Taking responsibility, both as a club and as a supplier

As per above; should clubs bar suppliers who consistently receive complaints from those they supply?


  • Total voters
    18

chrisw

Well-Known Member
Over the past few years, I have spent time as a committee member with two different Rover-related clubs. I am no longer a member of either of the clubs, and have joined others than I consider to be more socially responsible.

One of the areas that I have pushed heavily for was club and supplier responsibility.

I believe that if a club allows a supplier to advertise - be it paid within a magazine, or for free on their social media pages, and that club consistently messes people about, the club should ban that supplier from advertising. If the club does not, then it is my opinion that the club either does not care about the owner of a vehicle, and is more interested in revenue gathering, or that club is complicit with the activities of the supplier.

Strangely enough (to me anyway), I have been shot down by both of those clubs, and one has even barred me after I questioned why they are still supporting, and even promoting, a supplier who consistently cause problems, takes orders and never delivers, or just generally messes people around.

My question to everyone is this: Do you believe that clubs should prevent suppliers who consistently receive complaints from advertising in club magazines, on club websites, being promoted on club social media pages, and from being allowed to provide support activities to club events?
 
I think it's a huge can of worms. I've seen personal arguments used against suppliers over the years. OK, we have a mixed bag of suppliers for our cars, just like most marques. But, you are moving clubs into a policing role. Clubs by their very nature are quite political. I don't think you can ask them to verify suppliers. I would say the same for the forum too. Although with the forum there's a chance for the supplier to make their case for a reply.
 
My belief is that the point of most car clubs is to promote the preservation, use and enjoyment of their particular model of vehicle.

If a company is messing people about then that is contrary to that aim - most people are too busy to be mucked about with, and/or have limited budget for their hobbies and so cannot afford to receive parts or service that doesn't meet their expectations. Suppliers that provide bad service should not be associated with any owners clubs (or message boards like this), as this association earns them some level of legitimacy in people's eyes and therefore allows them to carry on in their bad ways.
 
I'd say your hypothetical club should bar any supplier that operates outside what could be considered "good practice", but I don't think the club should be made to pick up the pieces if it does all go wrong. I'd say it was in any clubs best interests to get rid of any suppliers/advertisers that offer poor service to their members.
 
I sympathise with your view but one club I am in, decided not to ban one supplier ( with poor reports) as many members were very happy with the products supplied plus other suppliers had both good and bad reports.
 
I sympathise with your view but one club I am in, decided not to ban one supplier ( with poor reports) as many members were very happy with the products supplied plus other suppliers had both good and bad reports.
Yes - it's a case of where do you draw the line?

What does a club decide to be 'good practice', or indeed 'poor practice'? Is for example, a 4 - week delivery time good service? On the face of it, 'No', but what if the supplier had problems with their supplier of a particular part? Is a supplier 'ripping people off' with a £30 rubber part if they can be obtained elsewhere for £12? What is the quality of each?

How can a club (made up of volunteers) be expected to police this, unless the circumstances are more obvious?
 
I'd say your hypothetical club should bar any supplier that operates outside what could be considered "good practice", but I don't think the club should be made to pick up the pieces if it does all go wrong. I'd say it was in any clubs best interests to get rid of any suppliers/advertisers that offer poor service to their members.

I completely agree. The club should only be responsible for barring suppliers who have been the subject of several/many complaints. It's not down to the club to take responsibility.. however, I would argue that the club is responsible should they knowingly continue to promote that supplier and refuse to ban them, if they know that the supplier is screwing their customers and club members over.

For instance, a club receives a dozen or so reports that a supplier in the middle of the country consistently messes customers around, takes orders and months later is still arguing about delivering those orders, and the chairman of said club backs the supplier and bans anyone who objects to said supplier; in my opinion, that leaves the club open to criticism and potentially even legal action.
 
The answer would be really straightforward if it was just black or white, good suppliers or bad ones. Who is going to judge who is the good guy and who the bad guy? From my own experience through the different suppliers over the years, and from what i have learned from the others, all of them had their good and bad moments, happy and dissatisfied customers. Classic car parts business is not something faceless like a supermarket. Most of us can get along well with some people-suppliers, and we would like to punch some others. But this isn't a fair judgement. What i think that would be useful, is to inform the others of our opinion - experiences with suppliers, positive or negative, and let others decide for themselves if a certain way to make business is acceptable or not. To give an example, late shipping would be unacceptable for some, but for some others this could be offset by low prices on quality parts. Or the opposite: Another supplier could deliver parts at the speed of light, but his prices could be well above average. There are suppliers that are open and friendly, and others that give the impression that they are doing us a favour for allowing us to buy from them. In any case, it is of our benefit to have as much choice as possible, so banning or expeling a supplier should not be done with a light heart.
However, in case of proven fraud, of course it would be totally different.
 
Definitely opening a can of worms, but IF a supplier IS advertising in a club magazine OR advertising on the clubs social media pages maybe the club could have a word with that supplier. There is probably something going on with the supplier that no one but the supplier knows about. No supplier or business wants bad publicity. It's in everyone's interest to talk like adults to resolve the issue rather than ban people.
 
You'd think that, but I know of two suppliers who frequently receive bad reviews from both clubs and individuals, and nothing changes. Either they don't care, or they assume that for every customer they lose, they'll pick up another couple..
 
All suppliers also get very good reviews which far outnumber complaints.

As has been previously said if a part takes a little longer to arrive or gets lost in transit which delays things,so be it.

What we all need to do is do a little research of our own. If you have a particularly good service then keep using that supplier. If you have a bad experience do not use that supplier. Simple really.
 
All suppliers also get very good reviews which far outnumber complaints.

As has been previously said if a part takes a little longer to arrive or gets lost in transit which delays things,so be it.

What we all need to do is do a little research of our own. If you have a particularly good service then keep using that supplier. If you have a bad experience do not use that supplier. Simple really.

That's all very well until you get some parts, put a weekend aside to do the work, get the car up on ramps and take a load of it to bits, only to find you don't have the correct bit. I did this, and had to put the car back together, then spent the next three weeks trying to get some sense out of the supplier. It was the following Thursday when I got to speak to him as he was always in the storeroom, gone out, will be back in a hour and will phone you back, not in today, etc etc etc.

When I did finally get to talk to him he was just plain rude and aggresive. I don't have to mention his name as just a mention that he was rude, condescending and aggressive will point him out well to most people who have dealt with him.

Richard
 
All suppliers also get very good reviews which far outnumber complaints.

As has been previously said if a part takes a little longer to arrive or gets lost in transit which delays things,so be it.

What we all need to do is do a little research of our own. If you have a particularly good service then keep using that supplier. If you have a bad experience do not use that supplier. Simple really.

I agree with most of what you have said Mick; however, when you say "do a little research of our own" what does that mean?

If we have a section (and now we do) that allows us to give an honest (if slightly subjective) view of our dealings with any given supplier then the rest of us can "do our research" by reading about the experiences others have had - as rational and reasonable adults we can read between the lines and decide accordingly.

If, on the other hand, "do a little research" means learn the hard way by experience, as in Richard's example, then that seems a bit self defeating.

I agree that it may be a little difficult to have the various clubs act as Police agencies in these matters. That being said, clubs exist to promote and serve the needs of the members - if people are having bad luck, or worse, with a supplier the club shouldn't stand idly by. I don't have a suggestion as to what action the clubs could, or should take - however, there has to be something more than doing nothing - and letting folks do the trial and error method of research wouldn't seem to be serving the members' best interests.

Unfortunately there are a limited number of suppliers for our particular marque - I suspect that there is a very real fear that if we step out of line and name names when a dealer is naughty we may end up finding ourselves blacklisted.

Amazon, Yelp, eBay - all allow feedback, positive and negative. I have made the decision to purchase or to pass based upon the research I have done, i.e. reading the reviews. I start with the bad reviews - it is usually obvious when the reviewer has no real issue and/or has an axe to grind. As you say Mick - if delivery is slow and you can afford to wait, fine, if not find a speedier alternative. But, if you are promised prompt delivery and plan accordingly, only to find the item was sent on the slow boat to China it can be more than a little annoying - in that case forewarned is to be forearmed.

I am not a member of a club as there are none anywhere near me - I rely heavily on the experiences and advice I get on this forum and, I am very appreciative for it. I am glad that we now have a section that allows for complete reviews - not just the good - I am confident that our members will be open and honest with their submissions. I am equally confident that the rest of us can sort the wheat from the chaff.

Thanks to Rich for making the changes.
 
And you never used that supplier again ?
Have mentioned your experience to other P6ers and they will probably have second thoughts about using that supplier.
 
Agreed,a can of worms. Sadly there are poor suppliers but there are also poor customers. I can remember when someone rung me late at night for advice on socket sizes,after the conversation went on for a very long time with interruptions and laughing on the other end of the phone I pointed out it was late at night and got a volley of bad language and threats from the imbecile on the other end.
Without some sort of block or check there would be nothing to stop such people leaving bad comments or unjustified criticism of any service or supplier that they care to pick on.
 
Again... I am confident that we are able to discern the difference between someone with a legitimate gripe and the sort of person you have just described. I don't understand why any legitimate supplier would have a problem with being rated... eBay allow it, Amazon allows it, Yelp, and so on. The supplier would of course have the right of reply.
 
Ebay do not allow the seller the right to reply or to leave bad feedback no matter how they are treated by the buyer.Every single buyer has 100% feedback,hardly a fair or level playing field.
 
Anyone on here had bad luck in dealing with Joseph Wilson for P6 parts?
I bought off his well respected Dad on a few occasions and was impressed with the service.
Joseph appears to have taken over since his dad died.
Its been almost a year since I ordered and paid for parts. " J " telling me the goods are posted but now after 10mths " the courier is picking my items up" . WTF , I have been stonewalled with Joseph not answering my Pm's.
All I can assume is he is too sick to reply or he has scammed me for over $100.
 
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