:mad :banghead: :mad

 

I never intended to sound like I thought this was a warranty issue. But it IS about standing behind your product regardless of when it was purchased.

Oh, and by the way, $30USD for 2 little fittings that look like they came out of an Earl's catalog? Please. I work in the aerospace industry where we use buckets of blue and red annodized AN fittings everyday (wanna talk about free issue?) and I know that when OUR customers call for similar replacement fittings, we don't charge them anywhere NEAR as much as that (even WITH our markup)!!!


[Modified by TheCorvetteKid, 5:56 PM 6/11/2003]

 

do you still have that bill of sale? if so scan it and post it. that will put an end to terrys "bill clinton cover up" since he says you never bought that intake from them or any of their dealers.
:iagree:

He does not have one, and I did not have him fax one to me back in 07/2000, once again more :bs

We have nothing on record for him, except for free intake bolts. And nothing from Modern Motorsports his "supplier" of the intake.

 

The Corvette KID says: "$30USD for 2 little fittings"

This was WITH shipping to Canada via UPS. These are $12 a piece, how much does aeroquip sell similar fittings for?

And these are not from any company like Earls or Aeroquip, they are a custom made part. If we could buy them from a company that stocks them we would.

If you don't want them don't buy them, and cut off the stock fittings and flare the tubes, then run high pressure rubber hose.

 

I sold a MiniRam to 396 Roadster several years ago minus the fittings in question and with somewhat modified fuel rails.

It could be a different intake though.

-Mike

 

A Ha! Thanks for chiming in Mike.

It's a second hand intake! Just as we new it was. And sold WITHOUT the fittings.

Anybody got a CIGAR?


:lol:

 

Well, we will never know. Only 396Roadster knows. But, based on Mike In Boston's post, I have to really frown on the original post. I think we may have an butt in our midst. And, worst of all he's wasted a lot of our time. I'm not an attorney, but I think the term libel comes to mind pretty strong here if I were TPIS. :nono:


[Modified by DiabolicalDave, 7:03 PM 6/11/2003]

 

I bought my miniram and some ZR1 5 spokes from TPIS. They were excellent to deal with. The rims were actually a very good price for being genuine GM parts. After buying the miniram I had some concerns due to some posts on the forum about fuel rails and blower applications with the miniram so I e-mailed them for a response. Myron e-mailed me back and gave me a good explanation of his design. I'll buy from them again if they have a part I want.

I don't have a lot of time for working on my car so sometimes I'll let a new part sit for a few years. If there's a problem with the part when I do get around to installing it, I'll call and ask for resolution but if they say no I figure it's my own damn fault for letting it sit so long.

 

I had originally purchased a MiniRam 500-505 intake from "Mike in Boston" not aware it wouldn't work with my large Brodix heads (my fault). I then spoke several times to Myron about my options, he advised me the easiest choice was to purchase a new MiniRam 500-519 that would work with my heads ... so that's what I did.

Terry (plastic1), I see you making many excuses, but I don't see you addressing your unexceptable behavior and poor customer service skiils ... not even an apology!

 

Cut the non sense and go put your engine together, and no desert for you tonight my friend!

:nono:

 

(THE CROWD GASPS) - I'd just about say that quite possibly shoots any credibility into the toilet... OUCH..... Then again, Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman.

 

So with you knowning this information....did TPIS/you send him somewhere else to get a custom part? If that happened, that's kinda lame. If you didn't, I'd like to know why he bought something you guys must have told him was only available through TPIS.

 

With the very real possibility that parts were lost or misplaced or damaged during the second hand transfer.

You're comparing apples and oranges here. If something broke on the manifold or parts that were sent due to MANUFACTURING problems, I'm sure TPIS would gladly replace the parts under warranty. No auto manufacturer will replace the hub cap on your car under warranty because you LOST it. That's the difference here. I'm not saying whether 396 roadster lost the part or not, what I'm saying is that auto makers warranty their parts again breakage, not misplacement. If you buy a used car (even if still under warranty) and something like the dipstick is missing, the auto maker won't replace that under warranty either. Why? Because you cannot prove that the car was sold NEW without it. I've worked in the service departments of dealerships before, and the burden of proof is on the customer to prove within reason that they have a legit claim. If I were in Terry's shoes, based on the information provided by both sides at this point, the length of time and the lack of computer records indicating the sale in the first place, I would either go ask the Prez if he remembered talking to a guy about this in the past, or not send the parts unless the customer could provide proof that he bought the parts new from TPIS and the parts were missing as delivered.

Again, you're missing the point of retail sales. Once a product is sold second hand through the private market, the manufacturer and/or original seller is no longer responsible for issues related to missing parts. If you bought a laptop from someone on the forum and the battery charger cable was missing, would you expect HP to send you a free one because it's their product? That's just unreasonable. IF the setup was bought second hand, I think TPIS has no obligation to supply the fittings. If it was bought directly from them, and 396 roadster has proof that the fittings were missing as delivered (like the original packing list or pictures of the boxes being opened or something similar) then TPIS should send them at no cost. I think the whole issue here lies with the burden of proof. Many people are saying the burden of proof lies with the company to prove that the fittings were missing. Most people who work in this sort of business (retail sales) will tell you the burden of proof usually lies with the consumer to prove the parts were missing, especially 2 years after the original purchase.

That being said, I do think that Terry's attitude, comments, and behavior (both reported by 396 roadster and what I've read so far) are out of line for a vendor. If he were smart, he'd keep the "anyone got a cigar" comments to himself and try to act in a dignified, professional manner. Terry, folks on here are smart enough to sort through the arguments and/or facts and tell the BS from the fact. Comments like the aforementioned do nothing but hurt your credibility with current and potential clients. Even though this must be frustrating for you, you will win back more favor with folks if you simply drop the issue quietly when and if you are proven correct in the logistics matter. Sometimes no response is a stronger statement than a loud one.

 

It pays to buy dirrect!Don't use a middle man. :chevy

 

CorvetteZ51Racer you're right. Maybe I over-reacted a bit and said a few things I shouldn't have. For that, I apologize.

But I won't apologize for my statement that TPiS may have potentially lost business due to a $30 part. Let's put ourselves in 396 Roadster's shoes for a second..you just spent over $1100USD on a bunch of TPiS stuff and for some reason these 2 fittings are missing. I don't know what the markup is on the MiniRam but my guess would be that it's pretty high (seeing as it's the only real short-runner intake on the market for the L98) so you can't tell me that TPiS would be loosing money to send out these little fittings - even if THEY paid for shipping! Wouldn't you be a little upset at first being told to get some catalog part only to find that it doesn't fit? And then you are told by TPiS that the parts you need are custom made and that the company doesn't believe you when you tell them that they weren't included originally when you ordered? And that's not to mention the rude behaviour on the phone. I know I would be upset if I was being treated that way after handing over my hard earned money.

Don't missunderstand me here, if 396 Roadster tried to convince TPiS to send him a complete manifold because it "wasn't included in the box" for some reason, I'd be the first to say "good luck". But I know that if it where me looking for these $30 parts and getting this kind of run-around, I certainly wouldn't buy another TPiS product again. Even after I got sent the correct parts.

I guess my bottom line here is that we are talking about being treated poorly over $30. Many people would say "eat the cost and get your car running". And if Terry at TPiS was a little more polite in dealing with 396 Roadster I'd say the same thing. But he wasn't. And even if he was more polite - IT'S $30! Was 3 forum pages worth of slander towards TPiS worth it?

I hope that 396 Roadster gets his parts and puts his car back together and gets it working fine.

 

Maybe I should look elsewhere for Longtubes :leaving:


[Modified by MongooseLT4, 11:25 PM 6/11/2003]

 

1100 hits in two days, 75 responses not all positve about the attitude of some of the representatives of TPIS. If I owned this company I'd be very concerned with plastic1's public responses here. I think alot of us might be swayed by the attitude exhibited here alone. I saw this kind of thing with one other vendor recently and it was uglier than this, but guaranteed I will NEVER do business with that company. This kind of pissing match is not good for business, this is a relatively small issue that never needed to end up here if you know how to deal with your customers, regardless who is at fault :U

 

Yeah, I agree. If I had a product two years after I bought it and then realized it was missing a part, I'd ask the company if they would send it to me, but I wouldn't hold it against them if they didn't. But the way I've seen representatives of this company acting makes me very leery of doing business with them in the future.

 

When I phoned TPIS and informed Chris the fittings didn't come with my kit he told me I would have to pay for them. Not wanting to pay a large sum of money for shipping 2 little fitttings, I asked him if I could purchase the fittings from a local speed shop. He then gave me an Accel part #74730 and told me that this is what they include in their kits.
I ordered the Accel fittings and when they came in I took them home to only find out they wouldn't work. :mad


I was mad enough when I called back ... but when I spoke to Terry his attitude really pissed me off!!! Whether or not he would send me the fitttings for free is one thing, but those type of comments have no place in business.


Thanks to all the forum members who have supported me on this thread!


[Modified by 396 Roadster, 3:22 AM 6/12/2003]

 

396 Roadster:

I believe you man, your 2 MiniRam story sounds very plausible to me! And the fact that Mr. Cottrell, is doing double-time damage control for his people skills savvy, customer service rep Terry (plastic1):smash:; that kind of casts it in concrete for me!

After spending collectively over $2000 for AFR L98 heads with a TPiS logo on them (AFR retails ’em for about $1300), I’m am about as impressed with TPiS as you are:mad! AS I SAID BEFORE, I HAVE NOTHING BUT GREAT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT LPE!!!!!! They have been exemplary on the phone with me for years! TPiS will never see a red cent from me again!

And the fact that TPiS’s tech support people told a customer to go buy Accel parts, while having full knowledge that the parts wouldn’t work! My God, that is nothing short of being unconscionable!

You know, us Corvette owners do spend huge piles of $$$$money$$$$ on our vehicles. I’m sure there’s plenty of vendors out there willing to do fair, pleasant business with us (LPE). It’s bad enough that we have to purchase highly marked up parts just because it’s a Vett. But to take it up the butt in the process, is that really necessary? And for those of you who have had good experiences, thank God someone has. Because it’s sound like 50% or more haven’t!

BTW Mr. Cottrell, if your reading this thread, I’d get your man off the CVForum pronto! He’s just digging your grave deeper with each post! This should’ve been dealt with off line!

:crazy:NanoBrain:crazy: