Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonn
I've experienced similar bait and switch practices but Long is a friend so I've let it go. I try to understand from their perspective that they are extremely busy so I continue to let it go. Long would always give me a killer price, and because of that price I do not hesitate and move forward immediately. When the job is done, he gives me a final price with a 30% mark up. I never argue with him because there is no written proof of our original agreement and since Long is so busy he wouldn't remember anyway.
I just had an insurance claim of near $5k. It took LTMW over a month to get my vehicle done. I gave LTMW plenty of space and did not bother them at all. That was my mistake. I have found you really need to stay on top of LTMW because they have so many customers otherwise your car would be lost in the shuffle. If you tell LTMW you can't pick up your car Tuesday but can on Saturday, they will interpret that they have more time to work on your car and it will be placed in the back burner. Then when Saturday comes, it won't be done and your Saturday is spent waiting in their lobby. Now $5k is no joke and is a hefty insurance claim, I signed over the check no issues, did not request any cash back or that they itemize anything. Meanwhile there was some guy there the same time also with an insurance claim who was checking up on every dollar spent and was asking for this and that AND expected cash back from the insurance claim. Me? I just wanted my car done.
And when I got my car back, the iDrive system did not work. But LTMW fixed quickly, albeit at the cost of my time and my inconvenience. Before, when I was a kid, I did not consider my time too valuable...but now that I am older...I make appointments, I have meetings and it becomes more and more difficult for me to let things like this go when the people I deal with at work never seem to fail me and never seem to give me any excuses or delays. If I can expect and demand such professionalism from the people I work with, why can't I expect the same from LTMW, a vendor so esteemed and with such high repute?
And my car was terribly detailed. I don't detail my car ever anymore, but at least I try to maintain. LTMW's detailer seemingly poured SmartWax leather cleaner all over my car and did not even wipe clean...leaving my interior extremely greasy. As you may know, leather is not supposed to be shiny but matte, and I've tried so hard over the years to maintain my interior...only for LTMW to ruin it in one short month.
Lastly, my car suffered misfires and long cranks immediately after receiving from LTMW so I took it into my local dealer. The local dealer informed me through the course of their inspection that my oil filter was not put on correctly, causing an oil leak. Now I knew about this oil leak previously, which mysteriously occurred after my first oil change with LTMW, so I specifically went back into LTMW for a second oil change within 5 months. The leak persisted but I never had time to address it. I informed Long who told me it was impossible to mess up the oil filter and that he did not believe me. I did take a quick pic of the dealer technician's notes, but did want to continue the he-said she-said so I never sent it to Long.
Clearly I've been holding this in for a while; I could make my own thread but I'll just add my two cents (venting) here cause at the end of the day, Long is still a friend but I'm just gonna stay on top of him next time I bring my car over.
It just leaves such a bad taste in one's mouth. LTMW, please know that I am not a fool, you change the price on me, I let you take and keep all of the insurance check--I let a lot of things go out of friendship but I see everything that is going on. But in the end I all care about is getting stuff done right and on time. But I can't even get that level of service...I don't think that is too much to ask :/
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A Friend that takes advantage of someone, isnt a friend at all.
Similar post, just sharing my previous experiences with LTBMW.
Going back x months, i had sent a PM to both LT & Robin for a price quote on an Mtech rear bumper & an LCI IS Diffuser painted & shipped. In the PM, i had specifically asked them to paint the diffuser in a certain way and to include that in their pricing. They gave me a very decent quote compared to what i could get from other vendors such as Tischer shipped then painted at my local shop. This was before all the mtec rep bumpers were introduced.
So i responded back letting them know that im in and to get the process started. They had told me it would take 5-7 days to have everything ready and sent out so in my mind, i knew it would realistically take 2 weeks tops. As Jasonn mentioned above, i really had to stick them inorder to followup on the parts to make sure they are on top of it. After a few phone calls/pms speaking with both Long Tran and Robin, i had reconfirmed with them on MULTIPLE occasions how i wanted my diffuser to be painted etc. ( i did this intentionally to drill that in their heads incase they comback and say I never said this and that). I even sent them a picture detailing what i wanted it done.
After about two and a half weeks just around the painting phase, i get a PM from Long stating " There has been a mistake, please contact me". In my mind, i was like.. Oh Boy..., rang him up as soon as i read the message and he tells me the price he quoted me was for an Mtech bumper + the STANDARD LCI diffuser, which is essentially the same as the pre-lci diffuser and that i had to pay an additional $300 if i wanted the IS one. At that point i was extremely heated, but i kept my cool. I explained to him that i had confirmed on multiple occasions both PM and Robin himself via phone at least 3x. But Long said if he had taken the original quoted price, he would be taking a loss and was very adament about it.
I could go on about how our conversation went but by reading that top bit im sure you get the jist of it. The entire transaction left a bitter taste in my mouth and i will most likely NOT do any business with them in the future. How can a vendor be considered "reputable" by running shady businesses like this? Im sure he has helped many people, especially locals but his online or out of state business transactions needs work.