STMtuned.com - worst customer experience ever

[svolo4]

I ordered a pair of DSS axles from them, next morning I got an email, saying that they don't have axles in stock (website never mentions this) and it will take 4-6 weeks to get them shipped to me. In the same email STM asked me to let them know if I still want to go ahead with this. Email was sent to me at 7 am local tome, so I only saw it 40 minutes later, when I woke up and instantly asked them for a refund. They never responded even after I sent them several follow up emails and nobody picked up the phone (I called multiple times on different days and only thing I heard is a recorded message that they're at lunch ir out racing)
I opened a paypal case, still got no response.
Today (a week after the order was placed and 6 days after I asked them to cancel my order) another STM employee sent an email to me, saying that they will issue a refund after their DSS order will be cancelled.
So, they placed an order without checking if I'm gonna wait for the part and now telling me that I have to wait until they figure out their business with DSS.
STM is also pointing to a terms and conditions on their website which are allowing them to take time for processing orders, but I don't believe this is applicable, since I told them I don't want to wait and want a refund when they informed me that it could take over a month to get part manufactured.
I'm still pretty confident that I will get my money back, because in worst case scenario I'm protected by paypal, but want to make this public, because this is an unacceptable way of doing business.

[why?]

why would you not order DSS products directly from DSS?

[svolo4]

Originally Posted by why?

why would you not order DSS products directly from DSS?

It takes 3-4 weeks for them to build axles. I thought that STM have them in stock, so I could get parts sooner.

[svolo4]

BTW, I finally got a refund today, but still very upset with the vendor dragging this for a week and giving me BS about terms and conditions afterwards.
This could've been easily resolved with prompt communication.

[ZionsWrath]

Some advice based on ordering parts over the past years is call vendors and see what their product availability is before ordering. There are so many products and vendors that are really just drop shipping. Also if you have a deadline for when you need parts placing an order by phone call can help speed it up.

[svolo4]

Main problem here is not a delay with shipping the part, but the fact, that vendot kept almosk $1k for a week, didn't answer emails and phone calls for a week and then told me that I'm getting a refund only if they get it first.
I replied on their email, saying that they don't have part in stock 40 minutes after I got it. They just ignored this, placed an order with DSS and then tried to make me responsible for the mess that they created.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by svolo4

I ordered a pair of DSS axles from them, next morning I got an email, saying that they don't have axles in stock (website never mentions this) and it will take 4-6 weeks to get them shipped to me.

Any shop that has access to inventory feed from Turn 14 or Motovicity or Keystone or any distributor with EDI may show some products as "in stock", but if they also buy the same product directly from the manufacturer then they often times get a better price (but has to wait for the product to be built).

It's too much programming for inventory feeds to exclude certain manufacturers (considering half the auto parts industry doesn't use standardized parts/naming for even references to vehicle applications) so this is the end result. Poor excuses like "here's our T&C, read it" doesn't do much either.

I would not say this is "the worst customer experience ever"... worst ever is when you pay for goods that are special order, you are told it is 3-6 months out, you wait, only to find out a year later that the vendor never had money to buy the parts to begin with and spent your money somewhere else.

Don't ask me how I know.

-alex