The following is about a synchro that was ordered for a pre-lp gallardo. I originally posted this on Lamborghini-talk, but I know you guys are also customers of HCF and thought it would be best to share it here, too.
My email chain with them is incredibly long. Posting it below for transparency, but here is the summary:
April 2 I placed a $1280 order for a 2nd gear synchro. Today marks 150 days since sending them the money. I was never advised of how long this would take before paying them. I asked them for updates once per month, being patient with them.
They "shipped" the product at the end of July. It was "lost" by UPS. Of course it was. I figured this would be a good point to cancel the transaction. It had been lost, so they had the opportunity to either end the transaction and refund me, or order another synchro. They didnt discuss this with me and before I could even ask them to cancel, they had ordered another synchro. They then told me they "wouldnt have accepted my cancellation request". Then they started ignoring me. If anyone here is starting a business: Pro tip, this isnt how you run one.
I told them I was going to do a chargeback. The transaction was older than 60 days, so I couldnt do a chargeback. Cool.
I started asking them for a refund, they refused. I asked them again, but this time in a more angry tone. Not only did they refuse, but they threatened me with a lawyer. Now they are ignoring me once again. I started thinking about small claims court, and to be honest I still am. I dont want to deal with court fees for a $1200 synchro, and neither do they, but I'm also not going to allow someone to just take my money and not deliver. So I figured I'd post this to warn you guys so you dont have to deal with these hacks.
I run a business manufacturing, importing, and retailing auto parts. I cant help but think about what I would do in this situation. Its a really easy answer, actually. I'd refund the customer, take the synchro into inventory, and EVENTUALLY I would sell it. I'd lose out on $1200 in capital until the synchro sells. Big woop. If your business depends on every last dollar of capital, then maybe you have other problems. In my business when a customer even hints at being unhappy, I work with them until they are. I dont hold my customers accountable for my supply chain problems. Those are my problems, and in a properly run business the customer should never feel affected by them. A few weeks ago, in fact, we had a material mix-up on a part leading it to be too brittle. It broke after install. We missed it in QC because we didnt have a process to check for it. Thats my fault, though, not something my customers care to hear. I bought two customers new transmissions for their BMWs and refunded every other person who had bought the product in that batch, no questions asked. It cost me tens of thousands of dollars, but I did it without even blinking. Why? Becasue thats THE RIGHT THING TO DO. It isnt hard!
Apr 2, 2021: Paid HCF $1280 for a 2nd gear synchro for a pre-lp gallardo.
View attachment 299810
May 23, 2021: I email them for a shipping update. Graziano doesnt normally ship until they have 50 synchros in one order, but it will be "soon"
View attachment 299812
June 17, 2021: We had no communication between May 23 and June 17. I asked if I could pay extra to get this earlier
View attachment 299813
June 21, 2021: I receive a response. I redacted Johns first sentence because it was a private issue cited as the reason for the delay. Fine. I decide to continue giving them the benefit of the doubt
View attachment 299820July 6, 2021: I start losing my patience
View attachment 299818
July 6, 2021: They tell me the issue, again, is with Graziano and they are just the intermediary. Again, I decide to be patient since they seem to be actively trying
View attachment 299817
July 6, 2021: I receive a second email basically stating that this is par for the course and it is so bad that Aston Martin had to step in with a different transaction
View attachment 299819
July 27, 2021: I am told the package shipped and was lost by UPS. To be honest, I did not believe this. I run a business shipping/receiving many thousands of boxes. In my entire life I have probably had fewer than 5 shipments just flat out lost. Its very convenient considering how terrible this order had been going anyway
View attachment 299823
July 29, 2021: I ask for a refund. They have my money, they have not delivered. The shipment was lost, meaning they should be able to just cancel at this point instead of ordering another.
View attachment 299824
July 29, 2021: They apparently have already ordered it. Keep in mind that I never asked them to reorder it.
View attachment 299825
July 30, 2021: I gave them a day to respond. This is when Jeremy started ignoring me. I cannot imagine ignoring a customer of mine who had gone this long without the product they paid for.
View attachment 299827
This is the part where it starts getting ugly and I completely lose my patience with them. I discover that I cannot do a chargeback due to it being over 60 days since the transaction occured
August 8, 2021: Still no response
View attachment 299829
August 9, 2021: I am told its "in their terms" that there are no refunds. That would make sense if I had received a product. Business advice: The customer doesnt care and isnt responsible for your supplier problems
View attachment 299830
August 9, 2021:
View attachment 299831
August 10, 2021: They tell me they "wouldnt have accepted the cancellation". This is where I start feeling like I am basically being robbed. I cannot imagine doing this to one of my customers.
View attachment 299832
Today, August 30, 2021: I decided to be patient again, but then I decided that I'm probably just being a pushover and need to get this solved immediately.
View attachment 299833
Today, august 30, 2021: At this point I was downright furious with them. From here on I probably could have been a bit more polite, but I dont think my responses were at all unwarranted. I had spent the last 4 months being incredibly understanding and patient with them. My strategy of being a reasonable, nice person wasnt working very well, so I completely lost my cool on them. Not like I was making any progress by being nice, right?
View attachment 299834
Today, August 30, 2021
View attachment 299836
Today, August 30, 2021: I censored myself in this email because this guy will probably try to turn the name I called him into a libel lawsuit if I post it publicly.
View attachment 299837
Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Wow, what an asshole. That isnt how you talk to people". This is after 5 months of being given the run around. I had been far more polite and patient with them than I should have been. I think most people would have started getting irritated way before this point. The fact is, my strategy of just being a decent person wasnt working and clearly no progress was being made. When one thing isnt working, try something else. At some point you have to stop being the nice guy and stop letting people stomp all over you. I think my responses were perfectly valid.
And thats it! Avoid them if you want lamborghini parts. Avoid them if you like your money. Generally, just avoid them.
My email chain with them is incredibly long. Posting it below for transparency, but here is the summary:
April 2 I placed a $1280 order for a 2nd gear synchro. Today marks 150 days since sending them the money. I was never advised of how long this would take before paying them. I asked them for updates once per month, being patient with them.
They "shipped" the product at the end of July. It was "lost" by UPS. Of course it was. I figured this would be a good point to cancel the transaction. It had been lost, so they had the opportunity to either end the transaction and refund me, or order another synchro. They didnt discuss this with me and before I could even ask them to cancel, they had ordered another synchro. They then told me they "wouldnt have accepted my cancellation request". Then they started ignoring me. If anyone here is starting a business: Pro tip, this isnt how you run one.
I told them I was going to do a chargeback. The transaction was older than 60 days, so I couldnt do a chargeback. Cool.
I started asking them for a refund, they refused. I asked them again, but this time in a more angry tone. Not only did they refuse, but they threatened me with a lawyer. Now they are ignoring me once again. I started thinking about small claims court, and to be honest I still am. I dont want to deal with court fees for a $1200 synchro, and neither do they, but I'm also not going to allow someone to just take my money and not deliver. So I figured I'd post this to warn you guys so you dont have to deal with these hacks.
I run a business manufacturing, importing, and retailing auto parts. I cant help but think about what I would do in this situation. Its a really easy answer, actually. I'd refund the customer, take the synchro into inventory, and EVENTUALLY I would sell it. I'd lose out on $1200 in capital until the synchro sells. Big woop. If your business depends on every last dollar of capital, then maybe you have other problems. In my business when a customer even hints at being unhappy, I work with them until they are. I dont hold my customers accountable for my supply chain problems. Those are my problems, and in a properly run business the customer should never feel affected by them. A few weeks ago, in fact, we had a material mix-up on a part leading it to be too brittle. It broke after install. We missed it in QC because we didnt have a process to check for it. Thats my fault, though, not something my customers care to hear. I bought two customers new transmissions for their BMWs and refunded every other person who had bought the product in that batch, no questions asked. It cost me tens of thousands of dollars, but I did it without even blinking. Why? Becasue thats THE RIGHT THING TO DO. It isnt hard!
Apr 2, 2021: Paid HCF $1280 for a 2nd gear synchro for a pre-lp gallardo.
View attachment 299810
May 23, 2021: I email them for a shipping update. Graziano doesnt normally ship until they have 50 synchros in one order, but it will be "soon"
View attachment 299812
June 17, 2021: We had no communication between May 23 and June 17. I asked if I could pay extra to get this earlier
View attachment 299813
June 21, 2021: I receive a response. I redacted Johns first sentence because it was a private issue cited as the reason for the delay. Fine. I decide to continue giving them the benefit of the doubt
View attachment 299820July 6, 2021: I start losing my patience
View attachment 299818
July 6, 2021: They tell me the issue, again, is with Graziano and they are just the intermediary. Again, I decide to be patient since they seem to be actively trying
View attachment 299817
July 6, 2021: I receive a second email basically stating that this is par for the course and it is so bad that Aston Martin had to step in with a different transaction
View attachment 299819
July 27, 2021: I am told the package shipped and was lost by UPS. To be honest, I did not believe this. I run a business shipping/receiving many thousands of boxes. In my entire life I have probably had fewer than 5 shipments just flat out lost. Its very convenient considering how terrible this order had been going anyway
View attachment 299823
July 29, 2021: I ask for a refund. They have my money, they have not delivered. The shipment was lost, meaning they should be able to just cancel at this point instead of ordering another.
View attachment 299824
July 29, 2021: They apparently have already ordered it. Keep in mind that I never asked them to reorder it.
View attachment 299825
July 30, 2021: I gave them a day to respond. This is when Jeremy started ignoring me. I cannot imagine ignoring a customer of mine who had gone this long without the product they paid for.
View attachment 299827
This is the part where it starts getting ugly and I completely lose my patience with them. I discover that I cannot do a chargeback due to it being over 60 days since the transaction occured
August 8, 2021: Still no response
View attachment 299829
August 9, 2021: I am told its "in their terms" that there are no refunds. That would make sense if I had received a product. Business advice: The customer doesnt care and isnt responsible for your supplier problems
View attachment 299830
August 9, 2021:
View attachment 299831
August 10, 2021: They tell me they "wouldnt have accepted the cancellation". This is where I start feeling like I am basically being robbed. I cannot imagine doing this to one of my customers.
View attachment 299832
Today, August 30, 2021: I decided to be patient again, but then I decided that I'm probably just being a pushover and need to get this solved immediately.
View attachment 299833
Today, august 30, 2021: At this point I was downright furious with them. From here on I probably could have been a bit more polite, but I dont think my responses were at all unwarranted. I had spent the last 4 months being incredibly understanding and patient with them. My strategy of being a reasonable, nice person wasnt working very well, so I completely lost my cool on them. Not like I was making any progress by being nice, right?
View attachment 299834
Today, August 30, 2021
View attachment 299836
Today, August 30, 2021: I censored myself in this email because this guy will probably try to turn the name I called him into a libel lawsuit if I post it publicly.
View attachment 299837
Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Wow, what an asshole. That isnt how you talk to people". This is after 5 months of being given the run around. I had been far more polite and patient with them than I should have been. I think most people would have started getting irritated way before this point. The fact is, my strategy of just being a decent person wasnt working and clearly no progress was being made. When one thing isnt working, try something else. At some point you have to stop being the nice guy and stop letting people stomp all over you. I think my responses were perfectly valid.
And thats it! Avoid them if you want lamborghini parts. Avoid them if you like your money. Generally, just avoid them.