vick autosports "must read"

[71124spider]

first off, i am an ASE certified automotive technician, a new york state inspector--for regular cars and school buses, i am ansi certified to inspect bucket lift trucks and related equipment, air brake certified bla,bla,bla, ect ect. anyway back in 2002 i bought a 71 124 spider and did a complete restoration to it--from headlight to tail light--british racing gree,panasport rims, pirellis--well you get the picture.AND I BOUGHT EVERYTHING FROM VAS--- fast foward to this year--i picked up another one--and fell in love all over again. suspension was all dry rotted--so i bought the new PRIMA 1 CONTROL ARMS FROM VAS. i tore down my front end while the arms were in transit--the box arrives--4 control arms in a big box loose with 3 little pieces of packing paper --so the arms were bouncing around in the box--the whole trip--so 1 of the upper ball joint boots were torn--so i called vicks--asked them to send me another boot(i offer to pay for it) they send me a free ball joint boot--only problem-- holes dont line up, because its not the same boot--i call they tell me"waller out the holes" so now i'm disgusted but i want to drive the car--so i ream out the holes(and you really cant, because it cuts into the rubber of the incorrect boot. anyway after installing the arms--that car made more banging and bumping in the front end than a washing machine. so after posting on this site about the noise i pulled the wheels again to find that the upper control arms were moving foward and backwards on the bushings, could not tighten them--just didnt fit right--both sides of the car mind you.--to shorten the story--with a little haggeling--they took them back. i purchase a new full set from csaba ( Ricambri fiat) and have never had a noise or a problem since--like night and day. anyway--i called VAS today to place an order and i was told by jerry the owner "were gonna pass on this order,and that --I AM A PROBLEM FOR THEM" do you believe that! lol!! a person like that does not deserve my business--and i just thought everyone should know.

[ClarkTheShark]

Also have Prima 1's from Vicks (updated style). They offered the best price. The new style with updated shock mounts.

No issues to report. Went on perfect, very snug fit. No banging of any sort. Just wanted to offer my experience as well.

[71124spider]

i believe you,and i also said that in a previous post--that maybe it was just a fluke or a defect. the point i'm trying to bring out is that when the going gets tough---they get going--from a customer service standpoint.

[Exit98]

LOL.

I'm a little suprised you went back there though after your prior experience.

There are other choices.

More and more lately, outside the Fiat world, I've been focusing on customer service with the businesses I deal with. Sirius satellite radio, for example, I have found to be deceitful and untrustworthy. I had a surprisingly positive experience with Chase Bank last week and I've been very pleased with my contacts with Verizon Fios, although less happy with Verizon Wireless which is a separate entity.

[71124spider]

i sell parts for a living--when any of my customers have a problem--i correct it --i dont kick the customer to the curb--it just shows to me that 90% of the people in this country dont give a shit--or take pride in what they do. and your right--i simply hung up the phone--and bought the parts i needed from another seller.

[azruss]

All companies big and small decide what level of service they are willing to provide. Understand that high quality service is expensive and many companies are willing to sacrifice you as a customer if you exceed the minimum service requirements. This is a financial decision. This does open the door for companies to flourish who are willing to go the extra mile. AR is one of these companies and because of that, they have earned my business.
My son and I own and operate a local propane company. We have had double digit growth every year all due to the fact that we offer better service than big national companies. From our perspective, a high level of service is not a liability but an asset.

[TX82FIAT]

There are good and bad vendors. I think anyone who frequents this forum enough over the last couple years gets a feeling for what vendors fall into what buckets. For the most part we can all agree FIAT folks tend to be good people and there is a culture surrounding Spider owners and vendors that is unique. It is something I have come to appreciate. If you operate outside that culture you will lose your customers.

Business Ethics have critical intersections with sales performance and customer service. When a companies core culture does not operate in a fare ethical manner the company will find itself out of business in time. People will not want to work for the organization and customers will not want to buy from the organziation. The lack of an ethical core culture will lead to the degradation of a brand name. Companies that put customers and ethics first make a lot more money in the long run. Studies actually show ethical companies have higher profit margins and proven sustainablitly. Profit is only bad when there is no true mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services.

[Texsardo]

Somtimes the fates must diddle with us. Autoricambi, never a problem and always quality w/fast shipping.
VAS never had any problems.
MidWest_Bayless bent over backwards trying to allevite a problem. After email and phone we laughed and decided we had both been wrong. Still ordered from them and still a good supplier.
I always check those 3 companies and depending on cost and shipping I usually drop one. Then depending on how fast I want the item, Then I order who is shipping from closer proximity.
My only small problem is International auto parts are great but pretty expensive.
I have now turned to the Dark Side and ordered a few things off EBay.
Texsardo

[fiat218]

VAS