[Fjguercio]

Originally Posted by oconee offroad

The fact is that we don't have the resources, ability, or knowledge to manufacture many of these parts ourselves, and buy them from the same warehouses that 95% of the companies in this industry deal with (as was stated above). Dealing with these companies can sometimes be a pain, but a few good reps can really help any problems get handled. One thing the companies push is uniformity in their products, so when a product is modified by the customer after it is shipped out, the warehouses completely wash their hands of the part. This was this problem with the water pump mentioned earlier. To help the customer out, we kept the product and ate the original cost of the pump since Crown couldn't take it back since it was painted. I understand that you were upset with the 20% restock, but we had to at least cover our end for the modified pump. We would have been more than happy to warranty the hose if it was done within the time period, but the purchase was over a year old when he had contacted us. We try to consistently sell a premium product, but a bad part does get through occasionally. If ever a customer receives a bad part, especially one that is vital to the engine like a high-pressure hose, We recommend inspecting it before installing it. If you find any defects in the product please contact us and we will get the problem taken care of ASAP. We can also Email any invoice needed, if you still need copies of your invoices, just let us know and we'll get them over to you ASAP

Just a few comments.....

The young lady that took my calls for two orders knew nothing about parts or jeeps, she was new to company. When I asked for the man that helped me on the first order he would not take the phone, even after 5-6 requests.

I was in the market for a rebuilt 258, high performance clutch kit, carb kit, header & exhaust. That $3000 worth of parts your company did not bid on because of the way the first few orders went and poor service.

I asked for invoices several times either by email or fax and could not get them. I do not need them now. I thought then as well as now a very different way to do business.

Oconne Off Road did not want to take back the water pump.... I forced them by contacting my credit card and denied payment. But I had to take pictures and write a letter and I believe it was sent to the BBB also. 100% of the purchase price was refunded along with a few other parts that were returned at same time. AS for the black engine paint this was installed on a purchased rebuilt long block painted black at factory. What would you want me to do, paint the water pump once it is installed and spray over the professional paint job with a rattle can and get paint all over other parts. The smart way is to paint the water pump and thermostate cover prior to install.

AS for the power steering hose.... the first rebuilt engine was the wrong block too old and correct head. The block did not have the correct power steering mounts and further looks several parts are not interchangeable. Pull that one out, second engine the push rods were too long and collasped a lifter, bent a push rod, oil path problems, and a bearing failure. Sent that one back and got my money back. The THIRD engine from another supplier worked great so far. That is why there is a delay in finding the power steering failure. I do this work in my gargage takes time for me to do this level of work. As for looking at a hose for faults..... I am pretty good but not that good. Nor do I have the crimp height specs to see if they are in spec.

Five of the items purchased from your company were faulty or did not fit. Thats a lot.

But the customer service lack of knowledge, no invoices, no packing slips, no confirmations of any written type, and when I ordered many of the parts available were not on your web site. That bothered me. Then I have obvious faulty parts and you did not want to take them back.

I have been in professional industrial sales engineer for 30 yrs so I know how things go. I have been a mfg rep for 30 companies at a time, a direct sales engineer calling on users & oem's, and a sales manager calling on a group of national distributors. I know GOOD when I see it. Your company was not good when I purchased in 2007.

Sorry, but your co messed up several times several ways.

Fred

[mrk3cobra]

I placed another order last night, I have had nothing but good service.I always receive my invoice via email.

[Fjguercio]

Originally Posted by mrk3cobra

I placed another order last night, I have had nothing but good service.I always receive my invoice via email.

Thats the way it should be!!! When I ordered they did not send invoices or packing slips. Change is good, unlikely I will go back.

Regards,
Fred

I purchased about $400 of stuff

[jeepguy85]

Originally Posted by oconee offroad

I had a very good customer point me to this thread and wanted to take a few moments to respond. At Oconee Off Road/The Used Jeep, we always try our hardest to push good customer service along with competitive prices. In the industry today with mass internet commerce, too many companies have completely abandoned customer service in order to make a quick dollar. For myself, this represents more than a job for me. I have loved jeeps and 4x4 vehicles in general since the day I got my license, and spend most every weekend wheeling. As customer of many of the more "hardcore" fabrication jeep shops, I completely understand where you are coming from, but as a salesman and manager, I have the opportunity to examine both sides of the situation.

The fact is that we don't have the resources, ability, or knowledge to manufacture many of these parts ourselves, and buy them from the same warehouses that 95% of the companies in this industry deal with (as was stated above). Dealing with these companies can sometimes be a pain, but a few good reps can really help any problems get handled. One thing the companies push is uniformity in their products, so when a product is modified by the customer after it is shipped out, the warehouses completely wash their hands of the part. This was this problem with the water pump mentioned earlier. To help the customer out, we kept the product and ate the original cost of the pump since Crown couldn't take it back since it was painted. I understand that you were upset with the 20% restock, but we had to at least cover our end for the modified pump. We would have been more than happy to warranty the hose if it was done within the time period, but the purchase was over a year old when he had contacted us. We try to consistently sell a premium product, but a bad part does get through occasionally. If ever a customer receives a bad part, especially one that is vital to the engine like a high-pressure hose, We recommend inspecting it before installing it. If you find any defects in the product please contact us and we will get the problem taken care of ASAP. We can also Email any invoice needed, if you still need copies of your invoices, just let us know and we'll get them over to you ASAP

To the gentleman with the springs, I completely understand your point. There was no excuse for the bushings to take 3 additional weeks to get to you. However, this goes back to the problem of dealing with warehouses to get our product. If I remember right, the springs were actually drop shipped from Black Diamond, so when they forgot to ship the bushings, it took them a little while to get it right. There's isn't much we can do about the situation now, but if you ever need anything else, I can try to make it up to you then.

For everyone else, I ask that you at least give us a call up if there is anything else you need. If nothing else, I love talking about rigs with people (and it doesn't hurt that I make a living doing it ). We weren't checking the forum as much a few months ago because of my school schedule, but I am in the shop 6 days a week now and handle most all of the Jeep Forum, eBay, and walk in questions.

And to all of the past customers who posted up, we thank you very much for your support and good words. As much business as we have done through places like eBay, the good word from customers to customers are by far the best type of good publicity we can receive.

BTW, Clint, we got your SYE in a day earlier, it'll leave tonight, Thanks for the order!

JF Rocks!

Like I said in my previous post. You guys have done a great job and I will be back for more parts as I need them. My hat is off to you for the excellent service I have received and I will ALWAYS recommend you to other people.

[JrTjK]

All cleared up...great communication with that vendor!

[Fjguercio]

Originally Posted by j33pman

Fred-

I bought my power steering hose from NAPA, I think I had to order it for another
model for some reason, '81 scrambler I think because for some reason they didn't show it for a CJ-7

Dear J33pman,

Thanks for posting about the hose. I will ck with Napa and the other AutoZone about what they have. I will get that HD Steering Bracket and Collar Ring Support To Frame you did the write up on. Nice Job on the write up. That way I get it all done at once. I may also put a filter on the lower pressure hose & replace hose just for longevity and collect particles.

The only good part of this, I have dumped the Pump Resevour a few times so the fluid is getting changed out a few times.

I bet it is the last power steering hose that goes on my CJ7 the last one last 30 years.

Regards,
Fred

[Shrevmo]

Well I read this thread and have a couple of things to say:
First, I have never ordered anything from these guys and I have nothing to gain from this post. I did order some parts this afternoon. I got a set of Rugged Ridge Tie Rods and Drag Links. In my opinion, if the owner of this company has the balls to respond and post in a thread like this, it is obvious to me that he does care about customer service and the reputation of his business. If he is willing to air his dirty laundry about his business to his customers, he cares. It is that simple. A forum like this could ABSOLUTELY single handedly destroy any business. Negative publicity can spread faster than anything we have ever seen though the internet on interest specific forums like these. Hundreds, if not thousands of people could read things like this. The best advertisement for any business is positive word of mouth. We could ***** and complain about a purchase experience, ad more and more bad experiences to the list, and no one would use them after that. He had the guts to explain himself. The explanations may or may not have been accurate or could have been possibly an attempt to pacify his consumers, but never the less, he posted on the forum to a specific incident and is also listed as a supporting vendor.

I feel that I can say these comments having been a small business owner in service and retail for more than 10 years. No matter how hard you try, you cant please everyone! Some people don't want to be pleased either. Look at some of the eBay Powersellers. I'll bet that most of them do not have 100% positive feedback, but you would all buy from all of them. Fred, this is in no disrespect to you and I am sorry you had a bad experience. Many have posted about positive experiences from this guy and hopefully Fred's is an isolated incident. I am going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt solely because he posted a response on the forum. I have been looking at the parts I ordered for for a few weeks and these guys were by far the cheapest with parts and shipping. There are not too many companies like Summit out there. They are the BEST by far. I'm sure we have all had little experiences with different vendors, some may be more extreme than others.

The bottom line is, small businesses need US. They need us more now than ever before. Customer loyalty is fastly becoming a thing of the past. I'm sorry about the rant, but in my opinion, this guy needs to be given the benefit of the doubt. Again, Fred, this is in no respect to you. We need these kind of business to satisfy our specialty needs and they need us to buy their stuff. It should be a seamless working relationship satisfying each others needs, but sometimes the process fails and I think this guy got the point. We will soon see!!

[strkr318]

Have ordered parts several times from these guys , a few times they have been slow on the shipping, but then how often do you order something off the internet and need it right now. I feel as if they have allways treated me fairly and I've gotten a few oddball parts on the cheap.

[scottymac62]

I have ordered maybe 20 parts from oconee-offroad in the last year and have never been disappointed. They have some of the best prices out there on their items and shipping.( And that is even after paying sales tax).
I also live only 5 miles from Summit in McDonough, GA. So, between the two I have it pretty good when it comes to getting parts for my CJ at a great price.

[JeepHammer]

The VENDOR QUOTE...

Originally Posted by oconee offroad

.....One thing the companies push is uniformity in their products, so when a product is modified by the customer after it is shipped out, the warehouses completely wash their hands of the part. This was this problem with the water pump mentioned earlier. To help the customer out, we kept the product and ate the original cost of the pump since Crown couldn't take it back since it was painted. I understand that you were upset with the 20% restock, but we had to at least cover our end for the modified pump.

Having worked for the manufactures/vendors for 10 years,
Owned my own shop for over 20 years, both engine machine, Automove Repair, and Starter, Alternator, Battery, Engine Electrics,
And just having spent 13 years building one of the best name brands in race car and street rod suspensions....

WHAT I JUST HEARD WAS...

"You got a bad part, DEFECTIVE MANUFACTURE, and it was entirely the BUILDERS/REBUILDERS FAULT,"

BUT! (and this is one HEAVY BUTT!)
We aren't going to take a loss on that part, so we gouged you for our cost, plus shipping...
And since you painted it, I'm going to blame you and the manufacturer/Remanufacturer instead of going to bat for the customer."


AND, Just for the record,
NO WARRANTY IN MATERIALS OR WORKMAN SHIP WILL BE REJECTED BECAUSE OF PAINT!

A 'Time Warranty' is just that...
Paint is going to get acid peeled off when the pump goes back as 'Defective/Core' for rebuild!

I've done it a million times before, and no place has EVER said a word about paint/grease or whatever on defective returns!
-------------------------------------------------

We would have been more than happy to warranty the hose if it was done within the time period, but the purchase was over a year old when he had contacted us.

If the retailer states a 1 year warranty, and it was over a year, then the owner is just jammed with the part...

Good to know that the hoses this place is selling last less than a year!
------------------------------------------------

We try to consistently sell a premium product,

I would have to dispute that from his customers problmes and his own statements!.

Water pumps that are wrong out of the box,
Hoses that won't last a year in operation,
And he admitted that he buys from 'Discount' chains and doesn't carry anything but factory warranty on the parts...

You can either buy QUALITY, or you can sell low cost 'Import' crap...
You can't do both!
------------------------------------------------

...but a bad part does get through occasionally. If ever a customer receives a bad part, especially one that is vital to the engine like a high-pressure hose,

This is TRUE! Once in a while a bad part DOES get through, and reputable dealers will EAT the cost to keep customers happy!
If you can't build in that 'Warranty' into the price and be competitive, you are using the wrong product line or you are deaing with the wrong WD people.
-----------------------------

We recommend inspecting it before installing it. If you find any defects in the product please contact us and we will get the problem taken care of ASAP.

I recommend you inspect the products right away for a different reason....

There are just too many 'FLY BY NIGHT' places out there and they are going to palm off 'China' junk every chance they get!

Remember guys, If you get your stuff locally, it will cost a little more,
But they guy you are getting it from will STAND BEHIND his product because he won't be in business long if he doesn't!

Internet sales is a wide open market and constant stream of customers to rip off, all the while knowing that only 1 in 13 ever complain out loud!

Forums like this make 'Villages' out of specialty groups (like CJ Jeepers!) and so the 'Quick Buck' guys are FINALLY getting caught!
---------------------------------------

To the gentleman with the springs, I completely understand your point. There was no excuse for the bushings to take 3 additional weeks to get to you. However, this goes back to the problem of dealing with warehouses to get our product.

Again,
1. You can have the product in stock,
2. You can have a quality product,
3. You can have a super low price.

You can have two of any three, but you CAN NOT have all three!
Order from a STOCKING POINT OF SALE!
Costs a little more, but you don't have to beat yourself to death waiting for your products...
And you usually don't have to wonder about your money going out the window!

If your 'POINT OF SALE' can't GUARANTEE SHIPMENT IN 3 DAYS, GO SOME PLACE ELSE!
3 days because weekends/holidays get in the way sometimes....

IF a place isn't solvent enough to stock the products, then they aren't solvent enough to do business with!
No inventory means they can take your money, lock the doors and be 'Out Of Business' in about 10 minutes, and I don't want those people having my credit card information!
--------------------------------------------

Anyway...
We stock about $12 MILLION worth of parts for our kits.
We MANFACTURE most of our parts, and the parts we don't manufacture on site, we stock.

We are by no means the CHEAPEST on our particular suspension kits,

BUT!
Your order will normally ship within 24 hours,
It will all be there when you receive it, or it's on us... FREE.
No haggle warranty. If it's wrong, we'll make it right or refund 100%.
That includes shipping...
If you screw a part up that is out of warranty, or because you did something wrong, you get a discount on the replacment if you send us the broken one...
(Buy Back Failure Analysis)
Since we are proprietary and you are a good customer spending hard earned cash, you get a break on broken parts for being a LOYAL customer!

Our objective are different than just making money...
WE supply a top quality product with the best features we can build into it...

We keep 70 families comfortably employed with health insurance, dental, optical, on a true living wage.

We want to make sure that 70+ families can make mortgage payments, car payments and send kids to collage.

If we make money and have fun along the way, so much the better!
--------------------------------------------

Crapping on a customer over a $20 or less cost water pump or power steering hose has run off several customers....
To save that $25 in he had on the two parts!

Then to add insult to injury, the guy tried to blame the CUSTOMER for the manufacturing defects in both cases!

To me, that seems COUNTER PRODUCTIVE!
I'd say you all have to make up your own minds...

[firefly]

I ordered a part from them last weekend via their web site and the part arrived last week - fast and free shipping is always a good thing. I sent an email asking when the item would be shipped and within an hour they had an answer for me.

I would recommend them and would buy from them again without hesitation.
Joe in NH

[Old4X]

I have noticed an attitude many catalog/internet only business are developing, and it isn't a good one. They seem to believe it is the customer's fault for buying a defective product.

The HEI gear thing is one instance. Now these Oconee folks. And, for sure, there are more. Many of the ebay only dealers do this as well.

I just had it in with a supplier from Fla, took a broken piece put of a pristine box (ie, no shipping damage) and they refused to replace it for me. My order was over 1500 dollars, and the piece was a 56 dollar component of the assembly. My dealings sounded very similar to what the OP went through with the folks at Oconee.

When the Oconee folks said painting the WP was a modification, that statement fully supported the claim that they refused to support what they sell.

I live less than an hour from these folks, and was going to drag a large amount of my hard earned money to their shop and leave with some shiney toys, but now that ain't going to happen.

I, too, am a small business owner, and was even in the jeep business for a long time in another life. This new "screw the customer" program is a new business approach to me. I guess I didn't get the memo...........

[Fjguercio]

Kinda funny how things work... Poster #27 was trying to help out the Oconee Folks. Would have been better to let this post fade. Thread was idle for a month.

I am sorry it happened, but it did, a few times.

Fred


Just so JeepForum Folks get the idea of the work I did. Here is a pic of what I purchased and what I have now. Every fluid leaked except the rear pumpkin. All fixed except the front pinion seal. There are a few things changed in the pic so please no need to point out the hard fuel line to fender wall, need for teamrush, or the secondary bungee cord on battery. I just wanted to show the level of detail and thought put into my engine bay and upgrades.

[flips21]

Originally Posted by Fjguercio

First, there was a water pump after installed the fan pully would not clear the water pump housing. The Mtd Flange was pushed on too far--- they did not want to take back or replace. I purchased new one at NAPA worked perfect.

Took pictures of the fan pully clearing and not clearing. They wanted 20% restocking fee and I pay all shipping. I shared this with my credit card and the Better Business Bureau and sent the faulty water pump back with delivery confirmation. Charges reversed.

I ordered a Flow Cooler cast iron water pump for a '68 to '72 AMC v8 from Summit because I didn't want to use the aluminum bodied one in my '85 360. Ends up that the earlier year cast iron pump has a different pully offset by design. I fixed it by adding a shim kit.

Flips21

[Fjguercio]

Originally Posted by flips21

I ordered a Flow Cooler cast iron water pump for a '68 to '72 AMC v8 from Summit because I didn't want to use the aluminum bodied one in my '85 360. Ends up that the earlier year cast iron pump has a different pully offset by design. I fixed it by adding a shim kit.

Flips21

I was told not to shim the Fan Pully. Causes them to crack and fail. That is why I did not shim my Pully with Washers. Good idea but not recommended.

All my water pumps were cast steel.