Can't Get A Refund From Thunder Racing!
11-03-2009, 08:07 AM
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Can't Get A Refund From Thunder Racing! Back on 10/6/09, I ordered Cometic head gaskets from Thunder Racing. I paid for 2nd day air, for them to arrive on 10/8/09. The first call I received I was told the gaskets would be arriving one day late, on that Friday. Then I received another call and was told they could not arrive until next Tuesday morning. This was insufficient for me considering I was supposed to leave for the LSX Shootout 2 days after Tuesday, 10/13. I immediately contacted Thunder and asked to Cancel the gasket order and refund my money. I shipped the gaskets back to them immediately on 10/13/09 ($11.00), with a letter concerning my frustration and how Thunder Racing did not come through for me in a time of need, and I was mis-guided on when the parts would arrive. Internal communication error? I requested a full refund on the gaskets and 50% of my 2nd day air shipping I paid. ($184.18 total)
I ended up spending a Saturday driving 2 hours to get my gaskets on time from another shop, and I'll never get that gas or time back for Thunder's mistakes.
I've talked to John and the woman that works there and was told 3 times last week that my credit would post by Thursday, 10/29/09. As of today, I STILL do not have a credit posted anywhere from Thunder Racing! This is getting very frustrating! It should not take a shop more than 2 weeks to process a credit! I will honestly never use them for anything again! And, how and when can I get my money refunded??!! Also, we just tried calling their number 4 times and it is disconnected!!
I ended up spending a Saturday driving 2 hours to get my gaskets on time from another shop, and I'll never get that gas or time back for Thunder's mistakes.
I've talked to John and the woman that works there and was told 3 times last week that my credit would post by Thursday, 10/29/09. As of today, I STILL do not have a credit posted anywhere from Thunder Racing! This is getting very frustrating! It should not take a shop more than 2 weeks to process a credit! I will honestly never use them for anything again! And, how and when can I get my money refunded??!! Also, we just tried calling their number 4 times and it is disconnected!!
Last edited by fasttagurl; 11-03-2009 at 08:26 AM. Reason: Add info.
11-04-2009, 04:13 PM
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I am sorry for any issues you may have had with us. This is the first I've heard of the problem and will address it with John and Angie right away. Can you PM me your contact info so I can give you a call. I don't know why you can't get through to us, the phones have been ringing off the hook all day.
Thank you,
Shane Burgess
Co-Owner, VP Operations
Thunder Performance Group, Inc.
d/b/a Thunder Racing
Thank you,
Shane Burgess
Co-Owner, VP Operations
Thunder Performance Group, Inc.
d/b/a Thunder Racing
11-04-2009, 04:26 PM
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Michelle, I'm the woman that you spoke to. I didn't see this thread until just now, but I already had emailed you this morning when I was filing the returns that I processed on Saturday with a copy of your credit. Like I explained before, Our shipping manager usually handles returns, and when he gets one that doesn't have a copy of the invoice or the invoice number, or a return number with it, he passes them to me to process.
Unfortunately, returns do take time to process and I usually do them when I have several at a time to make it easier. I did several returns, including yours, on Saturday, and issued the credit just as we had discussed. Again, I apologize for the delay, and you should see your credit by now on your account.
Also, not sure about the phone thing...we've had the same phone number since about 1996. Did you call the toll-free or local (225) number? Our phones don't turn on until we open at 9:30, but you should get the after hours recording and be able to leave a voice mail.
Angie
Unfortunately, returns do take time to process and I usually do them when I have several at a time to make it easier. I did several returns, including yours, on Saturday, and issued the credit just as we had discussed. Again, I apologize for the delay, and you should see your credit by now on your account.
Also, not sure about the phone thing...we've had the same phone number since about 1996. Did you call the toll-free or local (225) number? Our phones don't turn on until we open at 9:30, but you should get the after hours recording and be able to leave a voice mail.
Angie
11-05-2009, 08:09 AM
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This process took an EXTREMELY to long of a time to process. I was told LAST Saturday, 10/24, that my credit was processed, which I am assuming it never was until 10/31. It took a total of 4 weeks to get this resolved = that's just crazy. It still has not posted as of today.
11-05-2009, 11:22 AM
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Again, I apologize that the credit was not processed sooner. We are human. We work Monday thru Friday, plus every single Saturday and some Sundays getting paperwork done, processing orders, packing boxes, working on customer's cars, etc. There are other customers that we are helping also.
We are a small business doing everything we can to get all of the above done as efficiently as possible. When you send back a return with NO return number (required per our policies) and NO invoice copy (as required per per our policies) it doesn't get processed with the other returns. One phone call to us to get a return number would have avoided all of this.
http://www.thunderracing.com/policies/
I understand that you were inconvenienced by not getting the part on time, but we can not control what manufacturer's do. It seems that just because you are angry about the entire situation you are just venting about the time that the refund took to process. I specifically made a point to process the "problem" returns on Saturday, along with a bunch of other paperwork, helping local customers, and getting kids dressed for Halloween. If it hasn't posted to your account, then it's with your bank or their processor.
We are a small business doing everything we can to get all of the above done as efficiently as possible. When you send back a return with NO return number (required per our policies) and NO invoice copy (as required per per our policies) it doesn't get processed with the other returns. One phone call to us to get a return number would have avoided all of this.
http://www.thunderracing.com/policies/
I understand that you were inconvenienced by not getting the part on time, but we can not control what manufacturer's do. It seems that just because you are angry about the entire situation you are just venting about the time that the refund took to process. I specifically made a point to process the "problem" returns on Saturday, along with a bunch of other paperwork, helping local customers, and getting kids dressed for Halloween. If it hasn't posted to your account, then it's with your bank or their processor.
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11-05-2009, 01:12 PM
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Just curious: Why didn't TR call my cell number I left with the return if there was an issue? Why did it take me calling TR at least 3 times each week to even get the status on this? Venting or not, it seems like many companies "customer service" skills are lacking or already out the window. Human or not, it does not take 4 weeks to get any kind of credit, no matter who you are.
11-05-2009, 10:18 PM
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Fasttagurl,
It seems that everyone these days wants to purchase their parts at cost, have all of their technical questions answered by skilled and knowledgeable techs... for free, and have their highly modified "street" cars be perfectly dependable... I am sorry to inform you of this, but in the real world, it costs real money to have a building, carry inventory, manage a race shop, and pay 15 employees. In the real world, mistakes happen. In the real world, people don’t take their perfectly dependable factory built street cars and modify them without expecting some reduction in reliability.
I believe you and I have spoken in the past in regards to sponsorship of your car. I believe we had a respectable conversation and although it didn't culminate in sponsorship of your vehicle, I have the utmost respect for you, your skills, and what you wish to achieve.
I'm sorry you had a poor experience with our company. I know for a fact that Gene and John both checked with Cometic to verify that they could ship you the gasket part numbers you requested. Unfortunately, in this case, Cometic did not ship the gaskets in a timely fashion as we expected and you the customer, experienced an inconvenience; again, I apologize for this.
Thunder Racing consists of 15 employees. We all have specific areas in which we specialize. We all also multi-task and ultimately strive to make every customer a satisfied one. In this case, you returned parts without prior notice and without obtaining an RMA, completely ignoring our policies which are clearly stated on our website as Angie posted above.
You have received full credit for your purchase exactly as you requested AND we have waived the 20% restocking fee, which is above and beyond what is requierd as per our policy. I really don’t know what more you want from us. We literally answer in excess of a hundred calls per day from customers and are all working diligently to take care of each and every one. If you are still not satisfied with us then I am truly sorry. I don't know what more can be done for you.
After seeing posts in this section you've made regarding other shops, I feel that it is best for you to follow your own heart in this matter as stated in your original post and not do business with us again. If you do a search here, you will find nearly every customer who has had an issue with us is now satisfied. I have even given refunds to customers who didn't purchase a product from us, just to foster good customer relations. You WILL NOT find a company more inclined to bend over backward to make a customer happy. That is a FACT. We have not been in business since 1995 by ripping off customers.
If you wish to speak to me personally, I would welcome the dialogue. If not, again, I apologize for your dissatisfaction with us and wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Thank you,
Shane Burgess
Co-Owner, VP Operations
Thunder Performance Group, Inc.
D/b/a Thunder Racing
It seems that everyone these days wants to purchase their parts at cost, have all of their technical questions answered by skilled and knowledgeable techs... for free, and have their highly modified "street" cars be perfectly dependable... I am sorry to inform you of this, but in the real world, it costs real money to have a building, carry inventory, manage a race shop, and pay 15 employees. In the real world, mistakes happen. In the real world, people don’t take their perfectly dependable factory built street cars and modify them without expecting some reduction in reliability.
I believe you and I have spoken in the past in regards to sponsorship of your car. I believe we had a respectable conversation and although it didn't culminate in sponsorship of your vehicle, I have the utmost respect for you, your skills, and what you wish to achieve.
I'm sorry you had a poor experience with our company. I know for a fact that Gene and John both checked with Cometic to verify that they could ship you the gasket part numbers you requested. Unfortunately, in this case, Cometic did not ship the gaskets in a timely fashion as we expected and you the customer, experienced an inconvenience; again, I apologize for this.
Thunder Racing consists of 15 employees. We all have specific areas in which we specialize. We all also multi-task and ultimately strive to make every customer a satisfied one. In this case, you returned parts without prior notice and without obtaining an RMA, completely ignoring our policies which are clearly stated on our website as Angie posted above.
You have received full credit for your purchase exactly as you requested AND we have waived the 20% restocking fee, which is above and beyond what is requierd as per our policy. I really don’t know what more you want from us. We literally answer in excess of a hundred calls per day from customers and are all working diligently to take care of each and every one. If you are still not satisfied with us then I am truly sorry. I don't know what more can be done for you.
After seeing posts in this section you've made regarding other shops, I feel that it is best for you to follow your own heart in this matter as stated in your original post and not do business with us again. If you do a search here, you will find nearly every customer who has had an issue with us is now satisfied. I have even given refunds to customers who didn't purchase a product from us, just to foster good customer relations. You WILL NOT find a company more inclined to bend over backward to make a customer happy. That is a FACT. We have not been in business since 1995 by ripping off customers.
If you wish to speak to me personally, I would welcome the dialogue. If not, again, I apologize for your dissatisfaction with us and wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Thank you,
Shane Burgess
Co-Owner, VP Operations
Thunder Performance Group, Inc.
D/b/a Thunder Racing
Last edited by XtraCajunSS; 11-05-2009 at 10:34 PM.
11-06-2009, 08:50 AM
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This has now been resolved and my credit has posted as of 11/5.
For the record, John approved and new about the return on the gaskets the entire time, before they even arrived at my home. He never mentioned or offered me an RMA/return number. I am not asking for nothing more, I just didn't understand why my credit took so long to process. It was like I was put on the back burner just because I was not aware of or told the correct process.
I am very well aware of what it takes to run a shop, etc. I have looked into opening one myself. All the customer wants is honesty and a companies ability to deliver what they need in a time-efficient manner. This would have turned out differently had I been told honestly about the credit and that it had actually not been processed until this past Saturday. I feel like the only way to get my credit was to post on here.
Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate the respect you have for me and my car. My husband and I have worked very hard as a 2-man team to get it where it is today. I don't think I am asking too much from performance shops - just honesty and communicate with me if there is an issue or I need to complete a form, etc. I work over 70 hours a week and don't have time to read every sponsors "policies" on the internet. The problem here was a communication issue from TR to the customer. I appreciate this finally getting taken care of. Best of luck with Thunder Racing.
For the record, John approved and new about the return on the gaskets the entire time, before they even arrived at my home. He never mentioned or offered me an RMA/return number. I am not asking for nothing more, I just didn't understand why my credit took so long to process. It was like I was put on the back burner just because I was not aware of or told the correct process.
I am very well aware of what it takes to run a shop, etc. I have looked into opening one myself. All the customer wants is honesty and a companies ability to deliver what they need in a time-efficient manner. This would have turned out differently had I been told honestly about the credit and that it had actually not been processed until this past Saturday. I feel like the only way to get my credit was to post on here.
Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate the respect you have for me and my car. My husband and I have worked very hard as a 2-man team to get it where it is today. I don't think I am asking too much from performance shops - just honesty and communicate with me if there is an issue or I need to complete a form, etc. I work over 70 hours a week and don't have time to read every sponsors "policies" on the internet. The problem here was a communication issue from TR to the customer. I appreciate this finally getting taken care of. Best of luck with Thunder Racing.