My Personal take on the Forged Specialties Dilemma...

bullitt5897 · 11-15-2011, 10:59 AM

WARNING: This is not a thread to start a debate or to stir the pot!!!

As many of you know I have worked with many vendors/manufacturers (as a mediator if you will) in our community to right the issues with our members and community in the past. I am here now to encourage a Manufacturer to speak out for themselves and to come forth with all the details of what has happened with a member/customer. I was able to get a hold of the Owners of Forged Specialties and Chris of WDO through my network. After an hour plus long conference call I got the whole story from the Forged Specialties side. I was able to talk with Chris and the other owners of Forged Specialties into bringing you guys the details and to show the steps that they have taken to honor the warranty work for this customer and plan to do. From what we discussed over the phone I have encouraged Chris and the owners of Forged Specialties to step forth and in a single post tell the whole story and expose the truth in its entirety. Chris will be posting up the whole story along with what they have offered the customer as the resolution to the issues and I personally feel that the plan that Chris brought forth in our call as very reasonable and as a customer I would respect and gladly take. I would hope that Blaine and Forged Specialties can come to an agreement and be able to resolve the issue.

After hearing both sides of the story and after the proof was laid out before me I feel both parties could have handled things better. Ultimately, Forged Specialties wants to fix the problem and make things right and is offering to do just that. With that said I still think Blaine should let them take care of the wheels this is at no cost to him to get fixed. Even after all the times the wheels have been sent back and forth I say give them one more shot. Forged Specialties even went third party to fix the issues. Hopefully this will be the last time.

So what does this tell us? Do NOT get chrome wheels!!! we drive sports cars not Cadillacs ! Chrome has too many cons and not enough pros to justify going chrome...

bullitt5897 · 11-15-2011, 11:15 AM

Chris was going to post up his response... His account is having issues and he has asked me to quote his response:

Quote:

To address some of the questions and issues that have been brought up lately, we figured one response of the story and who we are. I will start with myself, Christopher. I have in no way tried to lie to anyone about who I am. It is true I own/manage Wheels Direct with a silent partner, and I have a very good record of taking care of my customers. We have been open for over 6 years, so please do not begin to make up things about Wheels Direct, many people on the370z can attest to my service. I also do own 1% of Forged Specialties with a silent partner, and an investor. I was hired and offered part of the company by contract to help them bring the product line to the market. I never lied to anyone, just was offered 1%, plus commission for my sales. Blaine has dealt with Clyde, so he does know who he is, so I will not go further on discussing that. The truth of the matter is many company executives, keep their name to themselves, we just did not want to be like everyone else. We were never the big guy, and I saw the process of how they do the wheels, and it was actually very good.(which again is not fully in china like we have said)

We admit their have been issues, but very rarely. We are a new company, and their is no doubt we will hit bumpy roads, but we never sought to lie or cheat anyone. We have put our pricing at the same as 2 piece wheels, to be competitive. Regarding the quality of our wheels, we do cut our own centers in Germany, but I will not release any info as this is obviously not knowledge for the public to know. We have a very good relationship with our aluminum factory, and as such has helped us bring pricing to where it is largely. They are then assembled with the Lip and Barrel from China made of 6061 aluminum, so frankly its not if they were using lesser material. I am pretty sure it is why so many people use them in the U.S. yet you would never know.

As to Blaine's situation. It started a while ago when he approached Wheels Direct looking for a good set of wheels. He said he had come from Volks and wanted a change. I mentioned to him a new 3 piece brand I was selling, that was offering cost sponsorships to introduce themselves. He liked the idea, asked me info about them, about the aluminum and we put in the order. I think his took about 2 1/2 months, give or take, and we get the wheels. We opened them up, and did product shots on them shipped them out.(So everyone knows, the wheel in this shot FS-14 | Forged Specialties Wheels | 3-Piece Custom Wheels is Blaine's wheels before they shipped to him) Blaine received the wheels with a small nick right by the center cap the size of an ant, and a blemish, but in the rear of the spokes of 2 wheels I think it was. I believe their was a nick on 2 other wheels also right by the centercap. He sent us pictures, and we offered him a discount so he could enjoy the wheels.

Blaine told me he would prefer to have them fixed completely to avoid future issues with the finish. I then decided to pick them up myself since I somehow did not see the nicks, and take them to our local finisher in Miami, fl. We have used him in the past for local work and it always came out great so I figured I could not go wrong. The wheels were dropped off and about a week and 1/2 later they were done. I drove over to look at them, and when I arrived the wheels were outside sitting in the sun. I am no professional on finishes, but apparently it was to make sure they dried correctly. I looked at every wheel and they looked perfect at the time, and the finisher said he would package them up and ship them out for us. At this time, their was no issues with the lips at all for the record. The entire problem was the centers to be repaired.

As everyone knows Blaine received the wheels and the lips were now scratched, and over spray on them. I can only assume that I did not see the finish well enough, b/c my main focus was the little nicks. Needless to say, Blaine was of course un happy, so I contact Clyde and tell him the situation. He then says he will deal with it directly in C.A. and take it to the right people to refinish them. At this point I will let Clyde finish with his end.

After I had received the wheels from Blaine, I kept him up to date with pictures of the process from when they were received, disassembled, refinished, re-chromed, and assembled, then shipped back. I chose to use local companies, instead of bringing in replacement lips, for time reasons. Blaine had already gone through quite a bit, and we did not want him to be without his wheels any longer. If we ordered in replacement lips it would have taken about a month alone to get them. We thought at the time that we did not want to have Blaine wait this long, so we shelled out the money companies that were recommended to us.

Once I received the wheels, I had them disassembled, then took them to our local powdercoater that is also very popular with the local wheel companies so I knew that they did good quality work. I then had them outsource the re-chroming to Hi-Tech Chroming for the stripping of the chrome and re-chroming. Hi-tech, also being a very reputable shop as they are a staple in the forged wheel industry here in California. Once I received all the parts back I sent pictures to Blaine for an update to show him that the quality of the work was great. I then had them assembled, sealed with industry standard sealant by Dow Corning and re-boxed in new boxes then shipped back to him.

I confirmed that he received them and asked him for his review. He agreed that they looked brand new as promised. Sometime later, Blaine contacted me about some thinly painted area on the inside of the spokes. He claimed that there were hard to see yellow areas in between the spokes. I contacted my powdercoater and he confirmed that there was no yellow primer used and that they use black primer every time they paint matte black wheels. In an attempt to make Blaine happy we refunded him an additional $300 as this was his idea that he had brought up to Forged Specialties. He stated that If he got refunded $300, he would just let it go since it wasn't that noticeable. We made the exception and agreed to his offering.

After more time has elapsed, he contacted Chris of wheels direct and notified him of a leaky wheel. Chris passed on the message to me while I was at the SEMA show. I then contacted Blaine to see how I could be of assistance and help him out. The seals in 3pc wheels are often broken due to installer error. This is very common, it doesn't matter what company you buy wheels from. Their frankly is no way to really know if they did dig under the sealant. I must say that you will rarely see this with JDM wheels as they are usually welded multi-piece wheels with no seals involved. We then offered to pay to have his guy reseal them, but that was all we approved from an outside company to get Blaine back on the road.

As a side note: Forged Specialties uses industry standard parts. The lips come from a very common supplier that supply lips to at least 75-80% of the forged wheel companies out here. The centers are cut out of 6061 forged aluminum, just like everyone else's wheels.

FS will never leave a customer hanging. We offered another solution. Since the chroming has been a problem, we offered to change his lips out for polished lips and reassemble the wheels as our policy states. This solution will solve his issues and give us the chance to make it right. Blaine, himself, has chosen to pursue the same solution but by taking them to his own polisher and wheel assembly firm. We informed him that if he were to do that, then he would void his warranty from FS. FS will not take the risk in paying another firm for work that is unknown to FS. Blaine then threatened to bash FS on the boards and sent harassing emails taunting FS, in which FS as declined to reply to. Once he has posted up those threads, FS will no longer communicate with Blaine as he has taken the situation into his own hands instead of working with us.

--
Regards,

The Forged Specialties Team

GetYourWheels · 11-15-2011, 11:16 AM

I will agree with Bullitt here.

I have seen both sides and I believe both parties could have done better.

tomnavone · 11-15-2011, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullitt@UAMotorsports

Chris was going to post up his response... His account is having issues and he has asked me to quote his response:

Wasn't he banned because he was using multiple accounts to bash other vendors and pump up his brand?

GetYourWheels · 11-15-2011, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnavone

Wasn't he banned because he was using multiple accounts to bash other vendors and pump up his brand?

I can not comment on this because i do not know. However it is not relevant to the problem at hand

GraphiteG37S · 11-15-2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GetYourWheels

I can not comment on this because i do not know. However it is not relevant to the problem at hand

"Not relevant to the problem at hand"...?

Ummm... Ok. Sure is a shady way to do business. After seeing this my business will never go to FS.

tomnavone · 11-15-2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GraphiteG37S

"Not relevant to the problem at hand"...?

Ummm... Ok. Sure is a shady way to do business. After seeing this my business will never go to FS.

bullitt5897 · 11-15-2011, 11:47 AM

I was informed that he was banned by the admin after I posted... Reasons I am unaware of.

Mike

GetYourWheels · 11-15-2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GraphiteG37S

"Not relevant to the problem at hand"...?

Ummm... Ok. Sure is a shady way to do business. After seeing this my business will never go to FS.

The problem at hand is this one customer. It is not his status as a member on this board. That can be left for another topic.

phelan · 11-15-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GraphiteG37S

"Not relevant to the problem at hand"...?

Ummm... Ok. Sure is a shady way to do business. After seeing this my business will never go to FS.

The topic of this thread is a discussion / clarification of a single customer issue, and resolution attempts by both parties. How the company handles itself ('shady' or not) is not being discussed.

GetYourWheels · 11-15-2011, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phelan

The topic of this thread is a discussion / clarification of a single customer issue, and resolution attempts by both parties. How the company handles itself ('shady' or not) is not being discussed.

NXXT · 11-15-2011, 11:53 AM

what about my customer issue? ......

not sure if it was posted here already... a lot of info here:

http://www.gencoupe.com/wheels-tires...es-beware.html

GraphiteG37S · 11-15-2011, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phelan

The topic of this thread is a discussion / clarification of a single customer issue, and resolution attempts by both parties. How the company handles itself ('shady' or not) is not being discussed.

How the company handles itself on the forum and in the business world has a lot to do with this. Don't try to minimize the effect this guy/company has had on multiple customers, not just Blaine. Maybe you should check the Gen and Camaro forums too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NXXT

what about my customer issue? ......

So nice of you to chime in.

Exactly, what about your issue? Is that not important to anyone else here?

phelan · 11-15-2011, 12:03 PM

Graphite: I understand your concerns. If you look at the previously locked thread, I stated VERY similar concerns to yours.

However, this is a TECHNICAL forum. Keep the discussion to the product itself.

I've already made my feelings known to administration and staff here that we need a vendor review area, where feedback on customer support and how a company 'handles itself' is more appropriate.

Red__Zed · 11-15-2011, 12:04 PM

11-15-2011, 10:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
bullitt5897 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: North GA Posts: 6,831 Drives: Twin Turbo Z34 Rep Power: 3682	My Personal take on the Forged Specialties Dilemma... WARNING: This is not a thread to start a debate or to stir the pot!!! As many of you know I have worked with many vendors/manufacturers (as a mediator if you will) in our community to right the issues with our members and community in the past. I am here now to encourage a Manufacturer to speak out for themselves and to come forth with all the details of what has happened with a member/customer. I was able to get a hold of the Owners of Forged Specialties and Chris of WDO through my network. After an hour plus long conference call I got the whole story from the Forged Specialties side. I was able to talk with Chris and the other owners of Forged Specialties into bringing you guys the details and to show the steps that they have taken to honor the warranty work for this customer and plan to do. From what we discussed over the phone I have encouraged Chris and the owners of Forged Specialties to step forth and in a single post tell the whole story and expose the truth in its entirety. Chris will be posting up the whole story along with what they have offered the customer as the resolution to the issues and I personally feel that the plan that Chris brought forth in our call as very reasonable and as a customer I would respect and gladly take. I would hope that Blaine and Forged Specialties can come to an agreement and be able to resolve the issue. After hearing both sides of the story and after the proof was laid out before me I feel both parties could have handled things better. Ultimately, Forged Specialties wants to fix the problem and make things right and is offering to do just that. With that said I still think Blaine should let them take care of the wheels this is at no cost to him to get fixed. Even after all the times the wheels have been sent back and forth I say give them one more shot. Forged Specialties even went third party to fix the issues. Hopefully this will be the last time. So what does this tell us? Do NOT get chrome wheels!!! we drive sports cars not Cadillacs ! Chrome has too many cons and not enough pros to justify going chrome... __________________ *Shop Cars: 2013 318whp Nismo VspecII 370z SOLD, 2009 1000hp+ 93oct 4.0L TT 370z Fast Intentions STAGE 4 #054*

11-15-2011, 11:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
GetYourWheels A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Southern California Posts: 3,816 Drives: 2011 BMW M3 Rep Power: 21	I will agree with Bullitt here. I have seen both sides and I believe both parties could have done better. __________________ Email : Eddie@GetYourWheels.com \| Tel: (562)249-7184 \| Your Wheel Fitment Specialist / Wheel & Tire Deal via DM Top Tiers Dealers - Avant-Garde / Forgestar / Rohana / Stance / Vossen + More https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...de6886f7a7.jpg

11-15-2011, 11:47 AM	#8 (permalink)
bullitt5897 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: North GA Posts: 6,831 Drives: Twin Turbo Z34 Rep Power: 3682	I was informed that he was banned by the admin after I posted... Reasons I am unaware of. Mike __________________ *Shop Cars: 2013 318whp Nismo VspecII 370z SOLD, 2009 1000hp+ 93oct 4.0L TT 370z Fast Intentions STAGE 4 #054*

11-15-2011, 11:53 AM	#12 (permalink)
NXXT Base Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 41 Drives: Genesis 3.8 Track Rep Power: 14	what about my customer issue? ...... not sure if it was posted here already... a lot of info here: http://www.gencoupe.com/wheels-tires...es-beware.html __________________ -Team Sun★Works- Last edited by NXXT; 11-15-2011 at 11:56 AM.

11-15-2011, 12:03 PM	#14 (permalink)
phelan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Age: 38 Posts: 9,513 Drives: Scoobaroo Rep Power: 3406	Graphite: I understand your concerns. If you look at the previously locked thread, I stated VERY similar concerns to yours. However, this is a TECHNICAL forum. Keep the discussion to the product itself. I've already made my feelings known to administration and staff here that we need a vendor review area, where feedback on customer support and how a company 'handles itself' is more appropriate. __________________ 凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z With silence comes peace. With peace comes freedom. With freedom comes silence.

11-15-2011, 12:04 PM	#15 (permalink)
Red__Zed A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: window seat Posts: 28,940 Drives: Mostly on two wheels Rep Power: 120

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