laserred38

I am wanting to buy the Cervini's Stalker hood for my 2014 GT, asap, plus hood struts that are guaranteed to work with this hood (possibly hood pins too, if necessary).

I need to have it shipped directly to my body shop, and I will be present to sign for and expect the hood.

Now on to my rant...involving Late Model Resto. I called them today, albeit near closing time, and spent about 15 minutes total on hold. I called around 15:00 pacific time, which should be 17:00 central time, and they close at 18:00 central time. To start, their hold..."message"...is extremely annoying. It constantly tells you every few seconds that their sales team is busy and your time is valuable, etc. Knowing that there might be issues with the body shop and having it shipped somewhere else, I wanted to talk to someone regarding my plans and verify which hood struts will work with this hood, as Cervini's sells their own, but I've read that other ones will work too. Also, LMR doesn't stock the Cervini's struts, so I wanted to see if there was an alternative.

After a long hold, it asks you if you want a call back or if you want to continue to hold. Well, I needed to get this thing ordered asap so I can get my car back asap, so I pressed 2 for "products" so I could continue to hold and wait for someone. It told me I pressed the option for voice mail, which is exactly what I *didn't* want to do. Side note - I called Rehagen Racing last week, looking for some V6 fenders without emblems, left a message for a call back, and no one ever called me back. So, I hung up with LMR because I didn't want to leave a message.

I immediately call back, and wait another 10 or so minutes on hold. Really, that's not bad, but now I'm back from lunch and I need to get this thing ordered. Also, there's a message from the "Manager of sales, Michael" staying how valuable my time is, constantly looping. Well, someone finally answers and introduces himself as Mike...sounding just like Michael on the hold message. I let him know I'm a Mustang Source member and looking to order this hood. He says "okayyy..." as in, why the F are you calling when you can place the order online. I continue on with my questions and try to be as easy going as possible. I inform him I need to have the hood shipped to my body shop because I don't have a truck to be able to bring it to the shop if I have it shipped at home, not to mention I've had stuff stolen off my porch from Autogeek, so I don't ship stuff to my house anymore.

He continues to explain that I need to be there to inspect and sign for the hood, as they've been burned in the past when body shops have signed for the hoods and not inspected them, and they've been damaged by shipping, but the customer didn't inspect the hood, so now it's yours! I state, multiple times, that I understand this and it makes sense to me, and I'll be sure to be present when the hood arrives, as I'll take a long lunch that day.

Finally, he agrees to take my information, starting with my billing zip. I give it to him and let him know that the body shop is on the same street as my billing address. He tells me "that'll be 338.99." I, in shock, don't answer him as I'm unsure if he's talking to me. He says, "hello??" And I say I'm still here. He says "that'll be $338.99." So I say, "the hood? That's the total?" He confirms. I state "I thought the hood was $638.99, no?" He says "yes, that's correct I'm sorry." Okayyyy, I then say I also wanted to buy a set of hood shocks that will for sure work with this hood. He states they stock the Redline and MRT. I then have to ask if these are compatible with this hood. He's unsure.

At this point I'm completely annoyed, but still trying to be nice about it because I want this hood and want to place the order. We get through my shipping information and I again ask about the hood struts, but he still is unsure. So I'm like, okay I'll just do more research. I then ask about the forum discount, as I've placed other orders with LMR before and had used our discount code. He asks what the code is. I state that I'm not sure, but had just checked my previous orders and said it could possibly be "themustangsource" or "mustangource" off the top of my head. Nope, those don't work. They're expired. At this point I'm thinking this is a joke. I'm trying to spend $700 plus with your business, and I've been an active member on multiple Mustang forums for over 10 years. The least you can do is give me my measly 5% discount off this expensive item, that I know isn't even guaranteed to fit to OEM standards, but I want to take the risk anyway, as it can't be much worse than my OEM paint flaking off my stock hood. I ask if he can get the code from Tyler or one of the other guys that are on the forums. He says no, and he's not on the forums. I'm like, "okay what do you want me to do then, message the forum rep, get the code and call back?" He says yes, and that I can't place the order online after I get the code.

Well, that's the last time I'll place an order with LMR, unless they come on this thread and beg me with an amazing deal on this hood, hood struts that work with it, and MAYBE the Cervini's CAI and Ram Air combo that goes with this hood. Maybe, because I might still do the CJ intake and FRPP CAI, so most likely not, but the thought has been crossing my mind.

So, CJPP, here's your chance. I have been happy with ordering from you guys before as well, and am willing to give you guys a shot tomorrow. AM, I don't see the Stalker for 13-14 listed on your site, but if you can get it, let me know. I have a PM to Alex about some wheels, and haven't gotten a response yet...

Cervini's, if you'd like to sell me the hood and your hood struts directly, hit me up.

It's so disappointing that this has been my experience every time I call a vendor, no matter who it is. I understand, I work customer service myself. I hate talking to people on the phone, and just listened to 5 voicemails that I received today while in meetings, with people frustrated about their issues. I don't want to call them back, because people are a) stupid and b) rude, especially to customer service reps, because they know that the lowly CS reps can't do anything and must get their requests approved by their managers.

That said, I, as a customer, do my BEST to be the most easy going customer ever because I know how CS can be. It sucks. Why, when I do get a live person on the phone, does it seem like it's such a BOTHER for the CS reps to have to talk to customers. I called because I had questions before placing a potentially $1k order. I was basically told a) not to ship the hood to my body shop and b) place the order online because I don't want to deal with you.

Thanks for nothing, LMR.

I need to place this order tomorrow, and have money burning a hole in my pocket. I'm not asking for the hood for free, however I have a combined 15k plus posts on various Mustang sites and I am probably the biggest proponent of modding these cars on this site. I feel the least you vendors can do, is give us our 5% discount without this hassle.

Thanks for reading...

JoeMidnight

You know....

Walmart has a policy... " The Customer Is Always Right " even if the customer is trying to return a month old and used .99 air freshener.

The point is, they bend over backwards no matter what.
This is the attitude and approach ALL Vendors should have in order to have great customer service.



That sucks dude. i would definitely walk away as well.

laserred38

You know, I was fired from Tesla for trying to take care of a customer/owner, who was trying to sell his Roadster so that he could buy a Model S. Hmm, trying to make sure one of our first owners was happy so that he'd be a repeat customer, and the service department was left in my hands when the Manager and Shop Foreman weren't around.

Today, I also voiced my displeasure with my current company's policy of screwing over our members, in almost the same way, to our VP...though in a more tactful manner this time. She was receptive, and agreed, but our regulator essentially told us we couldn't approve refunds for our members because it would set precedent with all the other similar companies. Such a joke!

Today, large companies just don't gaf about customer service anymore, and really it's not the employees' faults. It's the result of our society wanting to do more with less and not have any social skills because everything is done online now (this is ironic, no?)...though, you'd think with how much I push you all to mod your cars and tell you exactly which vendor has what at the lowest price, that they'd want to at least DISCUSS my plans for my own car. Such a shame...

Joeywhat

Did you try hypermotive? They've been very helpful with me in the past, and even took a phone order on a Sunday.

laserred38

They don't have Cervini's listed on their site, but they're usually my go to....

2k7gtcs

I bought my hood direct from Cervinis. Didn't have an issue. It was shipped to my house but I damaged the thing unpacking it. Be very careful. I ordered mine prepainted and the staples from the box it ships in scratched the hood as I removed it. Even though it said in red letters on the box to completely remove the staples as they might damage the hood



As far as the hood struts. I talked to redline at the 50th and they swore to me they had the right ones and they would work and I paid in site and they shipped them to me at home. I have yet to put them on.

laserred38

Thanks Gary, I'll most likely purchase from them directly. I was trying to give my business to our supporting vendors, and get my 5% off. I saw that people have used the Redlines too, but wanted to be sure. I have a free set of MMDs sitting here uninstalled that I was going to try, but figured I may as well do it right while my car is under the knife. I don't really want to put the Cervini's ones on, but if they're the only ones that work, so be it. If not, I like the looks of the Redlines and used them before on my '00 V6, but the rivets into my pos Tru Fiber hood that I had on that car, gave out over a few years of usage, so they got pulled and thrown out. The brackets are useless if you don't have the right size rivets and on that pos hood I didn't care to reinstall them.

I also considered the TF hood this time, even though I've heard horror stories from their past (I was one of them too).

I mainly didn't even call Cervini's directly, because by the time I got around to it today, they were closed. Shipping to my house isn't an option. I don't have a truck that can carry the hood to the shop, so the shipping company should tell the shop when they're bringing the hood and I would leave work to meet them. The hood is being painted along with all my other stuff at the same time. Almost my entire car is being repainted, emblems are being shaved and the hood all at the same time.

G Wrecks

I work for a classic car restoration shop and I purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of parts every year. Sometimes I have to call to place orders due to certain circumstances that require extra details.

It blows me away sometimes that there are vendors that act like I'm wasting there time. I know they can be busy sometimes but it isn't an excuse to be blatantly rude. I would much rather be told that they are busy and ask if I can hold a little longer, at least that way I know someone is there to answer my phone call and I will speak to them eventually.

I just placed an order for a 426 Hemi with an 8-71 blower for a '68 charger for **** near $30k. The ENTIRE time I was talking with them I felt like they were too busy and they were very condescending to me and treating me like I knew nothing because I was asking too many questions.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it is rediculous to not treat someone with respect because you never know if they are wanting to spend $30 or $30,000.

I have used a different vendor before even though they were more expensive solely on the fact that they were courteous.

laserred38

Completely agree, and that last sentence rings oh so true. I have done the exact same thing myself.

And at my current job, when I know there's nothing I can do to resolve their issue, and we're royally screwing them, it goes a long way when I tell them "all I can say is I'm sorry" or "I completely agree with you." To me, no job is worth me screwing over the people I'm supposed to be helping, especially when my job IS to help them. It makes me feel like sh*t when I have to go home at the end of the day, given an "order" to essentially screw a customer over. It's so stupid!

That said, I don't see a difference in screwing a customer after the sale, or being rude to them before. LMR used to be the first place I looked for most parts, due to similar experiences with AM in the past. I haven't called AM lately, but Alex did go above and beyond for me when I placed an order for my RTR decklid. Still, I'm looking to buy some new wheels too, and three vendors that I've messaged for a price quote, have not responded to me within 24-48 hours.

This is why people call places, because the "instant gratification" of emailing or messaging no longer has the urgency that it used to. I don't have time to call these vendors during the day, unless it's on my lunch, because they're all back east and 3 hours ahead of me.

JoeMidnight

Perhaps they have the mindset "who cares if i'm rude now and then or all of the time, its just one measly sale"

Hopefully they realize that word of mouth is the best all around advertising that any business could ask for!

Would be great to see said vendors chime in not with excuses but, solutions on how to address your concerns.

2k7gtcs

Wow! Last night a white F150 screw pulls into my driveway and this guy gets out covered in tatts and earrings and stuff. My wife is like who is pulling into our driveway and whats he doing. So I go to the door. Turns out the FedEx man dropped a $1000 appliance I ordered for work at the neighbor at 212 and he was bringing it to me at 112 the address on the label. I would have never known and FedEx just left it at his door. Would have probably been a huge hassle proving I didn't get it from the vendor. But this neighbor brought it to my door as I would have done the same.

Fed Ex and UPS just leave stuff at my door all the time. But then again i'm around a lot during the day.

trizzot

I too bought my hood directly from Cervinis without issue. I would order from them again without delay.

laserred38

I started reading your story and completely expected it to go a different path lol. What a good guy!

And yes, getting them to re-ship my stuff was an absolute nightmare between AG and UPS. Eventually, they re-shipped it, but 2 weeks later, so the total thing took about a month. Can't blame AG either, as they shipped my stuff quick. Wasn't their fault. But UPS makes the end customer start the investigation, not the supplier.

laserred38

We'll see what happens tomorrow...

Thanks for your input sir, I'm going to try them tomorrow, earlier in the day. I was in meetings all morning, so I didn't get to attempt to buy this thing until later in the day. I've also read people having trouble reaching them, on this site no less, especially regarding the 05-09 Eleanor tail light fiasco...

JoeMidnight

I personally will take the day off if i'm waiting for a big ticket item myself or requires a signature. just don't want to risk it either. It's too easy to snag an item off your porch esp when you have solicitors lurking through the neighborhood, looking for donations or anything else.

i know - not everyone is fortunate to get away with doing that.

2k7gtcs

Well they are in Jersey so be prepared to have a translator nearby.

If I remember right I had my best luck calling before 3:00 central time. So that'd be just before 1:00 your time. But then again its Good Friday so who knows.

laserred38

Crud, forgot about that. They're probably closed, or closing early.

I found another vendor, Sinister Mustang, that's actually in Sacramento, semi local to me. They carry Cervini's too. I'm tempted to rent a pickup and go pick up the blasted hood from them. They offer free shipping, so maybe they'd lop off a few bucks that they'd save in freight costs. Almost worth my peace of mind to go get it myself.

ThePope

When I had my 2010 GT, I purchased a Cervini 4 inch cowl hood from American muscle. I had it sent to my friends bodyshop. When he opened the box for inspection, it was damaged. I called american muscle and told them. Right away the offered to have it fix at their expense. I faxed them a estimate for the repair and they credited my card. The hood came out fantastic after everything was down. American Muscle hands down has the best customer service I've ever seen.

laserred38

They don't list the one I want. They have multiple other Cervini's hoods, but not the 13-14 Stalker. I assume the hood is going to take work to fit anyways, considering my past experience with Tru Fiber.

2k7gtcs

Just looked at the hood you want on LMR website. That's a sexy looking hood.


It makes getting t-boned almost worth it. Not really. But its a good looking hood.