Service Issues with Pelican Parts - Alternative Suppliers?

[hdavis]

The reason I posted this here was to try and get a better response from them. I had reached the highest level I could at Pelican (I didn't know how to get in touch with Wayne), and the response I had gotten was not satisfactory.

I am a business owner (as I'm sure many of you are) and sometimes my employees handle customer issues in a way contrary to our philosophy, and I very much appreciate it when someone reaches out to me and lets me know about it.

So far it seems that the posts got them moving and my parts are supposed to ship out today, which will make me very happy and satisfied as a customer.

And will let potential customers know that Pelican makes things right on the rare occasion when things don't start out as they should.

[TimT]

For a guy who says what you say you sure do take a lot of Wayne's territory with a sig. like that.

Whatever.... I got in before the lock.. and seriously the sig take up how many bytes?

If you buy something from.... Say Sony, or maybe perhaps...Apple.... and have a problem.. you would not make a complaint known on a message board they made available? Check out some of the corporate sites after a product release come out sideways or something....

Lemmings...

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by TimT

Whatever.... I got in before the lock.. and seriously the sig take up how many bytes?

If you buy something from.... Say Sony, or maybe perhaps...Apple.... and have a problem.. you would not make a complaint known on a message board they made available? Check out some of the corporate sites after a product release come out sideways or something....

Lemmings...

in summary ^^^^^ trying to say:



Ay man, your website ain't working, the links do not work. And I have a meme for that also

[wachuko]

Issue resolved...this thread needs to be locked.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by TimT

Whatever....

Lemmings...

Stuff it up you ass. How is that for under the wire, choad?

FOAD.

I have seen your BS before. You are a smart aleck chump.

Bring it, Mr Big Stuff. See what it gets you. I will crap in your nest. Mark my words.

[mreid]

Oh, Bob done called that boy out!

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by mreid

Oh, Bob done called that boy out!

Slangin' heavy leather . . . like a boss!!!




^^^

Rare footage of Bob - before his love affair with "tha' Stones"!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

Rare footage of Bob - before his love affair with "tha' Stones"!

Don't discount a mean ass prick.

I know a chump when I see one.

[hdavis]

Parts have shipped!

Thanks Pelican

And I agree, please lock the thread

[Freytag]

I also ordered parts and they weren't shipping. When I called to check on the status, the customer service rep indicated they were having problems and suggested I call in to make all future orders.

[Wayne 962]

I already responded to this the thread on the Early 'S' Registry with this response:

Hi Henry. I'm sorry that you have been unhappy with the delay with your parts. You ordered a lot of special-order parts that were stored on your Project List. When you originally added them to the Project List (probably a long while ago), several of them showed this message:

NOTE: In some cases, a Genuine Porsche part must be imported from Porsche's German warehouse -- which requires longer shipping times and an additional "Germany shipping" surcharge. If this is the case, we will contact you prior to processing and shipping your order. Occasionally, a part is out of stock worldwide or no longer available. In either case, we will let you know.

I checked the logs and I see that you added these parts directly from your Project List, so the message would have been shown when you originally added them to the list, not when you transferred them all to the cart. That may have caused a bit of confusion, as the warning message about them potentially being a long-lead item was probably forgotten from when they were added to the Project List. I'll have to think of a better way to reinforce this in the future in the cart.

I see a whole bunch of notes on this order going back and forth over the past month with our Porsche dealer rep, trying to figure out what is going on with Genuine Part #901-107-351-01-OEM (transmission anchor block). According to Porsche, it was due in the states here (from Germany) on 1/4/2016. That apparently didn't happen, but that was the information we had at the time from Porsche. I see that my staff has replaced it with the OEM version, and has instructed the warehouse to expedite your shipping to 2-Day.

Again, sorry for the delay. With some of these Genuine Porsche special-order parts, the availability can be spotty...

To which the hdavis responded:

Originally Posted by hdavis

Wayne, thank you very much for your reply. I did receive a call earlier today form your customer service department and they promised it would ship out today, so when it does, the issue will have been resolved in a totally satisfactory manner.

As to the project list message, you might be right, I don't recall the warning message you mention, and it might very well have been there.

Again thank you very much.

[Wayne 962]

Originally Posted by Freytag

I also ordered parts and they weren't shipping. When I called to check on the status, the customer service rep indicated they were having problems and suggested I call in to make all future orders.

The two parts that I believe you're referring to are two special-order parts that had to be ordered from Porsche's warehouse in Germany - there were not available here in the states (the cable guide plate and the guide plate support). This is why we display the "we may have to order these from Germany" message when people add these potentially long-lead parts to their cart. Unfortunately, the information we get from Porsche is spotty on this. We have made a choice to continue to offer these parts for our customers, instead of simply dropping them like other parts houses do. We see the added service as something that makes Pelican special. Unfortunately, in the era of Amazon Prime-style delivery, the expectations for customers are sometimes unrealistic when it comes to these oddball parts that are only available from one supplier, in one warehouse in the world (Germany).

-Wayne

[impactbumper]

unfortunately no Amazon Prime stuff with dinosaur Porsche parts. We need to learn to stay chill at times.

[javadog]

Now that all of the facts are out, it seems to me that Pelican did okay. I've ordered enough parts over the years to know that "available" just means a given part can be had from somewhere and that only means it's not NLA. No supplier (Pelican, Porsche dealer, anybody) ever stocked every part available, or even close to it, so waiting for PCNA to supply a part is normal and expected. It's also not uncommon for a part to have to come from Germany, as not even PCNA has every part in stock. What's more, parts that show to be available sometimes are not and you can wait forever to get a part that will never show up. That's the fault of Porsche.

What has this taught me? I'm glad when I can get parts for a 40-year-old Porsche. I've sold off cars in my collection from other makes, when I decided that parts availability was too poor to keep them long term. I also order long before I need something, as I know that these delays can occur, especially for parts that aren't used all day, every day. I don't get mad when some arbitrary deadline I set for myself passes; I quit making those years ago. I know when I order a part, 90% of the time I'll have it in a week or so. 10% of the time it may take longer.

I'd bet if you wanted to reach Wayne in the future, clicking on his user name and sending him a PM would eventually get a response. A phone call might do it, too, but I wouldn't probably demand immediate attention to my problem. I learned long ago that the world doesn't revolve around me. It revolves around my dog, apparently.

I think Wayne has shown that he tries to think of potential snags and deal with them proactively. His business is continually evolving. In this, I think his company is light years ahead of anybody else.

My .02,
JR

[hdavis]

Originally Posted by javadog

I think Wayne has shown that he tries to think of potential snags and deal with them proactively. His business is continually evolving. In this, I think his company is light years ahead of anybody else.

My .02,
JR

I agree with you JR, having a business owner that is involved and dealing wit everyday issues (most of the time) guarantees that when there is a problem it will be dealt with in an adequate manner. And that is what Wayne has done in my case -and many others from what I read.

Again I am happy with the result and will surely continue to purchase from Pelican in the future, also surely taking int account the lessons learned from this purchase.

[Bleedsblue]

Originally Posted by Berk

unfortunately no Amazon Prime stuff with dinosaur Porsche parts. We need to learn to stay chill at times.

Exactly. I'm super spoiled now thanks to Prime.

But, as I clearly noted, I'm still a happy customer--just trying to help Pelican out with some constructive feedback. As I said, every other time parts have been delayed, they've emailed me immediately. I'm going to chalk it up to the holidays, no harm no foul.

[universeman]

+1 for Wayne and customer service. Well played.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Stuff it up you ass. How is that for under the wire, choad?

FOAD.

I have seen your BS before. You are a smart aleck chump.

Bring it, Mr Big Stuff. See what it gets you. I will crap in your nest. Mark my words.

when will wayne, or another mod chime in about name calling & threats? there's a board rule regarding that as I recall too???

[88911coupe]

Over the years I've ordered more parts that I can remember (maybe I'd prefer to stay ignorant of the actual dollar amount...in particular the engine rebuild) and have had spectacular service from Pelican. On the very rare occasion that something didn't go perfectly I was well taken care of...no company's perfect but I'd have to say Pelican is about as good a company as I've dealt with as far as inventory selection, price and shipping. Which is why 99% of the time my Porsche parts come from them. Not sure I can even put a value on the forum..that's saved me a ton of money and mistakes.

[zippy_gg]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

I already responded to this the thread on the Early 'S' Registry with this response:



To which the hdavis responded:

That is what I call a class act! Well done, Wayne!