I've ordered from AA for years (without incident) when places like PP or GPR don't have the part(s). Anyway, last Friday I ordered an obscure shift linkage boot (early model) and they said they had it when I placed the order. I paid extra for quick shippng b/c I need it by this Friday. I called them back today to get the shipping info to see if it will make it on time and find out it's on back order. OK, not the end of the world. They had no problem cancelling my order.

Should they have said it was a backorder item when I placed the order? Probably but maybe they thought they could source it elsewhere and them being a for profit business I can understand why they would do this.

By following up I saved myself from being surprised/upset when I go to work on the car and don't have the part I ordered.

AA gets a lot of heat on this board. Just thought my method of handling an order placed with them might work for someone else.

-pt

i agree....I've dealt with them a couple times too with no problems. I bascially just call them everyday until I get the part.

They get a lot of heat because they do to many people(myself included) exactly what they did to you. Then when you call them on it, they could care less. THAT is why they catch heat.

What ever happened to Pete and re-Pete(I forget their real names) from AA that were here to improve their public image and customer service? I see from your experience that they are doing a bang up job.

My car will sit broken down before I will order another part from them.

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AA gets a lot of heat on this board because they did the exact same thing to me & many more of us - They told me the part I needed was in-stock when I called to inquire - so I placed the order - I waited one week - I called to check on the order... They said it was back-ordered - I went ballistic
I waited another month - I called to check on the order...
They said my order had been canceled. I asked why - they said because they didn't want to do business with me!!! That was the last time 4 me - so them.
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Somehow I missed your point: lets see; you didn't get your part, you wasted your time, and you had to cancel your order - sooo howz it that you say "I've figured out how to deal with them"???

We have the same problem with our local fire department.

They always say "we're on our way" but, I know those guys and, they basically sit around watching bad porn and Sponge Bob reruns eating bowls of fire house chili. We keep calling and calling and calling and finally they come or... at least we know to get out the garden hoses and try another route.

What I'm saying is... I know they're a bunch of lying jerks but, I figured out how to work with them.

You forgot...they lied to him, made no effort to make it right and probably offered no apology

I LOVE AA threads! I know they are almost always .... but it allows for some good venting. It is therapeutic in a way.

I have their service line on speed dial... everytime I need to vent, I press 1. I had mixed experiences with them. The times I've ordered directly from George, I had no issues.

So, what you are saying is that if the customer takes on the role of customer service for AA they are not bad to deal with. As a customer I generally try and let the people I am buying items from take on this task. When I pay a premium for an item, and in general AA has premium pricing, I expect excellent service. If AA had such service they would have verified stock on this item for you while you were on the phone. If they had done this and been honest with you, you would have saved the time and effort you spent to checking up on them.

I see AA’s policy as “get the customer’s money any way you can and worry about delivering the product later”.

unfortunately our cars do not have parts you can get at the local convenience store.

we could always buy a dodge caravan.......

Silly rabbits. My point is that if a part is on back order, don't sit by the phone or wait for the mailman. It prob is not coming. Simply cancel your order - they didn't give any attitude, any argument when I asked to cancel the order - they understood.

They are a supplier of last resort (PP, GPR - remember what I said about them?). Jeesh

Just order the stuff from GPR...he'll get the stuff from AA. If it's backordered THEY will tell ya.

When I bought my first teener in 1988, AA was the only place I knew of for parts, so I used them. They still havent shipped one item I ordered & paid for back then. A cheap $10 lesson on who not to do business with.

Shit man this all started in the late 70s when George Hussey started the place. I heard he's the worst of them all. Coming from first hand experience and from people I know who spoke directly to him.

Now maybe that business model, where you have the part and then all of a sudden its backordered for "a while", worked back when people rode horses and loaded parts up in Conostoga Wagons and hand delivered parts, but it just doesn't cut it these days.

b

I figured out how to deal with AA in general and George in particular about 10 years ago. Don't order anything from them. My original passenger seat cushion and door pocket are still missing.

It isn't just AA ....I just had the same thing happen to me from Automation they took my order for a windshield moulding piece gave me a delivery date (approx) two weeks later I checked back and find the part is back ordered .....they keep upping the delivery date, what was supposed to arrive here in July is now scheduled for some time in October.They could have told me to start with that they don't have the part and expect it next month or so and I would have been happy.....now I don't and won't believe them in the future.

Call to follow up

Why the F&*K should I have to... just freakin rediculous

In an ideal world I agree with you.

The real fun will begin when they still ship you the part, months later, and charge your card - even after you called and cancelled.

M

The only time I ever ordered a part from AA I asked the guy on the phone to actually physically check to see if the part was on the shelf. He did and I got it about 4 days later. I like to be a little pro-active when ordering parts, rather than ordering and hoping someone will do their job properly.

Elliot

How do they even keep the doors open with business practices like that

When I was a worst shopper than I am now, I put in a HUGR order with them to only find out that some parts were back ordered. I yanked the whole order and took my time shopping elsewhere and found all I needed for much less. The swop meet at Hersheys was a good place to get stuff I didn't want to spend on. I just ordered some ball bolts/bushings fom AA and it was at a good price, hope they pull through.

Thats the only way to deal with these companies.

I just ordered some parts from P.Parts, My experence was, They were talking to long to find the parts, ( this is them not me) they took my phone # and said
when I find them I'll call you back,not more than 5 min. In less than 5 min. they called back said they were out of stock. Then ask if i would like the # of some one that might have them . I called them ordered the parts. That is what I call Coustomer Service and thats why i call them first every time. BTW A.A. owes me paid for parts since 2000. Dave

This may have been covered in another post already - I am being too lazy to read all of them, but here is my take...

I am a paying customer. If you don't have it, you should tell me up front whether you think you can or can't get it right away - especially given you mention needing it right away.

Secondly, if a supplier can't get it in said time, as soon as they know that info, the supplier should call me, not the other way around. The fact I have to babysit to get my order is ridiculous.

I worked for 7yrs in the hot rod retail biz and never once did a customer have to call me to find out I couldn't get an item I told them I could. I called them if hit the fan as soon as I knew. 9 out of 10 times they could wait and appreciated the call. I had tons and tons of return customers.

I haven't returned to AA in probably 5-6yrs now because they don't care enough about me to let me know what's up. I consider it a matter of repect for a fellow person, let alone paying customer. I would only order from them if I absolutely couldn't find it elsewhere, and they were the last shop on Earth. Then, I would ask them to go to the shelf, find the part and bring it back to their desk to confirm they have it to ship before hanging up. And then, MAYBE you will get it shipped as stated, but only if the guy is holding it in his hands.

There is a GREAT LACK OF RESPECT for others in general and AA is just a small piece of that pie unfortunately. I can't seem to get a "thank you" these days for holding a door open for someone. Okay - stoopid rant now - off soap box.

I'll never use them again, they sent the wrong parts after 4 mos of waiting I called to correct the problem and they said send it back, I did,and reordered the right parts.They never credited me back for the return so I called and asked why and they said it came in damaged so they sold it on E-Bay at a loss . and wanted to haggle about crediting my account I said it was insured that they could have contacted me and collected full value from the USPS ,after a while they credited my account.When the right parts showed up a month later they charged me double the amount quoted.Its like this that makes me want to set my car on fire.All this because the order taker didn't know the difference between rear 5 lug conversion and 5 lug adaptors.The whole ordeal was so stressful I considered selling my cars [all 5 of them] Then I discovered E-Bay and the 914 club,so AA they will never get the chance to me again.And then there was the time they triple charged my card for the same order and it took 6 mos to clear up.

wasn't it P.T.Barnum who said "There's a sucker born every minute"
That's how they stay in business.

You are so right about a lack of respect for others today....when I purchase something and don't hear a Thank You from the clerk sometime I will say" Your'e welcome" then I get a blank look and a" huh"....they don't have a clue... lack of training at home and at school.

Hey Guys

I don't reply to most AA threds, but its a good vent.
Almost everything mentioned has happened to me, pre WWW, and that was from G.H. personaly.
There may be a sucker born every minute, but a lot of newbies here too, looking at these AA posts. My episode was 2 914s and 14 years ago , never called them or even looked at their site for that matter.

Later

I do the EXACT same thing. Held the door the other day at lunch for a beotch on the cell phone, walks right through and said nothing nor a smile in appreciation, so I slipped in a "Yuuur welcome" and she whipped around with this aggravated look on her face.

Oh, sorry, my bad, won't be nice the next time. Happens all the time here in SoCal - originally from the midwest where I think they still punch you in the back of the head if you don't respond politely

My fiancee did the same thing the last time we were at Target to the cashier, so I am rubbing off It is that whole "the next generation will be worse" as the one a-hole breeds and raises two more, whom breed and raise 4 more, and now that is where we are today.

But I am glad I was raised to understand respect and courtesy, because when it is recognized, you will find it comes back 10 fold from that person. Pay it forward, maybe we can fix it. Wishful thinking...

wow, i've bought a bunch of stuff from them and never had any problems.

Honestly, I can't BELIEVE how many asshole 'kids' my age there are. (does that make sense)

Even at school, I get doors LITERALLY shut in my face. Pisses me off. I calm down though.

Dont even get me started about getting out of the parking garage.

b

When I dealt with AA back in the 80's I didn't have any problems, but I've had items on order since May that were supposedly available. I've called every couple of weeks and been given different stories each time I've called. I finally canceled all of the items except one. They won't be my first call anymore. I'm in the sales business and I never BS or mislead my customers like that. Sometimes I have to tell them its only available from the competition or that the lead time is 6-8 weeks , but they know that they can count on my honesty even if the news is bad. I've gained a lot more business from being honest than I've lost. George H and his crew could use a little training!!!

So have I.....This is the first time I ever had a problem with them...goes to show how one bad experience can ruin a feeling of trust.

I cancelled the order for my "in stock" door end cap that was on backorder after 6 weeks at AA.
I finally got one form Otto and about 6 months later, for whatever reason my AA ordered end caps showed up, with my CC never charged.

Crazy, huh?

mark

I know many of you will not believe this and question whether I do or do not have an affiliation w/AA but this morning I rcvd a personal email from George Hussey apologizing for the system not reading "backorder" when I placed my order. He said I was not charged (which my online ccard statement agrees with) and if I'd like to be placed on a list for the backordered item I could be first in line.

I do think they are making efforts and do believe there is a place for them in our community. AA is no Pelican or GPR but it are no Steve Stromberg either...

-pt

I'll pass! Good for you though!