Gearshift Problem....

[RedRobin]

....

There's absolutely no point or justification in getting pissed of with VWR over this - They are doing all they can in the circumstances - Mat knows they are and I know they are. These things happen and they invariably get put right.

[SteveP]

^^^ Sorry Robin but especially Lee (Cocopop's) has every right to feel let down by VWR as he has received substandard customer service to date IMHO.

While I agree VWR are now working to rectify the issues (and have also offered refunds) the point is that being promised something will happen on on a certain date (i.e. the replacement parts being posted) which then doesn't happen it takes 30 seconds to pick-up the phone and explain, but instead he's left waiting or having to constantly chase them for updates.

[WhiteGTI]

^^ +1, and hear the updates along the grapevine from another forum member (no disrespect to Mat at all), which quite frankly is appauling service IMO...

I'm happy that the problem now seems to have been rectified for most of the involved parties, but it seems that of everyone involved Lee's is the car that is still broken....not great when you consider that he was the one that first reported the problem!!!!

[CocoPops]

There's absolutely no point or justification in getting pissed of with VWR over this - They are doing all they can in the circumstances - Mat knows they are and I know they are. These things happen and they invariably get put right.

Robin,

Whilst I appreciate your loyalty and support towards VWR, they have left me in a not particularly nice situation.

I was told that the parts would be here, they knew what the problem was and how to fix it.
A week came and went, no parts, no phone call, not even a PM through here.
Someone from VWR even came on yesterday and posted servicing costs, so I can only assume they didn't see this thread else they'd have posted surely?

I called them yesterday and was told they are again waiting parts and that they will be posted out to me today, so in theory they should be here tomorrow?

So far I am less than happy with the situation, I'm still driving round with a sloppy gearchange. Presumably its getting worse as the black bracket is wearing away against the metal bracket as the white bush is missing?

Whilst I appreciate Mat's updates, it shouldn't be left to a fellow forum member to post these, however close to VWR he is.

Sadly I couldn't make Inters, otherwise I'm sure VWR would have explained this, but thats hardly customer service is it? What does it take to pick up the phone (having my number) to say "Sorry Lee, we're experiencing delays" or "Sorry Lee, we've now changed our mind on the problem and we think it's this and that... and we need to wait for a new part".

Perhaps expectations were a little high, but I'm still annoyed at the fact the issue happened in France on a Sunday, I limped home and only on the Tuesday did they call, and here we are now 2weeks from their call to me, with no change.

Tell me, you wouldn't be ever so slightly pissed off?

I don't think I've said anything out of turn here? Please explain if I have and I'll retract, but I think I've given fair comments all the way through this thread.

Thanks,
Lee.

[MAT ED30]

Lee  give them a call and speak to sam and say mat said to call you about the shifters. He will sort it very quick

[CocoPops]

Hi Mat,
I spoke to Mark yesterday when I called and he said they were awaiting new parts, due today. So I assume Sam will just say the same?

[MAT ED30]

Ok fella u should get a new metal side to side with a bigger White slider on it. Nathan tried mine mine at inters and said it was spot on

[QD MBE]

Hmmm   

[Top Cat]

I had a really good chat with VWR at Inters, what i am about to say is not going to help you much Lee i am afraid.
It has not only been Cocpops who has suffered with poor service over the last couple of weeks. The problem has not so much been about the failed parts more about the lack of communication around the works.
VWR know they have not been up to scratch recently in regards to dealing with us, and i also know first hand that they are making every effort to rectify this problem.
I feel we need to wait and see how things are over the next month or two. If it gets no better then it would be their loss and their reputation.
As i have already mentioned they know where there short comings have been, and they are now actively making a big effort to rectify this.
I also feel that when they do sort out these problems, they will be a great company for us to be associated with.  

[RedRobin]

There's absolutely no point or justification in getting pissed of with VWR over this - They are doing all they can in the circumstances - Mat knows they are and I know they are. These things happen and they invariably get put right.

Robin,

Whilst I appreciate your loyalty and support towards VWR, they have left me in a not particularly nice situation.

...it shouldn't be left to a fellow forum member to post these, however close to VWR he is.

[I've just read TC's post and we are both independently saying exactly the same!]

Sadly I couldn't make Inters, otherwise I'm sure VWR would have explained this, but thats hardly customer service is it? What does it take to pick up the phone (having my number) to say "Sorry Lee, we're experiencing delays" or "Sorry Lee, we've now changed our mind on the problem and we think it's this and that... and we need to wait for a new part".

Perhaps expectations were a little high, but I'm still annoyed at the fact the issue happened in France on a Sunday, I limped home and only on the Tuesday did they call, and here we are now 2weeks from their call to me, with no change.

Tell me, you wouldn't be ever so slightly pissed off?

I don't think I've said anything out of turn here? Please explain if I have and I'll retract, but I think I've given fair comments all the way through this thread.

Thanks,
Lee.

....I suppose that because I'm up at VWR quite a lot I see their situation more first hand and see what pressures they work under (Ooops! someone rolled the Caddy and it needs to be race-ready next weekend, sort of problem). So, in other words, I see their point of view. This isn't meant to excuse VWR and I do appreciate the customer pov. Basically they have only recently started to offer products outside their racing clients and personally I think they need to expand their staff to deal with it better. I'm up there again this week and will share my views with Sam (the boss) and the rest is up to him of course.

The problem stems from people's expectations - Customers are used to good 'retail' service and expect the same as from people like JKM and Awesome. It's very early days for VWR/RL's offerings outside racing and hopefully they will learn from this unfortunate gearshifter case.

I think the main fault here is not keeping up to date with customers. Mark is very overloaded and it's a wonder he achieves as much as he does.

VWR/RL urgently need to make some improvements to their communications but let's not all condemn the standard of their work over the lack of a few phone calls.

I think it's actually very constructive in the longer term that you have expressed your feelings, Coco.

P.S.- I've just read TC's post and see that we are both independently saying the same!

[RedRobin]

^^^ Sorry Robin but especially Lee (Cocopop's) has every right to feel let down by VWR as he has received substandard customer service to date IMHO.

While I agree VWR are now working to rectify the issues (and have also offered refunds) the point is that being promised something will happen on on a certain date (i.e. the replacement parts being posted) which then doesn't happen it takes 30 seconds to pick-up the phone and explain, but instead he's left waiting or having to constantly chase them for updates.

....Indeed it does only take 30 seconds etc. However, the problem that VWR/RL need to address (and as TC also confirms, they are aware of) is that they aren't currently structured to give that degree of service but are working on it.

Didn't anyone take any notice of me banging on about their race priorities over the last few months?

I have every faith in this being resolved if they remain serious about expanding into the more 'public' market.

[SteveP]

^^^ Sorry Robin but especially Lee (Cocopop's) has every right to feel let down by VWR as he has received substandard customer service to date IMHO.

While I agree VWR are now working to rectify the issues (and have also offered refunds) the point is that being promised something will happen on on a certain date (i.e. the replacement parts being posted) which then doesn't happen it takes 30 seconds to pick-up the phone and explain, but instead he's left waiting or having to constantly chase them for updates.

....Indeed it does only take 30 seconds etc. However, the problem that VWR/RL need to address (and as TC also confirms, they are aware of) is that they aren't currently structured to give that degree of service but are working on it.

Didn't anyone take any notice of me banging on about their race priorities over the last few months?

I have every faith in this being resolved if they remain serious about expanding into the more 'public' market.

I am not sure what you are trying to achieve on behalf of VWR/RL Robin?

We are all aware of your high regard for them and from your comment above -“banging on about their race priorities over the last few months” that racing is their core business.

These issues are not related to just an isolated case on a couple of short shift gear linkages. Both TC and I have also experienced some issues in our dealing with VWR to date but we choose to speak directly to Matt and Sam at Inters about this.

However no one has forced them to go into the retail market and if anything they should be more aware than most about the importance of getting things done right and on time.

Like TC has said we really hope this is just a teething issue and if everything works out look forward, as a forum, to being involved with them in the future.

 

[joesgti]

i cant be bothered reading the whole thred, but my forge shifter grinds on the top row i.e 1st 3rd 5th, i spoke to forge at inters and the were happy to replace it. the nut on the bottom of the shufter comes loose and so doesnt select the gears very well, 

[RedRobin]

....

Steve(P) - I think it's all been said and summed up particularly well by TC. That's both in detail about the shortshifters and in general about VWR/RL customer service.

So I ain't gonna go around anymore in circles on this subject - VWR/RL are aware and it's up to them how they want to run things beyond their core racing business. Personally I take a longer term view and understand their ethos and am confident - I'm suggesting others do the same but it's up to the individual and their expectations [/end of!]

[VW Racing]

Hi All,

This is Sam, hope you don't mind me coming directly onto here to respond to these points?

All of the above comments have been taken by us as useful constructive feedback, there isn't one word in this thread that is unfair here.  And we take all the comments seriously.  To the guys who haven't been contacted we do apologise, it's not how we want to operate and we're working right now to sort out the issues once and for all, i hope you'll notice the difference.

As a few of you have said, we are quite new to the 'retail' side of this!  What started with supplying Mk5 race parts turned into a bit of a 'toe in the water' with a few UK GTI owners that we know, and that has almost unexpectedly turned into something a bit bigger quite quickly, much of it thanks to this forum.  So we've recently taken on Matt Walker in response to that level of interest, so we can make sure that the right level of service is covered in future. We've loved working with those of you that we've met so far, some really knowledgeable and enthusiastic people.  We’ve had some great feedback over the last few months, so we take it 100% seriously (and personally) to respond to any criticisms.  GTI Inters at the weekend was a really useful chace for us to get opinions good and bad from many of you, a big help to us.

It's worth saying that we don't have any ambitions to be a big retail operation, there are enough companies doing a fine job of that out there, and their style may well suit some customers better. The race programme is of course a priority, but that should not, and will not be an excuse to let anyone else down in future through poor communication.  Matt will be our front man to you guys, which I believe will work well.

If any of you do ever want to get in touch with me, or ever feel you aren't getting what you want from us, please do contact me directly on s.roach@volkswagenracing.co.uk or on my mobile 07866 737343 anytime.  We really do welcome your comments, and appreciate your patience if we have any teething troubles. 

Thanks for reading,

Sam