trini Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 There seems to be a particular business ,name starts with S on the west coast that advertises fabrics for the automotive business. The printed Contact enquiry form does not allow you to reply to queries. Any time I phone to enquire of my order I am given 4 options . the only one that works is " press 1 to order" The other options do not work. The answer is "we will contact you " . I shipped a head liner sample , and bought matching material. Paid with credit card. The charge is way out of line , inconsistent with what I was told over the phone. IS THIS A SCAM BUSINESS ADVERTISING ON THE Hemmings Classic Car Magazine ?. Just check on their website reviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Known issue. If you are unhappy, contact your credit card company and they'll reverse the charges since nothing has been shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 I believe I've done business with that company before...they asked for the swatch of existing fabric so they can match. If it's the same company, they did send me stuff I asked for at the price they quoted. OTOH, some of their NOS fabrics are very high priced, and I opted for a less expensive and better quality alternative for other upholstery needs. I think small companies operating in a national market sometimes adopt a "don't contact us, we'll contact you" policy because they feel they're being bothered too much by customers. There's junkyard in Texas like that. If a company is pressed for time, I understand their motivation, but it's not a very good strategy to try to get along without a customer service dept. (or at least process) to assist people after the sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Customers are the business. If no customers, there is no business. But when you treat customers like trash. you are asking for trouble . Especially when the company website says "no reply. " and says "we will contact you in a few days but never do . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 After several phone calls the answer is the same recording merry go around. "We will get back to you, we are busy, we will get back to you as soon as possible " I have my project to do also while the weather is warm and I can work in my garage. This company boast that they have been in business for over 40 years but all the signs points to bankrupt. I asked my credit card company to reverse the charges on August 26 . They also have my headliner liner sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 I have dealt with them and had good luck. You can't be in a hurry though. They eventually got back to me and also sent me the fabric I needed. You cant be in a hurry though. If they have to make the fabric, it can take a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Experiences with this company have been varied. They have shipped us material and charged us for it that was nowhere near an "exact match" as they claimed. On other occasions their service and product has been outstanding. They get away with abusing their customers simply because they often have materials that are simply not available elsewhere. We avoid them whenever possible but it is not always possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 We have found Hirsch to be a good alternative for fabrics with better service. Not quite as wide a selection and I don't believe they can have custom stuff made, but they have done a good job for us when we needed something relatively common (1941 Cadillac 60S upholstery, 1934 Packard upholstery, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 We use Hirsch a lot. Hope they stay in business now that Bill is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldsfan Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 If you do a Google search for that company, somewhere you will find a link with their Better Business Bureau cases. Makes for some fun reading. My case is there. From that page you will be able to file your own case. That's what I did and it got results. I'd post a link here for you, but we seem to be doing a good job of not directly identifying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Some people May say they Scam customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Long on quality, short on promised timing. I've done business with them numerous times and found this to be the case. However, in all cases what they sent was a perfect match for what worn out stuff I had. Small companies just don't have enough people to meet timelines I guess. Also, several years ago their best man retired. My 56 Buick needed three different material, and some of those had to had to have steam design mark impressions. All of it was a perfect match. They also had books and they quoted me exactly what the car needed. But, I'd been warned by a NC restorer friend of mine that they were horribly slow and for that reason, he wouldn't deal with them. Now, of course, I type this guessing we are talking about the same company. The last time, 2-3 years ago, the lady who answered the phone sounded well up in years. There are a lot of scam dealers out there, though, so you just have to be super careful....I haven't been several times too many in my 64 years of fooling (my late father's words) with old cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 I emailed Hirsh, He was prompt and asked for samples. I will do business with him. What is upsetting is that this errant company will not even acknowledge receipt or even a phone call. It is a poor way of doing business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomobile Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 I'm not defending this small business person's lack of response. I will say this though, most small businesses are budgeted for support time. When someone calls they must realize that the person who answers probably also works in the shop so the time they spend on the phone is taken from available work hours. The answering machine is a pretty poor way to handle it though. Being on that end of it in a small business it's best to always answer the phone, but politely get it across to the caller that they don't have all day to discuss their project. Some people will really abuse a small business by continually calling and pestering them and taking them away from the work. On a few hundred dollar sale, there is simply no money in the project to talk on the phone for hours, and the business owner winds up losing money on it. Again this business can at least return an email, which they can group together with others and provide some response, no response is the worst way to handle it. The other issue is turn around time. On custom work, if this business is a single source for a particular product or process, it's likely time consuming on their end as well, chasing down remote suppliers, or simply searching out a source. For upholstery related work and supplies, my experience is none of the good ones turn anything around very quickly and most I called had waiting lists months long and why I wound up tackling the job myself which came out okay. (see pic) It can be frustrating dealing with a small business, but they aren't Walmart or Amazon. Often they are not equipped or even able to handle high volume or rush orders. -Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Their website says "usually reply the next day" This word "usually" has a wide, varied meaning. It is a clue to scamming. I am still awaiting a "reply" I reported this transaction to my credit card company and asked them to reverse the charges. They are doing just that, I hope. Cheers. Harry in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 We recently had dealings with them. We called and ordered a material they assured us they had 'plenty' of. They charged our credit card over $1100 as agreed. Two weeks later we had not received the material. Called and they said they only had 1 yard but would be having more made in a few months. We asked them to refund our $1100 and they refused. We disputed the charge with our credit card money and the money was returned to our account. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billorn Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Restorer32 said: We recently had dealings with them. We called and ordered a material they assured us they had 'plenty' of. They charged our credit card over $1100 as agreed. Two weeks later we had not received the material. Called and they said they only had 1 yard but would be having more made in a few months. We asked them to refund our $1100 and they refused. We disputed the charge with our credit card money and the money was returned to our account. . Sadly this seems to be sop with them. If you can get them to deliver it's usually good but it's always a if. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 19 hours ago, trini said: Their website says "usually reply the next day" This word "usually" has a wide, varied meaning. It is a clue to scamming. I am still awaiting a "reply" I reported this transaction to my credit card company and asked them to reverse the charges. They are doing just that, I hope. Cheers. Harry in Canada. A similar thing happened to me, but with Chrysler Corp., and they aren't a small business. I ordered an upgrade for the GPS in my 2013 Dodge Charger. It came quickly but my Chrysler dealer said it wouldn't work. I called my credit card company and reversed the charges and so far I've heard nothing from Chrysler or the credit card copy. I've always gotten good stuff and correct stuff from the company you're talking about. Trimacar, you've been in business as a trimmer for a long time. I would have thought you'd had good luck with this company most of the time, if you weren't in a hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 22 hours ago, Restorer32 said: We called and ordered a material they assured us they had 'plenty' of. I have made calls to order items that were important to me. My standard question is "Can you walk to it and touch it?" If they say yes I tell them to do that and call me back when they verify they did. And I ask "Did you actually touch it?" Most people won't lie for the boss. I approve of the company in the topic and have seen some really nice embossed vinyl panels come from them. I plan to reupholster my '60 Electra front seat next year and will go there first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 We did buy embossed panels from them for a Bonneville we restored and the quality was fine as was delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 When dealers lie to customers they lose credibility. Credibility is something you cannot buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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