Just a morning rant! I'm wondering if its just me or does anyone else notice many of the restoration parts companies we have to work with seem to be an unorganized mess with their business and/or fall in line with most of other retail of this generation and not give a single crap about customer service whatsoever. Now I am going to say up front that I have worked with some who really have their crap together.
Lets begin with Mr Moparts. I originally thought a few years ago I was blessed because I only live about an hour away from them, woohoo someone local. As they have grown over the last couple years that has been a moot point since they have no store front and inconsistent hours you can actually go to their shipping door to find someone. So what do I do like most people would, try calling, and calling , and calling, and calling. I think you get the point, they never answer their phone lines and have no option to leave a call back message for either their fabrication side of the business or retail side phone numbers. So lets try email, IF you get a reply and thats a very unlikely if, you will likely get said reply about a month later. I actually had to contact my bank to dispute a charge for an order I placed 7 months ago which was backordered. I was patient but ultimately found somewhere else and since it was still on backorder I tried calling and after multiple emails I finally received a response a few weeks later confirming the part was still unavailable and that they would process my requested refund. After another 3 weeks and multiple more unanswered emails because my refund was never processed I finally disputed the charge with my bank using the previous response email from them a month prior saying they would process the refund.
Now fast forward a few weeks later, I decided to use Van's who sells similar restoration parts as Mr Moparts but is located across the country from me. First order no issues, I ordered online with regular ground shipping. This was for a quarter window to door window rubber seal they had listed as the replacement for my vehicle. It came and could have been utilized but was not a flocked seal where as the factory was causing the driver window to not slide properly along it. No problem, I have learned alot of the restoration parts found dont work the same as the originals, some worse and some better. I found on their site what appeared to be the same rubber piece for another body style but in a flocked version as well as another body seal that from the vague picture on their site I thought might work better. I called them during business hours asking a couple questions about the shape of the other two since the picture was not very clear on the site but the associate said it was too cold out from winter for him to go out to where the parts were apparently stored to go get them and answer my questions. I was like ok whatever, can I just order both and if 1 or the other will not work after I look at them myself as long as not installed can they be returned since they were around $60ea for a small rubber seal. He agreed and I paid for both parts WITH 2-3 day expedited USPS shipping to have them on time for an upcoming show the following weekend. The parts went out within a day or two via their basic shipping ups ground. I emailed them explaining I paid extra for expedited shipping through a different carrier than they sent the items and asked if they could refund the difference in shipping cost for the service I paid for. They apologized, refunded the service expeditiously, and I wrote it off as an innocent mistake. Now I ordered another few parts about a week and a half ago, once again paying extra for expedited shipping through USPS 2-3 day to change these parts out before the local mopar show this coming saturday. Once again the drop them in a box and send them out via ups ground. I email them yesterday voicing my frustration and pointing out they may have an issue with attention to detail from whom ever processes their actual shipments and sends them out because I have paid for a shipping service on two consecutive orders about a month apart and had the same exact error made by their employee at my financial expense. Now what would you expect a retail business who relies on repeat customers for continued business do? In the many years I was in retail management and also owned an online retail business I would proceed with yet another apology, followed by a refund for services not rendered but paid for, then and most importantly THANK THE CUSTOMER FOR POINTING OUT AN AREA WHERE THEY HAVE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT FOR MY BUSINESS! But wait this is 2024 where businesses dont give a crap about customers anymore and we are clearly expendable so in a very brief response from someone at Van's pasted below, they decide to give a bs argumentative response comparing the two shipping carriers, offered no apology nor a refund of a service I paid for but did not receive.
Van's response and yes this is the entirety of their email reply:
"Priority mail is not faster than UPS, i ship with USPS all the time priority mail is no priority for them, there delivery times are a lie and they know they are a lie"
Regardless of this persons opinion of either shipping carrier I paid for 2-3 day service offered as an option on Van's checkout which I did not receive. In addition I explained in a reply back to this short to the point return correspondence that both USPS and UPS have an expedited 2-3 day service which is faster for both of them than their basic least expensive ground delivery.
I'm guessing that I cant be just the repeated victim of Murphy's law and this is likely happening to many others out there. Oh yea wait for the kicker many of you will probably get a laugh out of on the still awaiting and 2nd mis shipped order from a week and a half ago, UPS HAS LOST THE ORDER OR SOME SORT OF DELAY WITH NO CURRENT ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE NOW WHILE THEY LOOK INTO IT! Even I can't help but laugh with the **** sandwich this one has turned into. For those of you who actually read this entire rant I apologize because you cant get those few minutes back in life BUT hopefully it helps if you have to find yourself ordering from these two places.
Lets begin with Mr Moparts. I originally thought a few years ago I was blessed because I only live about an hour away from them, woohoo someone local. As they have grown over the last couple years that has been a moot point since they have no store front and inconsistent hours you can actually go to their shipping door to find someone. So what do I do like most people would, try calling, and calling , and calling, and calling. I think you get the point, they never answer their phone lines and have no option to leave a call back message for either their fabrication side of the business or retail side phone numbers. So lets try email, IF you get a reply and thats a very unlikely if, you will likely get said reply about a month later. I actually had to contact my bank to dispute a charge for an order I placed 7 months ago which was backordered. I was patient but ultimately found somewhere else and since it was still on backorder I tried calling and after multiple emails I finally received a response a few weeks later confirming the part was still unavailable and that they would process my requested refund. After another 3 weeks and multiple more unanswered emails because my refund was never processed I finally disputed the charge with my bank using the previous response email from them a month prior saying they would process the refund.
Now fast forward a few weeks later, I decided to use Van's who sells similar restoration parts as Mr Moparts but is located across the country from me. First order no issues, I ordered online with regular ground shipping. This was for a quarter window to door window rubber seal they had listed as the replacement for my vehicle. It came and could have been utilized but was not a flocked seal where as the factory was causing the driver window to not slide properly along it. No problem, I have learned alot of the restoration parts found dont work the same as the originals, some worse and some better. I found on their site what appeared to be the same rubber piece for another body style but in a flocked version as well as another body seal that from the vague picture on their site I thought might work better. I called them during business hours asking a couple questions about the shape of the other two since the picture was not very clear on the site but the associate said it was too cold out from winter for him to go out to where the parts were apparently stored to go get them and answer my questions. I was like ok whatever, can I just order both and if 1 or the other will not work after I look at them myself as long as not installed can they be returned since they were around $60ea for a small rubber seal. He agreed and I paid for both parts WITH 2-3 day expedited USPS shipping to have them on time for an upcoming show the following weekend. The parts went out within a day or two via their basic shipping ups ground. I emailed them explaining I paid extra for expedited shipping through a different carrier than they sent the items and asked if they could refund the difference in shipping cost for the service I paid for. They apologized, refunded the service expeditiously, and I wrote it off as an innocent mistake. Now I ordered another few parts about a week and a half ago, once again paying extra for expedited shipping through USPS 2-3 day to change these parts out before the local mopar show this coming saturday. Once again the drop them in a box and send them out via ups ground. I email them yesterday voicing my frustration and pointing out they may have an issue with attention to detail from whom ever processes their actual shipments and sends them out because I have paid for a shipping service on two consecutive orders about a month apart and had the same exact error made by their employee at my financial expense. Now what would you expect a retail business who relies on repeat customers for continued business do? In the many years I was in retail management and also owned an online retail business I would proceed with yet another apology, followed by a refund for services not rendered but paid for, then and most importantly THANK THE CUSTOMER FOR POINTING OUT AN AREA WHERE THEY HAVE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT FOR MY BUSINESS! But wait this is 2024 where businesses dont give a crap about customers anymore and we are clearly expendable so in a very brief response from someone at Van's pasted below, they decide to give a bs argumentative response comparing the two shipping carriers, offered no apology nor a refund of a service I paid for but did not receive.
Van's response and yes this is the entirety of their email reply:
"Priority mail is not faster than UPS, i ship with USPS all the time priority mail is no priority for them, there delivery times are a lie and they know they are a lie"
Regardless of this persons opinion of either shipping carrier I paid for 2-3 day service offered as an option on Van's checkout which I did not receive. In addition I explained in a reply back to this short to the point return correspondence that both USPS and UPS have an expedited 2-3 day service which is faster for both of them than their basic least expensive ground delivery.
I'm guessing that I cant be just the repeated victim of Murphy's law and this is likely happening to many others out there. Oh yea wait for the kicker many of you will probably get a laugh out of on the still awaiting and 2nd mis shipped order from a week and a half ago, UPS HAS LOST THE ORDER OR SOME SORT OF DELAY WITH NO CURRENT ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE NOW WHILE THEY LOOK INTO IT! Even I can't help but laugh with the **** sandwich this one has turned into. For those of you who actually read this entire rant I apologize because you cant get those few minutes back in life BUT hopefully it helps if you have to find yourself ordering from these two places.
