Rockauto for the FAIL

[135sohc]

First off this isnt about a part related to a TM but since Rockauto is a vendor here and advertises on this site I feel it appropriate anyways.


Twice now I have tried to purchase a replacement grille assembly for our 2003 Chrysler Concorde and both times due to very poor, crappy packaging it has arrived broken. Fedex was the carrier both times and yes also on both occasions the box arrived mangled however with proper packaging the part inside would have arrived ok.

This isnt the first time RA has done a crappy job packaging parts. Two months ago I ordered $800 in struts and they were all thrown loose in a large box to bang around. Or another occasion where ordering two throttle body gaskets and they arrived falling out of an old rotten shoe box that was full of holes


I'm off to the dealer now to order an OEM Grille. Two weeks behind schedule and spending more of MY time and money to get yet another broken POS shipped back.

[turbovanman²]

Crap, better hope my stuff shows up ok,

[dwh4784]

I also had a disappointing experience with ordering a grill for my 2009 Hyundai Elantra. I only needed it for the small chrome strip across the top and there was a large chip in it when I opened the box. The packaging was awful. The box was at least three times too big and there was hardly any packing.

I just said F it and taped it off and painted over it to make it presentable since I had spent over a month fighting with another company that ripped me off for that chrome strip and just wanted a grill on my car again. I've since ordered a few other parts from RA and haven't had any issues. And since I didn't even ask them to make it right I can't complain too much about it.

[135sohc]

I have never understood why people go gaga over rockauto and how wonderful they are. Shipping on just about anything from them is a ripoff if your stuck ordering parts that they dont stock all at one location. Pair of brake hoses ordered from them awhile back were so old and expired they were cracking and the fittings were green and white powdery from corrosion.

Wunderparts.com is a far better company to deal with.

[Turbodave]

I've ordered from them a few dozen times and never had any issues with the quality or condition of the parts I received. Even with shipping charges they usually come in less expensive than any of my local parts stores.

[BIG PSI]

Well I saw this thread and thought that I would see what I could do to help.
I sent an e-mail to Rock Auto and this is what I received in a return e-mail.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Chuck ,

Thanks for letting us know about this.Obviously not every order goes perfectly, and everyone has the freedom of speech to write about it online, but we do try our best to solve any problem that comes up. I have passed this on to our director of marketing so that he can reply to the complaints, and hopefully we can get the problems that happened in shipping sorted out for that customer if we haven't already.

Thank you,

Mark
RockAuto Customer Service

phone: (608) 661-1376
fax: (608) 836-5694
toll-free: 1-866-ROCKAUTO (1-866-762-5288)
http://www.rockauto.com

[raccoon]

words are cheap! coupon code!

[1FastCSX289]

I havent ordered from Rock Auto since they denied a return......sent me the wrong radiator for my Charger (not cheap). Unfortunately, the radiator wasnt high on my priority list and it sat until I had time to install it. By the time I realized it wasnt correct, it was outside their 30 day return policy.....by about two weeks. They wouldnt take it back. So, it sits, unused in basement and I had to spend another 125 bucks on another radiator. I wont buy from them anymore.......its just not worth it to deal with crappy customer service. Id rather pay a few bucks more from my local auto parts store and know they will take care of me even if it means bending their policies. Because they know that will keep me as a customer. Thats half the problem with these internet companies.....they have some yahoo working the customer service desk and all they know is "policy" and have no regard for good business practices.

[mark]

the rad they sent you, what is it for?

[87csx50]

ive ordered oem parts for my vw from them and i can say that their packaging is less than acceptable. however i ordered parts that werent really breakable by shipping (hydraulic motor mounts) but i agree with their lack of caring.

[1FastCSX289]

the rad they sent you, what is it for?

I think its for an N/A auto or something......

[black86glhs]

It depends on who packages the stuff. Most of the time, I have good dealings. I have only had one back packaging thing happen and luckily it wasn't anything that could get damaged.

[89ShelbyGuy]

I've ordered from them a few dozen times and never had any issues with the quality or condition of the parts I received. Even with shipping charges they usually come in less expensive than any of my local parts stores.

Yea, i've ordered a few times and everything is great. But our packages probably only get sorted once cause we are so close to them....less chance to get damage compared to someone that lives like in california and is sorted like 5-6 times.

[cordes]

I actually ordered some parts from them yesterday. They called me shortly thereafter to confirm that it would be OK to send me a different brand name part for the same price since they just ran out of what I had ordered. I thought it was pretty good customer service. They were also well over $50 cheaper on my order than Autozone even with shipping included.

[shelbydave]

I've ordered from them a few dozen times and never had any issues with the quality or condition of the parts I received. Even with shipping charges they usually come in less expensive than any of my local parts stores.

I actually ordered some parts from them yesterday. They called me shortly thereafter to confirm that it would be OK to send me a different brand name part for the same price since they just ran out of what I had ordered. I thought it was pretty good customer service. They were also well over $50 cheaper on my order than Autozone even with shipping included.

Ditto to both ^^ When I've ordered from them, I've had no problems, and they have called if a part was unavailable rather than just sending another like item...

[RockAuto]

RockAuto is my family’s auto parts business. As you can probably imagine, it is a nightmare to try to respond to anonymous complaints in a forum thread. Once a thread starts out negative it often generates its own momentum and non-customers, competitors’ promoters, and who knows whom else pop up. Thanks to Turbodave and the other forum members that have chimed in on RockAuto’s behalf!

We welcome and value constructive customer suggestions and feedback. Customers should not hesitate to contact us when they have unanswered questions about a specific order. Please email service@rockauto.com or call 1-866-ROCKAUTO rather than anonymously writing something in the forum and hoping Chuck tells us about it or we stumble across it.

Every week, RockAuto ships thousands of auto and body parts directly to customers. We care very much about packaging and having the parts arrive safely at the customers’ doors. We need packaging that protects big fragile parts like grilles and packaging that does not fall apart when loaded full of heavy, steel parts like brake rotors or struts. We need the right packaging to be used whether the part is shipped from a warehouse or shipped directly from the manufacturer.

I can understand why 135sohc would be very unhappy if two grilles arrived broken. That is a waste of parts and everyone’s time and money. I do not know what brand grilles those were. I know our grille manufacturer, Sherman, has done a lot of work to ensure the correct packaging is used every time. I apologize if we ever shipped anything in an “old rotten shoe box that was full of holes”, but I am guessing that is a bit of an exaggeration since FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc. would not take a rotting shoe box in the first place.

135sohc said: “Shipping on just about anything from them is a ripoff if your stuck ordering parts that they dont stock all at one location.” RockAuto does not make money on shipping. The money customers pay for shipping goes directly in the pockets of FedEx, UPS, etc. All our parts cannot fit in one warehouse and some parts are drop shipped directly from the manufacturers. Look for the truck icons in the RockAuto catalog which indicate the parts that can ship from the same location as other parts already in the shopping cart. Sometimes just picking a different brand or part number will let all the parts ship in the same shipping box.

135sohc also went on to say: “Pair of brake hoses ordered from them awhile back were so old and expired they were cracking and the fittings were green and white powdery from corrosion.” He then promotes a competitor’s website.

RockAuto’s parts are all new and unused. Many of our parts are the freshest around because they come directly from the manufacturer. We do have some parts that are bought up from bankrupt auto parts stores, etc. We do not know how long those parts have been sitting on a shelf. We clearly label them as “Wholesaler Closeouts” in the RockAuto catalog and our customers typically love them because they cost much less than our regular inventory. Once again, it is hard to respond because I have no idea what hose we are talking about. Implying that RockAuto’s parts are somehow inferior is definitely false. Gates, ACDelco, Dayco, etc. do not sell us the crummy hoses and then sell our competitors the nice hoses.

Racoon asked for the Turbo-Mopar’s discount code and here it is: 8B562E63BBFE (expires 7/20/2010). Put the code and nothing else in the “How You Heard About Us” box in the shopping cart.

1FastCSX289 complained about RockAuto’s 30 day return policy (http://www.rockauto.com/lang/en/policy.html#Returns) and the “yahoo working the customer service desk”. It is unfortunate if a customer is ever left with a part they don’t want or can’t use. Please understand that we have to stick with our policies not just to be anal but to stay in business with our low profit margins. With parts like radiators that are likely drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer, we are also dealing with the manufacturers’ return policies. If we do not follow their policies then they will need to charge us higher prices too. Our Customer Service people all work out of our office in Wisconsin. Some have automotive backgrounds like retired mechanics, former auto parts store countermen, etc. but no matter what their backgrounds are, they are professionals that know how to do customer service. Customer service is one of the things that sets RockAuto apart from competitors that save money by shipping Customer Service off to India, the Philippines, etc.

It is fun to help support a forum devoted to keeping these old Chryslers on the road. I spent a lot of time working at the Sterling Heights, MI assembly plant when the Lancer / Lebaron and Shadow / Sundance were being built. I can remember watching the cars going down the line and wondering which cars would be wrecked within a couple of months and which would still be lovingly cared for in twenty years. Now I know!

I also have fun boring my kids by showing them some of the mundane details I worked on. For example, look in the gap next to the headlight on the ’89 and newer Shadow / Sundance and you will see a little notch molded into the bumper. That was put there to drain off excess primer after the body was dipped in the primer tank.

Thanks to all the forum members that buy parts at RockAuto and keep taking care of those old Chryslers! Once again, please contact service@rockauto.com or 1-866-ROCKAUTO if you have questions about parts in the RockAuto.com catalog or a specific order.

Tom Taylor

[shelbydave]

Tom, after reading your response, I glanced at the signature, and just about fell out of my chair... The freudian side of my brain translated that to "Tim Taylor"...

[88_pacifica]

Tom... I have had only two dealings thus far with RA and both times have been very good. I know one such time was a radiator purchase, which is a difficult piece to ship anyway and the other was something simple I'm sure.

Now, since I have no ties/blood involved in this thread, I feel I can speak liberally from a third point of view.

My opinion is that any larger vendor that is willing to speak directly on an internet forum to the masses about individual problems has some "kahuna's" to speak out about the policies, procedures, and 'back-end' operations of your company. Having little fear of repercussions I am very impressed you took the time to answer and work with us in many ways and while nothing is perfect(shippers, transport, mfgrs, suppliers, etc) I do feel that you are a very stand-up company that is offering good products at very good prices.

I will always have a lot of respect for a company so willing to "air it out." It speaks volumes of your company and respectability...

[turbovanman²]

1FastCSX289 complained about RockAuto’s 30 day return policy (http://www.rockauto.com/lang/en/policy.html#Returns) and the “yahoo working the customer service desk”. It is unfortunate if a customer is ever left with a part they don’t want or can’t use. Please understand that we have to stick with our policies not just to be anal but to stay in business with our low profit margins. With parts like radiators that are likely drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer, we are also dealing with the manufacturers’ return policies. If we do not follow their policies then they will need to charge us higher prices too. Our Customer Service people all work out of our office in Wisconsin. Some have automotive backgrounds like retired mechanics, former auto parts store countermen, etc. but no matter what their backgrounds are, they are professionals that know how to do customer service. Customer service is one of the things that sets RockAuto apart from competitors that save money by shipping Customer Service off to India, the Philippines, etc.



Tom Taylor

I too work in the auto industry, self employed mechanic/shop onwer who buys alot of parts and while I see your 30 day policy, sometimes you just have to bend the rules a bit. If we are talking a few days to a week then let it slide OR charge a small restocking fee. My suppliers sometimes break the rules, you have to otherwise you piss off your cliental and they go elsewhere and if you bend over backwards, that customer will remember and he'll buy from you again.

Either way, thanks for being here,

[neongary]

I've always had good luck with Rock Auto and while occasionally I think that there could be more packing in the box, nothing has gotten broken. Prices are way better than local stores, even with shipping.
I appreciate the service and will continue to use them.