Parts frustration....., what else is new? Options

[Cairo94507]

So I have been ordering parts to keep the build going. Today I checked with Scotty and several parts, which were ordered months ago, never arrived. Remember I am in CA and my car is in VA and that is where parts are of course being shipped.

I spent about 2.5 hours on the phone with 4 different suppliers, well know suppliers, tracking stuff down and getting things sorted. As of now, all but one supplier have been able to address the problem and solve it. I am still awaiting an answer re my new 18mm torsion bars....

Oh well, what else could I possibly be doing with my time??????

[Eric_Shea]

I can tell you that growth has hurt me. I'm here on a Saturday trying to get caught up with customers that have real time crunch needs.

Being the only person fielding the questions from 30-40 calls per day, attempting to remember every add-on to every order "and" build 935 and 917 calipers and restore 3-4 914's and 2 911's. Open orders for over 24 S-Calipers which all need to be done by hand and then add to that, customers suddenly making panic calls about parts for long term projects that won't be ready until next year sometime. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I had to let a long term employee go last month, train a couple new ones and now, take a stab at who has the knowledge of these cars that you'd expect when you dial the phone? I'm very thankful that Gene Rice has joined our team but, I need more and, as a small business owner, those are scary propositions. My bi-weekly payroll and taxes are more than I was doing in monthly sales just three years ago. Oh... and I had the distinct honor of being the one in the family that went back to Michigan and had to tell my 85 year old father (suffering from dementia) that he could no longer live in his home anymore. Pack him up and fly him out to Salt Lake City. Add to that... a month and a half search for assisted living facilities that can handle memory care. Did I mention cleaning up piss at 3:00AM and putting on and taking off Depends all day? Damn that was one hell of a good time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif)

I don't mention any of this for a "pitty fuch". This is my extended family. You guys helped me grow my business and grow personally and I thank you for it. I mention this stuff because "sometimes" there's another side to what may be going on with some of these "parts vendors". I don't think any of them would purposely screw up an order (well... I can actually think of one). Sometimes an order for sway bar plates gets bumped from production at a specialty metal fabricators shop because a puny 100 piece vintage Porsche order (negotiated at a price a 914 guy will swallow) doesn't take precedence over a 6,000 piece "price is no object" Boeing order.

I can certainly understand the frustration though. Imagine what it's like coordinating parts for 3-4 restoration projects and juggling mechanics, painters and good metal fabricators. Customers flying in from the UK that will "demand" a running car on a certain date, uber rare unobtaium part be damned! Now imagine attempting to sleep under those conditions. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Yup... it's a really screwed up world out there. Or is it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

I personally think we're rather blessed to have rare vintage Porsche's to play with. I think we're rather blessed to have the people we have here that are attempting to keep them alive, one screwed up order at a time. It took Porsche Classic 2 years to build the LWB 911 project. i wonder how many panic calls they get? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Breath...