Scathing Article on ECS- New Owner of PP
 

I'm a regular reader of Jalopnik and saw this article this morning:

https://jalopnik.com/spying-on-employees-screwing-buyers-what-went-wrong-a-1827474482

Its a pretty damning look at ECS who recently bought Pelican and as a big fan of PP and this community it is concerning to say the least. Thoughts?

ECS is the Comcast of German car parts

Ouch! That's gotta sting!

This rapid expansion, some ECS customers believe, has brought with it a degradation in customer service, and now—especially after the company bought popular Massachusetts-based BMW parts retailer Turner Motorsport in 2015

I did not know this.

I have a tin foil hat theory about all of this, that I probably should not share

Probably best not to fred. Would hate to see you get a vacation when this thread inevitably gets locked

So, any pelican parts buyer complaints? Sure haven't read any here. All my Pelican dealing were before Wayne left the helm.

Doesn't take a tin foil hat theory.

Successful companies (profitable ones) have easy access to capital once they hit $50MM in revenues. Conventional loans are cheap still, and private equity groups are competing viscously against each other for places to invest money in exchange for equity. The result is rapid growth through acquisition and industry consolidation. Acquiring companies dump the "redundant expenses" (a.k.a firing lots of good employees). Now you have a big company without the intellectual capital to sustain innovation and a good service.

In some cases, the the consolidation happens so quickly that the large companies eliminate virtually all viable competition creating duopolies (the SEC seams OK with duopoly :confused:) The duops don't give a S#it how bad their service is because you have no where else to go e.g. Home Depot and Lowes, LabCorp and Quest, PetCo and Petsmart, Fresenius and DeVita, etc, etc, etc. I don't know why auto parts and distribution would be any different.

This is old news.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1001212-pelican-parts-ecs-tuning-heres-what-you-should-know.html

Come on, spring it on us! :D

Same. I haven't bought anything from Pelican in over a year but all my past experiences over the prior 10+ years have been positive. It saddened me to hear they sold to ECS. A company I've only had one experience with and it was a negative one.

He'll do that next April.

You beat me to it! Let us know if you guys have any questions or concerns. Below is a link to Wayne's two cents as well.

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/10096716-post14.html

A lot of us here on the OT forum don't look at the tech forum, at least I haven't since I sold my SC.

I've personally only had slightly negative experiences with ECS. Their shipping is typically not very fast, and I ordered a transmission fluid/filter change kit for my S8 that was about 3 liters short of fluid to complete the job. I typically went to ECS for items that Pelican didn't have, it was always a second or third choice. Guess time will tell us what changes are implemented at Pelican.

We originally posted it in both sections, we'll keep future updates in both.

Link to thread: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1001213-pelican-parts-ecs-tuning-heres-what-you-should-know.html

Meh, I just ordered a bunch of 911 odds and ends and it went smoothly and quickly.

I just hope Wayne is enjoying the time with his family.

Suggestion/feedback box for brainstorming?

I thought that Pelican was sold to the holding company that owns both ECS and now Pelican....not technically sold to ECS.

I keep a pretty steady flow of parts coming off of Pelican's shelves and onto my own. I have noticed no difference in service, price, or anything like that since Wayne sold.

Hi everyone! Thank you Tobra, I just finished an 80-day (yes, 80) road trip in the 24-foot Winnebago with the three kids, wifey, and Labradoodle in tow. And yes, still married, and all three kids (and dog) made it back to California a few days ago. After working to build Pelican for more than 20 years, it was / is certainly time for a break and perhaps a change in direction for myself. To update everyone, I haven't quite figured it out yet - been very busy repairing all of the cars and things around the house that have been neglected for the past 20 years.

As for this article, my phone has been ringing all day long with people talking about it. While the article is well written and I think fairly factual, it does omit one or two important facts, as I see it. The original founders of ECS were/are indeed true enthusiasts and they built the company based upon those principles (much like myself). ECS has listened carefully to the enthusiast and specifically designed and manufactured hundreds of unique products and has tailored the ECS website to support their enthusiast customers. The proof is in the pudding - following that mantra, and paying close attention to the customer’s needs, ECS has grown tremendously over the years. Sure, they've had some growing pains over the past few years – the Turner acquisition indeed seems like it was a painful learning experience (I wasn't around for that, but I certainly heard an earful from people in the industry). They’ve also seemed to have had some shipping and Customer Service issues, much like Pelican has had in the past. But, the new management seems good and well intentioned to leave Pelican alone, all the while focusing a lot of energy on improving the ECS experience. I do indeed feel that the baby (Pelican) that I created and nursed for 20-years is in good hands and that you guys (the enthusiasts) will be well taken care of well into the future...

-Wayne

80 days in a Winnebago with 3 kids, and is not in a padded cell, priceless

Well, one thing is certain:

They either get it right or they lose it all. That article is pretty damning, and internet shoppers are fickle- just takes one or two vocal bad experiences and it's all downhill from there.

rjp

Just want to say that I have purchased a lot of stuff over the years from ECS and have had very good service from them. Being relatively close I use the cheapest shipping and usually still get things in a fee days. Happy customer.

(Few days)

Just please let us know (Pelican employees) if things change internally that will make this worse for us; the customers and enthusiasts. You can use the code word - “pineapple” to let us know if we should take our business elsewhere :D

Frankly, I never warmed up to ECS- pricing, meh, too far away so slower shipping+ no real incentives, hated navigating the website as well. I used Pelican and other local sources largely do to selection and quick availability.

I'm one of those who is impatient and if it's a hassle, suck service or takes forever I don't go back - pricing (within reason, of course) is secondary.

rjp

Wayne,

What are ECS's plans for the forum????

Thanks

I stopped buying from here years ago. Wayne is a genius he sold at tje perfect time. Parts shops are going to collapse.

Why? One word. Amazon.

I purchased some small fittings for my E30 from here years ago, parts total $35 overnight shipping $40. I paid $40 extra on $35 parts to get them the next day or in 2 days at worst since Inwas in a bind.

7 days later they shipped overnight.

Same parts failed 4 years later, I had the part #s searched them on Amazon, same parts $30 with free 2 days shipping. I bought 2x the parts so I have spares now and got them in.... 2 days.

Wayne got out at the perfect time.

I just bought a E21 BMW alrernator on Amazon cheaper than local parts houses and gpt it in... wait for it... 2 days.. free shipping.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Clark Griswald. The quest. Marty Moose.

I have recently purchased from ECS and Pelican. No problems at all.

I do agree with Jim above. Ebay and Amazon prices are often so much better (especially on parts that are not exclusively Porsche) that it is often impossible to buy them here as i once did. I buy here unless there is a huge difference.

There are no plans to make any forums changes at this time that I am aware of. If I were to hazard a guess, eventually the forums software may be updated to a later version, primarily for security and integration issues. But that seems to be very, very far down on the list of things to do, as I hear it.

-Wayne

Interesting story about a big firm buying a smaller one that built its reputation on customer service, loyalty, etc. Had a chance to meet Bob Pass some years ago, he of Passport Transport. Seems FedEx needed a player in the auto transport market and picked him. Gave him something around a 9 figure payday. Fast forward 3 years and FedEx sends an accountant type functionary (to hear Mr. Pass tell it) who tells him that he is not running the company the FedEx way.

Seems Bob was the kind of guy who would take anyone's phone call and prided himself on personal service. FedEx thought the personal service thing overrated and ended up kicking him out of his office and the company. Guess who is out of the auto shipping business and who is back in.

Moral is, if you buy a company because they provide great service or something, leave them alone. Maybe ECS will do that with PP

Wow, that was a sad read about Turner
and it would be sad to see PP similarly gutted by a VC firm,
and turned into AutoZone (but with a nicer website)
Let's hope for the best.

Getting parts delayed or broken is a major major PITA for a car hobbyist.
I've been very lucky about that, with no negative experience from any vendor.

ECS/Turner is the typical story of finance types who don't know why their target boutique companies thrived in the first place.
They were founded by car nerds, for car nerds. Not MBA/finance types.
Once the latter is in charge, you see the dismantling of the very essence of the company they have hijacked.

VC buyout seems to be the beginning of the end b/c the goal is not to simply maintain the business (what would be the point?)
but to increase valuation (fastest way is to cut costs/services) and flip the more "profitable" carcass in a few years.
When they say, "Nothing is going to change", one immediately thinks, "Then why did you buy it?"

Never bought a single item from Turner. High prices.
I occasionally buy parts from ECS, due to a broad inventory of parts no one else stocks.
Most 911 owners I know usually order from PP, Amazon, and FCP (for fast East Coast delivery).

How long before some 914 guys claim this forum actually belongs to them? ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1535916307.png

Been very impressed with ECS so far. Several transactions, one very simple return, shopped quick enough. Usually buy for Cayenne here which is newer

On 80’s 911 Pelican several times I found no prices on special parts, higher prices than elsewhere and phone team tells me how to bypass website to get actual price. In past things shipped from separate warehouses. May not be fair comparison but thats my experience.

I really hope Pelican people stay but am glad to hear about ECS.

Tried to buy some cheap suspension parts here. As with most of us here, car is not stock. So sent a question on which bushing to get based on what is on the car, not what was shipped from the factory. The only response I get is "what's your vin number?" I tried to explain that the car is not stock. But same robot response every time. Not exactly an enthusiasts oriented sales technique.

I’ve bought a lot of Audi parts from ECS, never a problem and being one state over I get things quickly with only standard shipping.

So far, no problems with any of the orders that I have placed since the acquisition by ECS. Lived thru the changes in a company when the MBA's got involved and am keeping an eye open for any such changes here; price increases, shipping delays, crappy customer service, etc.
If I see them, it is time to utilize some of the many other organizations that handle Porsche parts and there are many of them to choose from. Just look at Panorama, Excellence or use the web. I have used several in the past when Pelican could not immediately service my needs and will not hesitate to use them again if necessary. While my loyalty is here, I will not tolerate gouging or poor service.

Schwaben Tuner WTF

Many of us have known Wayne personally for a long time, and knew many of the employees of PP.
We grew up with PP so to speak.
PP was personal, friendly, familiar. Part of the gang. I remember seeing Wayne at the Pomona swap meet, at dunkles, or the festival of speed and saying Hey Wayne, how you doing? He'd say hey turbo dude, how are you? Are you still selling those targa seals?

We considered him our friend and he treated us that way. And we generally returned the favor.

Where there was a problem, PP tried hard to fix it fast.
And as a result of all that, people beotching and complaining about PP was discouraged, not cool.
and in most cases not justified.

Why do I bring this up? Because the new owners could learn from that. Becoming a faceless corporation will kill that relationship. Chris and Eric do a pretty good job on this forum but pelican needs to be part of the car scene, have something in common with it's customers and make sure that is obvious. SELL THAT FACT!
Solve customer service problems and SELL THAT!

Have your customers praising you and protecting you, not throwing you to the wolves. If it gets bad enough to become critical mass and tip the scales, there will be a dog-pile. I've seen em do it.
But that's just my opinion and worth everything you paid for it.
It's your biddness, do what you want.