Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

OK! RC Showcase I gave you many chances to make it right and now you forced me to write about my bad experience.

Here is what happened.

I ordered a ZDZ 50NG with second day air shipping from RC Showcase on Monday morning around 2:00am (Presidents Day). I used my Check card and had planed on depositing the money to cover the transaction later that morning but I forgot it was Presidents Day. I got an e-mail Monday afternoon from Mike that the credit card didn't go through. I replied to the e-mail to apologize and to explain the situation. I let mike know in the e-mail that the money would be available Tuesday after 2:00.

Wednesday rolls around and no call or e-mail to the fact that the engine had been shipped. After several call attempts I finally got through. The guy I talked to told me that the engine had shipped and he confirmed that it went out 2nd day air.

I took off Friday morning to wait for the package that didn't arrive. When I tried to call Friday I got an answering machine that told me that they were at the WRAM show and if there was an emergency to leave a message and someone would get back in touch. I left a message asking for a tracking number so that I could track the package. I got no call back and no tracking number.

Monday the package arrives with a ups ground label on it. I called several times Monday and got nothing but the answering machine. I finally left a message and ask to have my shipping reimbursed. I got no call back and no e-mail apologizing for the mistake. I did get an e-mail Wednesday that looked like an invoice that said I was getting a credit of $15.00 (shipping was $29.00).

I called and talked to someone to ask why I only got a $15.00 credit. He explained that it was the difference between ground and second day air. He told me that he didn't understand why I would want a full credit but that he would have Mike get back in touch with me that day.

Yesterday rolled around and no phone call or e-mail so I did some looking around on RCU and found that some other guys have had the same problem. I got the owners name and RCU name and sent him a pm to explain the situation and to give him an opportunity to make it right.

Today at lunch I get a call from Mike at RC Showcase and he wants to know what the problem is. I explained that I was expecting a full refund for the shipping charges. He tried to explain why I was getting a refund for the difference between ground and 2nd day air. I told him that was not acceptable. He told me that he didn't understand why I would want a full refund. In the middle of me trying to explain why. he gets hostile towards me on the phone. He said in a raised tone and I quote "I CAIN'T BELIEVE YOU WANT A FULL REFUND THEN YOU CALL AND LEAVE MESSAGES ABOUT HOW BAD OUR CUSTOMER SEVICE IS, YOU KNOW WHAT JOHN" (not Mr. Seaton) " YOU'LL GET IT, GOOD BYE" and then I heard a click. WOW! That was rude. I’d have to say that's the first time I have had a company hang up in my face.

Now here are my complaints.

Only one returned phone call that was rude.
No e-mails stating the status of my order.
Shipped with the wrong service level.
No apology for the mistake.
Not willing to make it right.
Being Hard to get a hold of.

Summery

I can’t believe a company can be so uncaring about their customer service. I called and left a message and pm’d the owner to give him an opportunity to make it right. All I get is a call from Mike (who is the whole problem) and he ends up being rude to me on the phone. I was polite on the phone. I didn’t raise my voice nor did I use any curse words. A dog does not deserve what I got.

RC Showcase, if you think that upsetting one customer is not going to make a difference then think again. I’m going to tell as many people as I can about my experience with you guys. Starting here.

Example of good customer service

I placed an order with Desert Aircraft late Thursday night for a carbon fiber prop. I paid $45.00 in shipping (next day air + Saturday delivery) for a $41.00 prop just to make sure it got to me in time to fly this past weekend.

The prop did not show up on Saturday so I called Monday to find out what had happened. I got an answer on the phone the first time I called. The guy explained what happened and apologized for the mistake. Before I could ask for a refund he offered to send me a new one and to credit me for the shipping.

I told him that I would need a new prop after the engine broke in and asked him if he could send me a bigger prop instead of the credit for the shipping. I asked him to send it with the original one I ordered and to please send it in time for this weekend. I also asked him to charge me for the additional shipping and the $1.00 difference (prop was $46.00 credit on shipping was $45.00) for the second prop. He told me that they were out of the bigger prop and that he would send me (at no additional charge) the one I ordered and when the new one came in he would send it out as well.

WOW! I didn’t expect for them to do all that. They bent over backwards to make me happy. They ate the cost on the second prop, the original shipping charge that they paid to ups for the goof on their end, and the cost on shipping out two props separately.

DA might have lost money on the prop I ordered but when I need the engines for my future projects (46% H9 Ultimate Bipe, and Giant Scale P-51 ) you can guess what engines they are going to have in them. That’s right, they’re going to have DA engines. Why because they know that good customer service brings back customers.

I have seen several comments on RCU about RC Showcase and their bad customer service. I guess they’ve had good customer service in the past or they wouldn’t have been in business as long as they have. But it looks like they have a problem they need to address soon before they loose more customers and make a bad name for them selves.

From what I have seen on RCU in the complaints about RC Showcase and from my own experience, it looks like they will give you the time of day as long as you don’t have a problem.

I will not order anything else from RC Showcase and dread the day I have to send in my ZDZ for repair. I hope this will grab their attention and they will do something about there declining customer service.

Thanks
John Seaton

GeraldRosebery

My Feedback: (14)

Well, I read the whole story and I have to tell you that you created your own problems. First you place an order in the middle of the night with a card that doen't work instead of using a valid credit card. Then, they make a small error (ground shipping) and suddenly everything is all their fault. I think you wasted your time flaming R/C Showcase here. They are great guys to deal with and if you are straight with them, they will bust their butts for you! They have always been great for me.

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

Hmm... they didn't have to ignore me or be rude. Thats the reason a small problem turned into a big one.
I didn't have a problem with CS from DA.

Regardless of what the customer does you always have to treat the customer with respect and kindness.

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

ICE,

Not if the customer is unreasonable.

I have had similar issues with communication with RCS, but each time the end result was very positive and they ALWAYS took care of my questions / issues. I recently had an engine go bad and rather than fix it THEY SENT ME A NEW ONE. Like everything else in life, people make mistakes. Should they always be hung out and crucified for them? I think not.

These shops are small, they have one or two people, and they do their best to keep up with everyone. They also are doing everything they can to offer a decent product and try to make SOME money. Importing is a royal PITA. Most are operating on only a few percent margin as it is. Yes, I get pissed too when I don't get a call back, and in fact, I have posted some not so positive comments here on RCU too in the past, but I have learned that it does not make your product show up any faster.

Bottom line - I think 99% of the efforts made by these companies are geniune. They don't have the big web interfaces, e-stores, and order systems that Tower and Horizon have... so once in a while PEOPLE make mistakes, write down something wrong, or SIMPLY get overwhelmed and FORGET... it happens.

Based on your 'tude on the phone with them and your demands, If I was Mike I probably would have hung up on ya and let ya cool off. Push someone long enough and they will bite back. Yeah, they should have shipped 2-day if that is what you wanted, but come on - is getting all heated up over a lousy $15 really worth it?? Should they eat the whole shipping cost, or just refund the part they screwed up? What did the extra few days really cost you? The fact that you got what you wanted in one week is excellent these days and you should be very happy. They could have just said the shop was closed and let you wait until WRAM was over.

A lot of the "other guys" closed shop totally for WRAM, or they are out of stock and backordered for months. I waited for 6 weeks to get my DA.

I have nothing but good to say about David and Mike. As David wrote to me recently - RCS tries to be all things to all people, when they fail, everyone on RCU knows it. When they succeed, no one knows it.

Tough position to be in, I'd say.

DP

spuck5644

Ice...
I'm sorry but I have to agree with Gerald for the most part. I have had in the past problems reaching someone at RCS, but, As much as I would like to think I was the most important customer, they have "several, Vendors go to shows, they have to make a living also.
I would think, since their pricing is + frt. that refunding the difference between 2nd day air and ground should be an acceptable outcome. They took you at your word on the cc issue after it was refused, could you not extend them the same courtesy?
Steve

Crash King

My Feedback: (24)

Did you give DA a good C card? Sorry Ice I know you are frustrated but it is an engine, not insulin or air and $ 15.00 will fly out the exhaust before it is broken in. So my opinion is I think you are kind of over reacting. Not forgiving the slow response but may be understandable during the week of Wram.
I know we all expect service like the 4 Seasons and want the price to be like Motel 6 but some companies cannot afford to hire a huge staff to support the hobby community 24 x 7 x 365. Not knocking DA, their service is very good, but I am sure they have had some problems in their day also.

Sorry Ice, I know you were looking for compassion here and I really do understand I am a RC Junky as well, but as that guy you probably know John Stossell on 20/20 says "Give Me a Break !"

PS Let me know how the 50 NG runs I have still not gotten mine up and running yet, love to see some numbers.

Take care, and keep gravity away.

Hammbone

My Feedback: (309)

I for one will agree that it sounds like Iceman1979 was mistreated. I base this on what I read above, but if that is true, this is what I think:

1. They never apologized for their mistake and they should have.
2. I agree that they should do something to make it right. Not just refund the difference in shipping, but maybe refund the whole amount of the shipping as Iceman1979 suggested. If they don't want to do that, they should have done something else to make it right and make the customer happy. When he asks for 2nd day air that's what he should get.
3. $15 to ship a prop by ground service is too much!
4. They had no right to be rude on the phone and hang up on him.

It is true that we all make mistakes, but they should be trying to make up for their mistake, and I don't see that happening at all.


Jim

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

People do make mistakes and should be allowed to get a second chance and I did give them a second chance. Had they made an effort to communicate with me I would have not written this.
I was not hot on the phone with them. I was very polite with them any time I spoke with them.

vertical ts

My Feedback: (50)

i think this is one of the reasons why i don't read these forums.The little specialty shop always get's smacked by some guy who thinks they owe it to him to kiss his *****.some times it's just not worth the aggravation to please the bully.I hope that everyone see's that Mr Ice man is just trying to get a free ride.

just my angry 2 cents

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

I'm not harping on the $15.00 just the way I was treated.

All i'm saying is that if you get calls and e-mails from customers you need to respond to them. I didn't bug them. I gave them time to respond. I think two days after a phone call or e-mail is long enough to get back in touch.

If I can spend $45.00 on shipping a $41.00 prop I don't care about $15.00 what I do care about is being treated like a human. If there had been an effort shown to be personal about the issue I would not have posted this on here.

People like to be treated like human beings no matter how much money they spend.

I have gotten an e-mail from Mike apologizing for the incident and I did reply with an apology for any rudness on my part.

let me know hat specs you need on the engine and I would be glad to send them to you.
I do know this, it is hard to start. I am looking for it to be easier once it is tuned right. I did have a guy at the field tune it in and it ran great after that. It has so much power its scary. I am pleased with the engine so far.

Thanks

Hammbone

My Feedback: (309)

I don't understand you guys.
Are you saying that he should have just been glad that he got the prop at all and forgot about it?
I think if he asked for 2nd day air, he should have received 2nd day air.
You are saying that they should be able to ship it however and whenever they want to and that's O.K.?

I don't know who Iceman1979 is, so I'm not just sticking up for him, but I don't understand where you guys are coming from???????



Jim

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Sorry but I feel as others do and think you took it to far. You ordered late at night, and you rushed them right before they were heading to the Wram show. Why are you in such a hurry all the time? It seems you always want things now or never.

DA is a great company and they are very very generous, but RCShowcase had just as much right to be mad at you for disrespecting them as well.

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

Vertical,

While I agree Iceman overreacted to a point, I doubt he's trying to get a $15 free ride after spending over $500 on an engine setup.. Any person of principle expects excellent honest service, and for the most part, fortunately we get it in this industry. When a company makes a mistake, we all should be willing to work it out and give them a chance to make it right. Sometimes that means eating crow ourselves.

In this case, I think RCS made it right and refunded the diff. ICE lost nothing, except perhaps he had to settle his impulse a few days later (I can relate.. when I buy it I want it NOW.. not always realistic) If a supplier continually makes mistakes, does not deliver or is arrogant to its customers - then we should not do business with them.

I think RCS did the right thing here and I am sure DA, Cactus, or any other co would have done the same thing. It was an honest mistake... and there are no free lunches.. or free shipping!

With the rise of the Euro... I doubt they are making anything more than MAYBE $50 per engine, which 'aint much.


DP

DKjens

My Feedback: (50)

I just purchased a new engine from a known manufacturer, a manufacturer in fact, who has been slammed repeatedly on this forum. I have had a hard time getting in contact with them, telephonic or via email. I sent an email asking for different shipping instructions (place and method/billing), but the email was never acted upon, and engine was shipped 1 day slower service and at cost to me. No, the transaction did not go 100% as I wanted it to, but very few things in life do. I try to keep in mind, that these are small businesses, who often can not hire specialized personnel to handle only CS, shipping, billing, or who knows what goes into running the business. The important thing is that they produce and or sell a good product at a price you can and will pay. If you wanted the same product available to you in 500 stores nationwide, with people in each store ready to jump at your command, you would also be willing to pay 200% more for the product.
DKjens

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

I see a lot of good points here. After reading the thread I feel like both sides were in the wrong.

Purchasing something with a debit card and not having the funds to back it up was the first mistake by the buyer. Some companies won't even bother with you after something like that happens unless you are using cash face to face.

R/C showcase then followed up with a mistake by shipping the merchandise other than the buyer requested. This does happen from time to time and the company rep did offer to credit the difference. That to me is the expected reply from the company.

Iceman felt he was inconvenienced by the fact that he did not get what he paid for in the time frame specified.
Should the company compensate him for this fact?

Yes, I think that they should being that Ice paid for the service and the company accepted the request by taking the order. A simple free standard shipping on your next order would have probably ended the whole thing before it got worse.
While it does not make them a terrible company for not compensating him, What does make them terrible is the behavior over the phone when the customer was heated.

It is very unprofessional to speak to anyone that way and especially when it is around business. Then to end by hanging up on a customer?
To me that is just bad management.

Both sides were wrong, but Showcase certainly did not shine on this one.


Dbow

DKjens

My Feedback: (50)

Dbow,
Yeah, RCS shouldnt have hung up, but here you have a customer, who is keeping you tied up for a measely $14.00, and who by the way has gone about the whole being an unsatisfied customer the completely wrong way. If you are an unsatisfied customer, you do not get anything out of adopting a negative attitude from the beginning. Try to be positive about the whole thing, try to sound understanding to the problems of the other party, and then tell them in a very nice way, what they can do for you to make you happy. You'd be surprised how being a little tactfull in these situations really has a much better effect, than just pouring it on. Even as a business owner, you can have noot so good days, and you can only take so much. I bet having started the telephone conversation on a positive note, then turning it to how to make ice happy, would have had a different outcome.
DKjens

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

in responce to your "Did you give DA a good C card?" I did have trouble with my card. My bank put a hold on my account because I had placed a big order with servocity and they wanted to make sure that it was me that made the charges. In all that DA stayed till after there closing time to make sure my order was placed that day.


Thanks

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

Sorry for the confusion.

the $15.00 was the differance between the ground service and second day. I payed 29.00 for shipping on my ZDZ 50NG engine

thanks

edge_fanatic

My Feedback: (4)

I disagree...

Paying more doesn't get it into more stores...It is demand that drives it into more locations, and it is the competition from those many stores that drives the price DOWN, not up.

Hammbone

My Feedback: (309)

O.K. then, $14 is too much to pay for ground service when shipping a prop.

Jim

Crash King

My Feedback: (24)

Ok Ice, well lets not keep another RC junky without his fix, What kind of RPM numbers are you getting on that thing, and don't tease me by not telling me what kind of prop and fuel mix you are running either LOL
Crash

ultimate flyer

I want to chime in here for a second...I was not going to, but I saw something in this posts that burnt my hide...

To call Ice a bully or wanting a free ride completely shows how ignorant people can be.

He is the type of person who goes to a flying field on Sunday and sees a Lanier 33% Extra 300 he wants. Gets the guys number and tomorrow he is going to pick it up MINUS a receiver only. Now is that someone wanting a free ride? I think NOT!!

Maybe you do need to stay away from forums with ignorant comments like that.

Iceman1979

My Feedback: (17)

why would I pay $45.00 for shipping a prop if I wanted a free ride?
i pay the extra money because I don't want to wait for ground delivery time.

Thanks

edge_fanatic

My Feedback: (4)

Folks, lets keep this calm and on point...

Posts that degrade into emotional personal attacks are frowned upon...Feel free to talk about how the transaction could have gone better, what someone could do better next time, feel free to disagree with someone, etc...

Bottom line....please play nice.

Many thanks!

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

I agree, both were in the wrong.

Dbow