jimlab

More "broken promises" on shipping and delivery dates. Read about it here. Best post of the thread.

The original thread about my personal experience with Grant.

Crash Test Joey

iTrader: (1)

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Fattony

iTrader: (1)

nice I wonder who wrote that

jimlab

Winston Churchill.

TonyG2

iTrader: (2)

Man with Hinsons issues and now Granny's...what is a guy to do when he needs a subframe???

Fattony

iTrader: (1)

Pray

photopaintball

I ordered a kit
got everything in less than a week (even though he said two)
great quality, great fit.

+1 for grannys

keep in mind there are lots of good sales that go unmentioned and when a few mistakes happen its a huge deal

jimlab

I suspect you'd have a much different opinion if your transaction hadn't gone so smoothly...

We're not talking about a couple mistakes that should be swept under the rug. This has happened repeatedly over the last several years to many people. There's no excuse for lying to people about when parts have shipped, let alone what happened in my case.

SSRx7

I agree with you about lying to your customers. You and Granny's have a bad history together, and if I were You, I wouldn't deal with them anymore. But I am not you, and I have also read from many completely satisfied customers that have had absolutely no problems with Granny's.

I believe that when a confrontation arises, both parties go on the offensive and defensive. One accuses the other and things go down hill from there.

Now in a business deal, the manufacturer/dealer is selling goods and should back up his goods. But manufacturing has it's problems just like everyone else. Jimlab I read through all your posts about your dealings with Granny's and I know the history (based on what you have posted here) between you and them. I am not excusing their actions. They should hold up their end of the deal.

At the same time, I think you should lay off them, because to me it comes across as you bringing yourself down a couple of level by continually ranting about what they did to you. There are very few places where people can get kits, and from what I have read, Grant has first gen kits down to a science. Being as that he is the only one (that I know of) who sells first gen kits, your repeated complaints from him could deter would be first gen swappers.

I have read about some of your parts that you make. You yourself know that you cant completely satisfy all of your customers all of the time. If you stand by your product and keep your customers informed of any problems, and you do it all the time, then you have higher standards and will prosper.

You are correct. There is no excuse for lying to people. There is also no reason to lower yourself to someone elses standards by bringing to attention others mistakes into the spotlight. I have no problem with you giving your opinion when someone asks for it in this type of matter, but it belittles you to keep on pointing out that Grant has delivery or honesty issues.

I personally have no problem buying things from him for my first gen. I don't know that I would go to him for an LSx 2nd or 3rd gen, but who's to say. I can say that if I do, I do so knowing full well of what the risks are.

I don't mean to rant on about this, it just gets old after a while...


Later,
Bill

jimlab

Thanks to people like me posting about their experiences on forums...

And that means we should never post about problems with a vendor to inform other potential buyers... got it.

No one is forcing you to read it.

SSRx7

True. But then you start posting other's experiences, when they have already done so. If you are going to post or repeat posts that others have made, then to be fair, you have to post the positive posts that others have made as well.
You know, just to be fair....

I agree, posting problems "You" have had. When you post others problems, you may not know the whole story, even if it seems the same situation as yours.

Well, I cannot argue with this point, so I wont.

These answers are all true. It is just that I and others have already heard your views on the situations, and repitition just doesn't look good.

I am not jumping your case, just trying to point out how it comes across... kinda like Peter crying wolf: Pretty soon people just get tired of hearing the same thing and tend to ignore it as annoying.


BTW, thanks for sharing Your experiences with us. We can take that into consideration....

Later,
Bill

BlueRex

No surprises. Once a crook always a crook.

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

I had a great experience with my FB Ford parts. No complaints here.

Skele4door

I was satisfied with my Granny's purchase as well. We haven't heard a rebuttal from Grant about this, so who knows what his side of the story is. The original poster over at torquecentral gave me the impression that he tends to be a bit impatient, so I would bet Grant has an entirely different story about what happened. I would have no problem buying from Grannys again, but in the end it's up to everyone to wade through pros/cons of each kit and the good/bad reviews each manufacturer has recieved and make their own decision.

jimlab

I didn't post anyone else's experiences. I cross-linked to another forum where others had posted. It's a common practice.

The point was to make sure people reading this section saw those posts and were informed, especially after the negative posts about Grant were swept under the rug on this forum because someone like yourself had a positive experience and didn't think it was "fair" to let people know that not everyone has a positive experience when buying from Granny's...

Ever thought about how you come across? Sticking up for someone you don't know because you had one positive experience with them?

Thanks, but please keep your opinion to yourself in the future. After all, you're the one who seems to value it most...

jimlab

I'm sure it's all the buyer's fault...

All people want is honesty about when parts have shipped so their expectations are set accordingly.

If you were told that a part you ordered had shipped, wouldn't you expect to receive it relatively soon? What's the worst case scenario with USPS... a week? If that's impatience, then we're all pretty impatient in that we expect to receive what we've paid for... not be lied to about ship dates or given invalid tracking numbers.

Mike summed it up pretty well in his post. Maybe you should have read it.

http://www.torquecentral.com/showpos...1&postcount=72

Skele4door

That's certainly a possibility. Of course nobody has a log of the communications between Grant and him, so we'll never really know.

I started to make a statement about MS and their ability to meet project completion and shipment deadlines, but that would be waaayy too easy.

Yes, but a week sounds pretty optimistic. USPS ground service can be extremely slow depending on the origin and destination as well as what time of year it is. I believe all of this happened right smack in the middle of the holidays and expecting a bulky package shipped ground from a relatively remote location to get somewhere in a week isn't extremely likely.

Thanks, but I already read that and agree with most of it although some of his points were a bit exaggerated.

I'm sure that you will continue with your personal vendetta against Granny's in the future and it will cost them some business. It's not my company, so I really don't care either way. I'll continue to report my positive experience with them since I think they provide a better product than any current competitor provides for FDs.

jimlab

The customer paid... exactly what more is he supposed to do in order to expect to receive his parts in a timely manner?

Oh my, I'm sure glad you didn't go there...

I'm sure it's considerably slower when the product hasn't even been mailed yet...

True, but if you had bothered to do some background research, you would have discovered that Grant's shipping "issues" aren't limited to the holiday season.

Considering the denseness of the average Torque Central V8 forum member's head, sometimes you have to use a 10 lb. sledgehammer to drive a point home...

How does your hood fit?

theantirotor

iTrader: (1)

jimlab, you should come on back to torquecentral. your post occasionally get me a bit fired up, but the no bullshit attitude is a nice change sometimes.

Kevin T. Wyum

On the topic of mail delivery times with USPS during the holidays. Honestly this was the fastest I've ever seen them deliver. I had letters make it from Minneapolis to Texas in 2 days sent regular mail in the week prior to Christmas. There was no holiday slowdown this year.

rarson

I'm sorry, but anyone who is arguing against Jim on this one probably hasn't gotten screwed by a "reputable" shop and doesn't realize that this type of thing is ruining the hobby.

Jim is 100% correct, IMO, to complain about Granny's as much as he wants. ESPECIALLY when there's other customer complaints out there.

I was in an argument a while back on another board about Hennessey screwing people over. Another poster said that Hennessey had "changed his ways" and wasn't into screwing people anymore. Imagine that! He had a change of heart and decided to NOT steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from people anymore!

Bullshit, if someone doesn't care about their business and THEIR NAME to the point where they'd be willing to ruin it by stealing people's money, then they don't deserve a second chance! I've been around on a lot of boards... a few RX-7 boards, a few DSM boards, some V8 boards, several Honda boards... it's a rarity to NOT come across threads about at least 1 company that has screwed people out of thousands of dollars. And it's always the same story.

Sorry, no sympathy from me. In each case, there's always MULTIPLE chances for the business to make right with the customer (who is, by the way, ALWAYS RIGHT) and they miss every chance. Then invariably, after months of no contact, the shop will come onto a public forum acting like a hurt dog, like the situation was out of their control, and ask the customer for forgiveness in a lavish public display, to make it look like they're trying to make good. Well you know what? Half the time they don't even do that! And if they cared so damn much about their customer, why the hell didn't they make a phone call or send an email instead of posting to a goddamn public forum???

This treatment is ******* BULLSHIT and it's killing our hobby. Any business that intentionally screws ANYONE out of money doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, and CERTAINLY doesn't deserve any of MY money.

I don't know what's worse, the lack of care for their own business or the lack of care for the industry that they probably loved at one point.

SSRx7

I guess the only way to make everyone happy is to have them make their own parts. THat way they can only blame themselves if something goes wrong.... oh wait some people don't have the ability or capability to make their own parts, so that wont work.

So what we have to do is deal with places like Granny's and Hinson's and others because they are the only ones who make the parts somewhat readily available.

I know people like Jim have the ability and capability to do much of their own work, but most do not ( I'm talking about making parts to complete a swap).

From what I have read, there are alot of people who have had good dealings with Grant, and alot who have not had good dealings with him. Same with Hinson's and, I'm sure, any other people out there who manufacture parts to sell.

Jim has every right to post his problems with Grant. I have no objection to that. But I believe in being fair. I would think it prudent to acknowledge that alot of people have had good dealings as well.

I also believe that the company own up to their end of the deal.

But if we all do what ever we can to stop people from dealing with these companies, they will go out of business, and THAT truly will put an end to our hobby.... unless someone else is willing to spend $$$ and time to begin manufacturing the parts needed, and promise to never give a customer a bad deal....

Of course, that is just my opinion. To be fair, I owe Jim an appology. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And he has the right to voice his just as we all do.














Oh, and yes, I do value my own opinion!

Later,
Bill

rarson

Wow, you're way more patient than me. You probably haven't been screwed hardcore before, huh?

The problem is, more and more of these shop screwjobs are happening because people want to make a quick buck, and it's always the same story. If people start getting screwed every time they buy parts, they're going to throw in the towel and that'll end our hobby. If Grant goes out of business, SOMEONE will likely eventually take their place. When you can't trust ANYONE anymore because so many "reputable" shops have flown the coop and screwed people over, then how do you expect to get parts?

In my opinion, the worst part about shitty customer service is the fact that it shows the owner does not care about their business. If they don't even care about their goddamn livelihood, what in the hell makes you think they'll care about yours when you're using their parts to do an engine swap and drive the car around? Better yet, why would they deserve your money when they obviously only care about how much they're bringing in at the end of the day?

I don't like to give my money to thieves, liars, and con artists.

SSRx7

Well, actually, I have been screwed over, and mostly because I am very trusting of people. I guess I have always been the type that I trust you until you screw me. You know, first time, bad on you, 2nd time bad on me.

I think that alot of times small business owners have business that gets away from them- in other words, they get so much because customers like the product, but end up in a position where they get behind because of so many orders. Then, either because they don't have the capital, manpower, time, poor planning, or any number of other reasons, it snowballs into something they have a hard time controlling or just lose control altogether.

They may have started out, wanting to provide a honest business, but when the avalanche catches them, they end up stuck between a vise and a hard customer. THen as customers become impatiant (understandably) the business deals sour and then it becomes a downward spiral unless the business regathers and gets things back on the up and up.


Anytime you do business with someone - Anyone, for that matter- there is a certain amount of trust/ expectation. What seems to be happening more and more is that small business has a hard time on standing by their customers when they have more on the table than they can deal with.

That being said, there are many business's out there that ARE only in it for the buck and could care less about what happens once the product is out the door.

We were building an s-10 a few years ago and we decided to buy a crate motor from a local "performance engine shop". They had a very clean shop where you could see the whole engine building process. You could watch them dyno your engine. It all looked great.
These people were the most helpful and answered every question we had. We were having them build a vortec head 383 stroker. We got the motor home and ran into our first problem. We were running a serpentine belt system and needed a reverse rotation water pump. The one that came with the engine was a normal rotation set up for v belts. When we called them about it, they said we could buy a new one but could not exchange it because the one that came with it was "used". The only place it had been used was on their dyno. THings went way down hill after that. We had the engine running for about a week and the thrust bearings went bad. Turned out the crank was not machined properly. We brought it back and they said they would have it done in a week. 4 and a half months later, we finally get it back after threatening to get lawyers involved. We had it in the truck for about a month, breaking it in according to the shops specs. Then the rings in #5 cylinder broke and gouged the cylinder. THe shop refused to fix it, because they said it was out of warrantee. The warrantee period was used up even while the engine was in their shop being fixed.
We cut and run. Took it to another shop who repaired it (had to sleeve the cylinder) and went through the whole engine. We put it in the truck and it is still running several years later.
The only reason we had decided to go with a shop built motor in the first place is because we originally figured it would be more cost effective and, "It came with a warantee." Up until then we always build our own motors, just have the machine work done by a local machine shop. Never had a problem that we couldn't overcome. Lesson learned.

I have talked to alot of people since then who have had great experiece with this company. I have talked to a few who have had about the same as we did. For me, I will never go back to them. Those who had good luck with them, I'm sure they will continue to go back to them.

To me it seems that it is pretty much the way it goes, especialy when it comes to modifying cars. We are dealing with small companies here compared to big dealers like Summit, Jegs, etc. Lots of variables involved.

Like I said, I'll trust them, until they screw me. So far I am about 80/20 on the positive to negative scale. One thing I learned is that I only go to these places when I just cant do it myself.

Sorry for the long post. And I don't mean to make anyone angry. Just being conversational (meaning I type to much. lol)

Later,
Bill

rarson

I agree that there have been a lot of snowballing small businesses, but the problem in EVERY case is communication. MOST people, probably Jim included, would be very understanding of a shop having trouble meeting their orders. I know I would. In fact, there's nothing much short of "We lost/stole/burned your money" that would get me upset enough to complain about a vendor. The problem is that these shops, good intentions or not, almost NEVER let the customer in on what's going on.

I can understand trying to focus on fixing your business, but your customers ARE your business.

I've gotten screwed for trusting people as well, mostly on ebay. But vendors that screw people just **** me off because that's not how you run a business. And it seems like more and more of them start these businesses just to make a quick buck and then run. I know of one person in particular that is on like their 5th business.