31 replies to this topic

[Boss Doctor]

Let me preface what I say about Steeda Autosports by letting you know that I have in excess of 8 years of sales experience and have owned/operated my own small business. No company is perfect, and thus I’ve had to deal with my fair share of dissatisfied customers over the years. Good companies are not simply measured by their ability to deliver their product at the agreed upon price; that is expected. Good companies are measured by how they treat their customers when things go wrong. Returns are a part of doing business, and every good business owner accepts this as part of the cost of doing business. They do not shift their responsibilities onto the customer.For $768.28, I bought a Cold Air Intake (CAI) and a SCT Tuner from Steeda Autosports for my 2013 BOSS Mustang. For the sake of brevity, let me point out that I stayed home from work 2 days to await two shipments, (I expected only one), that required signatures when I requested no signature required, and once I got the items they in no way performed to the level of which Steeda advertised. How badly they failed to perform is another story. Since I was clearly not getting what Steeda advertised, I received a return authorization from them that included a shipping label for one box at 10 pounds when they had shipped me the items in two separate boxes.Given the shipping constraints applied to me by Steeda, I packed all the items into the box that the CAI came in since it was the bigger box. This was a tight fit that took some positioning, but I got them in, sealed the box, and dropped it off at the carrier. I confirmed that the box arrived at Steeda on October 18. By November 7, (almost 3 weeks later), I still had not received my refund, so I sent an email to Gus Irizarry asking where my refund was. Gus is the National Sales Manager for Steeda, and is who I was dealing with after the salesman proved unresponsive to the problem, so this isn’t just some low-level employee.Gus sent me a screenshot that the return was processed on October 24, (not refunded), and proceeded to chide me for not taking more care to pack their items for return, and claiming that the items were received, “…so damaged it was practically unsellable even as a takeoff/used part.” So here I have not received my refund in 2 weeks from it being processed, and now it’s my fault that the carrier damaged their product, (if it truly was damaged), because I utilized what Steeda provided me to pack and ship. Apparently, Steeda feels that, not only should I absorb the cost of being absent from work 2 days, I should also have paid even more money for a larger box and packing materials to ship their product back to them in the event the carrier decided to play box hockey during transit. When I wouldn’t accept responsibility, Gus refused further assistance and wrote the following, “The only act of due care, or lack of it, has been your response and obvious lack of responsibility for at least returning our product in useable condition after we agreed to satisfy your requests. I’m going to go ahead and fully close your account in our invoice system and mark it ‘do not sell’ no further business relationship can continue between us. Good luck with all your endeavors.” So consider how this company treats customers when things go wrong before you spend your hard-earned money with them. The refund coincidentally turned up in my bank the very next day.

Edited by Boss Doctor, 12 November 2012 - 07:14 AM.

[EL SHELBY]

Wow.



And, this is the way to post when dissatisfied with a manufacture/retailer. No editorial, no trash talk, no name calling.

I'm happy to hear you recieved your refund, and I suspect you are not too heart broken about being cut off as a future customer. However, if I were in your shoes I might consider sending a certified letter to Steeda's CEO.

Edited by EL SHELBY, 09 November 2012 - 03:13 PM.

[2007tungstenGT500]

Yeah, that sound eerily similar to an experience I had with BuyFordRacing.com. I will NEVER do business with them again or provide anything other that a gutter-worthy review to anybody I speak with. Long story short, I bolted up some mufflers, didn't like the sound and then took them off. I called their customer service and told them exactly what I did and asked for an RMA. They said I didn't need one and to just package them up and send them back with the invoice and packing slip. When I called to inquire some weeks later, they said they hadn't received them and wouldn't refund me anything even if they did. Couldn't even get their agent to acknowledge that I had followed their own rep's instructions. I lost it! After some time with the BBB, I ended up getting the item returned to my possession and the satisfaction of stating my case and telling them exactly how I felt about their crummy service in writing. No refund, but I can still sell the mufflers myself without much loss. Too many businesses want to hide behind fine print and devalue the importance of good customer service. Thankfully, there are countless other outlets for aftermarket Mustang parts.

Edited by 2007tungstenGT500, 09 November 2012 - 03:53 PM.

[IngotSilverSnake]

Boss Doctor, on 09 November 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

Let me preface what I say about Steeda Autosports by letting you know that I have in excess of 8 years of sales experience and have owned/operated my own small business. No company is perfect, and thus I’ve had to deal with my fair share of dissatisfied customers over the years. Good companies are not simply measured by their ability to deliver their product at the agreed upon price; that is expected. Good companies are measured by how they treat their customers when things go wrong. Returns are a part of doing business, and every good business owner accepts this as part of the cost of doing business. They do not shift their responsibilities onto the customer.

For $768.28, I bought a Cold Air Intake (CAI) and a SCT Tuner from Steeda Autosports for my 2013 BOSS Mustang. For the sake of brevity, let me point out that I stayed home from work 2 days to await two shipments, (I expected only one), that required signatures when I requested no signature required, and once I got the items they in no way performed to the level of which Steeda advertised. How badly they failed to perform is another story. Since I was clearly not getting what Steeda advertised, I received a return authorization from them that included a shipping label for one box at 10 pounds when they had shipped me the items in two separate boxes.

Given the shipping constraints applied to me by Steeda, I packed all the items into the box that the CAI came in since it was the bigger box. This was a tight fit that took some positioning, but I got them in, sealed the box, and dropped it off at the carrier. I confirmed that the box arrived at Steeda on October 18. By November 7, (almost 3 weeks later), I still had not received my refund, so I sent an email to Gus Irizarry asking where my refund was. Gus is the National Sales Manager for Steeda, and is who I was dealing with after the salesman proved unresponsive to the problem, so this isn’t just some low-level employee.

Gus sent me a screenshot that the return was processed on October 24, (not refunded), and proceeded to chide me for not taking more care to pack their items for return, and claiming that the items were received, “…so damaged it was practically unsellable even as a takeoff/used part.” So here I have not received my refund in 2 weeks from it being processed, and now it’s my fault that the carrier damaged their product, (if it truly was damaged), because I utilized what Steeda provided me to pack and ship. Apparently, Steeda feels that, not only should I absorb the cost of being absent from work 2 days, I should also have paid even more money for a larger box and packing materials to ship their product back to them in the event the carrier decided to play box hockey during transit. When I wouldn’t accept responsibility, Gus refused further assistance and wrote the following, “The only act of due care, or lack of it, has been your response and obvious lack of responsibility for at least returning our product in useable condition after we agreed to satisfy your requests. I’m going to go ahead and fully close your account in our invoice system and mark it ‘do not sell’ no further business relationship can continue between us. Good luck with all your endeavors.”

So consider how this company treats customers when things go wrong before you spend your hard-earned money with them. The refund coincidentally turned up in my bank the very next day.

Thanks for the post.  Glad you got your money back.  You can be sure I will NEVER buy anything from Steeda.

[WJinLV]

Doc, not to defend Steeda, I dont order from Steed but was your returned CAI packed with protective cushioning, peanuts, airbags etc to keep it from getting damaged on return? Did Steeda provide protective material when shipped to you? Seems like the shippers are getting worse all the time and I have to pack my shipments with so much protective material, I thing it doubles the package weight.

Edited by WJinLV, 09 November 2012 - 04:32 PM.

[Ecrissman]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I will be sure to take my business elsewhere.

[Boss Doctor]

WJinLV, on 09 November 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

Doc, not to defend Steeda, I dont order from Steed but was your returned CAI packed with protective cushioning, peanuts, airbags etc to keep it from getting damaged on return? Did Steeda provide protective material when shipped to you? Seems like the shippers are getting worse all the time and I have to pack my shipments with so much protective material, I thing it doubles the package weight.

No packing material was supplied for return. They sent the product to me with airbags which could not be repurposed when adding the SCT tuner to the single box. Had they allowed two boxes it wouldn't have been a problem.

[SVT NAJA]

WJinLV, on 09 November 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

Doc, not to defend Steeda, I dont order from Steed but was your returned CAI packed with protective cushioning, peanuts, airbags etc to keep it from getting damaged on return? Did Steeda provide protective material when shipped to you? Seems like the shippers are getting worse all the time and I have to pack my shipments with so much protective material, I thing it doubles the package weight.

Boss Doctor, on 09 November 2012 - 04:55 PM, said:

No packing material was supplied for return. They sent the product to me with airbags which could not be repurposed when adding the SCT tuner to the single box. Had they allowed two boxes it wouldn't have been a problem.

+1... but did you call them first and point out the 1 versus 2 box dilemma and ask them what they wanted you to do?

[Boss Doctor]

SVT NAJA, on 09 November 2012 - 05:46 PM, said:

+1... but did you call them first and point out the 1 versus 2 box dilemma and ask them what they wanted you to do?

No, because the person who arranged the return authorization was the same person to whom I expressed displeasure to for having to not go into work for two days to accept the order: Brandon. He is the one who took my order, said that there was no problem with the no signature required, did not advise me of the two shipments and later admitted that he should have, became unresponsive until Gus told him to set-up the return, and then set-up the return. Considering everything, he was certainly aware and unconcerned. My thought was that they were not concerned.

[Larry T]

Sometimes we are only a number and get lost but its funny how karma works sometimes ... they will get what is coming to them.

[tj@steeda]

First I want to apologize on behalf of Steeda that you had this unfortunate incident.

I have sent an email to the parties mentioned in the post to get further clarification of what took place.  None the less, our goal is to retain customers due to our customer service and products, not lose them.

For the unfavorable transaction that we may have we also have a hundred favorable ones that turn out exactly how they were intended ... great customer service with a great product.  The boards will help tell our story on our track record.  It is not by chance that  Steeda Autosports offers the largest complete line of Ford based parts and accessories in the world today, but it is our commitment to customer service and quality of parts.  

What kind of performance were you expecting that you did not receive with our CAI/Tune? We have been very honest and accurate when it comes to our claims made on the website.  Please email me at tim@steeda.com so that I can look further into your situation.  

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

TJ

[shelbygt2899]

Glad to see steeda chime in. these type of topics are usually very one sided. I personally have always had great luck with steeda. There is three sides to every story. His side, her side and the truth

[08KR525]

Boss Doctor please tell us how this plays out with Steeda as I really screen vendors who I am looking to do with business with through forums such as this one.  Good luck to everyone involved.

[Boss Doctor]

tj@steeda, on 11 November 2012 - 05:12 PM, said:

First I want to apologize on behalf of Steeda that you had this unfortunate incident.

I have sent an email to the parties mentioned in the post to get further clarification of what took place.  None the less, our goal is to retain customers due to our customer service and products, not lose them.

For the unfavorable transaction that we may have we also have a hundred favorable ones that turn out exactly how they were intended ... great customer service with a great product.  The boards will help tell our story on our track record.  It is not by chance that  Steeda Autosports offers the largest complete line of Ford based parts and accessories in the world today, but it is our commitment to customer service and quality of parts.  

What kind of performance were you expecting that you did not receive with our CAI/Tune? We have been very honest and accurate when it comes to our claims made on the website.  Please email me at tim@steeda.com so that I can look further into your situation.  

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

TJ

In short, Steeda's "Cold Air Intake" that was running 20+ degrees hotter than the stock intake because it does not seal against anything under the hood, Cam Idle tune that wouldn't run on the car, (car would warm idle and then not idle when the idle dropped below 1,000 rpm), 93 octane tune that created popping in the sidepipes like firecrackers going off and strong exhaust smell.

The same CAI is sold for both the 2012 and 2013 BOSS, and since they have different hoods it's no wonder the CAI didn't work.

[SC5.4]

Genuine customer service these days is rare. Sadly, almost extinct.

Edited by SC5.4, 12 November 2012 - 08:46 AM.

[Helix]

SC5.4, on 12 November 2012 - 08:44 AM, said:

Genuine customer service these days is rare. Sadly, almost extinct.

Anymore you have to make sure to take pictures of everything right before you send it out. Plus, you have to be ready to be firm with reps before you even call. Go figure.

[tj@steeda]

Boss Doctor, I have spoken to the members here at Steeda that have been involved in this process.  It appears that both side had some issues ... and I don't think there would have been an "ideal situation" that would have made both parties happy. Let me help explain some of the issues that I do have control over.

• We did extensive testing on our 2013 Boss LS with the CAI we had in house.  Without getting into specifics, we did the testing and our outcome had shown that the 2012/2013 Steeda CAI does hit the seal points on the under hood.  We have conclusive evidence of this that we can't share online since they are in-house tests.  Once again we apologize that you felt your CAI did not hit the seal points and caused extra temperature increase under the hood.  Our in house testing has not shown such increases.
  
• In short ... we did have an issue with your Auto Tune and we offered a full refund since we were having issues getting it to perform to your car.  From what I understand, the standard auto tune worked well, but you decided at that point to send the products back.  We explained that we would provide you with a full refund at this time.  You had decided to keep the Springs since they had no impact on the Steeda CAI/Tune.
  
• Lastly, we had a new rep employee in the AR department.  When they issued the refund it went to the your account and not your credit card.  This is totally on us and we apologized for the delay.  It wasn't until you called us and told us that you have not received your refund that we were able to right the situation.

Like you said in your original post ... no company is perfect but that is a goal that we strive to reach everyday.  It is with your feedback and actions that allow us to learn from these experiences and better not only our customer service but that of the customer's experience. We hope that your new springs perform and handle well. Please let us know if we can offer any further assistance?  I can assure you that our quality, testing, and engineering is 2nd to none ... and our Steeda products are all made right here in the U.S.A., just an added benefit when purchasing from Steeda.  Best Regards, TJ

Edited by tj@steeda, 12 November 2012 - 09:39 AM.

[Boss Doctor]

tj@steeda, on 12 November 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Boss Doctor, I have spoken to the members here at Steeda that have been involved in this process.  It appears that both side had some issues ... and I don't think there would have been an "ideal situation" that would have made both parties happy. Let me help explain some of the issues that I do have control over.

• We did extensive testing on our 2013 Boss LS with the CAI we had in house.  Without getting into specifics, we did the testing and our outcome had shown that the 2012/2013 Steeda CAI does hit the seal points on the under hood.  We have conclusive evidence of this that we can't share online since they are in-house tests.  Once again we apologize that you felt your CAI did not hit the seal points and caused extra temperature increase under the hood.  Our in house testing has not shown such increases.
  
• In short ... we did have an issue with your Auto Tune and we offered a full refund since we were having issues getting it to perform to your car.  From what I understand, the standard auto tune worked well, but you decided at that point to send the products back.  We explained that we would provide you with a full refund at this time.  You had decided to keep the Springs since they had no impact on the Steeda CAI/Tune.
  
• Lastly, we had a new rep employee in the AR department.  When they issued the refund it went to the your account and not your credit card.  This is totally on us and we apologized for the delay.  It wasn't until you called us and told us that you have not received your refund that we were able to right the situation.

Like you said in your original post ... no company is perfect but that is a goal that we strive to reach everyday.  It is with your feedback and actions that allow us to learn from these experiences and better not only our customer service but that of the customer's experience. We hope that your new springs perform and handle well. Please let us know if we can offer any further assistance?  I can assure you that our quality, testing, and engineering is 2nd to none ... and our Steeda products are all made right here in the U.S.A., just an added benefit when purchasing from Steeda.  Best Regards, TJ

Thanks, TJ, but I think that you are missing the point. Caca occurs, and it really doesn't matter about the product's performance here. The problem is Gus' attitude once the problem with the refund was brought to his attention, and then his attempt to divert responsibility for safeguarding the product onto me instead of onto the carrier and Steeda where it belongs.  If I had been given the appropriate materials for safe shipment and failed to utilize them then I would certainly accept some responsibility for damaged product.

I would be happy to discuss it with you over the phone this afternoon if you'd like and if you provide me with a phone number with which to call you.

[lawdude]

AsRodney King said, "Can we all get along; can we get along."

[crazy8racing]

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My kudos to Steeda for addressing this issue in an open forum.  For Boss Dr. I hope you get a phone number and are able to speak with someone in power at Steeda.  I would encourage you to not be so hasty because of one persons attitude.  We have no way of knowing wat actions were taken against Gus and it would be sad to ruin the reputation of good company because of one person.  I have not had any deaalings with Steeda as I use Kesatie Motorsports in Sarasota and they actually handle all of my parts orders.  Matt Kesatie and his crew are great and have made me a happy person.  I hope everything works out.