What's wrong with customer service nowadays?

[oVeRdOsE]

Hi, just a observations lately.

What's wrong with automotive part sellers these days?

- Like a lot of people I buy many stuff online, most of the time it's stuff that I CAN'T found locally.
- I'm really not a picky customer, really not. I can judge why/how sellers can make mistakes.
- I never asking stupid questions, I do my research first on google. And it's been years that I'm a car enthusiast, I do all by my self, and let say my studying background is in that field.

Anyway, I will not do name dropping, but lately I'm buying a lot of stuff for my new B7, and my brother's A5, few thousand dollars spent in few days.
I have sometimes quick questions on fitting or shipping. (contacted at least 8-9 sellers for audi parts)

-I already ask question of most sellers here, and RARELY they answer. Or they partially answer. In one email I had 3 question, took 3 other email, because they was replying each time 1 question.
-By 3 times, I did not receive what I ordered, 2 don't give a shit, and one send me back the good part, no apologize or anything.
-An other part miss some screws when the competitor provides it. I just ask if it's normal, not a big deal I'll get one at homedeopot, and they part it's not plug and play. They answer me : you just had to look at the picture.
Wtf? 300x200 pixel pictures, since when sellers said that! 99% of the time pictures are for reference!

By the mean time, when you buy computer stuff, they are willing to help you, and even pay the customs fee if there's any.
(just bought an oneplusone, didn't get it DHL lost it, they send me back one and paid the customs and shipping. This is already in their services offer)
What a service !



Dear performance car parts seller : This hobby is going down drastically, the new generation just don't give a f(k on cars anymore, is it possible, AT the MINIMUM to answer email/phone ? a minimum of service.
If not, do not complain that there's no enough enthusiastic anymore.


Even some times I 'm buying form the classified, I ask a simple question on a person who I don't know : does your price in cad and where are you located for local pickup. he answer me ''yes'' look picture.
I bought new, screw it, even the seller don't want to sell.


I need to say, not all sellers are like this, 50% of the time I have excellent service. I'm just surprised how they just don't give a , since, when you roll back in the 2000', they were running after you to sell a complete exhaust.
All the time when communicating, I stay polite, professional, and I try to write without grammar mistakes.

2 cents

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

I for one typically respond to e-mails, or PM's almost immediately during normal work hours (9:30AM -5:30PM EST M-F) unless I happen to be out to lunch - which then I'll respond as soon as I get back. Forum questions I usually try and answer within the same day (if I see it) but sometimes unless it's brought to my attention or it doesn't come up in a title search under ECS or ECS Tuning it might be a couple days as this site has a pretty high volume of threads that pop up or get bumped daily.

When e-mailing into our customer service or calling you may not get an immediate response from a rep. Depending on how many customers are ahead of you (via phone call) and how many people we have staffed you may have to wait on hold. Typically once you get in touch with a rep you would want to have everything ready for them to make sure they can do their job and help you out as efficiently as possible. Our e-mail response time is 3 hours from receiving (again during normal work day hours). So if you e-mail on a day we are closed or after hours you likely wont get a response until the next business day.

The best advice is to be patient. Be as thorough as possible when contacting vendors so they have all the important information at their disposal and not having to wait on you to reply back with something they may need. Examples would be order number, account e-mail, phone number, first & last name, best way to reach you, photos etc. This will ultimately help with getting the ball rolling and to better take care of you.

I know you aren't pointing fingers but as a professional in this industry I felt I could pass along some helpful information on how to contact vendors that might not only help you but others as well. Attitude goes a long way too. Remember we are all human's, calling up a company and having a melt down typically does not go over well. We've all experienced unfortunate situations, some can be extremely frustrating. But it's really not the end of the world as many people seem to think. Keep that in mind and maybe take a moment to collect yourself prior to calling/e-mailing. Customer service WANTS to help as that's their job, don't give them any reason not to want to take care of you to their best ability.

If you or anyone ever has any questions, concerns, or just want to say hi please don't hesitate to contact me!

([email protected]) or simply shoot me a PM.

Cheers!

Jason

[mlavelle92]

My only negative experience is with ECS, who have you been buying from?

[brandonpham]

I for one typically respond to e-mails, or PM's almost immediately during normal work hours (9:30AM -5:30PM EST M-F) unless I happen to be out to lunch - which then I'll respond as soon as I get back. Forum questions I usually try and answer within the same day (if I see it) but sometimes unless it's brought to my attention or it doesn't come up in a title search under ECS or ECS Tuning it might be a couple days as this site has a pretty high volume of threads that pop up or get bumped daily.

When e-mailing into our customer service or calling you may not get an immediate response from a rep. Depending on how many customers are ahead of you (via phone call) and how many people we have staffed you may have to wait on hold. Typically once you get in touch with a rep you would want to have everything ready for them to make sure they can do their job and help you out as efficiently as possible. Our e-mail response time is 3 hours from receiving (again during normal work day hours). So if you e-mail on a day we are closed or after hours you likely wont get a response until the next business day.

The best advice is to be patient. Be as thorough as possible when contacting vendors so they have all the important information at their disposal and not having to wait on you to reply back with something they may need. Examples would be order number, account e-mail, phone number, first & last name, best way to reach you, photos etc. This will ultimately help with getting the ball rolling and to better take care of you.

I know you aren't pointing fingers but as a professional in this industry I felt I could pass along some helpful information on how to contact vendors that might not only help you but others as well. Attitude goes a long way too. Remember we are all human's, calling up a company and having a melt down typically does not go over well. We've all experienced unfortunate situations, some can be extremely frustrating. But it's really not the end of the world as many people seem to think. Keep that in mind and maybe take a moment to collect yourself prior to calling/e-mailing. Customer service WANTS to help as that's their job, don't give them any reason not to want to take care of you to their best ability.

If you or anyone ever has any questions, concerns, or just want to say hi please don't hesitate to contact me!

([email protected]) or simply shoot me a PM.

Cheers!

Jason

http://s12.postimg.org/cfkm7phod/photo.png

[TheTrith]

1. Did they understand your email?
2. Did you use the same tone in your email that you used in your post above? If you did, then I can tell you right off the bat (as someone who has worked extensively in customer service) that you likely blew any chance of getting the best service possible.
When you have an accusatory tone people are not going to want to help you, even if the initial question could have been answered better/quicker/etc.

[tater5387]

It has taken ECS a day or two to reply back before, but when they do they are extremely helpful and willing to do whatever it takes to please you if you have a problem. And Jason @ ECS Tuning-Audi the lwfw and Clutch kit is doing great I bought from ya'll!!!!

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

And Jason @ ECS Tuning-Audi the lwfw and Clutch kit is doing great I bought from ya'll!!!!

Glad to hear you are enjoying it! Thanks for the order! [up]

Jason

[aviator79]

I cant even read your post. Makes my brain hurt. The problem is you need to learn English better.

[iamshayan]

I cant even read your post. Makes my brain hurt. The problem is you need to learn English better.

op is from quebec. English is clearly his second language. give him a break.

[mpv314]

I cant even read your post. Makes my brain hurt. The problem is you need to learn English better.

Your brain must be pretty weak if its hurting from deciphering that. Its like 97% clear

[TheTrith]

op is from quebec. English is clearly his second language. give him a break.

I understand that English is very likely the OP's 2nd (or even 3rd) language.
But if he is emailing vendors who speak English in an English speaking country, then the burden is on him to write clearly.
A lot of his post was very difficult to understand, and if a car parts retailer, or anyone working in customer service, gets an email that is written in a similarly unclear fashion, they often won't respond. Pretty simple.
And Im not saying that his level of communication is 100% causing the problem, but I would venture to guess that it is at least a contributing factor.

[mtroxel]

People buy price. Then wonder why they don't get quality or customer service.

[onedumslack]

I understand that English is very likely the OP's 2nd (or even 3rd) language.
But if he is emailing vendors who speak English in an English speaking country, then the burden is on him to write clearly.
A lot of his post was very difficult to understand, and if a car parts retailer, or anyone working in customer service, gets an email that is written in a similarly unclear fashion, they often won't respond. Pretty simple.
And Im not saying that his level of communication is 100% causing the problem, but I would venture to guess that it is at least a contributing factor.

OP's English is 100% good enough to expect a respectable answer. I recently bought a Chinese head unit and communication was tough. But they were selling a product I wanted and were gratious enough to figure out decent communication despite my lack of Chinese speech. It's a business. Your job is to find a good way to communicate with your potential customer. If you don't do that well then that's going to be your lost business you get to accept. +1 to ECS on communication and customer service. While I don't usually purchase there due to total price on some items they have always had good customer service and when I was buying my first parts they had the easiest site navigation with the most information for a new.

[onedumslack]

And if I were the business owner and I found out my customer service was not responding or being disrespectful to a potential customer because they weren't 100% fluent with my language I would probably fire that customer service rep and find one that was interested in helping our potential customers get the help they need.

[TheTrith]

I think you are misinterpreting what I wrote. I dont know how clear or unreadable OP's emails were.
All I'm saying is, as a retailer or customer service agent, if you cannot understand what a customer is attempting to communicate, it is very difficult to help them.
People in general dont like to go out of their way to translate things.
Im not saying thats how it *should* be, but thats how it is a lot of the time.

Also, like I already mentioned, tone matters. If you sound accusatory and/or entitled in an email, you wont get the best service possible. And worst case, you may not get ANY service whatsoever.

FWIW there was quite a bit of the OP that was very difficult to make any sense of. And his tone was was pretty accusatory. Not sure how you can argue that. So if his emails to customer service were similar.. well you know what to expect.

[ModdedEuros]

:(

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience somewhere. I know we personally try and do our best in terms of info onsite, fulfillment as well as CS (emails, live chat, phone, social media). Certain tickets require investigation.

As far as language barrier goes, it can def be a challenge but never cool to be disrespectful. Hell I have used google translate myself to try and help people who have reached out to us. See it more as a challenge. In the age of tech there is always a way to cross language barriers and make it work

[BenMTL]

Same problems for years, but funny enough, 99% of the time dealing with European based sellers or companies....

Canadian automotive companies I've had like 95% success with (good pre and post sale service), while U.S companies a little less (like 90%).

The worst thing you can do is support (by placing a purchase) to any company that doesn't care about you before or after a sale...Guess they don't need your money so don't give it to them [;)]

Even if you really need it...Find a more expensive seller but with better service, that is what I do at least...Problems are not worth a couple of dollars price difference...

[miA4]

Same problems for years, but funny enough, 99% of the time dealing with European based sellers or companies....

Canadian automotive companies I've had like 95% success with (good pre and post sale service), while U.S companies a little less (like 90%).

The worst thing you can do is support (by placing a purchase) to any company that doesn't care about you before or after a sale...Guess they don't need your money so don't give it to them [;)]

Even if you really need it...Find a more expensive seller but with better service, that is what I do at least...Problems are not worth a couple of dollars price difference...

What BenMTL says is absolutely true. Having worked in plenty of customer service jobs before (mechanic for Acura, Banquet Chef for Marriott, and banking security installation technician for Diebold, Customer service is and always will be a key factor for business success. working in my parents company now in logistics, the main point I drive home is customer service. If I go to a restaurant and the food is fantastic, but the service was mediocre, I remember the service more than the food. it's all about making the customer happy. if a company or person can't make the effort to have great customer service, I will not support their company with my business. i'll pay a little extra and take my business elsewhere.

I will also say that communication is key as well. I have dealt with Jake@JHM and FCPEuro so far and have had nothing but excellent service. Let the one's that aren't communicating know they're not doing a good job by telling them and taking your business elsewhere. same thing when i go with friends to purchase a car. your car is only one of many. if i don't like your price or service, i'll go elsewhere. you're not the only game in town.

sorry for the shitty grammar. i had a lot of Cuban coffee this morning and it's got me all worked up and typing super fast.

Also, when you go for the cheapest in town, don't expect much from that company. maybe they're cheap at the expense of the proper people to help with orders or customer service.

[miA4]

op is from quebec. English is clearly his second language. give him a break.

This comment right here is spot on. If I have a customer that is reaching out to me, and doesn't speak my language, I try my best to communicate with them. also, there's no need for the previous poster to be dick and post shit like that. contribute to the thread positively, or click the back button. I read OP's message and got the same results as @mpv314. @aviator79 stop being a dick.