pelicanitie ripped off????

[mb911]

Ok here is the deal

I make "widgets"

I have prices for different models for my "widgets"

I agree on a price for my "widgets"

My 1st "widget" did not fit up to customers standard

I say Ok I will make a new"widget" For this person.

The customer decides He wants some minor changes to the "widget"

I say fine but those changes require different products to complete the "widget"

The customer says fine

We decide what the "widget" will cost with these changes

Customer says fine.

We agree that once I complete The "widget" That I will ship it out at my expense

Customer says fine and he also says I will ship the now used"widget" back to Me at his cost

I say fine

He also says that along with the returned "widget" He will send a check for the difference on the changes to the "widget".

"Widget "shows up a week later Great packing job No check

I email regarding this and he responds That he would send out the check right away.

A couple of days later He emails saying Oh I thought The price was such and such dollars and why did you raise the price. I run done the list just as I wrote it for you all.

No response

Been a month


No response.


DO I just right this off and say oh well??? Most of you know what the "widget" is and understand I am in start up for the "widget" business. I stay very honest with the "widget" business and wish that this would have never happened But man it really does suck!! What to do?? Any thoughts???

[sammyg2]

How did you correspond? If you used e-mail you have written proof of a contract, hard to dispute that one.
If it was verbal it is not so clear cut, harder to prove, your word against his.
At face value it looks like either a complete misunderstanding or he is trying to rip you off.

[jbrinkley]

ben, I hope whoever it is makes it right. I'm hoping your muffler shows up at my house tonight. whatever anyone says, the price is very good compared to the alternatives and I'm sure the quality is good. (I promise I won't take it to work and X-ray the welds)
best of luck with the offender

[JP911]

I would continue to pursue the issue. It would probably be best to put EVERYTHING in writing to cover off such problems in the future, including written and signed estimates for all custom work.

[anthony]

Any thoughts???

In the future ask for payment first before you do any work or ship any products.

[mb911]

I do have to admit I did get paid for 80 percent of it and it covered my costs but for the most part it was a waste of my time to even make it. It is really not a bunch of money but it surely was not worth the difficulty between him and I. Should I even email him??? Again?? for the 6th time?? Reminds me of when I bought my 911 got ripped of by a pelicanite(ferrari2porsche) for about 350 bucks. Oh well what do you do. ANy other suggestions ? I think just chuck it up as a loss and move on. I think paper trail is the key

Is it a widget that another 911 owner would buy with the modifications?

[VincentVega]

Sorry to hear about the dead beat.

Sometimes it takes a small financial hit to get your ordering/payment process down pat. I would try one more contact, and if nothing, lesson learned.

[ghnat]

That sux because your products rock. It may be wise to be a little more formal in the process, to minimize this type of problem. Maybe sending email when a conversation is finished for record keeping.

Just my 0.02.

[MotoSook]

Wow Ben..sorry to hear this. I would force the issue, legally and without incurring anymore damage. Heck why why not expose him!

And you got F2P's car?!!!!

[74911targa]

Give him one more shot to settle up with you and make it right! Otherwise post his name here so no one else runs into a similar situation! If you let him know about your next steps payment may all of the sudden show up! From previous posts it sounds like you have a great "widget" business in the making, protect it!

[Joe Bob]

Show up on his door step with an Ahnold lookalike and discuss the issue....

[Evans, Marv]

Anthony is right. Require payment up front. If there is a valid problem with the product, you can arrange for it to be returned & you can refund a fair amount of the money. Besides, that's the way we have to pay everybody else - up front. You will find an a$$ hole in every group & be lucky if you only find one.

[juanbenae]

out him i say! the court of pelican opinion can be very harsh. you could be fair, refer him to this post and tell him you may out him as souk and i have requested.

to be shamed here would hurt me for a long time.

and f2p got his here

[Dan Owens]

Ben,

I'm not in the widget market but your story isn't too odd for anyone in business. Somebody is going to come along and short you or take advantage no matter what you do. You can take all the precautions you want to and someone will take advantage of the situation. Ask Wayne how many times he's been confronted with this situation. Pursue the situation in a professional manner to the best of your ability and then move on. I think if you conduct yourself properly and are a stand up guy then it comes back to you a thousand fold. Just look at the responses (positive) you've gotten here in this thread. If you weren't doing something right you wouldn't see those. Put some stop gaps in place and learn from your experience. Don't let guys or situations like
this turn you off from doing business the honest and ethical and right way. Okay I'm off my soap box now.

[Chuck Moreland]

In my experience, Porsche owners are a pretty honest bunch. Very few people try to scam. But sadly there are are a few.

From your description, it sounds like you haven't contacted him in over a month. If that is the case you need to contact him and address the issue directly. This may just be a missunderstanding. Contact preferably by phone not email. One email on your part is not sufficient to declare him a deadbeat. I don't mean to defend this guy, but you need to follow up.

Now, if you've been sending emails and making phone calls and a month has passed without reply - then he is a deadbeat. You didn't say that though.

In the future get payment in advance. Never ship anything that isn't paid for.

[72 four door]

Yes e mail him 1 last time and tell him your plans to put this on the site , You worked and created something for him, you should be paid bottom line. I hate that crap, good luck with this.

[Alan Cottrill]

Back to Mark's question. Is it something someone else might want to buy?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Paper/email trail is vital, but to resolve an issue like this there is no substitute to picking up the phone. Email leaves much to be desired and it's so easy to zip off a zinger. I've been there and it sucks and it's hard to take back.

Customer service is a two-way street. You want to provide a positive buying experience for your audience, but when something goes wrong, the best thing you can do is take the high road, assume the best (they forgot to put the check in) and as politely as possible, call and inquire about it. Putting a positive spin on the lost check opens the door and makes them want to continue the relationship. Emailing "where's my check grrr" closes that door and the back and forth strings ensue. NOT saying that's what happened here, just an example.

I've found some folks actually get off on the email back and forth.

Lonely souls.

[jpahemi]

Not to long ago, I purchsed a widget from a new widget company, I had sent 2/3's of the price with the remaining balance(check) following in the mail. The owner was kind enough to send the product before the balance arrived. Not counting the clearing time, he was well within his right to hold the product for an additional week, but he didn't. It really bugs me when one dishonest individual ruins it for the rest of us.
Personally, I would expose the deadbeat.
Regards,
J.P.