CW08DSG
I don't care.
- Location
- Howell, MI
- Car(s)
- 08 GTI 2dr DSG
I’m not one to gripe a lot, but I felt compelled to share my first (and definitely last) experience with MJM Autohaus.
It all started last Friday, based on the following post on their Facebook page:
PayPal Special "FRIDAY ONLY" deals on Hawk Performance Brake Pads; see pricing below and follow the instructions precisely to get your order in! All pricing includes free shipping to the lower 48 states and is for the set of front and rear HPS Pads! It's for those with Confirmed and Verified PayPal accounts!
Many VW and Audi products were listed with the price for that particular set of Hawk HPS Pads.
Pricing was listed for various models and customers were instructed to email them at sales@mjmautohaus.com to ask any questions or place an order, which I did. Below is the email I sent them.
------------------------------
On Jan 27, 2012, at 4:11 PM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Hello,
Contacting you regarding your Facebook post about a Friday Only/Paypal brake special.
I'd like to get the f/r set of Hawk HPS pads for a 2008 GTI you show for 144.95.
Here's my contact and Paypal information. I am a confirmed and verified Paypal account holder.
Doug ***
**** ******* ***** ****.
Howell MI 48843
517-***-****
Paypal address is : ********@***.***
Thanks in advance. Please contact me if you need further information.
Doug ***
--------------------------------------------
Here's the reply I received that afternoon:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug Utz <********@******>
Sent: Fri, January 27, 2012 5:32:59 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Doug,
No problem. We'll get you invoiced and taken care of.
Thank you,
Customer Service
---------------------------------------------------
Weekend rolled by and of course I didn't expect to see any activity until Monday. But Monday came and went and still there was no invoice, no PayPal activity, email confirmation, nothing, so I decided to contact them earlier today. Here's what I sent them:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 10:31 AM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Good Morning,
Checking in, haven't seen an invoice or any tracking information from you yet, nor have I seen any activity with my PayPal account.
Can you give me a status update?
Thanks in advance!
Doug ***
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here's their reply:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug *** <********@******>
Sent: Tue, January 31, 2012 12:32:12 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Tracking information? You'd have to pay for a product to have tracking info, right?
You'll be taken care of shortly. Your patience is appreciated.
Thank you,
Customer Service
-----------------------------------------------------
I wrote them back:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 11:43 AM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Really?
I followed your Facebook page instructions which were very specific for this special and provided you with my complete address and PayPal information in my first email to you. Of course I realize a product needs to be paid for, but per your instructions I did provide you with the required PayPal address so you could actually charge me for the products I purchased - hence my question regarding no PayPal activity as of yet.
This is my first order with you; based on this reply it may very well be my last. A simple reply along the lines of "we haven't shipped your items yet and therefore haven't billed you" would have answered my questions properly without resorting to the wise-a** answer I received.
Sincerely,
Doug
-----------------------------------
And their reply:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug Utz <********@******>
Sent: Tue, January 31, 2012 12:46:50 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Doug,
You asked about a tracking number. You have not paid for anything so we're curious how a tracking number is possible. Like indicated to you two times now - you will be taken care of.
Do you want to place the order when that particular rep prepares the invoice - yes or no?
Thank you,
Customer Service
----------------------------------------
Which I replied to with:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 12:03 PM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
In my email I stated that I haven't seen an invoice or any tracking information, nor have I seen any PayPal activity. I did not just ask about a tracking number. I truly anticipated having been billed for the purchase by now, and that is what triggered my email to you today. I'm a very reasonable person, and I don't expect miracle shipping times. What I do expect is what should have been a very simple and courteous answer to a very simple and legitimate question. Telling a customer "they'll be taken care of" twice doesn't answer my specific question.
And yes, I still want the order. Can you give me a reasonable timeline that I will receive an invoice?
Doug
-------------------------------
Their reply:
Doug,
What is your phone number?
Thank you,
Customer Service
---------------------------------
Disregarding the fact my phone number was in my first email with my order, I gave them both my cell and direct line at work.
About 4 hours passed and a Kelly called. Here's some of the gems he uttered during our brief conversation.
"We're very busy here"
"I read about 100 emails every 4-5 hours myself"
"I can't write you a novel"
"I don't know what choice of words you were looking for"
"The guy who handles the PayPal promotions is out"
"I'm the guy who wrote every one of those emails to you"
I'm really happy they're busy, it's good to see a business doing well.
I do understand the email flood. I deal with it to in my job, although not to the extent Kelly apparently does.
I didn't want or expect a "novel". I simply wanted to know when I would be invoiced. I was in absolutely no rush for the pads and I didn't have some unrealistic expectation of a delivery time. What I didn't need or want was his smart ass replies.
Why didn't you simply tell me in your very first reply that "Sorry, the guy who handles that promotion is out for a couple of days, but I promise you will get invoiced within X days, thanks for your patience." A simple statement like that would have been sufficient and I would have not even contacted you again.
I wouldn't brag about being a smart ass via email or phone. Sorry, it's really not the way to handle your business.
Maybe I'm hyper sensitive to good customer service, as roughly 30% of my annual income is derived from my customer service score index, based on purchase surveys my customers submit. But after a very brief Google search (yet alone on here) finds several threads about similar experiences with MJM. Some of the words that kept popping up were "rude" "sarcastic" "snide" etc. Definitely a common theme and it made me feel like my experience wasn't singular.
I also want to state that I am not a believer in the theory that "the customer is always right" because, well we/they aren't always right. I am however a believer in the business trying to find a solution to a potential problem that is fair to both parties and keeps them both happy. Kelly did neither and he could have with a very simple statement.
You've lost me as a future customer, and while I realize I'm a drop in the bucket to you (and you probably don't care), I, like many others often spend more money than I should on my hobbies, one of which is my car. I can say you'll never get a cent of it.
Maybe I caught you on a bad day, I don't know. If so, I can understand somewhat. As you stated on the phone, it really is difficult to "sense" someone's attitude via words in an email, but had you simply provided me with the answer to what I was asking, this wouldn't be posted.
It all started last Friday, based on the following post on their Facebook page:
PayPal Special "FRIDAY ONLY" deals on Hawk Performance Brake Pads; see pricing below and follow the instructions precisely to get your order in! All pricing includes free shipping to the lower 48 states and is for the set of front and rear HPS Pads! It's for those with Confirmed and Verified PayPal accounts!
Many VW and Audi products were listed with the price for that particular set of Hawk HPS Pads.
Pricing was listed for various models and customers were instructed to email them at sales@mjmautohaus.com to ask any questions or place an order, which I did. Below is the email I sent them.
------------------------------
On Jan 27, 2012, at 4:11 PM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Hello,
Contacting you regarding your Facebook post about a Friday Only/Paypal brake special.
I'd like to get the f/r set of Hawk HPS pads for a 2008 GTI you show for 144.95.
Here's my contact and Paypal information. I am a confirmed and verified Paypal account holder.
Doug ***
**** ******* ***** ****.
Howell MI 48843
517-***-****
Paypal address is : ********@***.***
Thanks in advance. Please contact me if you need further information.
Doug ***
--------------------------------------------
Here's the reply I received that afternoon:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug Utz <********@******>
Sent: Fri, January 27, 2012 5:32:59 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Doug,
No problem. We'll get you invoiced and taken care of.
Thank you,
Customer Service
---------------------------------------------------
Weekend rolled by and of course I didn't expect to see any activity until Monday. But Monday came and went and still there was no invoice, no PayPal activity, email confirmation, nothing, so I decided to contact them earlier today. Here's what I sent them:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 10:31 AM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Good Morning,
Checking in, haven't seen an invoice or any tracking information from you yet, nor have I seen any activity with my PayPal account.
Can you give me a status update?
Thanks in advance!
Doug ***
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here's their reply:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug *** <********@******>
Sent: Tue, January 31, 2012 12:32:12 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Tracking information? You'd have to pay for a product to have tracking info, right?
You'll be taken care of shortly. Your patience is appreciated.
Thank you,
Customer Service
-----------------------------------------------------
I wrote them back:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 11:43 AM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
Really?
I followed your Facebook page instructions which were very specific for this special and provided you with my complete address and PayPal information in my first email to you. Of course I realize a product needs to be paid for, but per your instructions I did provide you with the required PayPal address so you could actually charge me for the products I purchased - hence my question regarding no PayPal activity as of yet.
This is my first order with you; based on this reply it may very well be my last. A simple reply along the lines of "we haven't shipped your items yet and therefore haven't billed you" would have answered my questions properly without resorting to the wise-a** answer I received.
Sincerely,
Doug
-----------------------------------
And their reply:
From: "Sales@mjmautohaus.com" <sales@mjmautohaus.com>
To: Doug Utz <********@******>
Sent: Tue, January 31, 2012 12:46:50 PM
Subject: Re: Friday Only Brake Pad Special Request
Doug,
You asked about a tracking number. You have not paid for anything so we're curious how a tracking number is possible. Like indicated to you two times now - you will be taken care of.
Do you want to place the order when that particular rep prepares the invoice - yes or no?
Thank you,
Customer Service
----------------------------------------
Which I replied to with:
On Jan 31, 2012, at 12:03 PM, Doug *** <********@******> wrote:
In my email I stated that I haven't seen an invoice or any tracking information, nor have I seen any PayPal activity. I did not just ask about a tracking number. I truly anticipated having been billed for the purchase by now, and that is what triggered my email to you today. I'm a very reasonable person, and I don't expect miracle shipping times. What I do expect is what should have been a very simple and courteous answer to a very simple and legitimate question. Telling a customer "they'll be taken care of" twice doesn't answer my specific question.
And yes, I still want the order. Can you give me a reasonable timeline that I will receive an invoice?
Doug
-------------------------------
Their reply:
Doug,
What is your phone number?
Thank you,
Customer Service
---------------------------------
Disregarding the fact my phone number was in my first email with my order, I gave them both my cell and direct line at work.
About 4 hours passed and a Kelly called. Here's some of the gems he uttered during our brief conversation.
"We're very busy here"
"I read about 100 emails every 4-5 hours myself"
"I can't write you a novel"
"I don't know what choice of words you were looking for"
"The guy who handles the PayPal promotions is out"
"I'm the guy who wrote every one of those emails to you"
I'm really happy they're busy, it's good to see a business doing well.
I do understand the email flood. I deal with it to in my job, although not to the extent Kelly apparently does.
I didn't want or expect a "novel". I simply wanted to know when I would be invoiced. I was in absolutely no rush for the pads and I didn't have some unrealistic expectation of a delivery time. What I didn't need or want was his smart ass replies.
Why didn't you simply tell me in your very first reply that "Sorry, the guy who handles that promotion is out for a couple of days, but I promise you will get invoiced within X days, thanks for your patience." A simple statement like that would have been sufficient and I would have not even contacted you again.
I wouldn't brag about being a smart ass via email or phone. Sorry, it's really not the way to handle your business.
Maybe I'm hyper sensitive to good customer service, as roughly 30% of my annual income is derived from my customer service score index, based on purchase surveys my customers submit. But after a very brief Google search (yet alone on here) finds several threads about similar experiences with MJM. Some of the words that kept popping up were "rude" "sarcastic" "snide" etc. Definitely a common theme and it made me feel like my experience wasn't singular.
I also want to state that I am not a believer in the theory that "the customer is always right" because, well we/they aren't always right. I am however a believer in the business trying to find a solution to a potential problem that is fair to both parties and keeps them both happy. Kelly did neither and he could have with a very simple statement.
You've lost me as a future customer, and while I realize I'm a drop in the bucket to you (and you probably don't care), I, like many others often spend more money than I should on my hobbies, one of which is my car. I can say you'll never get a cent of it.
Maybe I caught you on a bad day, I don't know. If so, I can understand somewhat. As you stated on the phone, it really is difficult to "sense" someone's attitude via words in an email, but had you simply provided me with the answer to what I was asking, this wouldn't be posted.
