Re: V.L. Enterprises??? (need feedback)

["Michael Carlson" <m-carlson@home.com>]

Wow, I'd like to say "thanx" to everyone who answered my e-mail.  Rather
than sending out a bunch of replies, I'll respond to all messages in this
e-mail.  (Sorry for the length.)

> I agree, noone is perfect, things do happen.  However,
> if you give a customer a timeline you ought to stick
> to it.  You should also be available to talk to
> customers particularly if you've exceeded the timeline
> you've given...

EXACTLY.

> Customer service, however, is NOT beyond his control.  I mean is this just
 > some guy, or does he own a business?

I second that.  Yes, this is a guy who runs his own business.  He may have
one other person helping him from time to time.  That's what he told me when
I first called to ask about his kit.

> ...as you say, everyone makes mistakes.  But not answering your
> phone is unexcusable, especially after weeks of not communicating.

Agreed.

> He is good for buisness just kind of a slacker some times because of how
much work he
> has to do..
> i mean think about how many of you guys know people that need work.. its
only him up
> there working on trannys... so i would think that it would take some
time...

I would agree.  I have no problem with that.  That being the case, he should
have told me up-front that it would take him a while to get around to it.
Instead, he regularly told me that it would take him about a week to
complete the job.  In fact, the very first time I called him (back in
February), he told me it'd be a couple months before he'd have the parts on
hand to do the job.  That was fine with me, since it'd be a couple months
before I was ready to send him my tranny, anyway.  That conversation led me
to believe that he was an honest fellow, so I called him back after those
couple of months had passed and sent him my tranny and Quaife.

> Vince is a one man show...he is constantly busy and you really have to
ride
> his ass to get anything done. I think you get things done faster if you're
> closer though as you're close enough to come and give him a beating

That seems to be the case.  At least I've received some responses saying
that he will come through...eventually.  My beef is that he should have told
me this before I sent him my tranny.

> If he told everyone it would take months, do you think he'd get any
business?
> =)

I bet he'd get a heckuva lot more business than he's losing by lying to his
customers and then not returning their calls/e-mails.  If he had told me
that it would take months, I would have sent my tranny to him after I had
acquired a spare to use in the meantime.  I understand that a one-man
business can get backlogged.  I understand that tranny work is time
consuming.  I understand that there can be a shortage of parts.  I can
accept all that.  However, I take exception to being told repeatedly that
the job will only take one week, and then *never* hear from the guy again as
soon as he charges my credit card.

Case in point:  I e-mailed Potterman for a quote on some new wheels and
tires for my 'rocco in the middle of April.  He gave me the price, and
informed me that TireRack would be out of stock until the middle/end of May.
Not a problem.  I told him to put my name on the waiting list and send 'em
to me as soon as they were available.  The new wheels arrived last Friday,
as promised.  My credit card bill reflects that the charge wasn't applied
until the day they shipped.

That's the way it should be.  If it's gonna take Vince 8 months to re-work
my tranny, so be it.  He should *contact me* to let me know, and then
*remove the charge* until the tranny is in a box and ready to be shipped
back to me.  That's all I ask.

Mike Carlson
"At least I can count on Potterman."
'84 Scirocco Wolfsburg Edition
'95 GTI VR6
http://members.home.net/mikes.vws


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