worst customer service I've seen in a shop

[nemex12]

Hi, I'm wanting to share the worst experience I've had with an aftermarket seller in my life and, if things continue as they are, warn you guys about this kind of shop. I contacted this reputable shop in LA in may to buy a couple of leather parts for my car and their rep told me he would take 3 days to ship the parts so I called him and gave him my credit information so he charged me for 500 bucks. three day passed and I contacted him asking about shipping information and he told me that it would take a couple of days more so I waited and the same thing happened. well, long story short, several months have passed and after hundreds of messages I've sent (from which the majority weren't answered) he always wants a little more time so I asked for a refund and he told me he was going to give me a full refund and as compensation he was going to give me the parts I asked for which I though was a good way of saving his reputation as a good seller. thing is that I asked for a deadline that he could fulfill and he gave me one for the money and one after a couple of weeks for the parts. the deadline for the money arrived and he couldn't make it so he asked for me to wait until next day, after several mails next day all of which he replied telling me not to worry that he was going to send me the money that day, he only sent me 200 bucks trough paypal (from which paypal took like 30 bucks) and asked for me to wait as he was going to send me the rest of the money the same day. well, he didn't send it and I went the extra mile and gave him a couple of days as I didn't want to be so intransigent but the days went by and he didn't appear so I think that this must go public so everyone knows who they are dealing with. he sent me 200 bucks more after a couple of days and asked for more time to send the parts but more than a month has passed and he only answers one of 10 messages. I've been pretty understanding but what I really hate is that the guy keeps telling me not to worry that he is sending the rest of the money and the parts and he doesn't which is a pretty obvious lack of respect for his customers. I'm thinking of going to the Better Business Bureau and make his company name public as he hasn't answered my last mails but don't know if I should give him a little more time. what do you fellow enthusiasts thinks?

[StickMon]

Sounds like you cut him enough slack already.
You might start by letting the forum know who this is and see if this is an aberration or if others have had similar experience.

[nemex12]

I already sent an email giving him a last chance to send me the rest of the money and the parts or I'll tell everybody his company name. he told me about two months ago that he would send me the parts and give me back my money but he hasn't so I told him that I need him to make everything right or I'll just go public. I don't want to ruin his rep as it's a very well known company which I'm sure you've heard of but if he doesn't make this right I'll let everybody know who he is. I'll wait until tomorrow and let everybody know.

[RobMCoupe]

Expose the vendor name. This may force them to make good on their promise. You can always update the thread when it's all settle.

[Finnegan]

Way more patience than I'd be willing to provide. Name them.

[Swashplate]

Give him to us!!! SO WE MAY FLAME HIM WAAAARRRGAARRRBLLLLL

[Z4Murder]

Like others have said, it's been way too long already.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Give him to us!!! SO WE MAY FLAME HIM WAAAARRRGAARRRBLLLLL

ROYAL PROCLAMATION

Let it go forth through the land, to every man, woman and child, that the evil perpetrator that hast offended Nemex is a wanted man. By Order of His Majesty the King, a bounty of 1,000 gold crowns is hereby placed on his head.

Do you think that is taking it a bit far?

[Phishman]

I would've named him as soon as he quit returning my calls. Sounds like you gave him an interest-free loan. Knowing if a place is reputable or not is one of the benefits of being a member of a car forum; he's just going to hose more people the longer you shield him.

[Yeggman]

Did you pay by credit card, ("I called him and gave him my credit information") or pay using Paypal ("he only sent me 200 bucks through Paypal")? If you paid using a credit card, I would contact the cc company and try to refute the balance, although there may be a time limit since passed. I don't know if Paypal has a similar mechanism, I doubt it, but it would be worth your time to find out. Other than those suggestions, I would move on.

Based on your description of dealing with only one guy during this epic saga, it sure sounds like this is a one man business, and doesn't really fit into "this reputable shop in LA" category. How did you determine it was a reputable shop? For that matter, how did you even come up with this place as a source of leather parts for your BMW?

[nemex12]

ok, I told the guy that I started a thread and yesterday he sent me 140 which should cove rthe difference plus some of the paypal charges. the guy is Anthony Salazar, the manager of topstitch in LA and this is his webpage http://www.topstitchupholstery.net/.
I would be more than happy if you call him and ask him about everything I've told in this thread just so you hear his side of the story as he can't deny anything I've said.
I've been more than reasonable as I don't think any of you would've waited almost 5 months just to get a refund and never got to offend the manager of the shop you're dealing with.
btw, he told me he would still send the parts as a way of compensation but I won't hold my breath as I sent him a mail asking for a deadline and he didn't answer, and I obviously reckon that if he haven't make some parts that take 3 days to make in 5 months then it doesn't sound like he will make em now that he returned the money, but if he does, I will be the first to acknowledge compensation as it would make things right.
I gotta admit that the guy never lost his temper and wrote back mails in a decent manner, but what I find offensive is that he almost never wrote back-to the point that i had to send several times the same mail- and when he did, it was to give me excuses and promises that he didn't fulfill.
I know that some of you may have heard excellent things about this shop, so did I, to the point that I took my business to them eve though I'm very far away, but what I found was an experience completely different-in the worst way- to what I was expecting according to it's reputation.
yes, I think that I gave him an interest free loan and that's what gets me as although I got the money back, after 5 months I think there should be some compensation.
and yeggman, I found about this shop here in the forums as they made a very cool recaro seat which I liked so I thought I was getting the best of the best but look what I found.
edit: almost forgot, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT GUYS!!! I really appreciate it

[shakemyhand]

This guy probably does this to people all of the time, and most of the people give up and write it off as a bad experience. It's good that you were persistant, because if you had not been, he would have walked off with your money also. This guy is nothing but a low-life con artist.

[Yeggman]

He spent some money on his website. Not real current on his "blog" as the last entry is "Merry Christmas" 2011.

He may be the next "Reality Star" raking in $20K per episode. Stay tuned, and keep your money local.

[chickdr]

My guess from looking at the web site is he is spread too thin and your project was too small to get his full attention. He probably does full interiors on Bentley's for $20K and that is his area of concentration. What he should do is just tell folks with smaller jobs that he doesn't have the time.

[nemex12]

I don't think door panels that take 3 days to be made require his full attention, and I believe that in 5 months he had plenty of time to make em without affecting other projects.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

ROYAL PROCLAMATION

Let it go forth through the land, to every man, woman and child, that the evil perpetrator that hast offended Nemex is a wanted man. By Order of His Majesty the King, a bounty of 1,000 gold crowns is hereby placed on his head.

Do you think that is taking it a bit far?

Sounds good to me.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by nemex12

I don't think door panels that take 3 days to be made require his full attention, and I believe that in 5 months he had plenty of time to make em without affecting other projects.

I don't think so either, but I would bet a guy that had him do a full interior on a Bentley wouldn't have the issues you had...

[Buzz53]

You were WAY more patient than i think most would have been.