Ames Perf

[yaycobain]

Just got my lemans out of the body shop. I was thrilled to have it back, ordered the new black vinyl top and brand new door handles from Ames on Wednesday night, had them overnight it for $30 to me at my job so I could start putting the car together this weekend. This morning the box showed up at my office, vinyl top looked great, popped the door handle boxes open to see how nice they looked, and of course, the first one I opened had a handle with pits in it.

Called Ames, got told it's not a common problem and I should send the handles back and they wouldnt send any until recieving mine back. Guess I have to either get stuck with a handle that is as pitted as my original 71 passenger side was, or send them back and drive around for 2 weeks without any on the car.

Good thing I paid that $30 to overnight them....

Never ordering from Ames again, wish I ordered from PY.

[yaycobain]

Just got my lemans out of the body shop. I was thrilled to have it back, ordered the new black vinyl top and brand new door handles from Ames on Wednesday night, had them overnight it for $30 to me at my job so I could start putting the car together this weekend. This morning the box showed up at my office, vinyl top looked great, popped the door handle boxes open to see how nice they looked, and of course, the first one I opened had a handle with pits in it.

Called Ames, got told it's not a common problem and I should send the handles back and they wouldnt send any until recieving mine back. Guess I have to either get stuck with a handle that is as pitted as my original 71 passenger side was, or send them back and drive around for 2 weeks without any on the car.

Good thing I paid that $30 to overnight them....

Never ordering from Ames again, wish I ordered from PY.

[Ccass]

YA, I know how frustrating that is to pay for something specially rushed and then come up short. However, I have to say that this is a major problem area for all vendors supplying the Pontiac hobby and mail order in general. This policy is pretty standard with mail order. We try to triple check all Air shipments but because of how busy everyone is, you just can't check every single item. Did Ames offer to allow you to purchase another set immediately and then you guys could sort out the re-imbursement of shipping after they got your bad handle back and inspected it? Normally, that is the way we would take care of an urgent situation. Even if you buy another at that point, the return would be credited before you got a statement and the charge and credit would then cancel. I think that's fair. What if you got an item at Wal-mart put it on your car and found out it was defective. Could you go back to Wal-mart without the part and ask for a free one and then offer to bring the defective one back later?.... Again, I really feel for ya'. It's Spring and the weather is getting nice and it's time to have fun, not wait to exchange inferior parts. But sh&^ happens. The key is to establish a relationship with your supplier and make it work for both of you.

Wanted:
Mutually beneficial relationships with Classic Pontiac Owners. smile.gif

[ May 31, 2002, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: Ccass ]

[61man]

Amen on establishing a relationship, I have had a good relationship with several vendors and almost always get treated better because of it!!!

[ddouble]

yaycobain,
Like Ccass says kaakaa happens. It just sucks when it happens to me. It's how you and they deal with it that counts. He sounds like he runs his store like I try to run mine. The customer and the bean counters both have to be happy. When you call with a problem establish a one on one with "BillyBob" he will personally check your part before it leaves because its his word. He will also remember you for being the nice guy out of a pack of jerks. Just try to get his name and ext. so if you do have another problem you can keep it in the family.
Dan

[jarhead]

I've been buying parts from Ames for 5 years and have had excellent service. Recently I was reviewing my past receipts and came across a bill that was calculated incorrectly. An over charge of over $200. This receipt was from October 1998. I was in the process of buying additional parts so I emailed Ames customer service, provided a copy of the original bill and they immediately applied a credit for the whole amount. I should have caught this originally but was extemely happy with their service and response 3 1/2 years later.

[j burdette]

so sorry to here about your handles i would be bummed out to jb

[j burdette]

ccass i back you 100% your a good man keep up the good work ccass jb

[sviguy]

I have had opportunity to purchase 69 bird parts from several sources including AMES. I have had some similar experiences with about all of them at one time or another (received inferior or wrong part). They really don't want dissatisfied customers. It's the chance you take buying sight unseen mail order. Like others have said, the key is establishing good relationship so the mistakes are smoothed over to your satisfaction. The greater the expectation, the greater the potential is for bummers. Go with the flow and in a couple of weeks after those beautiful handles are on, you'll get over it.
Lee ;)

[Rick Lightfoot]

Ames is a top-drawer outfit. I have bought thousands of dollars of parts from them and never any complaints whatsoever.. ;)

[UnchainedGTO]

We are fortunate in this hobby to have suppliers like PY and Ames. They not only supply good products but are good people as well. I have had the chance to meet Steve and CCass on a number of occations including a dinner or two at national meets and can't say enough as to how good genuine these people are. I dabbled in the Vette hobby for a few years and went to the Vette and Chebby events and can tell you we are very lucky to have these people.

Unchained.

[carbking]

We have had excellent results over the years with both Ames and PY; and Chris' comment on this thread demonstrates REAL class!

We are indeed fortunate to have such suppliers.

Jon.

[Blackcat]

Never had any problems with Ames!
Same with PY!
One has to understand the retail market! YOu could have worked something out before going off the deep end. They are a good outfit.

[yaycobain]

Who went off the deep end? I just said I wouldn't order from them again. I was just saying I spent $50 bucks on a pair of door handles that turned out to be crappier than the ones I already had on the car.

I work in client services for a living, so I do understand the market. As mentioned a few times below. Options for returns would have been great. I would have been happy to have them charge me in advance, ship out the new handles, get the first ones back and then take the charge off my card. But the answer I got was "well I checked on that, that's not something thats been happening with the ones we've been sending them out.. so you can send them back I guess." No mutually beneficial offers to be found.. If I tried that at my job I'd be collecting a government check within a week.

Not really good customer service. That was more the problem than anything. I put my faith in them, had them overnight an order, and all I got back as an answer was to send them back and wait and if they were actually problimatic they'd refund my money for the shipping. Although the woman who took my order the day before that was a sweetheart. So it's nothing personal, I was just throwing the story out there so others could know. I know I would have liked to before I ordered.

[schneidsd455]

The other day, I calles Ames and talked to a fellow named Ray. I asked him is he could give me a part number for the thermal switch that fits in the passenger side cylinder head on my 74 TA. It is an item that none of the restoration outfits sell, including Ames. Ray told me that he'd have to do a little research and would get back to me. A couple of days later, he called back with the part number I needed. He even apologized for taking so long to get back to me! I just want to say thanks to Ray and that this is not the only positive experience I've had with Ames. I've spent at least a couple thousand dollars there over many orders, and have NEVER had a complaint. The parts are quality, the prices good, and the service second to none. I like calling to place an order and talking to someone who actually knows what I'm talking about. Kudos!

[Ed Gunter]

CCAS-- You're a good man. You got my business & support.

Cheers,

Ed

[jim sulzbach]

I too have ordered from AMES for parts for my 65 lemans and have not had a problem. smile.gif

[Tygrr67]

Has anyone ever dealt with East Coast Goat? I recently purchased patch panels from partsmonster on eBay (East Coast Goat from the packaging) and was VERY upset and disappointed in the delivery of these parts. In short, when placing the order I told them I needed the parts by a certain date or I would have to look elsewhere for the parts. I was assured that the parts would be there. 3 weeks after my agreed date, the parts showed up. Considering my car was at the body shop waiting for these parts, this held up my bodyman and the project. I will never again deal with these people. And, for those who will ask, I did call and try to straighten this out with them... that is another story unto itself. PY & AMES, i'm sorry I didn't deal with you.

[ August 17, 2002, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Tygrr67 ]

[AJUDGE]

I order from both PY and Ames and have had nothing but great parts and service. I once ordered a water pump from Ames and I needed it next day because my engine builder bought the wrong pump locally and he wanted to get it finished. I called Ames and UPS had already picked up for the day. So the salesperson said he would drive it over to UPS on his way home so I could have it next day. This was way more then I could ever ask of anyone but it showed me that they put the customer first.

[orstratfan]

I have dealt with most mail order suppliers, specifically PMD stuff and have to say that PY and Ames have been great. Easy ordering, good packing and rapid shipping. I cannot say the same for OPG. 6 month backorders, missing items, multiple billings. I have learned to stick with the folks that appreciate our hobby and not just out for a buck.
When I started tinkering with Pontiacs you could still get most parts over the counter! I can remember going into my local Pontiac dealership and getting everything from Ram Air parts to decals direct from GM.

[math08]

Both PY and Ames are top notch. I have never been disappointed by either.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Ames came to my rescue. I was looking for a 69 T/A rear spoiler that was tapered to fit the 67/68 rear end. Much to my dismay I was told by several sources that the part had been discontinued. My last call was to Ames. The guy told me they were discontiued also. But he thought he had one left in the back. After holding for several minutes I was the proud owner of said spoiler /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif I have also had similar encounters with other vendors while looking for parts for my 67 Bird. Including PY. When I did have a problem it was usually handled with out too much hassle.

Bottom line. As many others have said you never know what you will get when you order sight unseen from a catalog or online.

Honest dad, that 455 on the side of the block is a serial number /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Steve Shively]

There are three places I will buy my restoration parts from; Ames, PY, and Year One, with Year One being the last because they are higher in price and shipping.