What happened to customer service?

[AClayton]

I know what you mean; I get do you want to cancel the order a lot also. They know your truck is dead in the water and you need the parts so there is little chance that you will cancel.



I notice you did not mention who the vendor was, why not? They gave you crappy service and I think we should all avoid doing business with them. That is the only way it will stop. I know that sometimes it is a personality problem with one person, but if more people have problems with the company we can do something about it by not doing business with them.



What about a list of "Companies to Avoid" we could all input to the list and actually make an impact on a company. For me, it would make me feel like I was at least doing something. Does anyone know how we would do it? Would anyone be interested in starting a list? It would feel so nice to be able to do something besides just vent. Would it be legal?



Paul

The Company has great respect on this forum and I personally want to keep it that way. It sucks that it takes this long to get what we paid for,BUT,it is also good to know that this said company is busy doing business with 3 other TDR members BEFORE me.



Alan

 

[Harlacher]

How do we fix it then? Sounds like they put out a great product, but customer service is as important to me as the product. Why can't they do both? As far as I am concerned when they said "do you want to cancel the order?", they pretty much told you to go jump off a cliff if you didn't like the service. If there are two other TDR members in the que before you that is $18,000 worth of power if you all get together. Can the company afford to tell all three of you to jump off a cliff?

 

[AClayton]

How do we fix it then? Sounds like they put out a great product, but customer service is as important to me as the product. Why can't they do both? As far as I am concerned when they said "do you want to cancel the order?", they pretty much told you to go jump off a cliff if you didn't like the service. If there are two other TDR members in the que before you that is $18,000 worth of power if you all get together. Can the company afford to tell all three of you to jump off a cliff?

Very good points and I know what you are saying. TDR and other websites have really trashed other Companies and whether they deserve it or not we all have to be cordial adults and consider every possible deterrent and make an informed decision. I have done that and am NOT going to trash a reputable co. just for a lack of phone calls. And although a phone call is easy and responsible good business practice,It is not worth the bashing and easily hundreds,if not thousands of people these sites can reach with negative results. If repeated business is done with this practice,the word gets out and although slower,the damaging results will at least spawn a change in administative behavior..... BEFORE actually losing work and ultimately going out of business. With the economy as it is,we as CTD owners would surely miss the products and service this Co. provides and I would sure hate to see another business go down the tubes.



Besides... . many Companies are doing more with less in a conscience effort to remain in business. That COULD very well be the case in this example..... I don't know for certain and just speculating,but,I am going to give this company a break for now.



Alan

 

[Wiredawg]

All,



Here is my Cummins story: I wanted to get a Fleetguard replacement water/fuel separator and fuel filter for my FASS and called Southerb Plains Cummins to see if they had them in stock. The sales rep said no so I ordered them. He said two weeks, since they just received their shipment. Two weeks later, I called to see if they had come in and a different rep said they no longer stock those items and if I wanted them, I would have to purchase a case of them both. I told him no thanks and placed an order to Genos. No more business for me for Cummins except for parts. I will purchase filters, belts from Genos from now on and I'll find replacement Fleetguard coolant as soon as the three cases I have are gone. Sad to see this happen.



But, on the upside, I'm happy to spend my money at Genos and the more replacement parts/fluids they offer, the more I will do business w/ them.



Take care all, and be sure to recognize and spread the word about good service when you experience it.



Wiredawg

 

[HBarlow]

Amen to that. I've experienced similar terrible service from the Cummins store in Amarillo from both the parts and service departments.

Geno's treats me like a welcome family member when I call or e-mail.

As Wiredawg said, the more "stuff" Geno's sells the better I like it.

 

[seafish]

The folks at Genos help you out both cummin AND going!!!

Also, as far as I can tell, their list prices across the board, are better then most places discounted prices.

 

[rbattelle]

Okay, here's my Cummins store story:

In 2004 I had the local Cummins shop swap out my coolant. I specifically ordered Fleetguard Compleat Ethylene Glycol, in advance. Scheduled the service weeks in advance.

At a cost of over $400 they did the shadetree drain/fill with water/drive/repeat and filled it with Propylene Glycol. I waited over 4 hours for them to finish. When I went to look at the truck after the job was "done" the overflow reservoir was completely full of the old coolant (different color). Another 2 hours of waiting around for them to drain and refill the reservoir.

When I pointed out that they had not only put the wrong coolant in but they also failed to completely flush the system, they looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. They made absolutely no offer to make good on any of it.

I've never been back.

Geno's once sent me the wrong leather steering wheel cover. Overnighted a new one to me at no charge, apologized, and all was well. Even told me I could keep the wrong one if I wanted (I didn't).

Ryan

 

[vsimkus]

To some degree, I can sympathize with the Cummins shop - the time and effort to press the bearing shouldn't come free. I read somewhere recently that the best way to make an enemy is to suggest his time and labor are worthless.



On the other hand, I agree with you, Vic, that $100 and an hour labor is a bit excessive (I'm assuming the job is a genuine 5-minute press). $5 or $10 sounds like a more reasonable fee.



Vic, you mentioned one thing I find interesting: they said they no longer have a machine shop. I believe that's indicative of a systemic problem with our educational system, which emphasizes college degrees and "tech" jobs to the near total exclusion of vocational work (mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, machinists, etc). It may very well be that it's not the case that the shop doesn't want a machine shop, but rather that there aren't enough qualified applicants for such a job.



It's also possible that there aren't any low-paid apprentices in the shop capable of pressing a bearing. Pressing a bearing is a simple task to anyone who's taken the time to learn, but it seems like the new class of mechanics are often parts-changers who may not feel comfortable doing the job. So a higher-paid old-timer has to come off a big-money job to take care of it.



Ryan

I'm not expecting anything for free; not my style. But at the same time I'd like to think that with all the money that I've dropped at the place, off the top of my head: pre-filter/heater assembly, lift-pump, water pump, fan bearing, countless bolts, gaskets and misc. crap like Cummins hats, that I would get better service then a guy walking off the street. This job should have been "beer money" territory. Again, we're talking about pressing a bearing in/out of a casting; a 5 minute job, especially for a Cummins shop.



And you're right - this (and may other examples) are symptoms of a systemic problem. It's sad to think that some random village in China probably has more experienced machinists then Chicago.



The upside of all this is that I'm now an owner of a 12 ton press No more begging to have my bearings pressed for this guy!



Vic

 

[Harlacher]

"I" think taking the positive approach and saying what is good about a company like Genos is affective. I also agree with Cooper's method. However, it is my belief that if we do not bring out the bad points in a company they continues to do business until their customer service is so bad they have to close the doors.



It sounds like the Cadillac dealership was a good dealership with bad salespeolpe, they were fired and the Cadillac dealership is probably still there. Someone took action. How many other customers left because of bad service?



General Motors is going out of business today because the Government intervened, allowing them to continue their bad service until it was too late to turn it around.



This country was known for quality products and service, now we accept anything because we don't want to hurt anyone. The company that is building the good transmissions needs a wakeup call. If they don't get it they will eventually go down the tubes. We do business with them and we have a voice at the TDR, we should be able to say we like your product but your customer service sucks. After all, for most of us, customer service is nothing more than communications. A phone call, explaining the delay; answers to questions; my best mechanic quit, I will not put out an inferior product so I have to train another one to do it my way, is fine with me and I am sure most others on this site. Even, hey I am moving as fast as I can and still do it right. You will have it in three days and not get it for two weeks is not.



I am more than willing to wait and pay more for a quality product. I am not willing to give my money to someone who treats me like dirt no matter what kind of product he produces.



Genos is a great company, I like to spend my money with them, BD has always treated me right, and they always get my business. Many other companies do good work and they are a pleasure to work with. Times are hard and the company that continues to produce good products and "service" will be here when things turn around, the other ones do not deserve to be. Allowing a company to continue bad service is a disservice to us and to them.



Just my opinion, not right or wrong because it is just that, an opinion.



Paul

 

[pullya]

I hope that businesses will learn that competition is so great these days that the only thing that seperates the good from the bad is service. The ones with good service will be around for a long time and the ones with bad service will probably be looking for a bail out. I also believe that we as customers should tell businesses when they have done an excellent job but we also should tell them when they have dropped the ball. I believe we should also tell each other (realizing that there is always three sides to every story. )

Jay