Where to begin...
I'm currently sitting in their shop waiting for my project to be wrapped up, listening to the main number phone ring non-stop. Give them a call, they likely won't answer and when it goes to voicemail, the mailbox is full. Mind you, I live an hour away from the shop and this is my third trip here for what I was told was an "easy job".
May 30: Dropped off 4Runner bare metal rock sliders. Told 2-3 weeks for turnaround. Because they're bare metal and don't need to be media blasted, "This is an easy job."
June 18: (One week after quoted completion date) Was told they just returned from media blasting. Should be done by Friday. "Call us Thursday."
June 21: Called three times that day. No answer.
June 22: Called and actually spoke to someone about my project. "My guy did them in the wrong color. We'll have them done by Tuesday at the latest."
June 26: Called twice. No answer.
June 28: Called twice. No answer.
July 5: Showed up to shop at 8am when they opened. At this point, I resigned to the fact that I'd take them even if they were still in the wrong color. I saw the shop door open and my sliders were sitting on the ground, untouched. In fact, the UPS shipping labels were still adhered to the surface. I spoke to a really nice worker and he promised to have them back to me in one week. Asked me to call next Thursday to confirm they'd be done. I actually refused saying, "Dude, I shouldn't have to call you guys. One, you never pick up the phone and two, you should be calling the customer and giving them a status update."
July 6: I get a call from the owners son saying they're putting my sliders in the oven and they should be ready by the end of the day. I told him I couldn't get out until Monday, but I'd be there first thing in the morning.
July 9: I've been sitting in the shop for almost 2-hours now. The sliders still had not been touched. Was told they'd be ready in 30-minutes... it's been 2-hours. Apparently the owners son was confused as to what I said on the phone on Friday. I'm even more confused because I was told, "This is an easy job." Good thing I have an understanding boss because I'm going to be 3-hours late for work. I'm waiting because I can't fathom driving too and from this shop one more time.
The sad part about this story is, they do really good work... they lack a significant understanding on how to run a business, not to mention, their weak customer service. Never tell a customer "Call us"; you're the one running the business and you're the one who knows the most recent status. If you're going to commit to a date or timeframe, you call the customer if you feel you can't meet it. You're the subject matter expert, not the customer. Otherwise, they'd do the job themselves. Additionally, if you're going to say "Call us", make sure you have someone who can answer the phone or free up your voicemail so that someone can leave a voicemail for you to return the call.
I won't be coming back for any more work simply because of how exhausting this first "easy job" has been. I guess I'm just not sure what was so difficult about all of this... read more
