when you order from PP, who do you like to talk to?
 

Also, I was basically asked to look up all my own part numbers here on the website and then call back (I'm ordering 20 or so items many of them insignificant cost wise, but I'm sure I'll spend a couple hundred bucks by the time I'm done). I was taken aback at first, but now I am trying to accept that. Does this seem reasonable to everyone else? Do you all do this? Am I the only one who expects my friendly sales rep to do all the leg work and spend a long time on the phone with me helping put my order together?

Opinions please.

This is how Pelican does business. It's kind of a touchy subject dicussing Pelican on their own site. Why not take this up on another independent site? You will get more unbiased opinons.

BTW, I have been told on more than one occasion that my phone orders are not appreciated over online orders. Sometimes you have to talk to someone about something technical. Wherever you do business, that can be a crap shoot.

to answer you original question, in any business that involves sales, yes, i would expect a salesperson to spend the time in looking up parts for you and putting an order together to your satisfaction.

it's their job.

I really just want to know who folks have had a good experience with on the phone (hence the title of my post). I have always been a shopper calling multiple suppliers and choosing the best combination of phone support and price. Today, because of this site that Wayne provides for us, I decided not to do that, save some time, and support PP. I'm just having a hard time adjusting to the way the phone call went and wanted some feedback. I hope no one takes this as a knock on PP, but I wanted to place my order first thing this morning but instead, now that I have some time, I'm sitting here looking up part numbers which is not someting I've ever done before. I'm adjusting, but I'm not happy about it. If that's what it takes for this site to exist though, it's well worth it. What a great service! If it were not for this site, my engine and transmission would still be in the car. Because of this site, I've made new friends and my car is in peices scattered all over the garage (that's a GOOD thing!) :)

Think about this: You go to your FLAPS and they look up your part. You never take in a PN. They sell parts for 100s of cars, some of the older guys can walk the aisles and pull parts w/o looking them up. If you only sell parts for Porshes and BMWs, you'd think that most of the stuff would not be hard to find. The data base must be difficult to use, otherwise they could find it quicky. Yes, Autozone is more helpful than Pelican and pretty cheap. They don't have any P parts though.

I have one guy at Napa that I go see specifically. This guy is a walking encyclopedia, He loves NASCAR and all I have to do is chat him up a little on the last race and I get unbelieveable service. Plus, they give me the shop discount! They write it up for the City of Long Beach and I pay cash. I get a lot there. Still, no P parts. Pelican has a unique deal selling what you can't buy in very many places. Even a sump gasket for a 2.2 is a special order at the LB Porsche dealer. Same for CV gaskets. Special order, can you believe that?!

i've never phoned in an order, but include my cell number so if there's a problem they can call me.......haven't had a problem yet, if i have a question on a part number i use the bbs to solve it before i try to order it :D

I only call if I can't find something in the catalog online. That is why it's there.
I'm sure Pelican spends alot of time and money to make the online catalog as good as it is (it's the best I've seen), so why not use it. Technical support is a must have, but for ordering $5-$10 parts that you can find in the catalog, use the internet.
I will say that the few times I have called PP, the salesperson was always polite and helpful. I don't have a favorite, I'll talk to anyone.

Dell does the same thing (ask you to provide them with pert numbers) and so do alot of other high tech companies. I believe PelicanParts offers a service that few other companies would ever offer (this BBS).

try asking for travis. i found him to be extremely helpful

Wha???? This IS the most appropriate place to discuss Pelican. The poster is soliciting opinions from other Pelican customers. Biased or unbiased, these are the customers who know Pelican best, and are the best resource to answer questions like this. It does not sound like the poster is complaining, but rather, asking others if this is common practice. I would think Wayne would welcome this kind of feedback, as it should assist him in his own customer service policies. To say "take this up on another independent site" is pure ignorance of business practices in my opinion. A business should never want dirty laundry aired outside its own website.

"Ignorance" does not mean stupid or other derogatory term, just a lack of knowledge of business practices. In other words, I am not trying to be demeaning by pointing this out.

Just wanted to say thanks! I'm not sure who you are or what I did for you, but the kind words are appreciated.

As far as the original post goes, my guess is this. He may have ended up speaking with our BMW rep. I work in Customer Service, so my strong point isn't Porsche sales either. I'll be happy to try and find a couple parts for a customer but in a list of about 20...I know I'll get something wrong, which means more work for us later when the customer calls upset that the order was incorrect. If there wasn't any Porsche sales reps available at the time of his call, I can see why he'd ask for part #'s. Whomever he spoke to may not have been clear as to why he asked for the part #'s...I don't know...I wasn't there. Just my 2 cents on what MAY have happened.