Give us a break (brake?) Fran.........and anything else ya got for us

[Jack]

I ordered my SL-C in March, made some changes to the order and had to wait (knowingly) for these to be developed. Because I have had eyeball to eyeball contact with Fran I can say that his business model is sound, but the response to RCR has been a bit overwhelming. He is adding staff and searching for competent vendors to improve lead times. Fran is a 100% straight up guy. I have full confidence that the slight delay will be well worth the effort put forth by Fran and crew. Patience aside, we all want our toys now. I am willing to let Fran do his thing and when it's ready it will be ready. As a yacht designer that works with many, many boat manufacturers, I do understand the dilema. The problems facing RCR are NOT without resolution. Fran is working diligently to resolve them. My 2 cents!
For those resolutely waiting such as I am, hang in there you will not be disappointed!

Jack..

 

[Keith]

This is the first time I have weighed in on this type of post as I usually view this type of thing as being counter productive to the intent of a Forum like this; and these types of posts
generally go on and on without any resolution. However, I feel inclined to let the community know that I have all the parts for my GT40 project that I paid for and some that I did not pay for (I look forward to paying Fran for the oil temp gauge next time I see him).

Fran and the folks at RCR have done an outstanding job of supporting my project with technical information and suggestions both on the phone and through this Forum. I continue to be extremely happy with my RCR purchase and the support I get.

Keith

 

[Dutton]

Neal,

To me, your sense of perspective is off. And not by just a little.

Your disappointment in not having your deposit immediately returned just doesn’t sit well with me, and for several reasons. First, a number of good people here on the forum placed orders some time ago with a now defunct GT40 replica manufacturer and those deposits, some of which were significant, all went up in smoke. To be fair about it all, the lawyers didn’t leave us completely empty-handed after the dust settled when they returned to us a whopping 10% of our deposit after they finished draining what was left of the RF checkbook to pay their billable hours at the full 100% rate. For me, that 10% just barely covered my share of the lawyers fees.

Then, if I understand the situation correctly, you ordered a car from RCR. This car, customized to your specifications and was, at 90%, nearing completion. For reasons only known to you, the order was cancelled and a refund was requested. Which you did receive… and then some (good fortune is always nice!).

That you cancelled your order before it shipped is absolutely your call to make, but let’s not confuse reasonable expectations regarding a refund as opposed to the slant you elected to use in your post, which wasn’t even close to being even-handed.

Lest you think I’m not being fair about my comments, I freely admit to owning one of the RCR creations. I am also guilty of holding Fran in high esteem as he has been nothing but honest and reasonable in our business dealings from the very first day; he is as ethical an individual as any I’ve encountered in my lifetime. I’m also proud to call him a friend (even if he is from that island).

It’s your choice if you want to give Fran a hard time or not, and I would defend your right to do just that. I only suggest that being completely honest about all the facts involved would make your position more credible.

Unlike Fred, however, I do have a dog in this fight. Any time an email with content such as yours appears on the forum, Fran has no choice but to deal with it – which takes him away from looking after customers who haven’t cancelled their orders meaning that projects such as mine are repeatedly delayed, not to mention the other RCR customers who are anticipating their parts have to wait a little longer while he's responding to your post.

On behalf of all these RCR customers, could you lighten up? :thumbsup:

Regards,

T.

Hi Fran,
It looks like I made the right decision in cancelling my order for the GT40, Looking at the posts above.

For those of you interested it took Fran nearly six months for him to return my money, actually 7 months from when I cancelled the order with many promises it was being transferred that never eventuated. Has a similar ring to above.

But on the upside, due to your delays the Australian Dollar went through the roof and I made a great profit, Thanks,

You might deny this, but it is a fact.

Neil

 

Francis,

I should be hired at RCR to handle "Customer Service". You NEED it

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Ironman.....you are on...

knowing how politically correct you are I am sure you will have a fun time....

How are those headers we modified (for free).. holding up??

 

[Neil]

Hi Dutton,
I am quite surprised that you seem to know so much about Fran and my transaction, or make out that you do and I imagine that you would not have the whole story, as that would be impossible .


To be honest I think the RCR is a great car, the best on the market, but it will be very difficult to get it registed in NSW Australia, that is why I cancelled. The cost of the kit would of gone through roof, hence I did not want to spend that sort of money on a kit car, The kit as it stands would not be passed by my engineer in NSW Australia.

Where the disappointment set in, was where Fran kept promising to return my money and I kept getting excuses or it was not transferred, that is all, if you say your going to transfer it, than do it, not go on holidays or he would tell me to ring back to find all the phones engaged all day and so on. When you are half way around the world and there is nothing you can do and someone has a chunk of your money, you start to think of the old RF.

Again I have no problem with RCR or the cars, they are great, I just think Fran needs a business manager, to look after the day to day slog, so he can get on with what he does best and what he really want to do design great car, I think the cars are great.

I hold no malice with Fran, but this is an open forum for free speech a democracy, is that not what the US and Australia is about, or do you what to shut that down as well.

I am more than happy to talk about the quality of the RCR product, but there are issues in getting it registed in NSW Australia, as it is.

Neil

 

[Dutton]

Neal,

I don't know any more about the business arrangement you have/had with Fran than was posted earlier today. There seems to be a difference in opinion between you and Fran as to when the funds were to be transferred, but am glad you received the funds from Fran as promised.

I can only empathize for the frustration you must feel with regards to the whole registration issue; I cannot say that I understand not having lived in Australia and gone through the process, but I do feel for all our 40 brethren in that corner of the world. All the posts describing it sure make it sound challenging.

I encourage the open exchange of ideas and opinions, and even support giving Fran a little flack now and again as I'd mentioned previously. Where the train seems to have run off the tracks is where my interpretation of the entire story wasn't a part of your initial post, that's all.

As for getting a 40 registered there, the new RF sure sounds like they're heading in the right direction and, with Craig working at developing the RCR to Australian roadworthiness (is that a word?) standards, it will be good news for all when that shows some positive results soon.

Best regards,

T.

 

[ArnieSmith]

I know how Fran can solve most of these issues.

1-New build to deliver time is now 16 MONTHS (should take care of supplier delays).
2-No special build – You get your car in the standard form, just like everyone else.
3-No change in build after deposit (such as change from LH to RH drive).
4-Customer to arrange ALL shipping of the car, this includes loading and packing of shipping container.
5-Non refundable deposit.
6-No more business thru email, to contact RCR, write it down and put a stamp on it.
7-Tech support to a call center in Slingmorpoo, India.

And as always, you are always welcome to visit RCR (3rd Tuesday of every month from 10 am to 10:15 am)

 

[Russ Noble]

Too true Arnie.

The guys buying kits don't know how lucky they are! They get a car in a relatively short space of time and apart from a few minor issues, which whilst they may be annoying, in the overall scheme of things they are definitely minor and are generally satisfactorily resolved in the end. If its not immediately resolved and the time frame is a big deal then just source an alternative part elsewhere and write it off to experience! That's what you do if you really consider it is imperative to have the part immediately! It's not the end of the world as we know it!

The guys buying kits have got it easy! Try doing a scratchbuild from the other side of the world where there is no single supplier you can go crying to and you are dealing with a host of small suppliers up to 12000 miles away. I have to do due diligence on every one of them and despite this I have sometimes been caught out by bad experiences with faulty parts supplied or parts lost in transit.

It would be nice to live in a perfect world but shit happens. There are many ways to deal with it positively.

Sometimes I think it would be great to buy a kit and have it finished in a relatively quick time, but then I know it would embody too many compromises for me. So here I am 3 1/2 years into a scratchbuild, and still not got the wheels on it!

Kit car assemblers should appreciate all the work done by guys like Fran, and all the other kit car manufacturers, to provide them with the basis to assemble the car of their dreams for what is really a relative minimum of hassle and time. If you got 90% through a scratchbuild and decided to abort, how much do you think you would recoup?

Just a different slant on things from someone with no vested interest. Find the positives!

Cheers,

Russ

 

[Dimi Terleckyj]

From my personal experience I can only say that my dealings with DRB in Australia could set an example for the rest of the Kit Car manufacturers around the world.

I ordered my body and chassis and was required to pay a deposit and was told the waiting time would be 26 weeks.

The car was ready in less than the stated time and the balance was payable on pickup and all ordered parts were boxed and ready for pickup on the day of delivery of the body and chassis.

On assembly and unpacking a couple of minor things were either missing or incorrect and when DRB were notified they were sent and received by me within a couple of days.

This situation that seems to exist where people are expected to pay the full amount and the have to wait long periods to receive their paid for parts is in my opinion totally unacceptable.
The day that the kit is ready for pickup or delivery should mean the complete order is ready and available especially if it has been prepaid.

If a kit manufacturer quotes a lead time to produce or supply a kit they should also ensure all the outsourced parts will be available to meet his stated delivery date or at the very least factor this into his time frame.

When DRB gave me a delivery date of 26 weeks they also had 26 weeks to get all the outsourced parts organised and ready for delivery and this is how it should be.

Just because we are buying Kit Cars does not mean we should be expected to accept poor service or standards.
Kit Car manufacturers have to understand that just because we are prepared to build our own cars does not mean we will accept poor business standards that we would not accept if we were buying a finished car from a major car manufacturer.

How many of us would buy a new car, pay full price, and then accept having to wait 12 months for some of the accessories that we paid for ??.

So why should this be acceptable from Kit Car manufacturers.

I for one will not deal with these type of businesses and would most certainly not refer any future further business on to them.

I have built One DRB GT40 and would not hesitate to do it again.

Dimi

 

[Craig Gillingham]

8. produce cars of average integrity/design that no one wants to buy.....ALL PROBLEMS SOLVED!!

after pushing fran for an increased delivery time when i was in detroit he stuck with his guns at 7months....(even bought him breakfast)....he could have said ok 4 months just to get an order.....but he didnt

this should make it mid march09 latest and without build change (except maybe lift kit??)
As a show piece car for the UK i know myself and quite a few interested brits eagerly await this date.

 

[Doohan]

Dimi,
Great post, I 100% agree with everything you said.
I haven't been to Bondi Beach but will get there one day! :thumbsup:

Hey Doohan, maybe you should let the people who have been waiting 13 months for their parts speak for themselves.

Hey salmjo1, maybe you should read post #67 again, here it is for you:

There are other customers in the same situation, but they do not want to put their name to this thread, possibly for fear of not receiving what is owed to them or jeopardizing ongoing parts support from RCR.

and,

You sure have no right to quote me

I cant help it if you don't like what YOU have written....
I am allowed to quote, I am not breaking any forum rules, if you don't want to be quoted, don't post! :idea:

You and others have exagerated the situation and accused RCR of taking money without delivering goods (essentially stealing) and of generally poor customer service.

Yes taking money and not delivering goods is stealing....there is no accusation or exaggeration, ITS THE FACTS. That probably qualifies for poor customer service as well....

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Mick....Doohan that is ....

You may be surprised to hear that some customers have actually refused to accept a partial refund while waiting for parts...and others accepted...these were infact overseas customers ..and this was done prior to your recent posting arrival on the forum...(4 posts so far...and three on this thread with your only other one being about your visit to the RF factory...)

I go out of my way on almost a daily basis to help GT40 enthuisiasts the world over..and often for no monitary gain....even non RCR customers...and it seems quickly forgotten but thats life I guess...."no good deed goes unpunished"..

and these are FACTS too by the way....

Didn't your profile initially say you were from somewhere other than Detroit??..and you were able to visit the RF factory in Australia....correct?

 

[Ron Earp]

Guys and Girls,

Threads like these are productive and useful on forums - to a point.

There are some RCR customers who are unhappy with a few parts deliveries. Those folks are welcome to post on the thread and have an open discussion. That can be constructive for the manufacturer and the customer.

But for folks that don’t have an RCR product and who are not waiting for RCR parts – why post on this thread? That is counterproductive to the nature of this entire forum. The forum serves the purpose to allow enthusiasts to interact and in some cases it as a venue for grievances to be heard, such as on this thread. But the forum isn’t here as a open arena for name calling, horn blowing, or vindictive behavior.

If you don’t have a dog in this race I’d suggest you refrain from posting on the thread.

Ron

 

[Casey Cook]

Thank you for saying EXACTLY what I was thinking Ron!:bow:

 

[Jack]

Thanks Ron, you once again are spot on! I do have a dog in this race and I am patient and supportive of Fran & crew. They are doing a fantastic job (in my opinion).
Jack Molleur...

 

[Dave Lindemann]

Finally some sanity - thank you Ron! For the record, I'm EXTREMELY happy with my SLC and with the communication and responsiveness of Fran and RCR.

Dave L

 

[WesS]

ron,

delete this thread! too much negativity! (did i spell that right?)

my two cents worth...

wes

 

[Chad]

Another satisfied customer here. Fran has always sent me parts faster than I can put the car together, so no complaints from me.

Once I finish my SL-R, I would love to order an SL-C. In my personal opinion, there's no better value out there.

 

[Howard Jones]

My first experience with Fran and a question concerning my build. I have ordered a G50 from California Motorsports. They wanted to know a couple of things specific to my SLC. I sent Fran a email yesterday evening and I found his reply this morning. A+ so far.