I placed an order on 7.6.2007 for an HKS Hi-Power exhaust for my tC at 8:46am EDT. I received an email confirmation receipt that had a link in to so I could check the status of my order. Well, the weekend goes by and there is no order status update. As a side not, Stripper holds hours M-F 9-5 and Sat. 11-2. I figure ok, it’s the weekend, not much would've happened, but give it a day or two and you'll see and update.

Well Monday and Tuesday go by with nothing. I sent an email to their sales@strippermotorsports.com email address Tuesday night after work and received no response. I tried calling Wednesday but got a modem/fax tone. Later that night, I sent them a message here on SL since I heard about their sale in the Sponsored Sales Section and I explained my situation and that I would like to get an order status update. I get a response very promptly the next morning stating that they had dropped shipped it from the manufacturer to me and that they would call the manufacturer to get me a tracking number. The apologized for missing them email, attributing it to the 4th of July holiday leaving them with limited staff (even though I sent the email on the 10th).

So the day goes by and I receive no further messages from them about the tracking number. I figure maybe they updated the status page I have a link to so I checked that but nothing had changed. So I said a PM thanking them for responding, asking when they expected to get me a tracking number and if they knew when the item had been shipped. Once again, promptly, I received an email on the 13th stating they would have a tracking number for me that day and once again, the day ends with no further messaging. The following day, Saturday the 14th, I send a message asking if that had a tracking number for me. I received no response (and have yet to at time of this post) however, I know they read the message because it was moved from my Outbox to my Sentbox.

So I let the weekend pass and hope that Monday I will hear something but again, I recieve no communication from them. I send them another PM asking about the tracking number; however it still sits in my Outbox waiting to be read. Finally, I sent a message on the 20th, a full 14 days after placing the order, asking them to please send me an update on the status of my order. This message also sits in my outbox waiting.

I know money has been taken out of my account for the payment and yet I am here without my merchandise and feeling very upset from the lack of customer service. I know people will say I should call them and I will be doing that come Monday (it is hard for me to get time to call about this while at work during the day). If anyone from Stripper does read this, please response to my messages and let me know where my exhaust is.

 

Welcome to the world dealing with drop shipments. Calling is the best bet though. After dealing with email and pm's with no response.... pick up the phone instead of doing it again.

I waited 2 months for a gauge pod that was drop shipped with another company....sometimes it happens.

 

If that is the case, then they should've been upfront with me about it and not stopped communicating. Also, instead of say on their website Usually ships in 24-48 hours, they should mention something about it being drop shipped and it could take forever to recieve.

 

I guess for you they could have really stepped up the communication. I never rely on internet based sales companies for parts because it of drop shipping/back order delays.

 

i deal with drop shipping every day at my work. never have any problems....

your problem is you're dealing with a two-bit amateur online parts distributor thats probably run by a bunch of pot smoking crackheads.

 

whooops wrong thread.

 

if youve never had problems with dropshipping, then youve never used dropshipping.

stripper motorsports is local to me and one of my sponsors. i stop by their shop on a regular basis. at least they HAVE a shop, unlike most internet part "companies" who sell stuff out of their basement. i am in no way condoning the fact that they did not return your emails, thats wrong. i know that they have had some staffing changes recently, again, not an excuse. i get parts from them all the time, sometimes they come fast, other times they come slow. i can tell you that i have personally witnessed a manufactor, who was drop shipping something for them, straight up lie to them and say that it has been shipped. when asked for a tracking number, they would say that they would email it to them, and never did. again, thats not an excuse for not keeping you informed of the situation with your parts. did you ever get your exhaust? they really are a good group of guys and they are constintly trying to get people their parts as fast as they can. sometimes crap happens and emails fall through the crack. best bet is to phone them, their number is on their site. if they say that they will call yoou back and dont, blow a call into them again. i know for a fact that their phone is usually ringing off the hook for most of the day. while i have no experience in call taking and selling parts, im sure there is a human error element involved in forgeting to call you back. as a rule of thumb, i always found it best to innitiate the contact, and to keep calling if i have questios or concerns.

 

Here is the update/outcome of my situation:

StripperMotorsports got back to me on the 23rd saying they had resolved whatever had gone wrong and that my exhaust would arrive on the 24th. Sure enough, the 24th came and a big ol' box was waiting for me. I don't exactly what happened that caused it to take so long. Could've been normal dropshipping timeframe or something else. SM gave me an in store credit for my trouble which I thought was very stellar of them. The exhuast did have a missing support bracket which creates the 3rd mounting point for the exhaust, but that is either HKS's fault for not putting it in there or something happened during shipping. I place no owness for that error on SM and they are currently in the process of contacting HKS to get one shipped out to me.

I am not going to let this experience tarnish my impressions of StripperMotorsports because in they end they corrected errors and made up for it in a big way. I know first impressions are always lasting, but I also believe in second glances beyond what we first see.

 

glad to see you got it handled

 

Its been 3 months and they still have yet to get back to me on what their going to do with my defective window visors......

 

did you call them on the phone?

 

3 times no answer. Emailed, pmed, and ignored on AIM

 

cant u file a report

 

Too late.... Cmec2004 can vouch for me we have done business with me and I have over 100 Scion specific purchases.

 

Yes ill vouch for ya ur def not lyin on this one if someone messsed u over. Boise is a good guy and def follows through with everything he buys

 

i will bring this up to him the next time i see him and see if i can help you get something resolved

 

Hey thanks, It was just a set of window visors. I was supposed to do a test fit and follow up on how they worked. They didnt fit at all, I had to do cutting, trimming, and in the end the back one snapped when I rolled up the window. I explained all this to him and have not yet heard back from him.

It was a measly $40 bucks but still a bad experience

 

what brand were they? ill be seeing him tonight and ill bring it up

 

Dont even remember, threw them away after waiting 4 weeks for a reply

 

i just thought it might help if i knew what brand they were, no biggie though. ill see what i can find out.