Lack of Communications from RB Oriented Shops

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

* PLEASE MOVE IF THIS ISN'T THE CORRECT SUB-FORUM*

Is it common to get ghosted by build/fab shops?? Anyone have the same experience??

I ordered a RB30 short block from one place and a radiator/shroud/fan setup from another shop (Well-known shops is Australia). I ordered both last September. I initially didn't get a lead time estimate when I ordered. However, I knew that the completion would take a while, given the traffic of these shops.

I decided to follow up with both shop and get an ETA on completion. Neither shop has responded to emails (I rather have emails for a documentation). I'm fairly patient, but lack of comms is worries me a bit.

Something I don't quite understand but may be a normal occurrence with shops.

[Duncan]

I'd be pissed if I hadn't heard back in 6 months. I know shops get busy so they don't want to spend all day explaining why they have let you down over and over, but a response is not hard, even if it is just an email at the end of the day.

Time to walk into the shop, or in you case get someone in country to do so.

And speaking of which, can you walk into your local AMP dealer and order me a set of arms for Titan King Cab Power Steps? I've been waiting 6 months.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

1 minute ago, Duncan said:

I'd be pissed if I hadn't heard back in 6 months. I know shops get busy so they don't want to spend all day explaining why they have let you down over and over, but a response is not hard, even if it is just an email at the end of the day.

Time to walk into the shop, or in you case get someone in country to do so.

And speaking of which, can you walk into your local AMP dealer and order me a set of arms for Titan King Cab Power Steps? I've been waiting 6 months.

Damn! those steps are fancy. I believe there's a dealer close to me actually. I'll give them a call. Did you order from AMP Research directly??

So I'm fairly patient, but considering I've wired out thousands just to have no comms after that really ticks me off. I'm not on hold for the parts as I'm spraying my car, but I do expect a reply.

I've only emailed both parties the end of last month and this week, so I dont think I'm being a pest. Shit, one of the places I even asked to add a Tee and hoodie to my order lol.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Let me guess, is does it start with a H and end with an e? 

Big issues with that lot when it comes to retail customers. Unless you're a big shop, you'll be forgotten about. Someone on IG I talk to had enough, and rocked up unannounced and was ready to crack it but the owner's wife was there, defused the situation and they grabbed the things he needed off the shelf and gave it to him (probably destined for a shop, etc.).

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

Just now, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Let me guess, is does it start with a H and end with an e? 

Big issues with that lot when it comes to retail customers. Unless you're a big shop, you'll be forgotten about. Someone on IG I talk to had enough, and rocked up unannounced and was ready to crack it but the owner's wife was there and they grabbed the things he needed off the shelf and gave it to him (probably destined for a shop, etc.).

lol Yup one of em. The other starts with a D and ends with E.

And I have given the thought that these shops don't care really outside of doing work for their friends or a race team.

whats wild is these shops seem to post on IG regularly.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Maybe try hit up that shop that starts with D ends with E on IG DMs.

Might be an easier way to make contact?

 

Any chance you can just cancel your H e order? Then just hit up Ben from Third Strike Fabrication and get him to make you exactly what you tried to order. He used to work there.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

Just now, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Maybe try hit up that shop that starts with D ends with E on IG DMs.

Might be an easier way to make contact?

 

Any chance you can just cancel your H e order? Then just hit up Ben from Third Strike Fabrication and get him to make you exactly what you tried to order. He used to work there.

I just sent both messages on FB. I'll try IG next.

I wired money over so that has complicated getting my money back.

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Good luck mate, hope you're able to get a response and your parts.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

Just now, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Good luck mate, hope you're able to get a response and your parts.

Same. Thank you!

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

20 hours ago, Duncan said:

And speaking of which, can you walk into your local AMP dealer and order me a set of arms for Titan King Cab Power Steps? I've been waiting 6 months.

No go on the steps. called couple shop close to me. Neither had them and one shop said that AMP didnt have any for the King Cab. One called me back and said AMP has 17-18 XD steps but are backordered w/ not date.

[Kinkstaah]

Generally yes though. Modified car shops are run a-w-f-u-l-l-y.

This is the prime reason why these cars are often (by far the majority) modified by their owners.

The truth is they don't employ anyone to really run the business side of things, they just do the work in their respective factories, on their own time. They are able to do this, because there is no pressure to improve, and they have an incredible backlog of work to get through, because their services are still in demand.

If a workshop appeared that had high throughput, high quality, and good communications, such a workshop would absolutely clean house. I've been stunned for the last decade and a half as to how this hasn't occurred. I suppose at the end of the day these are very small businesses all round, and perhaps owners/operators do not want pesky things like wages cutting into their profits.

There is no reason it should take months to a year to build an engine.
But it does, because... see above.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

1 minute ago, Kinkstaah said:

Generally yes though. Modified car shops are run a-w-f-u-l-l-y.

This is the prime reason why these cars are often (by far the majority) modified by their owners.

The truth is they don't employ anyone to really run the business side of things, they just do the work in their respective factories, on their own time. They are able to do this, because there is no pressure to improve, and they have an incredible backlog of work to get through, because their services are still in demand.

If a workshop appeared that had high throughput, high quality, and good communications, such a workshop would absolutely clean house. I've been stunned for the last decade and a half as to how this hasn't occurred. I suppose at the end of the day these are very small businesses all round, and perhaps owners/operators do not want pesky things like wages cutting into their profits.

Agreed. These guys really run on "island time" I suppose.

I work on military aircrafts and having the proper info to up-channeled in a timely manner is part of my everyday. I cant imagine leaving customers in the dark about something they paid thousands for.

Someone organized who can work Excel and emails is much needed at these shops it seems.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

So D_____E replied to me on IG. Said they replied to me via email but I think they thought I was someone else. I did not receive an email ( they are a safe sender so I should have received it). The Nitto stroker rods were backordered and were receive late Feb. Found a good block for 1000hp and everything is currently in queue at the the machine shop. So now i'm expecting 2-3 months from now.... hopefully.

H______E replied to IG msg. Stated they did not receive any emails from me ( sent an email to their main sales email and directly to the manager who I initially put my order through). They asked for the invoice number and Im currently awaiting a reply for status.

[GTSBoy]

Following on from what Greg said above, I know (very well) someone who runs a modified car workshop. He is a one man band with a single employee. OK, so not a one man band, but that's it. Just him and the offsider. They do significant builds, repairs to modded cars, repairs and service work to normal cars, tradies' vehicles, courier vans. You name it they do it. So it is a really mixed business model with lots of distractions from emergency breakdown repairs etc.

He's very good at everything he does, but just like all the other small business examples being discussed here, he's also got to do the invoicing and parts sourcing and pay the operational bills and keep on top of all the other administrivia, plan and do builds, plan and do scheduling of all the work, manage the helper, interface with the customers, etc etc. And it is that last one that can cause the most problems. You have timewasters who want to come in and shoot the shit. Maybe there will be work come out of it, maybe there won't. You have customers who bring in a car and a large armful of parts and leave it there saying, "the last part will be in in 2 days" and then you don't see or hear from them again for 3 weeks. Meanwhile the car is dismantled on the hoist, paralysed and immovable, waiting for that last part. Or they run out of money 3/4 of the way through a build and the car occupies a back corner of the workshop for months or years. Or they are dipshits who did something wrong while putting the car back together before it comes in for a dyno session and something significant breaks on the dyno and they crack the shits. There's a million different versions of all of these and more. Customers cause a lot of the problems. If you have any of that and you also have a business owner with his own organisational ability challenges, then it's a recipe for delays and poor communication. You might ring a shop and the guy has just got back under a car for the first time that day at 3PM because of all the deadshits who have interfered with him getting anything done, and he just ignores the phone because it will stop ringing before he gets to it and then he'll have to play phone tag. He'd just rather actually get something done for a change.

I'm very specifically not talking about the guys who end up behaving as if they were scammers because the whole house of cards is falling down around them and they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, borrowing from the future, etc.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

3 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

Following on from what Greg said above, I know (very well) someone who runs a modified car workshop. He is a one man band with a single employee. OK, so not a one man band, but that's it. Just him and the offsider. They do significant builds, repairs to modded cars, repairs and service work to normal cars, tradies' vehicles, courier vans. You name it they do it. So it is a really mixed business model with lots of distractions from emergency breakdown repairs etc.

He's very good at everything he does, but just like all the other small business examples being discussed here, he's also got to do the invoicing and parts sourcing and pay the operational bills and keep on top of all the other administrivia, plan and do builds, plan and do scheduling of all the work, manage the helper, interface with the customers, etc etc. And it is that last one that can cause the most problems. You have timewasters who want to come in and shoot the shit. Maybe there will be work come out of it, maybe there won't. You have customers who bring in a car and a large armful of parts and leave it there saying, "the last part will be in in 2 days" and then you don't see or hear from them again for 3 weeks. Meanwhile the car is dismantled on the hoist, paralysed and immovable, waiting for that last part. Or they run out of money 3/4 of the way through a build and the car occupies a back corner of the workshop for months or years. Or they are dipshits who did something wrong while putting the car back together before it comes in for a dyno session and something significant breaks on the dyno and they crack the shits. There's a million different versions of all of these and more. Customers cause a lot of the problems. If you have any of that and you also have a business owner with his own organisational ability challenges, then it's a recipe for delays and poor communication. You might ring a shop and the guy has just got back under a car for the first time that day at 3PM because of all the deadshits who have interfered with him getting anything done, and he just ignores the phone because it will stop ringing before he gets to it and then he'll have to play phone tag. He'd just rather actually get something done for a change.

I'm very specifically not talking about the guys who end up behaving as if they were scammers because the whole house of cards is falling down around them and they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, borrowing from the future, etc.

Admin is the last thing knuckle-draggers will truly want to handle. I have to do some sort of documentation, computer work on top of corralling a bunch of workers all night. its a PITA. the "just leave me along so i can work" thing is very real

For the hobby/custom mod world, its fun and these guys love doing what they do. kids in a sandbox having a ball really. however, admin portion is something that shouldnt be lost even in the automotive industry that we hobby around. It almost seems like big shops may feel as if they're the only game in town, so why would they really care to be administratively competent (refer to the famous Field of Dreams quote)

I think small shops are more susceptible to what you described mainly cause of the manpower to workload ratio.

Customers running thru a shop and sending inquiries of builds they dont have money for. it will get old to a shop for sure. the balance of business/friends has to be maintained.

I'm hella patient and even now im not pissed at the shops. I just more hate the information limbo. I make a point to not be a pest so when i do reach out (though i shouldnt have to) I expect timely comms. shouldnt take a multiple emails/msgs on various platforms to get answers. idk

hiring someone even part time would make a difference

[MBS206]

11 hours ago, SLVRBAKSLPZ said:

Admin is the last thing knuckle-draggers will truly want to handle. I have to do some sort of documentation, computer work on top of corralling a bunch of workers all night. its a PITA. the "just leave me along so i can work" thing is very real

For the hobby/custom mod world, its fun and these guys love doing what they do. kids in a sandbox having a ball really. however, admin portion is something that shouldnt be lost even in the automotive industry that we hobby around. It almost seems like big shops may feel as if they're the only game in town, so why would they really care to be administratively competent (refer to the famous Field of Dreams quote)

I think small shops are more susceptible to what you described mainly cause of the manpower to workload ratio.

Customers running thru a shop and sending inquiries of builds they dont have money for. it will get old to a shop for sure. the balance of business/friends has to be maintained.

I'm hella patient and even now im not pissed at the shops. I just more hate the information limbo. I make a point to not be a pest so when i do reach out (though i shouldnt have to) I expect timely comms. shouldnt take a multiple emails/msgs on various platforms to get answers. idk

hiring someone even part time would make a difference

One of the biggest problems for these shops to grow, is the boss is the one who knows how to do it all. Finding someone who is even remotely competent, and wanting to work, is half the problem as to why they don't hire people. Especially in Australia, where for years the mentality was pushed that you couldn't earn a dollar unless you went to Uni. So everyone went to Uni, and all the dumb shots went into trades. Now the pickings for GOOD young trades people is quite slim.

 

I met a group of 16 to 21 year Olds, wanting to become boiler makers and fabricators.

Don't worry about teaching them the 3,4,5 rule, these guys don't even know how to read a tape measure...

 

They were some of the "best" applicants for the course...

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

14 hours ago, SLVRBAKSLPZ said:

So D_____E replied to me on IG. Said they replied to me via email but I think they thought I was someone else. I did not receive an email ( they are a safe sender so I should have received it). The Nitto stroker rods were backordered and were receive late Feb. Found a good block for 1000hp and everything is currently in queue at the the machine shop. So now i'm expecting 2-3 months from now.... hopefully.

H______E replied to IG msg. Stated they did not receive any emails from me ( sent an email to their main sales email and directly to the manager who I initially put my order through). They asked for the invoice number and Im currently awaiting a reply for status.

I have a correction on this. a bit twisted up from playing musical chairs with these ppl.

I didnt get a reply from H___E on IG, only D___E. H___E has not read the message that was send Weds @ 934pm (count those hrs up). I sent H____E another email with a New subject with my invoice number, Thursday night my time, which was afternoon their time.

[SLVRBAKSLPZ]

2 hours ago, MBS206 said:

One of the biggest problems for these shops to grow, is the boss is the one who knows how to do it all. Finding someone who is even remotely competent, and wanting to work, is half the problem as to why they don't hire people. Especially in Australia, where for years the mentality was pushed that you couldn't earn a dollar unless you went to Uni. So everyone went to Uni, and all the dumb shots went into trades. Now the pickings for GOOD young trades people is quite slim.

 

I met a group of 16 to 21 year Olds, wanting to become boiler makers and fabricators.

Don't worry about teaching them the 3,4,5 rule, these guys don't even know how to read a tape measure...

 

They were some of the "best" applicants for the course...

Sounds like the mechanical minds are few and far between. young ppl are too busy trying to be Tik Tok famous i guess.

this problem of finding good ppl is universal. I'm in the US Air Force and maintain B-2 bombers. We get young guys who basically got tricked into being maintenance by their recruiter. No ounce of mechanic in alot of them.

Oh yeah we went to the air base outside of Brisbane not too long ago!

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

5 hours ago, SLVRBAKSLPZ said:

too busy trying to be Tik Tok famous i guess

Need a good TikTok dance before changing a flat tyre.

[joshuaho96]

10 hours ago, MBS206 said:

One of the biggest problems for these shops to grow, is the boss is the one who knows how to do it all. Finding someone who is even remotely competent, and wanting to work, is half the problem as to why they don't hire people. Especially in Australia, where for years the mentality was pushed that you couldn't earn a dollar unless you went to Uni. So everyone went to Uni, and all the dumb shots went into trades. Now the pickings for GOOD young trades people is quite slim.

 

I met a group of 16 to 21 year Olds, wanting to become boiler makers and fabricators.

Don't worry about teaching them the 3,4,5 rule, these guys don't even know how to read a tape measure...

 

They were some of the "best" applicants for the course...

Even if you have a passing interest in this stuff you need to make a big effort to learn about it on your own these days. Uni will not teach you anything practical. Even the mechanical engineers interested in engine calibration/combustion spent their days learning the thermo diagrams but not much else. Zero time spent actually figuring out what any of that translates to in reality. It's a weird world where the information is more available than ever but seemingly none of it is used.