So there I was enjoying a coffee and reading e-mail, when all of a sudden, long after I'd given up on seeing a response from the sourcer, I get an e-mail from Mark Johnson aka Dali Racing regarding a post I'd made out-lining my reluctance to use the NSX Registry. Mark's position was that I'd never placed my order through his web-site as he'd know if I did. And while not being called out-and-out a liar, the implication was that either I wasn't being truthful or whatever technical difficulties were on my end. Which is funny when you read about the problems people are having using the Dali-created Registry. But that's ok, because I was treating this as a dead issue. I sent a response back to him basically stating my position, in what I feel is a courteous manner simply telling him that there is just too much negative press surrounding his outfit for me to be comfy useing his services, whatever they may be. At no time did I talk down to him or respond sarcastically or in any way deal withy Mark in anything but a business-like manner. Here is how hje replied:
Hi Tim,
On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 22:47:03 -0500 "Tim Biggs" <[email protected]>
writes:
>
> Hello Mark,
> While I cannot explain what happened to my order, it was placed
> through your web-site using the methods you provided. It was not, if I
re-call
> correctly, an e-mail that I sent you. Rather, the order was placed
through the
> means that Dali Racing has available on the site. Either way, no
> bounced-back mail showed up in my in box. That can only mean it was
delivered to the
> address that it was supposed to go to.
Actually if you didn't get it, it was not generated. When an order is
successfully processed, I get a copy at the same time and so does the
person placing the order, IF the process was completed successfully by
the database. If not, no one knows about it unless there is an error
generated, in which case there is a page that you see that has a submit
error button on it. If it gets clicked, then I know about the error, (I
got one today) if not, then I don't.
> Beyond that, no follow-up 'contact Dali' e-mails I sent were replyed
to. Whether this was intentional or as a
> result of technical difficulties does little to asuage my concerns
regarding doing
> business through your company.
there are no e-mails from this address or your name in my Inbox, except
this one and the original one I replied too, which was in the "mail list"
Inbox at the webguys office. They manage 10 websites and do not even look
at this mail. I asked them for the list of "bad addresses" from the
mailing so that I could delete them, and your e-mail was in that pile of
150, which I looked at today.
> Even removing my personal experiences, which could be construed as an
aberation if it were an isolated event,
> there seems to be an inordinate number of disenchanted customers that
surface whenever
> your company's name surfaces on Prime.
Seems to me is the is the same ones over and over. Wowie.
> You say, and I've no reason to believe otherwise, that no e-mail order
(or whatever) was recieved.
> Ok, but isn't it odd that the one I currently am replying to got
through..
see above, it didn't. (this one did)
>I think this is the crux of the issue. It all revolves around
consistancy. I
> sent my e-mail on Oct. 27th...you're reply is 7 days later.
Been reading the news? So Cal stated burning down a week ago.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/20031027-9999_7n27main.html
My shop was in the middle of the fire.
> I realize you're busy and this may or may not be a priority issue for
you, and while I can
> gladly accept that, I would suggest the current dubious press you're
> receiving may stem directly from the perception that it is definatly
not a
> priority to service your customer-base.
(insert rude noise)
> And while I acknowledge that I am not a
> customer, as my order seems to have been eaten by Limbo, had things
> gone smoothly, I would cetainly be one. As it stands, in light of the
> many questionable accounts of peoples' experiences with trying to deal
> with you, I can't say I'd want to send any Pay-Pal bucks your way until
I felt
> that there was a surety that the account wouldn't be tranacted until
the
> parts were on the way.
I don't ship anything until it's paid for, so it looks like we have a
Mexican standoff. Whether you order any parts from me or not, I'm sure
that I'll manage to have a good reason to get out of bed in the am. I
process and ship 5-10 orders a day, 7 days a week and create and or bring
to market 1-6 new parts a month. I have plenty to keep me busy even with
missing one or two orders here and there. At last count, there are 12144
e-mails in my sent folder, dating back to 6/11/03, that is >2500 e-mails
I answer a month, which it plenty. JMO-YOMBD.
> As for the Registry, well, if the Dali Racing web-site can't
accommodate a simple order, it would seem overly optimistic to
> assume that would be problem-free either.
and all software programs need no revisions and are fully functional
right out of the box and run perfectly all the time. Sure.
> I don't mean to sound harsh, but I live by the addage "You're only
> as good as your last trade" and whether it was your fault or just bad
luck,
> your last trade with me was a non-starter.
works for me, you might try these guys in the future:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com
> Good luck with your endevours, and I sincerely hope in the future
> that circumstances are such that we can do some business. Thank you for
> your reply.
> Tim Biggs
Mark Johnson / http://www.daliracing.com / Adapt:Innovate:Overcome
"If you are not being criticized by someone, maybe you are not doing
enough"
The lines with > infront of them are mine.
What I found most interesting was the way he blows off customer complaints by suggesting the un-happy ones are the same group. Small wonder that the people who are displeased with their treatment remain displeased. What's even funnier is he has the time to exchange three e-mails with me (in the midst of an inferno, as his e-mail suggests) but can't in six months get a reply out to Dash Rip Rock about the errant door-sills. But most revealing is his claim that 'I have plenty to keep me busy even with
missing one or two orders here and there. '
That type of business attitude can only lead to ruin. I can't remember the company, but their moto is 'We handle our business one customer at a time', or something like that. Mark's is at the bottom of his note. '"If you are not being criticized by someone, maybe you are not doing
enough"
Enough what? Enough screwing around? Enough sending silly replies with 'insert rude noise here' responses? How mature. To those of you who have jumped to Mark's defence, please read the note Marl painstakingly tore apart and the goofy responses he made, and if you still feel this company is worth your time, then great, but my money goes to the peole who find a way to make things work, not to those that find ways to only make excuses. Beyond which, I feel strongly that I went out of my way not to get angry with Mark despite the tone of his e-mail, but if anyone thinks I was out of line in anything I said, let me know. Un-like Mark, I'm always willing to hear the other point of view and acknowledge that I'm always learning and looking for ways to improve.
And please keep in mind, Mark sent me the opening e-mail, I wasn't hounding him or posting a million posts running down Dali-Racing. I maintain, as I stated in my e-mail to him, that there are just too many bad-news stories about Dali to be involved with him right now, mine being a minor example. So take this for what you will but when a guy says 'heck if I drop an order here or there, so what?' I say 'Do it enough and there won't be any more orders to drop" > Simple economics.
BTW my order with Science of Speed is progressing very well and I have no complaints even though there have been delays. Not once have Seth or Chris put me on the defensive, and I admit I'm not the most patient guy...It has been a joy to deal with them. What can I say, Mark? Take a lesson from them, and you'll be fine
Hi Tim,
On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 22:47:03 -0500 "Tim Biggs" <[email protected]>
writes:
>
> Hello Mark,
> While I cannot explain what happened to my order, it was placed
> through your web-site using the methods you provided. It was not, if I
re-call
> correctly, an e-mail that I sent you. Rather, the order was placed
through the
> means that Dali Racing has available on the site. Either way, no
> bounced-back mail showed up in my in box. That can only mean it was
delivered to the
> address that it was supposed to go to.
Actually if you didn't get it, it was not generated. When an order is
successfully processed, I get a copy at the same time and so does the
person placing the order, IF the process was completed successfully by
the database. If not, no one knows about it unless there is an error
generated, in which case there is a page that you see that has a submit
error button on it. If it gets clicked, then I know about the error, (I
got one today) if not, then I don't.
> Beyond that, no follow-up 'contact Dali' e-mails I sent were replyed
to. Whether this was intentional or as a
> result of technical difficulties does little to asuage my concerns
regarding doing
> business through your company.
there are no e-mails from this address or your name in my Inbox, except
this one and the original one I replied too, which was in the "mail list"
Inbox at the webguys office. They manage 10 websites and do not even look
at this mail. I asked them for the list of "bad addresses" from the
mailing so that I could delete them, and your e-mail was in that pile of
150, which I looked at today.
> Even removing my personal experiences, which could be construed as an
aberation if it were an isolated event,
> there seems to be an inordinate number of disenchanted customers that
surface whenever
> your company's name surfaces on Prime.
Seems to me is the is the same ones over and over. Wowie.
> You say, and I've no reason to believe otherwise, that no e-mail order
(or whatever) was recieved.
> Ok, but isn't it odd that the one I currently am replying to got
through..
see above, it didn't. (this one did)
>I think this is the crux of the issue. It all revolves around
consistancy. I
> sent my e-mail on Oct. 27th...you're reply is 7 days later.
Been reading the news? So Cal stated burning down a week ago.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/20031027-9999_7n27main.html
My shop was in the middle of the fire.
> I realize you're busy and this may or may not be a priority issue for
you, and while I can
> gladly accept that, I would suggest the current dubious press you're
> receiving may stem directly from the perception that it is definatly
not a
> priority to service your customer-base.
(insert rude noise)
> And while I acknowledge that I am not a
> customer, as my order seems to have been eaten by Limbo, had things
> gone smoothly, I would cetainly be one. As it stands, in light of the
> many questionable accounts of peoples' experiences with trying to deal
> with you, I can't say I'd want to send any Pay-Pal bucks your way until
I felt
> that there was a surety that the account wouldn't be tranacted until
the
> parts were on the way.
I don't ship anything until it's paid for, so it looks like we have a
Mexican standoff. Whether you order any parts from me or not, I'm sure
that I'll manage to have a good reason to get out of bed in the am. I
process and ship 5-10 orders a day, 7 days a week and create and or bring
to market 1-6 new parts a month. I have plenty to keep me busy even with
missing one or two orders here and there. At last count, there are 12144
e-mails in my sent folder, dating back to 6/11/03, that is >2500 e-mails
I answer a month, which it plenty. JMO-YOMBD.
> As for the Registry, well, if the Dali Racing web-site can't
accommodate a simple order, it would seem overly optimistic to
> assume that would be problem-free either.
and all software programs need no revisions and are fully functional
right out of the box and run perfectly all the time. Sure.
> I don't mean to sound harsh, but I live by the addage "You're only
> as good as your last trade" and whether it was your fault or just bad
luck,
> your last trade with me was a non-starter.
works for me, you might try these guys in the future:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com
> Good luck with your endevours, and I sincerely hope in the future
> that circumstances are such that we can do some business. Thank you for
> your reply.
> Tim Biggs
Mark Johnson / http://www.daliracing.com / Adapt:Innovate:Overcome
"If you are not being criticized by someone, maybe you are not doing
enough"
The lines with > infront of them are mine.
What I found most interesting was the way he blows off customer complaints by suggesting the un-happy ones are the same group. Small wonder that the people who are displeased with their treatment remain displeased. What's even funnier is he has the time to exchange three e-mails with me (in the midst of an inferno, as his e-mail suggests) but can't in six months get a reply out to Dash Rip Rock about the errant door-sills. But most revealing is his claim that 'I have plenty to keep me busy even with
missing one or two orders here and there. '
That type of business attitude can only lead to ruin. I can't remember the company, but their moto is 'We handle our business one customer at a time', or something like that. Mark's is at the bottom of his note. '"If you are not being criticized by someone, maybe you are not doing
enough"
Enough what? Enough screwing around? Enough sending silly replies with 'insert rude noise here' responses? How mature. To those of you who have jumped to Mark's defence, please read the note Marl painstakingly tore apart and the goofy responses he made, and if you still feel this company is worth your time, then great, but my money goes to the peole who find a way to make things work, not to those that find ways to only make excuses. Beyond which, I feel strongly that I went out of my way not to get angry with Mark despite the tone of his e-mail, but if anyone thinks I was out of line in anything I said, let me know. Un-like Mark, I'm always willing to hear the other point of view and acknowledge that I'm always learning and looking for ways to improve.
And please keep in mind, Mark sent me the opening e-mail, I wasn't hounding him or posting a million posts running down Dali-Racing. I maintain, as I stated in my e-mail to him, that there are just too many bad-news stories about Dali to be involved with him right now, mine being a minor example. So take this for what you will but when a guy says 'heck if I drop an order here or there, so what?' I say 'Do it enough and there won't be any more orders to drop" > Simple economics.
BTW my order with Science of Speed is progressing very well and I have no complaints even though there have been delays. Not once have Seth or Chris put me on the defensive, and I admit I'm not the most patient guy...It has been a joy to deal with them. What can I say, Mark? Take a lesson from them, and you'll be fine
