VTEConly

I need to vent so bear with me.

I called GC yesterday and told them while reinstalling my old GC coilover kit with new shocks and new springs, we discovered that all the screws on the spring perch are ceased. I told them my car was a very professional race shop and they have done their best but they won't turn. I asked them to overnight the screws as I was told they needed to be cut. I also explained to the guy that most of the shocks were off the car already and I had 2 racing events to go to this wknd so they better not mess me up.

GC said no problem, you got the dough, we can do next day delivery.

Well today the owner of the shop calls me around Noon and says he hasn't gotten the parts. I call GC and guess what? They NEVER shipped! I ask why? They don't know. They see the order in the computer with next-day delivery but they have no clue why they didn't ship. What kind of fricking business are they running? What kind of as*holes do they hire over there? This is not the first time I 've had a problem with them. I will not go into it but I was doing this GC coilover install because the shocks that we took off the car were GC's Advance Designs that were totally broken and couldn't damp anymore only after less than 1 auto-x season!! $1600 shocks - useless. So we go to isntall the old GC kit that was only sitting in my garage for less than a year, and that's busted too. Damn ceased screws, crappy design, that's what I think.

Last time I called a couple of weeks ago to order their upper shock mounts they guy had a really bad attidute and wasn't very nice over the phone. Then I called back and asked them why don't they tell people if you have an Integra, that their shock mounts render your upper strut bar useless and cannot be reinstalled? I also asked them why don't they inform people that you need a press to get the stupid little 10mm sleeves they have in the mount bushing, and press in the Koni's 12mm ones? They gave me no information when I asked how difficult are they to install. The guy actually told me that they bolt right in and it's extremely easy. Yeah, once I pay someone to have the sleeves pressed out and the Koni ones pressed in, sure it's easy then. Couldn't he just have asked me what shocks do I use? Even when I volunteered the information and told him I have a g3 Integra, he could have told me that I wouldn't be able to use my strut bar anymore. But instead when I called him back after I was fighting to get the strut bar back on, he said "oh yeah, you gotta get a Spoon bar now"! *******!! To me their being dishonest and unethical. They will divulge information like 'you 'll need to buy a new (very expensive) Spoon strut bar" because it's not good for sales.

This is not a way to run a business!! I was happy with them at first and I 've been buying **** from them since '01, but they 've really pissed me off now with not delivering the 4 little screws next-day like they promised, so now I 'm stuck without a car for the entire weekend and I lose out on points for NYR and definitely the end-of-season trophy because I was only a couple of points ahead from 2nd place. All because of incompetend lazy & forgetful GC moronic employees. I will not be buying any more GC products from now on.

Another ironic thing is that I can't even put the ADs back on because they were so bad that the car was not safe to drive.

743power

I've had some unpleasant experiences with them over the phone, so I went with another setup. They lost $1000 out of the deal, not my problem.

Can't you just go to a hardware store and buy a metric bolt that will work, or is the GC one special?

Tyson

i never got a good service from them, but dont care either. i had to go directly to their shop to pick up my coilovers, but that was because i needed them that weekend and was somewhat local. they run that place literally out of a small industrial garage. its jay in the back on the phone with a couple guys filling orders. and those guys are mostly BMW guys, not honda anyway.

slammed_93_hatch

i know 3 of the guys in the office and one out in the shop, and i know jay. All the guys are great, that work really hard to get everything done.

and tyson is right they do mostly BMW stuff now.

ive never had a problem with them.

there good guys

edit- if those screws are just stuck in there and you can still move the perch around on the sleeve, then everything will be fine. the perch isn't going to move on you

descartesfool

My experience with GC's service has been bad. Guys on phone have a lousy attitude. They don't send stuff they say they will or when they say they will send it. Last call I made guy promised to send me info on some parts they sold me but never did. I have a set of their Advance Design dampers which work fine, but they were very late delivering and constantly lied to me on the phone. Bad service has also been the experience of other friends of mine who bought Advance Design dampers and they refuse to buy any more products from them. They get an F in my book. One of the worst companies I have dealt with in terms of customer service.

jisu009

screw it....let them do whatever they want...don't like it....don't buy their ****.

I am taking this off because Tyson is right....useless to bash a company on some forum.


Modified by jisu009 at 4:04 AM 9/4/2004

VTEConly

I think that's the problem right there. They have a very good business going and I believe they 're pretty profitable because in my 5yrs of auto-xing at 8 different clubs and 3 states, I 've seen literally hundreds of Hondas/Acuras and other cars with their "highly acclaimed" GC coilover kit or ERS springs which they purchased from GC.

The problem is that they haven't expanded their facilities and the same 3-4 guys are now overworked and stressed out, which started becoming apparent to us, the customers, the last couple of years by their worsening attidute, short fuse, and not delivering timely or sending out the correct components, which btw they 've been doing a lot more often lately. I also believe that if this keeps up, we 'll start seeing bad products coming from them or products that have not had enough testing or QA. The ADs are probably one of those products which btw are not really GC's invention. They partner with another company which makes them. They gave me a totally different address than GC's and a different name to send the ADs out to get repaired.

The AD shocks are great when they 're good but they brake way too fast so they 're not dependable or practical if you even think about driving to the local store at night for milk or ice cream. Jay told me when I was ordering them that they should not be driven on the street at all or they 'll break prematurely. Mine broke after only 9 auto-x events and I only drove the car to and from the events! I only got to enjoy them 1/2 season before they started deteriorating fast. I think if Koni can make a very reliable double-adjustable shock for $1600, that the ADs should at least last half as long as Konis (because afterall, they 're not a big company like Koni that does tons of R&D and sells huge quantities of shocks), especially for the same price.

Also, how much would it cost GC, or whatever company they use to manufacture the spring seats, to put some anti-cease on those damn hex screws?? I remember reading about these screws ceasing on people 5-6yrs ago on this board. They (Jay?) still haven't attempted to improve on that.
BTW, has anyone found those screws at a hardware store? I doubt the shop my car is at will run out to the hardware store on a Friday before a holiday wknd to look for them.. but I 'm going to call them and ask. What do I have to lose?

beedoublejay

This guy had nothing bad to say about our company on the phone today when I personally spoke with him. I apologized for the mix up and I offered to ship the parts to him overnight with saturday delivery to any address free of charge. And he refused, he said he could race without the parts and I could just get them out to him on tuesday.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

beedoublejay

Quoted VTEConly: so you guys are saying the springs may rattle when I 'm driving on the streets because it's possible they won't be compressed at all and the top urethane hat may even become displaced?

from: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=566703

AD's are <U>strictly</U> racing shocks! Not to be driven on the street and here you are discussing how you are driving them on the street. What do you expect, honostly?

simpsond

Read this on one of VTEConly's posts a while back, a rebuttle to his coments regarding the use of 6" spring on a auto-x car with Advance-Design shocks:

"Why all this speculationa and trouble. just put the stupid thing on and see. remember also that AD shocks are fully threaded, which may or may not be the same length as a normal GC sleeve, so all comparisons are off when ppl are giving their input. and yes, the integra i did see a 6" 1200lb spring mounted work on a AD rear shock. just try the damn thing, quit causing arguements and tell us your findings. if it THEN doesnt fit, you have full righ to bitch. if youre going to be stubborn, stop doing it out of ignorance."

-Tyson

This guy (VTEConly) obviously does not know what the hell he is talking about. He wants to think his street driven/cone packing teg is a racecar. Sorry man....it isnt. At least educate your self about the sport before you pretend like you know everything and put racecar parts on your street car.

Tyson

why dont you guys settle your customer service issues professionally and take this **** offline.

beedoublejay

I thaught that this situation was resolved, then I see this post. If VTEConly wants to contact me he is more than welcome. Instead of voicing complaints online call us and discuss it.

slowSER

If you don't like GC customer service, just buy through a middle man. Your middle man (likely) gets the stuff at a lower price than you anyway, marks it up a couple bucks so you aren't paying *that* much more than if you were buying from GC direct. So you pay a few extra $$$ so your middleman makes the phone calls when your stuff is late/wrong/doesn't fit.

Worth it to me.

Pat
'90 Formula, GC weight-jacker kit, bought new through a middleman
'91 Sentra SE-R, GC camber plates, bought new through a middleman
Haven't had the pleasure of calling GC direct in, oh, 5 years

MaddMatt

I've been on the wrong end of public ***-rippings like this before. Nothing good will come of it. I highly recommend trying everything possible to resolve issues like this before publicly ripping into a well-established company.

solo-x

wait, you KNEW people were having problems with the steel screws in the aluminum sleeves, KNEW anti-seeze would alleviate the problem, yet STILL didn't put any anti-seeze on them when you installed them???

yes, a hardware store will have them, or worse case, something that will work. you'll probably be doing some drilling anyway to get the old screws out, so retapping or heli-coiling the collar and installing an available bit of hardware isn't an issue.

i've been treated rather gruffly by the guys at GC myself. i'm treated that way most anywhere i go that has a racing business that doesn't cater to the rice boys and doesn't know me by name. the guy i do my dyno work with nearly hangs up on me any time i call and mention "honda civic" before he remembers who i am. GC has always left me satisfied when business was finished, though. i once ordered springs, got a mis-packed spring in the bunch. GC sent out the correct springs free of shipping with a return shipping label for the mis-packaged peices. in that situation, they seemed rather eager to fix the problem. that's the ONLY time they've bobbled on an order with me.

now, i don't rank their service with what you get at koni, but i wouldn't hand out an "F" for it either. maybe an "A-/B+" but it's only because Lee has screwed up the bell curve.

nate

toadolson

Here's my drama with GC.

Dealt with Frank though the whole transaction. Ordered coils, koni yellows, and upper mounts for my civic. Frank informed me that he would assemble them himself for a direct bolt in. 2 days later they were on my door. Installed them the next day and went for a cruise. Car road rough as hell. Opened the hood to adjust the strut and what do i find. The lower washer for the upper mounts were not put in and the strut rods almost went though the hood. Gimped the car home. With this being a Sunday on the install, called Frank 1st thing Monday in the am and had the parts FedEx next day. Very helpful in the situation and did admit his fault. Kinda wish it had popped though the hood, carbon fiber would look so good right about now. No grips, but did have a not so smooth transaction with them.

TeamSlowdotOrg

I've been treated "gruffly" on the phone by GC before too. I don't like it, but I got my parts and they were what I asked for. In the future, the customer service issue will keep me away from dealing with GC directly but that doesn't mean I won't buy their products in the future. I just won't be calling them.

Customer service doesn't get grades, in my opinion. It's pass/fail. Either the guy who bought the parts is happy with how you handled his transaction and any f-ups that may have happened along the way, or he goes and tells all his friends not to waste their time with those guys at Acme Performance Parts.

An example is Modacar. They sent me the wrong part due to a sales rep giving me bad info, and within 10 minutes I was being given an RMA # and promised a 2nd-day air delivery of a return sticker. They screwed up, but I will still tell my friends that they're a great place to order from. Handled just a tad bit differently I would have posted up on my home website about how I recommend not ordering from them, so it's a delicate business. In the end we all have to deal with eachother because this community isn't as big as it seems. Screwing someone over, bitching over the internet, whatever may feel good now but it might not someday when you need something from the guy you gave a reaming to on H-T.

Mohudsolo

The screw is a 1/4"-20 socket head cap screw with a black carburized finish. Any hardware store that does not have them might as well close their doors. I've had mine for nearly 5 years and have not had any problems. I put anti-sieze on the screws when I first put them on since I know aluminum and steel will corrode together. I have run the car year round on the street, autox, and DE, with limited winter driving.

I will say the springs have rubbed on the aluminum threads of the adjuster and I have had the rubber inserts for the spring tops fall apart, but that's about it. I deal with a number of supplier and manufacturers at work and I would put GC in about the middle. I have not used their AD shocks and cannot comment on them or what happens to them on the street, or why. If they can't handle street use, how do they hold up with track use? Between curbs and the occasional use of the non-paved sections, it seems like that could be right up there with street use when you figure in the higher speeds.

MaddMatt

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bitching over the internet, whatever may feel good now but it might not someday when you need something from the guy you gave a reaming to on H-T</TD></TR></TABLE>

No more calls please, we have a winner....

Matt&lt;---really hopes the guy that ripped me a new ******* on cc.com really needs something from me one day so I can tell him to go directly to hell without passing "Go"...

SPiFF

I have had no trouble getting the right stuff from CG and my ADs arde still working fine.

Renegade

No problems here, Great service for me GC .
Off topic, I've never heard about this nut locking up... which one is it?

thanks

vtecvoodoo

I talk to the Guys at GC 2-3 times a day and often have a tough time getting through. They are slammed with phone calls from 9-5. They are all very good guys, just incredibly busy...

Ryan

SicNA94TegGsR

I have GC perches as well, but they are missing the channel for the circlips, does anyone know of any other perches that will work instead of GC? CRXLee said he can sell me some, but im pissed that my current ones dont have them, and would rather not give them (GC) anymore money as well

Watkinsm3

Between Koni/GCs and my ADs I've had nothing but good service and support. Parts overnighted when I needed them. It makes things easier if you know EXACTLY what you're looking for.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SPiFF &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have had no trouble getting the right stuff from CG and my ADs arde still working fine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good to hear those shocks are still working for you... I miss them alot! Part of me regrets selling them in the first place.

ewaugh

In the bike shop I work with 1...3...8...around 12 different compaines, and I'm just sales and parts when needed. Out of those there's 1 that I hate dealing with becasue no one can get thier head out of their *** and firuge out why the seatpost slider wasn't shipped with the bike OR next day/sat. delivered like it was supposed to be after I spent 15 minutes on the phone with them. There's another that can be a little slow sometimes but is usually good. The thing I've found is that often time it's the tools that are talking to the company that are the problem, not the company; sure everyone screws up once in a while, their human, if they're that bad don't worry about it, in a few years they'll be out of business anyway.

Posting online about just makes me side with the company even more.