The Official EF Discussion Thread
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,429
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From: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Yikes!
Sorry if you had bad experiences guys! I am really shocked to hear these comments because we never get this sort of response. The shifters do sometimes have a volatile stock status and sometimes people expect their parts to ship sooner than we say they will.
WrongWD RE: "Worst I have ever dealt with! "
Please, send me an email so we can discuss what went wrong, and possibly provide some retributions.
kelsodeez RE: "i paid for two day shipping and i got my shifter a week later." The speed of the service depends on the date that the parts actually ship, which might not be the same day you place your order. This could explain a delay in shipping. The service once the parts leave is sort of out of our hands.
"when i called them they couldnt even find my order." Any number of hiccups could explain this, including the fact that sometimes people place orders under different names or using different people's cards. Whatever the reason for the error, I'd hope that our friendliness and willingness to help could get us some credit on the service side...please contact us as well for to allow us to research the error, as some retributions might be available for you as well.
Please allow us to help make things right for you!
Marcus
Sorry if you had bad experiences guys! I am really shocked to hear these comments because we never get this sort of response. The shifters do sometimes have a volatile stock status and sometimes people expect their parts to ship sooner than we say they will.
WrongWD RE: "Worst I have ever dealt with! "
Please, send me an email so we can discuss what went wrong, and possibly provide some retributions.
kelsodeez RE: "i paid for two day shipping and i got my shifter a week later." The speed of the service depends on the date that the parts actually ship, which might not be the same day you place your order. This could explain a delay in shipping. The service once the parts leave is sort of out of our hands.
"when i called them they couldnt even find my order." Any number of hiccups could explain this, including the fact that sometimes people place orders under different names or using different people's cards. Whatever the reason for the error, I'd hope that our friendliness and willingness to help could get us some credit on the service side...please contact us as well for to allow us to research the error, as some retributions might be available for you as well.
Please allow us to help make things right for you!
Marcus
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 0
From: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
I do have to set some things straight here:
You had most likely ordered at a time when we had just run out of stock, but had not had a chance to update the site yet. At any rate, we did not state an actual ship date, or promise a ship by date. Our stance in cases like this is most frequently that if you have a deadline for shipping it is important to communicate that with us as soon as possible. Otherwise, how can we truly be held responsible for delays that otherwise would not impact you experience? I hope you can see the difference between us not shipping when we hoped to, and us not being able to meet a deadline that we were unaware of.
ehhhh, well.....I am sure I as a bit more polite than that. If you can't recall specifically what was said, I'd be happy to research it and find the actual emails. But try not to put words in my mouth by quoting incorrectly. Or if you mist, try not to make me sound ruide.
In all honesty, no we did not need to give any money back, but were clearly willing to do so through the issuance of store credit. To us, the money is green either way. We feel this policy is a good one since it satisfies your need for payback, and does not constitute a loss for us. Here it is important to know the difference between us being unwilling to give you a credit, and us being unwilling to give money back (due to the the processing fees and time involved). We were happy to accommodate your wish for retribution if the incident impacted you so severely that you'd give us bad press. At no time were we aware the issue was so important to you.
The production process can be long and unpredictable at times. The bending and coating process can take a few weeks, as you found out. Not to mention the amount of transportation time involved in these parts. We try to keep these parts on hand at all times but when the stock runs low it is difficult to predict an accurate ship time. I am sure you must have experienced delays with other companies from time to time; does this mean you are never buying from them either?
I am fairly certain I don't recall you stating you'd never buy from us again either, because if I had, I can assure you you would have gotten your money.
Furthermore, do we get no credit for attempting to give you some form of refund? As the customer it is your right to dispute the transaction with us if we fail to meet your expectations. If you've given us a fair shot at satisfying you with the best communication you can give us, you are never going to leave a transaction with us so sour.
It seems to me I vaguely recall the incident surrendering this order. I don't recall anyone getting this pissed off with me on the phone or in emails. I personally think this posting is a little unfairly written and is a bit damaging to us. This situation that you had could have been avoided with a little bit more communication between us.
I got $10 in my PayPal that I'd be happy to send you IF it will help mend your feelings toward HeelToe.
Marcus
949-295-1668
PS: Please do recall that, even though my messages might not have contained the news you wanted to hear, but they should have been relatively prompt and polite. We are largely considered one of the best places to order parts online, and this sort of feedback is extremely rare. Thus it is my duty to explore the reasons behind it and correct it if at all possible. I really do wish to prevent this sort of feedback in the future.
When I ordered, the website said in stock. So I placed my order, and then the next day I get an email that says something to the effect of, "Product is in the process of being bent and coated, should ship Friday." So I'm like, hmm, ok, no big deal, it will be a few days behind. I was leaving in just shy of 2 weeks for a month long trip to China, and I figured that if it shipped by the end of the week, it should make it in plenty of time.
Well, mid week rolls around, and I check their website and it says "Free shipping on all shifters," so I send an email asking if, because the shifter was not in stock when they said it would be, and it hadn't yet shipped, if they might be able to refund my $15ish in shipping fees.
So I get an email back from Marcus at Heeltoe saying "sure we would be happy to give you store credit." So I politely replied that money was pretty short at the time, and would it be at all possible to refund the money to my credit card? He replied with something like, "ehhhh, well I don't really have to give you any money back, so.... no."
So I get an email back from Marcus at Heeltoe saying "sure we would be happy to give you store credit." So I politely replied that money was pretty short at the time, and would it be at all possible to refund the money to my credit card? He replied with something like, "ehhhh, well I don't really have to give you any money back, so.... no."
In all honesty, no we did not need to give any money back, but were clearly willing to do so through the issuance of store credit. To us, the money is green either way. We feel this policy is a good one since it satisfies your need for payback, and does not constitute a loss for us. Here it is important to know the difference between us being unwilling to give you a credit, and us being unwilling to give money back (due to the the processing fees and time involved). We were happy to accommodate your wish for retribution if the incident impacted you so severely that you'd give us bad press. At no time were we aware the issue was so important to you.
Anyhow, a week passes (coming up on two weeks since I placed the order), and my shifter still hasn't shipped. I'm leaving for China in three days, and so I ask when this thing is going to ship. He says, they are still being bent and coated, and whether I still want the store credit. I tell him, "Keep the store credit, I'm never ordering from you again." The shifter finally arrived at my house for my girlfriend to collect almost a month after I ordered it.
I am fairly certain I don't recall you stating you'd never buy from us again either, because if I had, I can assure you you would have gotten your money.
Furthermore, do we get no credit for attempting to give you some form of refund? As the customer it is your right to dispute the transaction with us if we fail to meet your expectations. If you've given us a fair shot at satisfying you with the best communication you can give us, you are never going to leave a transaction with us so sour.
It seems to me I vaguely recall the incident surrendering this order. I don't recall anyone getting this pissed off with me on the phone or in emails. I personally think this posting is a little unfairly written and is a bit damaging to us. This situation that you had could have been avoided with a little bit more communication between us.
I got $10 in my PayPal that I'd be happy to send you IF it will help mend your feelings toward HeelToe.
Marcus
949-295-1668
PS: Please do recall that, even though my messages might not have contained the news you wanted to hear, but they should have been relatively prompt and polite. We are largely considered one of the best places to order parts online, and this sort of feedback is extremely rare. Thus it is my duty to explore the reasons behind it and correct it if at all possible. I really do wish to prevent this sort of feedback in the future.
Thread Starter
EFSS153
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,826
Likes: 1
From: Tornado Alley
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
To help make things right, perhaps you should send me a Fastline shifter for testing. I will report back with notes on customer service, etc. 
derp resistant
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 1,392
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From: Through the fire and the flames
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
haha no its okay. i have my shifter and i am happy. whats done is done. ill tell you what you can do to make it right, improve your communication skills with the customers. i would order from you guys again, but i would feel the need to hold your guys hand throughout the process and be one of those annoying customers that calls everyday to check on the status of my order until it was in my hands.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 5,365
Likes: 2
From: 60ft garage, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Non EF related I know, but when I order parts online and pay for 2 day shipping, I expect the part 2 days starting the next business day. The only exception I would accept would be if something like "out of stock" is listed next to the product on the website. Now, I can understand the timing of events that can create an out of stock state and the website not being updated. In those -what should be- super rare cases, the business needs to contact the buyer by the end of the next business day to update the situation, no later. Unable/unwilling to establish contact in that time is simply poor business practice. If the proper steps above (which also happen to be common sense) are taken, I would have a hard time finding fault on the business side.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Roseville really smells like poo, pooo, pooo, CA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
I can't believe how expensive those FLP shifters are now. I think I got mine back in the day for $130.
But, Marcus is a stand up dude. I've order hundreds and hundreds of dollars of product from him and he's always been great to deal with.
But, Marcus is a stand up dude. I've order hundreds and hundreds of dollars of product from him and he's always been great to deal with.
derp resistant
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 0
From: Through the fire and the flames
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 0
From: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
haha no its okay. i have my shifter and i am happy. whats done is done. ill tell you what you can do to make it right, improve your communication skills with the customers. i would order from you guys again, but i would feel the need to hold your guys hand throughout the process and be one of those annoying customers that calls everyday to check on the status of my order until it was in my hands.
Really I think what happens a lot of the time is there are so many bad vendors that is sort of loads some pre-suspicion in your mind that we need our hand held. It is always a good idea to keep an eye on your orders in the event we do get tripped up. But on the whole, we stay on top of things fairly well relative to most others. Again, your order may not have been perfect, but saying that you need to check up on us every day until the thing is in your hands only really serves to slow things down for others. Just sayin'.
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 0
From: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Non EF related I know, but when I order parts online and pay for 2 day shipping, I expect the part 2 days starting the next business day. The only exception I would accept would be if something like "out of stock" is listed next to the product on the website. Now, I can understand the timing of events that can create an out of stock state and the website not being updated. In those -what should be- super rare cases, the business needs to contact the buyer by the end of the next business day to update the situation, no later. Unable/unwilling to establish contact in that time is simply poor business practice. If the proper steps above (which also happen to be common sense) are taken, I would have a hard time finding fault on the business side.
As far as listing stock status goes, product volatility in pricing and inventory forces us to be a bit ambiguous. Which, again, is why we encourage people to contact us directly BEFORE ordering to minimize errors such as these.
In a perfect world, you are right how we have the responsibility of notifying all customers of all situations regarding their order. But when you deal with a lot of volume it is difficult to do. That being said, our system is set up so than within 24 hours of an order the customer is emailed a PDF containing approximate shipping dates, and/or tracking numbers as they are available. Some customers poke in the wrong email during checkout. Some don't check their emails. Some go to junk. None of these cases are within our control. And while to a certain degree, we do need to hold customers' hands a bit, it is simply not practical to go to the end of the earth for small issues that work themselves out in short time anyway. It sounds bad, but if we did more than 90-100% for one person, it causes the next to get only 80%. To make up for the reduced service, the 80% then gets 110%, and the following guys get 65-70%. And so on. We have to roll with what we got at some point.
And at the end of the day, we still slap customers with the phone number left right and center where they can contact me at any time for reassurance. We are always willing to go way out of our way for customers. But we can only really go as far as people are willing to insist upon past our normal services.
The EF is a great chassis and on of my favorites. It just really got me to see such staunch warnings about us when these incidents were truly isolated in nature. Had to say something.
Marcus
Honda-Tech Member
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From: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: Dec 2006
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From: tx, 77701
Track Advocate
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,283
Likes: 1
From: DFW
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
with a passion, i don not like mid-wings on our cars
anyways...after testing the mishimoto intercooler, i realized that i'd have to chop up my front crossmember, and i didn't want to do that because i will be tracking my car and in the event of a crash on the track or even the road, i wanted that little extra protection. so after looking through the boosted ef thread, i settled on a precision 350hp intercooler. so i went from this:
to this
can just see the fans installed
anyways...after testing the mishimoto intercooler, i realized that i'd have to chop up my front crossmember, and i didn't want to do that because i will be tracking my car and in the event of a crash on the track or even the road, i wanted that little extra protection. so after looking through the boosted ef thread, i settled on a precision 350hp intercooler. so i went from this:
to this
can just see the fans installed
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 0
From: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
I guess if I am posting here I might as well make an EF pic post.
My then-girlfriend, now-wife's old '91 Si Hatch. License plate "SI GIRL". We had Nesupeed Race and a JDM DOHC ZC in it. Circa Jan 2000.
My then-girlfriend, now-wife's old '91 Si Hatch. License plate "SI GIRL". We had Nesupeed Race and a JDM DOHC ZC in it. Circa Jan 2000.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 5,365
Likes: 2
From: 60ft garage, CA, USA
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
What you do is make an assumption that the parts are going to ship within 24 hours, and that is not always the case. We even have a disclaimer on our checkout page stating that shipping transit times are not applicable to time to source parts and get them shipped out the door. We also remind people no fewer than 2-3 times during checkout that if they are in a hurry for parts they should call us to find out how long shipping will actually take.
The only time I dont get my parts fast is when they come direct from the dealer. Even then, when the companies I go thru are the middle man for those scenarios, they keep me updated via email. Its so easy and I know whats going on at any time of the day.
And please, don't take my comments the wrong way. Im just expressing what I like and dislike as a buyer.
edit: Nice '91. You must have posted those pictures before because I recall running across them years ago.
Last edited by fourthgenhatchB17; Jun 7, 2010 at 07:27 PM.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,032
Likes: 0
From: Indiana, United States
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Just throwing this out there. 
Trying to get money for Koni yellows and Ground Controls.
http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2788209
Trying to get money for Koni yellows and Ground Controls. http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2788209
Thread Starter
EFSS153
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,826
Likes: 1
From: Tornado Alley
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Just throwing this out there. Trying to get money for Koni yellows and Ground Controls.
http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2788209
Trying to get money for Koni yellows and Ground Controls. http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2788209
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,032
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From: Indiana, United States
derp resistant
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 0
From: Through the fire and the flames
Thread Starter
EFSS153
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,826
Likes: 1
From: Tornado Alley
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Yeah, he helped me out back in '06 or so with some parts and we began to talk. For the last few years he has extended special pricing to me in return for me slinging Weaksauce gear at meets and such (special pricing = his cost plus a little). I often ask for quotes for fellow EF Discussion Thread regulars and a few sedan buddies. He can usually beat everyone else's prices with shipping included. Obviously, it depends on the item's markup, though.
derp resistant
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 0
From: Through the fire and the flames
Re: The Official EF Discussion Thread
Yeah, he helped me out back in '06 or so with some parts and we began to talk. For the last few years he has extended special pricing to me in return for me slinging Weaksauce gear at meets and such (special pricing = his cost plus a little). I often ask for quotes for fellow EF Discussion Thread regulars and a few sedan buddies. He can usually beat everyone else's prices with shipping included. Obviously, it depends on the item's markup, though.
Thread Starter
EFSS153
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,826
Likes: 1
From: Tornado Alley