and condition of the parts so there will be no further questions regarding our integrity. Also, we attempted to ship these products by USPS Priority, but the Post Office only had one method of shipping due to the size and weight of the boxes. Here are some pictures of what we sent the second time around:
I truly thought that we did the right thing and went above and beyond what any other company would do in this situation. I spoke to Joe several times over the last few days regarding his tune, and to my surprise, this video was posted on March 8th. I sent an e-mail to Joe asking him what I am missing here, and here is the response I got from Dawn:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dawn XXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXX@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 7:12 PM
Subject: Re: You Tube Video
To: Sam Zawahra <sam@gtmpower.com>
This is Dawn and I haven't spoken with Joe today. You told me that you were sending his packages priority mail long before you actually sent the new pipes. He informed me that you sent the items as we call it snail mail. Not to mention. You have yet to wire the money into the account on the day that you said you would. If this has been the first time you've had bad customer service you are not handling it to you're best ability. At least I hope for your sake this isn't your best ability.
I was also informed of how you spoke to Joseph telling him that it was your word against his and that you have a lot of support because know you. I'm very unhappy dissatisfied and furious to say the least.If these packages don't get here before we leave. I assure you you will here from me again. I was informed about you not being to sure about giving Joe store credit. I'm sure you know only Joseph would ask for such a thing trying to give your company yet another chance and get the boost controller. You should know already, at this point in time, giving the current circumstance I am not so tolerant with your company.
Furthermore, I have no intentions of spending any money whatsoever with GTM. I'm sure you would like to sweep this all under the rug but that is going to take a lot more than empty words. I have done you the favor of not placing your name in the video,Sam. That was the nicest thing I could do for you at this point.
Dawn
Also, got an e-mail from Joe stating he did not post the video, but his wife did.
In conclusion, the damaged parts is an unfortunate scenario, but we stepped up to the plate to take care of Joe long before any of these issues were dragged onto the forum or YouTube. Despite our best attempts to rectify this situation the customer still decided to spin this in a negative light.
Sam