A note about vendor bashing.

[Captain KRM P5]

i thought its cuz they were so busy with miatas.

they were very busy with the protege as well but its a matter of economics in the end. they did not feel a real positive vibe from the protege community, protegeclub either to be fair. had the attitude been a little more welcoming, they would have stuck it out i think. they had a good deal of projects and ideas in the works for the protege that we'll never see now

 

[KpaBap]

This could also be resolved if there was any moderation going on here and the bashing was stopped long before 1000+ people saw the thread. A thread delete and a 5-day ban for unfounded bitching and moaning and people will grow up. Who cares if it pisses off some members, at least it maintains what little credibility the vendors have with the picky whiners.

 

[t3ase]

speaking of moderators i think u guys havent been active for a long time.
and what happened to evilsrt is he still a moderator on a mazda forum ? sorry for the jack

eh, my situation is known to all other moderators and I can't speak for jersey. Hell, even the "subforums" issue can show somewhat how a few of the people act. *shrug*

 

[t3ase]

This could also be resolved if there was any moderation going on here and the bashing was stopped long before 1000+ people saw the thread. A thread delete and a 5-day ban for unfounded bitching and moaning and people will grow up. Who cares if it pisses off some members, at least it maintains what little credibility the vendors have with the picky whiners.

You'll have to take that up with Antoine. Mods are *very* limited in what we can do as far as closing threads. I'm not even supposed to have closed the thread that initiated this one, however, I'm going to do it if I think it needs to be done. Moderators are also not given access to ban users, only supermods and admins.

I don't fully agree with how things are run on these forums, as far as the rules go but no one ever does agree 100% with any set of rules.

I'm also not talking about on the forums. Many issues that I've been made aware of were phone or email originated. The problem then becomes not a moderation issue but an attitude issue.

 

[KpaBap]

If someone has a problem with a product they should take it up and try and resolve it with the vendor himself, rather than ruining their reputation on the forums. The point is, there should be no unfounded negativity towards a vendor. Sure, if you paypalled them $800 6 months ago and your FMIC still hasn't been shipped, bash and b**** all you want. But if it were up to me, "omg this midpipe needs some extra hangers" would've been deleted and the member warned/temp-banned in point-0 seconds.

 

[KpaBap]

Well, I just read your post, nothing can be done about a whiney email. But the knife has two edges, the vendors shouldn't get all butt-hurt because some moron can't read the installation instructions.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

i didnt know ppl gave u s*** about ur products ?? ive never seen any negative posts about PG

its not your fault. it was a combination of things but Bryan (dexter) and I had and have some serious beef with the way we and other vendors were and are treated by the community. its not so much negative posts, though i know of a few keepers that i could share. there is behind the scene stuff as well - nasty phone calls, nasty emails, lies and rumors from one member to another. I had a person tell me his lawyer was going to be raping me for all I was worth because his intercooler was a week late. I mean, seriously, what the hell people? That was an extreme case but I have plenty of saved emails from people who thought thier s*** didn't stink.

I challenged people then and I challenge them again. Pay for a domain name. Raise your own capital to do the buy-ins. Negotiate discounts with suppliers. Get a state and federal business license. Find a way to work suppliers who don't think your dollar is worth a damn. That's just starting the business. If you've made it that far, try running it. After that, if you've broken even the first few months you're a lucky guy (or gal)

 

[t3ase]

If someone has a problem with a product they should take it up and try and resolve it with the vendor himself, rather than ruining their reputation on the forums. The point is, there should be no unfounded negativity towards a vendor. Sure, if you paypalled them $800 6 months ago and your FMIC still hasn't been shipped, bash and b**** all you want. But if it were up to me, "omg this midpipe needs some extra hangers" would've been deleted and the member warned/temp-banned in point-0 seconds.

I think we're going two different ways, here. I'm in no way saying people should not voice their problems should they arrise. I'm also not going to pinpoint specific examples.

I also think we're losing the point of this thread; to simply encourage less bashing and a sligh attitude adjustment. Also a suggestion to say thanks the next time you get to some of the vendors you do business with.

 

[JDM Sam]

I agree with a lot in this thread. I notice these bashing threads a lot without taking to account no company or manufacturer has a 100% customer satisfaction rate. 90% of the time is considered very good. All it takes is one neg rep to tarnish your business. No one pays attentions to the postive but when one negative comment comes, everything goes sour.

 

[KpaBap]

its not your fault. it was a combination of things but Bryan (dexter) and I had and have some serious beef with the way we and other vendors were and are treated by the community. its not so much negative posts, though i know of a few keepers that i could share. there is behind the scene stuff as well - nasty phone calls, nasty emails, lies and rumors from one member to another. I had a person tell me his lawyer was going to be raping me for all I was worth because his intercooler was a week late. I mean, seriously, what the hell people? That was an extreme case but I have plenty of saved emails from people who thought thier s*** didn't stink.

I challenged people then and I challenge them again. Pay for a domain name. Raise your own capital to do the buy-ins. Negotiate discounts with suppliers. Get a state and federal business license. Find a way to work suppliers who don't think your dollar is worth a damn. That's just starting the business. If you've made it that far, try running it. After that, if you've broken even the first few months you're a lucky guy (or gal)

Don't mean to be an ass but you will get the same kind of crap running any business, Protege-related or not. The only problem I see here is that you will hardly ever break even since it's a small (relatively speaking) community of 16-25 year olds and we all know this age group IS the most wealthiest and mature. This plays into the fact that people here are whiny children that expect more for less.

 

[t3ase]

Well, I just read your post, nothing can be done about a whiney email.

The "whiney email" shouldn't exist in the first place, which is the point of this thread.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

I agree with a lot in this thread. I notice these bashing threads a lot without taking to account no company or manufacturer has a 100% customer satisfaction rate. 90% of the time is considered very good. All it takes is one neg rep to tarnish your business. No one pays attentions to the postive but when one negative comment comes, everything goes sour.

my grandparents have a phrase: "one oh s*** equals five 'atta boys" like what T3ase is saying, its a shame more poeple don't come on and say "hey what a great vendor, he did this and he did that for me and the product was good". But if so much as a scratch is on the box it becomes OMGHI2UWTFBBQ. people take however much effort is needed to s*** on someone but not nearly as much to say a simple "thanks" when one is warranted. on t3ase's point, no one is saying that anyone should expect or accept a crappy product and deal with it because they are protege owners. its the respect or frankly lack therof that kills us.

 

[JDM Sam]

Also, if we plan on getting big name companies like AEM to make parts for our cars, we need to show some support to the vendors who carry the parts b/c if they dont sell, companies like AEM won't make them unless the vendor invests in a huge stock, and with the high amount of drama that goes on, no vendor would want to, especially to a low profit niche market.

An example would have been the RS*R exhaust I was trying to get made.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

Don't mean to be an ass but you will get the same kind of crap running any business, Protege-related or not. The only problem I see here is that you will hardly ever break even since it's a small (relatively speaking) community of 16-25 year olds and we all know this age group IS the most wealthiest and mature. This plays into the fact that people here are whiny children that expect more for less.

i agree with you, and that really reinforces my point. the problem really is not for the business owner, its the customer. yes, any business is going to get its share of bulls***. i've been around the business world long enough to catch that. flipside of that is that no one here should be surprised when a vendor does decide to pack up and go. its one thing for a company to take constant garbage from people that pay them a million dollars. they'll do it because in the end the revenue is worth the beating they may take. its another thing for that same company to take from a niche community that makes them comparitively nothing - they're not going to give a s*** and in the end take a hike.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

Also, if we plan on getting big name companies like AEM to make parts for our cars, we need to show some support to the vendors who carry the parts b/c if they dont sell, companies like AEM won't make them unless the vendor invests in a huge stock, and with the high amount of drama that goes on, no vendor would want to, especially to a low profit niche market.

An example would have been the RS*R exhaust I was trying to get made.

funny you should mention AEM. when we approached them about the mazda3 and directly marketing thier product to the community, they were not shy about telling us that the community was "not thier bag". they dealt with distributors and after that they really were not interested in what the community did with those distributors. they had originally promised a short ram intake and failed to come through - they had specs, pics, even part numbers and UPCS. thier distributors (and us as well) took pre sale deposits on this item that never materialized. when i asked them what was up, i was told by thier sales department that they could care less how the customer felt and to tell them either to upgrade to the full CAI or to just not buy it.

 

[Dexter]

Two words: golden tommygun.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

Two words: golden tommygun.

thug passion

 

[Dexter]

All because of some ****** "soot" in a pipe. Grow up.

 

[BOOSTR]

Produce a good product, stand behind it, and deliver on your promises. That's the key to establishing market share and earning repeat business. No businees will be successful for long if they fail to listen to or alienate their customer base.

I personally have had no problems with the vendors that I have purchased my mods from.

 

[jurgs01]

T3ase, gimme a break. The point of a forum is to get information out to new members who have no idea about modding and those who want more information. If you think people on here should keep their mouth shut about the quality and possible consequences of a product then you don't need to be a moderator. Cmon, driving vendors like Joep, Ion, and Essentialspeed out of here because people bash them? Who really cares? I could make the products Joep makes in my garage. You can get those anywhere. We have great vendors like Turfburn, **********, MAM, dexter, 505zoom, Leadfoot, Delivery Guy, DG Motorsports and others who provide everything we need. I'm sorry warning people about putting a FCD on their car (which could lead to $3000+ damage to some unknowing kids car) drove a vendor who makes a valve and a cheap piece of electronics away. There is a vendor building a safer one that you can turn off and on and has a warning light. I hope some kid new to the forums will read my post and think twice before buying something they otherwise would think as safe. I think you are the one who needs to grow up and realize that as an adult and moderator you have an obligation to warn people of the downfalls of parts that could damage their cars. I can't even name a GOOD vendor who has been pushed away except for DG Motorsports (and they are back).