I would be remiss and truly crass if I did not publicly apologize to Mr. Cole . There have been several members INCLUDING myself that have held Mr. Cole responsible for a non-responsive and arrogant customer service policy. Yes, he has been incommunicado and exremelt aloof over the last few months.........Now I know why. :rolleyes:

I spoke with Steve today regarding my PLII that has been in his possesion for over 2 months. It was supposed to be a simple reprogram.The fact that Steve had not contacted me. He didn't return my repeated phone calls and e-mails. In HIS words.. inexecusable and not professional...I'm to blame. The fact that that Steve had surgery only 2 months ago was perhaps made light of as he is still on the mend. The facts are that he has had SERIOUS complications after the surgery and has been in serious pain EVERY DAY was not a consideration I acknowledged and that...Is execusable. Steve and I spoke for a time about his business and his illness. He KNOWS what is happpening, he KNOWs how we each feel and he DOES feel totally responsible. He understands he's disapointed several members and is working as fast as he can WHEN he works.I won't go into any specific details about his illness...It's not my place nor would I betray his confidence. It's suffice to say that the man is hurting ..hurting bad and it's a real effort to just sit down in a chair in front of his computer for a hour or two.

As it happens my Powerloader II was completed today and being shipped out tommorow...1 day after I had Ed Wright program my PCM.Steve DID NOT charge for the reprogram nor the shipping. I'm told that the program WILL be able to work over Ed Wrights program if I chose to use it. That would be speculative at this time . I'm sure Ed Wright does fine work and unless my car went dead or needed a new program I will use the PLII only as a backup so as to not have to ship my PCM out again.

In closing, I am publicly apologizing for any offense or hurt I have caused Mr. Cole and only wish that he had given us the opportunity talk with him and share in his time of needed support. For those who have been waiting for your Powerloaders ....you will need to be patient.I will attest to the quality of the PLII...IT WORKS! Steve in his words " I'm **** about this product. I won't ship it out until it's perfect". That's the truth.

 

great post Vince...and get well soon Steve :cheers:

maybe I will go ahead and send in mine for a reprogram :)

 

Vince, that was a very classy post and well needed.
Steve, get well soon and either let us know how you are doing or have someone else in the forum keep us posted :seeya

 

Yes; from someone that has been through serious health problems... it can be quite an ordeal.

I had to put everything on hold (just started a side company) and tell my customers I would have to close the shop until things got better. If I didn't tell them upfront (before I got behind in my promises); I'd of got plenty of them pissed at me.

 

O.k ill be the bad guy :cry


this post sould have came from steve along time ago :yesnod:
and we would all understand :yesnod: and have SOMEBODY Email everyone on his list for work to be done
and tell them the story that you have told us ,and there will be delays

but doing nothings for months is not GOOD ,, and some are PISSED

I would NEVER do this with my C.O

 

Great post, theres always 2 sides to a story. Hopefully Steve will consider getting some "programming" help, or an apprentic whom he can mentor, guide and teach his trade while he then takes care of business issues as well as himself.

 

Good information and probably relevant to a lot of people out there in the same situation. I am very glad Steve was able to personally program my PCM for me at his shop before the trajic accident that started Steve's medical problems. I do, however, still believe he needs to seriously consider getting somebody else trained in line with him to help out and take phone calls. He isn't doing himself any favors by taking all this on his own shoulders(trust me, when I was there, there was over 20 PCMs in a box from a well known tuner, he told me another 10 or more was on the way and 4 cars showed up in those 4 days I was there). On top of this, Steve personally was dealing with all the Powerloader issues at that time(he was just introducing them) and I believe he still is the only one who assembles them.

Todd

 

I know some have had issues lately with TTS. Again, my Original PL II from Exit 28 MotorSports came in 3 weeks from my order date. I even talked to Steve personally on the phone for 30-45 minutes last June and he was very polite and knowledgeable. We had a good conversation. I was lucky on my order and had no complaints.

I too starting to have concerns since I will soon be sendingmy PLII to be re-programmed for 3.42 Gears and a TC. I too have read many stories that did not inspire confidence in the process I was about to go through. I also said in a few replies to posts that since nothing negative actually happens to ME personally, I can not say anything negative. I really hope Steve gets better soon , does my PL II program in a timely manner when i send it in, and gets his business back on track so his customers and the supporters of his product are Happy Again.

I am just glad someone spoke to Steve because I wasn't sure they were even in business anymore. Hope it works out positively for everyone!!

The Bandit............................




[Modified by 2001 Red Coupe Bandit, 9:31 PM 4/10/2002]

 

:cheers:

 

I respect the fact that he was in an accident, but he should have come out and simply said, "I need to take a few months off" Would we have been pissed? Maybe, but at least we would not have been left hanging and knew what the story was.

His tuning is top notch and I hope he can fully recover and restore his business once again. :cheers:

 

BLK 98WS6......

This is a very valid point! Steve told me he tried to train some very bright apprentices and hasn't had any luck with them. Again HIS words " I haven't found anyone with the same devotion to the product as myself..some may feel the job is done and send it out just for it to be returned.....I won't do that,I won't send it out until the program is perfect".

I personally think this is a admiral goal but not very practical from a business sense. A good business will thrive on referrals and favorable reviews of a product,but there needs to be a continuity and assurance of available product to keep the customers buying the product. Unfortunately Mr. Cole is very proud of his product( with good reason) but really should consider alternative production methods to keep up with the demand. Even a good business that soars to the top can fall as fast without a product to deliver.... :rolleyes:

 

Not everyone needs "custom programming" - Just sell me the standard Steve Cole special for an essentailly stock car with PT2400 converter and 3.42 gears. How many dozen of these have been done already. How hard is it to train someone to make me a copy and get the business completed.

I do expect that with the LS1Edit for 2001+ comming out soon - the waiting list will be considerable shorter.

It is a hard step to make professionally from tech wizzard to businessman.

I wish him good health and wisdon in the months to come.

 

The business model I see developing is a local tuner with the unlocked version of LS1 Edit doing reprogs for standard mods for $100-150, in and out with your car in less than an hour. Maybe even cheaper, since it gets you in the door to see the other neat stuff they can sell to you. Of course, custom work with dyno testing in between for the more complicated cases, at higher cost. There will be no reason to fool around with the other reprog delivery systems. Of course, it may take some time for the knowledge base to build up, but I think that's the way it will be, and pretty soon.


[Modified by allanlaw, 10:31 PM 4/10/2002]

 

That explains it. I read the posts about problems with Steve & really did not understand; he was very responsive when he did ours. Now it makes sense. Sorry to hear he is suffering. :( :( Steve, Get Well Soon!!!

 

Sounds like Steve has had a bout of bad luck for the past couple of years.

He contracted pneumonia, and then I believe he had a motorcyle(?) accident, and now surgery.

I was on the first power loader list 2 or so years ago.

Steve returned my $$ to me because I got sick of waiting for months on end.

An Assistant/Apprentice would serve Steve and his customers greatly.

 

I had the honor of talking to Steve at the SEMA show last year for quite a while. Great guy with some great products. My PLII has been in his shop for reprogramming and I must admit I'm getting tired of waiting. This post has helped some, but I STILL need my car to run right! Get Well Soon Steve!

 

must agree.
after reading through posts over the months there are many inconsistancies. many have posted they were waiting months even before his surgery and still did not receive their power loader. some have express they called or emailed and was assured their power loader is being worked that dy and will be shipped out the next day but never was. i do not think i would take that chance and so i decided to go with someone else. just my 2 cents. :seeya

 

Not saying this is the case, but sometimes it's hard to admit you need help. Being able to make the right decisions, delegate authority, and sometimes tell people things they don't want to hear will separate a successful business from a mediocre business.

I wish Mr Cole the best, and I hope he gets well soon. :blueangel:

 

This saga has been going on for two years now. :rolleyes: From day one, I have been waiting for "the problems" to clear before I would consider taking the leap. I've fully backed away from the cliff now.

 

I feel blessed I got mine in 2 1/2 weeks last year .....but I will need a re-program when I put the converter in. Get well Steve! :cheers:

Tracy in Seminole.