I got a new e-mail flyer from them and they have seriously dropped some prices from what I remember. Their "greatest rubber kit" is now 499.50 wasn't it previously like 600.00 or more? 19 pice clutch kit is 385.00 used to be a clutch pressure plate and throwout bearing were that much. Steel rockers for 300.00 ALMOST seems reasonable. Note I in now way encourage buying from them at this point but is the BIG CHANGE as they put it going to be werthwhile?? Have they finally woken up and will straighten that place out??I havn't bought from them in a couple of years so my brain may be misfiring..........




























Probably not

FLAME ON

What be up, musk umb deow... spannin' hwheews... RIDE A PONY PAINTED THE LET SPINNING TURN WHEEL! Singing a happy song, just gots outs ofs the shower! whee! Watah Werld!

Whatever.


M

But doesn't low priced crappy fitting rubber make up fopr the whole Hum-ass ting? It's the Ying Yang thing you know balance. Something horrible is balanced with something mediocre.

No. Horridity can only be offset by either drinking something nasty (right behind it) or hydro-flossing your mind.



M

they weren't getting any orders, and you can't make interest on undelivered goods if no body has sent in any money. Gearge is a businessman. Ain't he clever?

and a certain person doesn't work there anymore.......

You know...I'm also starting to see a lot of "No Longer Available" on the PP site...maybe we just ain't buyin' enought stuff for it to make sense to keep the stuff in inventory anymore ?????

QUOTE (jbegood2000 @ Feb 4 2006, 07:41 AM)

You know...I'm also starting to see a lot of "No Longer Available" on the PP site...maybe we just ain't buyin' enought stuff for it to make sense to keep the stuff in inventory anymore ?????

NLA mean No Longer Available, as in it isn't produced by anyone anywhere. Not we just don't order it anymore.

I know what NLA means...if there was demand somebody would make it...if we ain't buyin' the stuff there is no need to make it....supply and demand..

After being in S. CA at WCC last year and meeting many of you,I personally felt that some complaints were petty at best. But many of you had real complaints that for the most part we should have handled differently.For that I am sorry,but the fact of the matter is that a group of us at AA are working very hard to change some of the policies that have made you feel the way you do.
One big change that for the most part you are already aware of was the removal of our V.P. That was a tough move but the positive impact is already being felt throughout the company.
Now I hope those of you who have never ordered from us because of the things you may have heard will be willing to give us a shot and that invitation stands for our old customers as well.

what were the complaints that you personally felt, were "petty, at best"?

k

Petty: people expecting parts in return for cash being paid.

There is always a scapegoat, eh?

The bottom line is that anyone from the club who may have a !new! complaint or general problem with the way an order is being handled is welcome to speak with me one on one. You may find that our general attitude has changed a bit.Just ask to speak with Sean and I'll do what I can. That is the best I have to offer. It is not easy to be all things to all people.

QUOTE (Travis Neff @ Feb 4 2006, 11:09 AM)

Petty: people expecting parts in return for cash being paid. There is always a scapegoat, eh?

who be the x vp?

Wasn't me, I swear! I had nothing to do with it.

new? check out my signature. could be words to live by.

k

QUOTE (914Jr. @ Feb 4 2006, 11:39 AM)

The bottom line is that anyone from the club who may have a !new! complaint or general problem with the way an order is being handled is welcome to speak with me one on one. You may find that our general attitude has changed a bit.Just ask to speak with Sean and I'll do what I can. That is the best I have to offer. It is not easy to be all things to all people.

914Jr.

It seems hard for me to believe that the VP of any company would have that much effect on company policies, which are normally set by the owner/president.

Would you mind giving us club members a little insight on your experience/background in the auotmotive parts industry? How long have you been involved with AA and in what capacities?

Come on guys, lighten up and give AA a change of attitude. I looked at their recent advertisements & impressed with AA. We need them more than ever. 914 parts are getting scarce and Geo. has supplied more repo parts than anyone else. Think about it. Geo @ AA is the most successful 914 business (except Jake) parts supplier ever and still in business. He has the largest car collection of 914's than anyone I know. George gets good press throughout the 914 world in many magazine articles. Say what you want, but we need AA.

Tom
BTW
Please don't flame me for saying this.
My experience with AA has been good. Have you noticed he's into all Porsche models (smart business man).

914jr,

I have spoken with George directly and he treated me horribly. It was to the point that I was dumbfounded that the guy had the nerve to act the way was acting. He point blank accused me of lying and went so far as to call me belligerant. Not once did he offer an apology for completely lying about the availabilty of a part. The guy doesn't value his customers at all and doesn't mind being a pompous ass while dealing with them. Please explain how your VP leaving is going to fix that?

always remember the first rule of plumbing.

k

always use flux?




as for AA, I heard that Hussey was quite a chrarcter, back from liek 20 years ago...

but I'll continue to give AA a try I suppose. The door cams I bought two years ago still work.

b

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Feb 4 2006, 12:22 PM)

always remember the first rule of plumbing. k

Hmmm.....don't know what that is. How about a little help?

"Shit rolls down hill"

"Don't eat yellow snow"

"If it burns when you pee"

I agree with Thomas as far as we do need parts...lots of 'em and sometimes AA and PP are the best guys to get 'em from.......I would hope that George was only have a bad day when he ripped ya a new one....certainly not the customer satisfaction skills I would display or tolerate for that matter...anybody who treat sme like can kiss my

Getting back on track......the rubber kit is cheaper, but that is because it doesn't include the windshield frame seal.

Another 2-cents worth.

It's probably true George is a little testy now & then. It would be in AA's best interest to keep George off the phone with customers. Let him do his thing & keep him away from the public. Put him in a room with a Starbucks coffee and lock the door till it's time to go home. Better yet send him on vacation & let someone else count his money. Some of the world's best businesses are run by crabby people.

I still say we need AA. Just be carefull when ordering and get confirmation what you expect.

Tom

QUOTE (jbegood2000 @ Feb 4 2006, 12:40 PM)

I would hope that George was only have a bad day when he ripped ya a new one....certainly not the customer satisfaction skills I would display or tolerate for that matter.

Evidently he was having a bad day every time we spoke. I had started the process with Visa to dispute the charges since he couldn't/wouldn't tell me when the parts would be here and I had long since paid for them after being told the were in stock. They finally showed up, however. It was only 3 or 4 months late.

Michael,just so you know the front top seal you received 12/30/05 was one of only eight still for sale in America (we had the other seven) .Your lack of patience resulted in the bumping of 60 other backordered customers so you could be made as happy as possible. Thanks and enjoy the seal as we have resorted to spending $10,000 in tooling to begin production of said seal to better serve our customers.

Hi guys I'm Jason, the one behind the email advert some of you received. I might be able to clear up a few things as far as AA and the 'petty complaints' are concerned.

As for the email, no we're not hurting so bad that we're doing some kind of going out of business sale. Most of those prices you see were taken straight out of the database at the same price they've been for a while. A few, such as that rubber kit, were changed but partly due to a change in content and partly to more accurately reflect current costs.

Any time I come across a part that I feel may be incorrectly priced I'll take the time to check and modify as necessary. However, because of the sheer size of our database sometimes a part will slip through the cracks and not follow current demand. If any of you come across a part that is grossly overpriced please feel free to email me and let me know about it. I can be reached at: Jason .at. autoatlanta.com. Aside from that I'm going to keep chugging away at the current prices as fast as possible.

In regards to the 'petty complaints' honestly we do get a fair handful of people who are upset over the strangest things. Case in point, we got a call some time back from a guy who was absolutely pissed that he got seals that were "grey and covered in some powder" and not black as advertised. It took a good 10 minutes to explain that the powder is a protective measure used, in part, to keep the seals from sticking to each other in storage and can be easily wiped off. I compared it to having to peel an orange before eating it. In the end everyone (including the customer) had a good laugh and business went on as usual.

I guarantee anyone who has dealt with Joe Public has more than a dozen stories like that. While every complaint is taken seriously, some are more...dare I say...petty... than others. That said, if you feel you do have a complaint, petty or otherwise, please feel free to also ask for me by name. While I can't peel the orange for you, I'll do everything I can to rectify the situation so everyone can go home happy.

Sorry for the novel but hopefully it'll help explain a few things.

Please don't take this personally, Sean, but you work for a place that has a nasty reputation to try & counteract. There have just been too many horror stories about projects being put on hold while waiting for a part AA swears in "in stock" that turns out to be a 3 month back-order. Unfortunately, some have been fairly recent. I have never ordered from AA, since I'm fortunate enough to live just down the road from GPR, and will always go to Dave first. He *has* ordered things thru you for me, promptly delivered to him, and thus to me, but these are little things (like the repro exterior door handles, that are less than to be desired). Promises of spending lots of money to put together seals that are NLA are fine and good, but if the seals never show, or are of the same quality that the current repro seals have been (bad), will not do your cause any good. We are very hard to please, and CSOB's to boot. These are just my personal observations, after being a 914 owner for the last 7 years.

QUOTE (914Jr. @ Feb 4 2006, 01:11 PM)

Michael,just so you know the front top seal you received 12/30/05 was one of only eight still for sale in America (we had the other seven) .Your lack of patience resulted in the bumping of 60 other backordered customers so you could be made as happy as possible. Thanks and enjoy the seal as we have resorted to spending $10,000 in tooling to begin production of said seal to better serve our customers.

The availabilty of the seal really isn't what is at issue here. The way AA handled the situation and treated me is the heart of the problem. For whatever reason, you guys just don't get that.

That being said, if that seal is indeed so incredibly rare, why in the world would you guys say that you had it in stock when I placed my order? I specifically asked about the availabilty of that seal when I ordered the kit.

When the error was realized, a simple, "Hey we really screwed up on that one. We apologize! How can we make it right?" would have went a long way. Instead I get called a liar and labeled belligerent because I ask AA to deliver what they said they had in stock or make it right in some other way. Surely you can see that the availability of the product isn't your real problem here. If you can't see that, then I am afraid it will be business as usual at AA.

QUOTE (914Jr. @ Feb 4 2006, 01:11 PM)

Your lack of patience resulted in the bumping of 60 other backordered customers so you could be made as happy as possible.

Not to beat a dead horse, but your statement says it all. You guys make a mistake and make zero effort to rectify it and that becomes my lack of patience??? You guys just don't get it.

No need to harp. As I said should you find George to difficult to deal with just ask to speak with Jason or myself and I have no doubt that there will be few problems we are unable to resolve. George has alot on his plate but he remains a committed enthusiast.

Jason and 914jr.

You have your work cut out for you.

You have a brand name that has been seriously tarnished over the course of probably the last 4-5 years.
It cannot be fixed with one thread in one forum.

From a consumer study performed for IBM, by booze allen (For Tim who likes facts.)
For every happy customer, that customer will tell 3 people, over their lifetime.
For every unhappy customer, that customer will tell more than 30 people in their lifetime.
This goes to show that people will go out of their way to make sure that others do not get treated the same way.

I personally have never had a real problem..I have had orders charged incorrectly on my card, but that was resolved...I have had to wait for parts,,,that was resolved.

So all in all I am a satisfied customer...BUT
You have alot of unhappy customers and you need to approach every transaction as if you are dealing with 30 customers..if not , 30 customers will not do business with you...

Try to remember how fast the internet really is...I have seen guys get of the phone with your company and post here within minutes............another 30 customers gone.

I would recommend you offer a 914club discount, or special deal, and repair your relationship with the members here ......5000 btw.... A free catalog would help.

Dont bother trying to fix things here on the forum...try to fix them on the phone and at your business.

BTW, put me on your mailing list...I will still buy from you..just never got on the list.

r_towle (at) yahoo

Rich

Thanks Rich.

Hmm, that reputation has been at least 15 years ago. The VP in question started about 5-6 years ago with similar statements of I will make it right. Your new statement of ethics are verbatim. I believe you all have a hard job ahead of you, best of luck.

w/ Rich

r_towle, Believe me you're preaching to the choir on that one and I hope you don't just feel this is a short show we're putting on for those in the forum. We really are trying to revamp our customer service. I'm working on a number of projects to help with customer satisfaction and I'm really excited about the future of AA. I can understand those of you who will proceed with caution but maybe keep one eye on the company, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. Change takes time and some of you may never come back to AA, but I hope soon some of you that were upset will look back at it as a 'funny' time for AA and nothing more. I don't expect it to be easy, but I expect it will be done.

As for George, I can honestly say he is one of the most intersting people I've ever met. His blunt honesty is really refreshing and I'm not just saying that because he signs my paycheck. Some people can find him difficult to deal with because he will speak his mind without second thought, that's how he has always been. But for those who don't want to deal with BS it's good to know he'll tell you exactly how it is.

Sure, sometimes he mistakenly says he has something in stock, and I can be accused of the same thing. We usually stay so busy that we've had people walk in the door and clear off a shelf for a restoration at the same time the parts are being sold over the phone or on the internet. While inventory updates are almost instant, this slight overlap means that sometimes a part is placed on backorder after the order was placed. It's especially true for the more popular parts. I guess that can be seen as the down side of selling over the counter along with mail order.

Almost every order I have done had all the parts "in stock" yet almost every order was backordered. Not petty, not a complaint, I did not expect them all to be in the box..just a fact..plain and simple. It might piss off other customers...

I offered 6 years ago to come down and fix the database FOR FREE....your database is not real time, and your stock /inventory is not current. Still isnt, no one walks in the door during every online order. That is an excuse, not a solution. Your data base can be made real time and accurate. Offer still on the table..

Again. If you are trying to reach out to the 914 club community (5K customers) offer something different.

Offer a deal, offer a discount to the club members.
give us a reason to call...right now there is no reason for us to not go to PP.

PP is consistantly cheaper than AA, or for that matter, cheaper than most of the competition on alot of the normal parts...and they have a stellar reputation providing great customer service.

Take a look at competitive pricing. Get better deals from your vendors..

If AA is the largest 914 parts suppliers, how come the pricing does not reflect the volume. PP must have a special deal.

Rich

QUOTE

I might be able to clear up a few things as far as AA and the 'petty complaints' are concerned.

So he sends two more over here to shake the money tree...

I said it before and it was invariably true. They're not here to help but to broadcast. Prove me wrong.

If you mention the word 'petty' meaning, your x-customers complaints were all 'petty', or your customers are 'petty', you truly don't get the broad scope of people that George has pissed off, or what he has done to piss them off. And you 'really' don't understand 'basic' customer service. I'm guessing you'll want to go put on your Nomex undies for that comment.

Here goes the broken fucking record:

George has a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding the 914. He could be an 'extremely' useful member over here, especially with a business that was started to serve the 914 owner. Yet, he never shows his face here. He never once tries to rectify basic 'immutable' (not petty) issues with previous customers. Instead he sends the Greg's, the Jason's and the Jr.'s of the world as shills to attempt to drive traffic to his business, just now, understanding that this thing called the Internet may have an affect on his business, especially community groups like this one. It's called CBC - consumer based content. It's the blogs that made Apple acknowledge the iPOD problem. It's the posts in threads, like this one, that should alert George that there's a bigger problem than his shills can merrily fix.

Join us George. Spend a week and about a $grand$ fixing problems of the past. Admit you're no customer service genius. Admit you've made mistakes. I've found this to be a very forgiving group/family.

Until then, I'm keeping the $4.17 cent cable (of some sort) that you sent me when I ordered a heater cable... I still don't know what it's for but... it was my mistake (says you) and there was 'no return'. You are correct... I did not return. That $4.17 plus taxes and inflated shipping has probably grown over the years if invested wisely. I've probably spent 5,000 times that with Tom and (now) Wayne so... maybe not such a wise investment afterall. Plus, I'll continue to spread the 'truth as I see it" on community boards like this... how much is good publicity worth?

Shill away boys... you'll find your supporters and you'll find those that have had some 'serious' PETTY complaints. Maybe I'm a perfect example, you decide of what:

Petty Customer - It's just a $4.00 cable. Why doesn't he just move on and give us his money?
Perfect Customer - One who is constantly restoring cars as a hobby and one you wouldn't want to lose over $4 bucks.

You’re opening the floodgates. Good luck.

E.

P.S. I honestly wish this would change. I do. It would be great to have George as a viable vendor and contributing member of this forum.

I live in Atlanta and have used AA among others in the past. George is a really neat guy to talk to if you stop by AA on a satruday afternoon and he is hanging around. He always wants to see the car and help find things that are either missing or not working right. I know some of you had problems with him, but so far, so good for me.

That said, the VP that is no longer listed on their website is another story... That guy was absolutely everything and then some of what I have seen reported. Anyone having a bad feeling about AA because of him, I'm with you 100%. Good riddens! Keep in mind he's the one behind www.gtautoperformance.com.

I don't think I've met Sean or Jason yet, but I've been by AA and dealt with Thomas on several ocasions. He is always very helpful and good to deal with.

Now, I have not bought anything from AA since middle of last year due their ex-VP, but I think it is worth the benefit of doubt to try them again if they say they will improve things, even if just a small order to see the response. If we still get bad service, well then shame on them and we can go buy elsewhere and hope PP or GPR gets access to their coveted inventory.

Don't flame me, but it has sucked having such a great resource of parts just down the road and not buying from them on principle...

A sugestion for AA: To prove your doing better and want customers back, how about an exclusive promotional code posted to the forum (only for club members) good for a % off your next order to encourage some of the naysayers to give you a try (and reward repeat customers)? If your really going to be better, you should have nothing to lose as a positive experience will certainly result in repeat business.

Quite an offer and I'll certainly keep it in mind. There's more than a few things I'd like to change about our DB. I'm sure you can understand we're not likely to be able to give someone who isn't an employee full access to our DB, which is probably why you weren't taken up on the offer 6 years ago.

I'm not trying to say that EVERY backordered piece finds its way on that list because someone walking in the door buys it, it's merely an example of circumstances that make the order go that direction. It can really happen any number of ways, two phone calls for the same part, an internet order that was filled before one that was called in, or a handful of other reasons. My point with the statement is that I'm not a 'yes man' in that I'm not going to tell you we have a part on the shelf unless I either know that we do, or have good reason to believe we do.

As I said before, the pricing is an ongoing thing. I can't correct every price overnight, but believe that I am working on different programs to keep our prices more in line with competitors, it'll just take a bit of time.

QUOTE

Don't flame me, but it has sucked having such a great resource of parts just down the road and not buying from them on principle... A sugestion for AA: To prove your doing better and want customers back, how about an exclusive promotional code posted to the forum (only for club members) good for a % off your next order to encourage some of the naysayers to give you a try (and reward repeat customers)? If your really going to be better, you should have nothing to lose as a positive experience will certainly result in repeat business.

No worries... I've had some great chats with George.

Here's my suggestion: Find those people (they'll invariably show their face here) and 'fix their problem'. Not only might it cost you a whopping $4 bucks but, you might gain a customer back... MBA 101 "Long Term Value of a Customer"

QUOTE (Jason.H @ Feb 4 2006, 04:38 PM)

Quite an offer and I'll certainly keep it in mind. There's more than a few things I'd like to change about our DB. I'm sure you can understand we're not likely to be able to give someone who isn't an employee full access to our DB, which is probably why you weren't taken up on the offer 6 years ago

it would be simply stupid to pass up an offer like this....


sooner or later you all are gonna be shooting yourself in the foot when this old style database drops to its knees....

If he's doing it for free, then why not?

after he's done, change the password/access info.

simple.

b

hmmm - this is an interesting thread -
I personally have not had the need to purchase too many things from AA - or for that matter from other parts places. When buying a old car - I try to buy the best you can get to begin with. That saves you a lot of grief and money down the pike.
The few things I bought - were delivered on time and as described - so no criping here.
The 914 is not the only European "vintage" car I have owned - I had a bunch of English and Italian cars... so I am not necessarely surprised to pay premiums for the parts to keep these older cars running. I also can imagine that when you deal with a "wrecking yard" kind of inventory it is not always easy to determine what is in stock and what might be out of stock so therefore it might not always be easy to respond to customers what is on hand. I also appreciate that these businesses have to make a long term investments in space, old cars and wrecks and inventory that sits for a long time and cost money to just keep around. I believe Mr Hussey and his collegues that survive in this business have to be smart business men and I can appreciate that they command the prices they can get in this market place - after all - they are in BUSINESS - not in charitable organizations to keep old lkunkers going! Nobody in their right mind does it just for the love of the next guy.
At the danger of not endearing myeself to the members of this forum - I find there are a few opinionated whiners here, that are very easy to critisize business practices of people that make a living of supporting our habits (old cars). And I wonder if they would not be better off to pick a less expensive car - than Porsche - after all - they are German cars that have a reputation to be expensive to maintain.

Last not least I like to comment - I am not related - nor do I know any of these business owners. Just a business man myself - and it is not always easy to keep all your customers satisfied all the time - especially the ones that do not appreciate value. There must be reasons, that these people stay in business - and it is not because they set out to upset all their potential customers. There must be a few around that keep going back for more.

just my 2c




Quoting r towle on the last note

"Again. If you are trying to reach out to the 914 club community (5K customers) offer something different.

Offer a deal, offer a discount to the club members.
give us a reason to call...right now there is no reason for us to not go to PP.

PP is consistantly cheaper than AA, or for that matter, cheaper than most of the competition on alot of the normal parts...and they have a stellar reputation providing great customer service.

Take a look at competitive pricing. Get better deals from your vendors..

If AA is the largest 914 parts suppliers, how come the pricing does not reflect the volume. PP must have a special deal."

All I can say - nobody forces you to buy your stuff at AA - go to PP - this is a free country!

QUOTE (Jason.H @ Feb 4 2006, 02:08 PM)

r_towle, Believe me you're preaching to the choir on that one and I hope you don't just feel this is a short show we're putting on for those in the forum. We really are trying to revamp our customer service. I'm working on a number of projects to help with customer satisfaction and I'm really excited about the future of AA. I can understand those of you who will proceed with caution but maybe keep one eye on the company, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. Change takes time and some of you may never come back to AA, but I hope soon some of you that were upset will look back at it as a 'funny' time for AA and nothing more. I don't expect it to be easy, but I expect it will be done. As for George, I can honestly say he is one of the most intersting people I've ever met. His blunt honesty is really refreshing and I'm not just saying that because he signs my paycheck. Some people can find him difficult to deal with because he will speak his mind without second thought, that's how he has always been. But for those who don't want to deal with BS it's good to know he'll tell you exactly how it is. Sure, sometimes he mistakenly says he has something in stock, and I can be accused of the same thing. We usually stay so busy that we've had people walk in the door and clear off a shelf for a restoration at the same time the parts are being sold over the phone or on the internet. While inventory updates are almost instant, this slight overlap means that sometimes a part is placed on backorder after the order was placed. It's especially true for the more popular parts. I guess that can be seen as the down side of selling over the counter along with mail order.

Oh and we laughed!!

Does AA still have a blacklist on customers. I remember reading a thread about that awhile ago.
What better way to treat your customers, dont let them return.