Smokin Joe

I ordered some hard to find seals from Doc Rebuild under advisement of this forum. I ordered the parts prior to traveling from Florida to the project site in Virginia. I only have so much vacation time a year, so I always pre-order parts before I travel.

Brenda took my order and was very courteous. We talked about the parts and the shipping. She advised that the parts would arrive either the day before or after Christmas due to UPS restrictions. She took my phone number and card info.

Today I got a postcard in the mail saying there was a problem with the card info and to call them. So I did.

I talked to "Jeff," and asked him what the problem was. He belligerently told me he didn't know and to call "Brenda." I asked how, and he told me to call back Monday. I told him that was okay, and asked why they hadn't called me to identify the problem, before burning up a week of my two week vacation time waiting on some seals. He said, that's an "Expense." I asked him what he meant, and he didn't respond. I tried again to clarify what he was talking about and he replied, very rudely, "We don't do that." I tried to continue to talk with him, and he continued his rude attitude. I explained to him that I wouldn't buy my parts from them, to which he replied, "uh huh, ok," and hung up the phone.

Great business ethic and great customer service!! (Sarcasm intended).

I'll be happy to go with their bitter rival, ZIP, even if ZIP fabricates the parts out of aluminum foil and bubble gum...or any of the other vendors that specialize in hard to find parts, like Paragon Reproductions, Last Detail, or whomever.

DON'T USE DOC REBUILD!

btw-reference the "Expense," on today's calling plans, both cellular and land line, one call is CHEAPER than the 27cent post card stamp they used.

mrvette

'Jeff', and as I recall i'ts Geoffrey or similar spelling.....has been known histerically to be kinda gruff over the phone....

been that a way for since before Duntov was hired yet.....

LeMans Pete

You recommend we go elsewhere because Geoff was mean to you, and not because of the problem?

I would at least wait to find out what the problem is and try and resolve it before posting anything on the forum.

Though I'm one who tends to believe in the "no flaming" policy.

Theiskell

No flaming intended here foxymophandlpapa

That would be enough for me…I come from the south where you are taught to be polite, especially if someone is doing you a favor. To me any customer is doing that vendor a favor by buying from them. If someone is rude to me that’s It, I don’t care how hard it is to find. I have heard this same story several times here on the forum and I am glad to know who not to deal with. There are to many vendors that bend over backwards for us and deserve the business.

1982CorvetteDude

I hope this thread doesn't "disappear"

Z51JEFF

So would you suggest kissing a venders a$$ just so you could give them your money?Ive heard about this guy being a jerk more than a few times in the past and I find it hard to believe this guy has a lock on hard to find parts.This thread may get locked or removed all together but I for one am grateful for this type of info and it is a service to the members here.

Doc Rebuild

We don’t ship to addresses that don’t address verify with the commonly used AVS software. Plain and simple it’s prevents mail order FRAUD on remote credit cards sales.

We try to match the credit cards to the provided address 3 times with our credit card point of sale terminals. If that fails, we call the credit card clearing house and ask them to confirm that the address provided does or does not match the address we were given for that credit card.

If that fails, we send a postcard to the address we were provided. If the provided credit card does not match the address and zip code, we simply don’t ship no matter how much you whine or question our company policy or why this or why that. It sure does prevent credit card fraud

GC

Smokin Joe

Actually, I attempted to rectify the problem with the number provided by the company, Doc Rebuild. Geoff (thanks for the correct spelling) refused to address the problem, saying he was not able to do it "here." Upon a reasonable attempt, on my part, to address the problem, I was told nothing could be done today.

When I order parts with an expected lead time, that is not met, that costs me time and money. No I am not going to sue anybody over some parts. I am however not going to deal with that attitude, and I would encourage others not to put up with it.

Doc Rebuild refused to try and verify the payment method today when I called. (There is nothing wrong with the credit card). The information may have been copied down wrong on the other end. We don't know, because Doc Rebuild would not check. I could have also provided another card.

And yes, someones attitude toward me when I am buying parts from them does matter, and definately effects my decision to continue with a vendor.

LeMans Pete

No, I would suggest you be a man about it and move on. There's been numerous posts about Geoff's attitude, but like Alan pointed out, he seems to have parts that no one else does.

But to suggest that no one shop with a particular vendor because YOU, personally, had a specific problem with his attitude, is rediculous.

I understand the concept of customer service, and I also have moved my business from one vendor to another because of it, but I won't recommend anyone else to do the same.

I appreciate the warnings, but trying to hurt the business of someone who was mean to you is overboard.

dar322

you know, i've dealt with many rude car mechanics over the years. they are in business for themselves and generally are pretty successful...just dont invite them to the office party. i've gotten in trouble with a few of these guys by sometimes questioning and suggesting something. that's generally a no-no. with the on-line vendors- hows the customer support? how fast is delivery? are you aware of parts backordered before you submit your order? ive never bought from dr rebuild but when i called them once, they answred my questions fairly. hate to see vendors get nailed cause i'm sure we all can say alot about the run ins with many businesses...not just vette shops. just chalk it up.

Doc Rebuild

Thank goodness for AVS software. For years we had to eat fraudulent credit card sales after the actual credit card holder complained to their bank that they had not ordered or were shipped any items, yet were charged for something.

Then MC/Visa developed AVS software to match the credit card holders account number with the matching address for that individual. Once this was released, our fraudulent sales went to near zero.

Some think they can game that system or use their bravado or indignation to force a different outcome. It just doesn’t work. If the address doesn’t match the card, it’s a no sale no matter how much you whine, post on the internet, bluster, stomp you feet or otherwise protest injustice.

We diligently try to match that information, but if it doesn’t match, it’s doesn’t match and it’s not going to be a sale. There is nothing we can do to change the matching of that data, except to risk a fraudulent sale.

After we try the card three times, we will not again try the same card number with the same address. I confirmed your address and the card number and it was exactly the same as we had. You can whine all day, but the CREDIT CARD DID NOT MATCH with the information provided. And after we had called the credit card clearing house, they also denied the matching of the data. That’s why we sent a post card to THAT address.

GC

PS All this CF he said, she said is simply utter nonsense. If the card number provided matched the address provided, we would have gladly taken your money in a heartbeat.

Red73

I appreciate any vendor that protects their credit card transactions along with thier customers transactions. I would wait until Monday as they suggested the first time you called and talk with Brenda. It's your choice from this point forward if you order from Dr. Rebuild again, I will continue to do business with him, never had a problem with their products or service.

dar322

thanks for clarifying Doc. with the internet, you dont know whose on the other end. i recently had a 15 yr old jacket with a lifetime warranty replaced by the mfr. But guess what? After verbally providing my credit card over the phone...some unauthorized card usage showed up. bank quickly shut it down. its nice to know the technology works, especially with the financials. lots of crooks out there. thanks for keeping everything in perspective here.

ctk30

It's not like hes scamming you or anything

It's better than talking to a nice person and getting scammed, as we have seen was done in the past week

JBinUTAH

Did I miss the apology for Geoff behavior?? I guess I am old fashion too. If I look to purchase from a company and know they have a reputation for great customer service, I will lean towards that company everytime, when the prices are competitive. What if I have to call them and deal with this man? Makes me think twice.
"There's been numerous posts about Geoff's attitude, but like Alan pointed out, he seems to have parts that no one else does." I will make sure I have to order from them before I do.

BigBlockTank

I can see both sides of this post. I'm not in any way going to take sides either.

Just because a vendor has hard to find or non-existant parts, is that a license to be rude or mean to your customers? I was born and raised in the south too, and I ain't about to turn the other cheek, you get one shot, and I'm done.


The software that Dr. Rebuild has for his own protection is doing it's job. Was there another way that this could've been handles? Very possible, let's see. Next time you order parts give your credit card address and a ship to address too.

Would that have satisfied both parties involved? I don't know, let's hear from both of them.

Smokin Joe

Interesting comments. I will address them as I can. I am detecting on some people's part, including the vendor, that the issue is the validity of the credit card. The issue is the noticing method (related to the purchase, not the actual purchase) and related customer service. The latter being the primary issue. If the card is/was an issue, then that can easily be addressed.

Thanks for your responses Geoff. If we could have dialogued like this on the phone, my action would have been different. For clarity on your part. You did not verify the card number, date, or code. You did verify the last four numbers of the card and the address. Please try to portray the issue accurately.

That said, I chose to somewhat-ignore your comments reference foot stomping and corvette forum nonsense. That said, the forum is how we communicate and share our passion for the hobby...which includes which vendors work with people and which do not. Your actions were utter nonsense, not mine.

My feelings are not hurt, but the attitude was not needed. I don't like the way the issue was dealt with and think other members deserve the heads up. (Someone on this forum saved my over $6000 on a potential problem once. When I researched their claim, they were correct). Apparently, my chosen route to deal with this has opened a dialogue of sorts with the vendor that did not exist, though attempted.

I'll give her a call and figure out what the problem was. I may not go with the vendor after all this. The parts won't arrive in time for this trip. A phone call could have rectified the problem. Especially considering my dialogue with Brenda. (who btw was very friendly and helpful).

Actually, it was a phone transaction. Doc Rebuild does not conduct internet transactions. Also, this post is not about "crooks," nor does Geoff actually address the issues; Customer Service on the phone call and the phone call that Doc Rebuild could have made to the phone number they asked for, and that I provided to them for contact. Those were the things brought up on my call to him, and what I originally posted about. The first time a call was made about this issue (before mine), we didn't even get the poor dialogue that occurred.

Well said. I appreciate all comments on both sides. I especially appreciate comments from Geoff. Like I said, Brenda was very nice to deal with and thorough. I did provide all credit card info, shipping, billing address, name, and my cell phone number. It probably has to do with the credit card numbers. Either written down incorrectly on their end or a bank issue from the ill wanted credit card fraud listed above. Let me reiterate; my issue was with Geoff's attitude and the noticing method which was a comment written on a notecard and mailed to the addresses provided for the credit card (clearly there is no issue with the address).

LeMans Pete

But whats the problem here? No one's been screwed on parts or money.

To me, this looks like someone trying to use the "power of the forum" to get back at a vendor for being mean. Thats what I like to call

BigBlockTank

The problem is, a customer made an order, received a card to call. He did as instructed. He was confronted with what he perceived as a bad attitude, his perogotive, we weren't there. He was now "screwed" out of time to do what he ordered the parts for in the first place. Not a real life threatening problem, but we all know what that feeling is like.

None the less, we have become so complacent with bad service, we just accept it.

LeMans Pete

Ya, I understand what you mean, but is this grounds to try and screw a company out of potential customers?

Rude people suck to deal with, but I have always had better success with them if I used some tact in the situation. Flaming a rude vendor on the forum is probably not going to help his cause. It probably would have been better if he contacted Brenda on Monday, like he was asked to, completed his transaction, and then moved on.