LS1TECH Sponsor Feedback - Are sponsors really that arrogant.....

Are sponsors really that arrogant to think that someone will purchase from them weather they respond to emails/PMs or not? Why bother dealing with the headaches that go along with trying to run a business, paying to sponsor/advertize on here, post in threads offering your services/parts, yet fail to respond to emails/PMs? If I PM or email a sponsor, and they read it and do not respond they do NOT get my business, period, and I'm sure that others feel the same, right? Don't give me the "They're busy, they don't have time to respond, blah blah blah". If sponsors don't want to deal with PMs or emails, disable them, plain and simple. Why read a PM, click "ok" to send read reciept, and fail to respond? I just don't get it, as competitive as the high performance parts world is (113 sponsors on this board alone to choose from), you'd think that they would do anything they could to make a customer feel as though their business was wanted and appreciated. :bang:

:Rant off:

Shawn

I'm not goin' to even pretend I know what it's like to run a business because I don't. And, I have no idea what it's like to be in their shoes.

However, I do know what you mean. When I check a "read receipt" and it signals they have read it but yet, I get no response. I feel sorta disapointed. If I send an email it's because I want to know something. That wait drives me crazy. LOL

Yep, I totally agree. No response to me before you even get my money is a very bad way to start a transaction. I can imagine how bad you will treat me after you get my money. Same goes for personal online sales here. Why post some items for sale if you aren't going to respond to PM's and questions from potential buyers. Makes no freaking sense but seems to happen to me a lot. :bang:

I feel your pain. Theres plenty of sponsors on this board not to worry about that. Just move on to the next one. I learned my lesson. Im sticking with the old school sponsors :)

My PMs and emails to sponsors have been limited to requesting quotes on GPs only. So far PMs have been answered within an hour 90% of time. The other 10% fall into the "unanswered" category.

What is starting to get on my nerves is when I ask for a quote (via PM) to a sponsor that price matches other sponsor's specials, and they quote that item at a higher price This would lead me to believe that:
1. they don't have the business acumen to know what their competitors are priced at (even though they post in the same forum);
2. they think I didn't shop around before contacting them;
3. they are going to make me work to get that matched price.

Well I'm sure most of us receive so many PMs and sometimes, speaking for myself, will read a PM but cannot answer it at that time. Unfortunately we may forget to go back to that PM because a whole slew of new PMs will come in the next day. That is my excuse and I feel it is legitimate. We all try as hard as we can as this is our livelyhood.

It's probably an oversight. My recommendation is to PM another follow up and help us out sometimes because we all do get busy with phone calls, e-mails, IMs and PMs. It's just the way it is.

Just be patient. PM me if I can help out.

FYI ... vendors will get the same treatment. We are asked to respond to PMs about pricing and availabilty and do not get a response. I know I have even done follow ups with no response. :(

These guys/guy will help you out so much you can't believe it. I was asking about heads a few weeks ago, before I knew I needed a shortblock, and he was there. No run around, no waiting for pms, he told me a time he be able to get with me and he was there. We talked via Yahoo Messenger for what i'd say was 20-30 mins and he knew the situation I was in. I backed out on the heads for the reason of having to buy a shortblock. I did however promise him I would buy the other parts I need in the future if there prices were even remotely competative, just because of the customer service that he had shown. I can't complain about this one...there are other I could complain about but I won't.

Yeah, Byunspeed is slow to respond, i sent him a PM at 3am last night, took him a good minute to respond, lost my business....im playing, it was more like 30 seconds. I know what your talking about Spanky, so this is what you do, think back to who took care of you when you needed something in the past and stick with them. All the sponsors price match. Its a good idea that has worked for me. Only time i go elsewhere is for GP's that are really low or shipping help.
Scoobs

BYUNSPEED responded to my PM within 3 min last night.

Spanky, I know what you mean though. If they read it and don't respond, my money goes somewhere else.

Yeah, I was not at all talking about Byunspeed, from what I have seen, their customer service, business sense, and overall attitude is definitely better than some long standing, "established" sponsors. People notice good fedback, and positive attitude, I'll definitely be ordering from Byunspeed in the future based on what I have seen. Scoobie, you kind of hit the nail on the head, I DO remember who has responded/helped me, I DO remember who had a positive attitude and didn't act like they were doing me a favor by selling me parts. I just don't understand why they would even try to run a business and deal with all the headaches that go along with that, if they're not even willing to take a second and answer a PM or email.....

Shawn

I feel ya spanky! I have a certain sponsor that I will no longer purchase from because of this. His communication sucks! He doesnt respond to my PM's, emails, or phone calls. Its not like I dont have the money to get what I want.

There are a ton of sponsors that can help you out. Not very many that will work to do it. They are the ones that seemed to get swamped in their due time though.

I know exactly where you're coming from on that. Some sponsors do come out and work hard and earn our business though,Byunspeed. And that is the type of sponsor that I will continue to give my business too. Or the sponsors that will take their time to discuss things with you and hold specials and sales past their expiration for you, TSP. Or orders that are always on time Thunder Racing. I'm sure these things can be said for many other sponsors that I haven't had the pleasure of dealing with, but unfornately that cannot be said for every company. If you don't like the service you receive from a sponsor, then they just won't get your money.

I can not speak for all sponsors but In my case I do pms and tech emails like this.We receive so many that it is hard to stay on top sometimes.Most of our pms or emails are very indebt technical wise.I check all them and then print the ones I have not answered on the printer.I then stack them on my desk.After the day settles down I go back and answer the ones I have not answered yet.In some cases it has even taken me until the next day to get them all answered depending on how indept it is.In most cases a fast answer is not a good thing.I like to spend quality time with each person to help them and make sure they get the right information the first time.I have desighned a program that works for me and I use it.Im sure in our case the customer may get a read reciept but not a answer for several hours.If I checked it on a late friday it may be monday before I get back with the person but they will see that I did read there pm.

I do not know about other sponsors but most of our pms and emails are technical and require alot of time.However I always make sure each customer is taken care of as soon as possible and gets the right answers the first time.
Dave

NItro, I'll be contacting you in the near future for a n2o set-up...yee-haw

I have the same problem sometimes I do miss a few that I need to lookinto further or do not have a quick answer for. I get busy in a hurry with phone calls shipments...and forgetwhat I was doing. A refresh email helps alot if I have not got back to someone by the next day. Spanky, I have helped you out in the past hope I have not let you down since I try my best and try to remember all of my customers.

Nate

Nates a standup guy...
Nuff said :)

I don't think that arrogance really plays a part in business with most sponsors. Sometimes help runs short and many people find themselves spread out, covering multiple aspects of the business. While there are some bad apples out there, most sponsors would honestly like to give you the best service possible. Unless a company blatantly came out and disrespected you, I wouldn't consider them arrogant.

so in short, My opinion is to just take it easy and give them the chance you would like to have if someone thought poorly of you.

Its just irritating when you PM a sponsor a simple question, and they read it, don't respond, and continue reading LS1tech for a signfigant period of time. I understand when I send a long technical email, or an email that requires thought/calculations, that it may take a few days for a response, but when I (or any other member) sends a PM simply asking if something is still available and is the price correct, it shouldn't take long to respond with a "Yes, its still available and the new price is $xx.xx, thanks, xxxxxxx".....

I have personally dealt with Nate on a few occasions before, and he is AWESOME, never had a problem whenever I needed a part, even if I had to wake him up at his house early on a weekend morning because I needed something ASAP ;). Some of the bigger name, more established sponsors could learn a thing or two from smaller (and in some cases newer) sponsors such as Byunspeed and Nasty N8.

This thread isn't meant to attack or insult sponsors, I know that they have to put up with a BUNCH of crap, and 1000s of emails and PMs, most of which probably asking stupid questions that should either be common knowledge or have been answered 1000s of times before (you know which lid is best, which headers are best, will xxx/xxx cam fit a stock headed motor, etc etc etc), but a simple "I'll get back to you later" would work wonders. Or at least, don't send a read reciept ;)

Shawn

hell, im not a sponsor but get tons of PM's, i just click cancel on the reciepts :lurk:. i do however answer them all.

my dealings with sponsors is like this; if i have a general question i PM them and if i dont get a response within an alloted time frame 2 or 3 days then i'll resend it if i havent found my answer. if i need information instantanious thats what the phone is for ;)

jrp is the king of non-reciept sendin foo's. ;)