Wasn't rust??? Oh, yeah, it must be a rare form of bronze mildew that only forms on ceramic coated headers in Wisconsin! StaffoloDougi fungus!
From a customer service standpoint, the message you got was, 1) "Quit dis-ing us on the web, we're the best around," 2) "No one else would mess with this, so be GLAD we are, you insignificant bug!" And let's not forget, 3) "for you trouble, you can spend $150 instead of $175 for ceramic coating."
OK, that's overstating it a bit but you get the point.
Hats off to CCASS for stepping in to help out. He understands that one complaint can drive other people to spend their money elsewhere. CCASS did what Doug's should have done, try to make it right with no questions asked. It's too bad Doug's customer service took a defensive stance. This could have been a golden opportunity to impress their core Pontiac market.
I'm hoping the set I got from PY fits well. I don't know if I'd have the patience to send my headers back and forth like that. I'd be putting them on ebay and buy a set of Summits if I have to dent and scratch 'em.