I have to vent, and potential customers need to hear this. After the first time I got burned by UUC I said it would be my last, but I came crawling back and got smoked again. Back when the UUC pullies came out I paced an order in hope of receiving pullies. After a week of waiting, nothing. I was currently living in NJ at the time so I new shipping wasn't an issue. I called them to see what the deal was and they said they were on back order and they would be shipped by the end of the week. Guess what? No pullies. I called and cancelled my order, telling myself I would never deal with them again..........
6 months later I find myself in a predicament and I call on UUC again. This time I NEED new sway bars because I got into an accident and bent mine. They tell me no problem and they will get to South Carolina in three days. A week passes and still now swaybars. So I call UUC today and hear the same bullshit.....sorry they are on backorder, we will have them at the end of the week. Sure you will. IF YOU DONT HAVE SOMETHING IN STOCK, WHY NOT TELL PEOPLE THAT. We aren't gonna think anything less of you. Instead you lie to people and fuck everything up. NEVER AGAIN WILL I DO BUISNESS WITH UUC. Once, shame on you. Twice, shame on me. Thanks UUC.

Steve, all of our backordered parts are clearly marked on the website.

If placing a phone order, your UUC sales rep is supposed tell you if the order will be delayed.

I will gladly discuss this with whomever your UUC sales rep was - please contact me privately so that I may get that information from you.

As far as "blow"... the reason the products are backordered is due to the popularity. We wish things could always be in stock, but at least you as a customer know that the products are overwhelmingly popular and an excellent choice.

Thats all cool Rob, but this is the second time I've been burned. And BOTH times I have specificly asked if the parts were in stock and I was told YES on both occasions. I'm unsure of who took my order but I'm sure you can find it in the computer.

My "blow" wasn't refering to your products. If I believed that I wouldn't have tried to order from you. My "blow" is refering to your customer service.

Steve, right there are two reasons why I asked you to contact me directly. First, I'd like to get to the bottom of this problem - it would not surprise me if there was a miscommunication somewhere and your order could be fillled.

So, as I cannot guess your last name or order number, I will ask you again to contact me privately with your information.

I've been looking into ssk's and it seems like they've been on backorder the whole year.. I pretty much look elsewhere now. sorry

Originally posted by hinzm3
I've been looking into ssk's and it seems like they've been on backorder the whole year.. I pretty much look elsewhere now. sorry

I cannot stress this enough: if you want the product, order it right away. Do not wait until the website shows it is no longer backordered.

I seem to repeat this explanation often, but here it goes again: the website shows "backordered" whenever we cannot ship new orders immediately - if there is even a one-day delay in getting that day's orders out, the website says "backordered". Guess what that means - quite often, a product is constantly shipping but is always marked "backordered". Hmmm... so people who wait keep waiting, and people who order and wait a very short time get theirs relatively quickly.

I cannot think of any case other than yours that exemplifies this - you've been waiting to get one, not ordering it until the status changes, while all along other people are getting theirs.

EVO3 shifters have been shipping, but may be marked "backordered" all along for the reason I explained above.

We never pre-charge your credit card, so pre-ordering does not cost you anything. It just reserves your spot, which you could cancel at any time prior to shipping.

- Rob

Rob, FYI the wesite still says you have the sways IN STOCK. You might want to change that to avoid further confusion.
Steve

Steve, when I look at the web store (the same way as anyone else), I see "on backorder". When I check the system setup, I see that the status was changed on 11/25/03, three days ago.

I think your browser is holding the old page in cache memory... try hitting the "refresh" button on your browser.

Rob,
The "pricing" page says "in stock" for all three sets, the "order" page does say "on backorder" though.

dude my cooling system went out on me and I had the pullies ordered from UUC for almost two months, so when my radiator went out I called UUC asking when they were going to ship the pullies, they say "by the end of the week" so I leave my car stranded so that I can install the pullies when I have my radiator out and stuff, guess what? no pullies at the end of the week and I had my car apart for about a week without being able to do fix the cooling problem...so I just canceled the damn order and fixed the cooling system without the pullies...will not order anything through UUC again!

P.S. I will order only through vendors and only when THEY tell me that its in stock, because I dont believe when UUC says they are in stock...

Originally posted by bimmer95
Rob,
The "pricing" page says "in stock" for all three sets, the "order" page does say "on backorder" though.

AHHH, maybe thats where the confusion is. Still I had specificly asked if they were in stock and I was told yes............

Originally posted by steve m3
AHHH, maybe thats where the confusion is. Still I had specificly asked if they were in stock and I was told yes............

What I suspect happened, now that I think about it, was a situation that happens every now and then; our phone staff can see if a product is in stock, but not actual quantity. At the time of your order, all shipments were being held up for a couple of days due to a bushing backorder. With several swaybar orders being held up, what I suppose happened was that with X quantity actually in the warehouse, you were X+1 on the list. Product showed "in stock" but not shipping, but the system cannot do the simple math and give the answer to our phone staff.

But as you and I discussed the other day, when we are open on Monday I will see if we have an "emergency reserve" set on hand to ship out immediately.

im not bashing or trying to start a war, but Rob, if you guys have that kind of misinformation, you guys should try to correct the problem of having a better information system on your products, because it drains your resources as well as the customer, and if threads like these keep popping up once in a while, it WILL hurt your business to some degree...you just cant keep giving the same excuses to the your customers...btw the guy who got my phone call seemed to know his stuff, because he "went" to the back to check while keeping me on the phone and said it will go out in two days, just need to package...then 2 weeks later, nothing!

oh well,
I should just not deal with it I guess...

Originally posted by Sinned
im not bashing or trying to start a war, but Rob, if you guys have that kind of misinformation, you guys should try to correct the problem of having a better information system on your products, because it drains your resources as well as the customer, and if threads like these keep popping up once in a while, it WILL hurt your business to some degree...you just cant keep giving the same excuses to the your customers...btw the guy who got my phone call seemed to know his stuff, because he "went" to the back to check while keeping me on the phone and said it will go out in two days, just need to package...then 2 weeks later, nothing!

oh well,
I should just not deal with it I guess...


You are now hired as head of Product Procurement and Delivery. When can you start?

The guy who went back to check with our shipping/production supervisor was passing along information he thought was accurate. As I keep posting whenever this comes up, even dealing with minor sub-suppliers like anodizers results in unanticipated delays. Common sense tells us that when we are told two days, we pass along two days. When outside supplier does not deliver in two days, that is an unfortunate unanticipated delay - not a lie, not an excuse, just the simple plain reality of the situation.

If you can come into our company and guarantee me 100% on-time interaction with all of our suppliers, you'll get a big fat check at the end of a year... but if you fail, just once, p*ssing off a customer who posts on a message board instead of calling UUC for remedy, then I will collect the same sum from you. Name your salary. What, no takers on the offer? Forget it, I wouldn't want to take your money.

What is involved in coordinating a product manufacturing and delivery system with so many part numbers, hundreds of sub-components, and several specialized outside manufacturers is beyond the scope of information I can provide here. Considering the vast majority of our orders are shipped immediately and delivered promptly, yet what we see is that the internet is an opportunity for every single mildly dissatisfied customer to flame away. Do we really wonder why so few vendors actually respond to customers in these forums?

i think UUC products are great.

Rob Levinson,

I don't mean to criticize, but if you have people complaining about the method in which they buy your products maybe something needs to be done (?). No matter how much you justify your methods, if people are still complaining, you will lose customers. anyhow just a thought, I'm very happy with my SSK. :)

Rob... again, I didnt mean to question your products or say whats right vs. wrong, but I'm just saying with "multiple" threads popping up, you guys might want to do something...a suggestion, I never said I would be the best guy for product procurement and delivery, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist or an MBA in order to figure out that you guys have some mix up within your product fulfillment...

Rob...

These issues seem to be compounding. I am sad to say I was in the same position. I have a sway bar set currently on order. Sadly, I have been waiting for approximately 2 months. I had an exhaust (TSE) and power pulleys on the same order, but I had to cancel. To much time. My stock exhaust was put on by the car's P.O. and was chewing up my rear diffuser and heat shields.

Obviously it's not that UUC doesn't have great products. That is clearly not the case as they are all very popular. With articles in magazines raving about your products, what's not to like? Quality and performance at a reasonable price.

However, the problem appears to be logistics. Your supplier(s) is not meeting the needed goals. And / or the time frames for shipments are out of whack with your demand. If you are out of stock all the time, maybe it's time to have a meeting with the fabricators. Light some fires (so to speak).

The more time that is spent waiting, the more disappointed customers there will be. Thus, they will go elsewhere. And, by the apparent frustration level, they will pay just about anything to get the parts they need.

I certainly hope this all works out for you guys. I will keep my order for the sways, as I do not require them right away. Besides, too many people have recommended them. Just my quick .02, business man to business man.

Good luck in the New Year.

Chad Austin

Originally posted by ChadsM3
Rob...

These issues seem to be compounding. I am sad to say I was in the same position. I have a sway bar set currently on order. Sadly, I have been waiting for approximately 2 months. I had an exhaust (TSE) and power pulleys on the same order, but I had to cancel. To much time. My stock exhaust was put on by the car's P.O. and was chewing up my rear diffuser and heat shields.

Obviously it's not that UUC doesn't have great products. That is clearly not the case as they are all very popular. With articles in magazines raving about your products, what's not to like? Quality and performance at a reasonable price.

However, the problem appears to be logistics. Your supplier(s) is not meeting the needed goals. And / or the time frames for shipments are out of whack with your demand. If you are out of stock all the time, maybe it's time to have a meeting with the fabricators. Light some fires (so to speak).

The more time that is spent waiting, the more disappointed customers there will be. Thus, they will go elsewhere. And, by the apparent frustration level, they will pay just about anything to get the parts they need.

I certainly hope this all works out for you guys. I will keep my order for the sways, as I do not require them right away. Besides, too many people have recommended them. Just my quick .02, business man to business man.

Good luck in the New Year.

Chad Austin

As always, your kind words and constructive advice are appreciated.

However, you're not telling me anything I don't know or am not working on... I am lighting so many fires under various *sses these days that it is ridiculous.

The problem is not that we can't keep up with regular demand... it's that there is a lag effect keeping up with the continually increasing demand.

For example, we're shipping X% more over the past quarter than the previous quarter, which would have been "excess inventory" that previous quarter. The problem being that demand increased X% + Y%.

The lag effect of increasing production to meet new goals or anticipated volume is what bites us in the tail. Even when we attempt to overshoot the estimates, the effect is there.

We're successful in keeping up with demand for most orders. In all reality, what we are seeing is occassional glitches resulting in vocal complaints. There are cetain things I can and cannot do to help in these situations, but what I would appreciate most of all is that public "bashing" does no good whatsoever. We're not in kindergarten or standing around the water cooler bitching... if anyone has a problem or a misunderstanding, please put down the keyboard and pick up the phone - 908-874-9092 and ask for me directly.

There are cetain things I can and cannot do to help in these situations, but what I would appreciate most of all is that public "bashing" does no good whatsoever. We're not in kindergarten or standing around the water cooler bitching...

Are you serious??? You call this bashing, kindergarden and bitching? All I saw is honest people telling their story of misfortune with your customer service, I dont call complaining about a 2 month delay in order "bitching" and"bashing".

I have not purchased anything from UUC yet, but this is a bad first impression i just got, I've heard great stuff about your products, but I am just supporting what the other guys kindly stated, that your customer service and your approach may drive people away. If I were you, Mr. Levinson, I would simply appologize for the inconvenience, customers don't want excuses; you should stop being on the offensive as if someone is trying to steal your lunch.

My 2 cents

Originally posted by sik325IS
Are you serious??? You call this bashing, kindergarden and bitching? All I saw is honest people telling their story of misfortune with your customer service, I dont call complaining about a 2 month delay in order "bitching" and"bashing".

I have not purchased anything from UUC yet, but this is a bad first impression i just got, I've heard great stuff about your products, but I am just supporting what the other guys kindly stated, that your customer service and your approach may drive people away. If I were you, Mr. Levinson, I would simply appologize for the inconvenience, customers don't want excuses; you should stop being on the offensive as if someone is trying to steal your lunch.

My 2 cents

Buddy, that's a quote I get from the several e-mails I receive hourly on this subject, usually from people who pursued the problem or misunderstanding the right way - by contacting UUC. Nobody on this message board will help you with a shipping question or problem other than the manufacturer.]

Apologize? I express deep condolences about delays every day to customers who contact me directly. A message board is a place for technical questions and answers, not mea culpas.

My customer service is impeccable. Delays have nothing to do with customer service. Customer service is taking care of customer's questions, concerns, and problems. Problems will arise with any shipped product, that's the nature of it. No perfect solution. Customer service is how you take care of problems. I bend over backwards and bust my *ss for any customer that has the common courtesy to contact us directly about something needing resolution. You won't find anyone else as willing to offer express shipping, discounts, gift certificates, and personal installation advice given to techs that should know better than us here at UUC... and you can take that legitimate customer service to the bank. Sorry if your order was delayed, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll make it up to you.

I am now unsubscribing from this thread as it is not productive, and is not doing anybody any good.

- Rob

Rob, we all know bimmerforums is your little playground and you will always get the last word in.

the bottom line is that you can do all you want for customers, have a rock bottom price and a lot of advertising. your problem is not these things!! yours is a very simple supply issue that i didn't even have waiting for parts from Germany when i worked at my last position. if a manufacturer is giving you the run around find a new one. if you are not getting your shippments in time find a new carrier. try to focus on your issues what ever they may be. and maybe try listing on your website, order now with an e-mail confirmation from you stating if the parts are in stock. and listing on the site "call for availability". no one every "bashes" you on the fact that your products are not in stock (that is the way of the world) what they are expressing is a frustration of the common answer in our industry "by the end of the week". well that just doesn't cut it in todays market. you have to be honest and more specific.

hope you take what i said as cunstructive and try to work your own internal issues out.

Originally posted by ///M3 CRAZY
Rob, we all know bimmerforums is your little playground and you will always get the last word in.

the bottom line is that you can do all you want for customers, have a rock bottom price and a lot of advertising. your problem is not these things!! yours is a very simple supply issue that i didn't even have waiting for parts from Germany when i worked at my last position. if a manufacturer is giving you the run around find a new one. if you are not getting your shippments in time find a new carrier. try to focus on your issues what ever they may be. and maybe try listing on your website, order now with an e-mail confirmation from you stating if the parts are in stock. and listing on the site "call for availability". no one every "bashes" you on the fact that your products are not in stock (that is the way of the world) what they are expressing is a frustration of the common answer in our industry "by the end of the week". well that just doesn't cut it in todays market. you have to be honest and more specific.

hope you take what i said as cunstructive and try to work your own internal issues out.

Okay, someone forwarded the post to me so I had to look. <sigh> So much for unsubscribing...

Drew, it's not a "last word" issue at all! Ask me a question, expect an answer, right?

Your comments are appreciated, but (as I posted previously) are not news to me, and are issues we are working on.

The important point in response to telling a customer in-stock or backorder status is that we do have this information on the website. When a customer places an order, the item is marked "backordered" and a little pop-up window says something like "this item is backordered, are you sure you want to order?" The system is usually kept up-to-date, although there can be a same-day problem where 50 orders are placed on a day when only 48 pieces are in the warehouse... resulting in 2 people getting backordered without prior knowledge.

And, as I explained earlier, the "about a week" answer is better than saying "exactly 4 days" and then being called a liar when it turns into 5, 6, or 8. I know at what rate our manufacilities work and that there is a certain fudge factor in production times due to the myriad factors of materials supply/delay, equipment usage or failure, employee outages, and many other things.

It's just not as easy as snapping my fingers and making it all work perfectly, as much as I wish it was.

Again, your constructive comments are appreciated.

- Rob

The problem had been resolved. Thanks alot Rob and UUC. :redspot

Originally posted by steve m3
The problem had been resolved. Thanks alot Rob and UUC. :redspot

now on to the next person(s) problem. :complain

I waited a long time for my TSE exhaust that I ordered from Micah of M3 motorwerks. I spoke with Rob and he made it all right. I love my exhaust, SSK and other various mods that I have purchsed from UUC. Waiting does indeed suck, but what can you do? I will not order any UUC products unless they are in stock. A lesson that I have learned the hard way.

So much for those Sway Barbs and performance parts from UUC, I'll take my business elsewhere, BenFer, Dinan.

FWIW, UUC parts are very good parts. I have bought from UUC before. My problem has been the manner in which things are dealt with. Order parts, they are back-ordered for months. Then I ordered small parts (ie - Shift knob, Pedals, etc.) I get my parts, the shift knob looked like it was dropped, the e-brake handle was not the one I ordered, etc. After reading on the boards, I just stopped buying from UUC. Not trying to say they are bad, they just seem to really be in demand and have trouble meeting that demand. Bimmer drivers are not very forgiving either. So instead of joining the angry crowd, I just moved on...

I was about to buy a UUC Exhaust, but I'm really hesitant now upon reading this thread. Anyone have good or bad experiences with supersprint

I was about to buy a UUC Exhaust, but I'm really hesitant now upon reading this thread. Anyone have good or bad experiences with supersprint or other exhaust companies?

Dude, this definately sounds like youre messing up business by being frugal with your cash flow...

Just order in more than you need. Keep some spares.

That way, people wont end up complaining (when they have the right to) and you wont end up having to somehow justify keeping people waiting.

By making things 'backorder' youre trying to say 'hey we aint liable for it not getting to you soon', but you also have to see the disincentive to buying something. When people go shopping for something, they usual want it. NOW. If youre on backorder and someone else isnt, they will go elsewhere.

As for delivery, pinpointing the day is very hard. I just ordered a dell computer, got told it would be here on friday and when it didnt get here, i was dissapointed. Then the weekend came, so it had to be monday till ANYTHING happens. When you name a day, people EXPECT it to be there.

THEREFORE, if its going to take 5 days to get there, TELL THEM, it will be there in SEVEN days. That way, they expect it to be here in 7 days, and when it gets there in 5 they will be here, BEAMING, as opposed to discussing your shortfalls.

Im just using common sense.

I have to agree that things have gone down hill. As you can see, I have bought quite a few UUC parts. They *used* to be good about getting back to you, even though it was always the same story... Packaging wasn't right, shipments came in late, definitley shipping at the end of the week... But they did, at least, get back to you.

My fiance ordered a set of floormats for my car in November. She continues to send emails that go unanswered. She is in customer service and is always taking incoming calls so she really doesn't have time to call and inquire.

Yep, things are regressing. Great parts, unfortunatley you can't have 'em.

I ordered a Oil Center on 8/26/2003 and havent received it yet. Called the first week of December and the said it will ship by the end of the week. I'm still waiting.

I also ordered a E-brake handle on 11/18/2003...same story.

I have ordered just about everything they offer, and the quality is excellent but the waiting is outrages and unacceptable. I want to order a big brake kit from them but I won't until I get my other orders.

This is really getting to be the silliest thread.

The time that it takes to write an e-mail in this thread is twice the time it would take to call UUC and immediately resolve the problem.

Especially, as I say until I am blue in the face, nobody shouold ever rely on e-mail for an important communication.

Case in point:

Originally posted by 19redwings
My fiance ordered a set of floormats for my car in November. She continues to send emails that go unanswered. She is in customer service and is always taking incoming calls so she really doesn't have time to call and inquire.

As she's in customer service, she knows that phone calls resolve issues immediately.

In all reality, Bill, I have not gotten a single e-mail inquiring about your mats. With all the spam controls in place these days, I know for a fact a lot of e-mails do not get through as lots of domains reject incoming messages relayed through other domains.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS THREAD. I don't look here very often, and if you want an answer, call me directly: 908-874-9092.

- Rob

But seemingly you DO look here sometimes:)

Isn't it funny how Rob responds faster to this thread then he does to any of your emails?!?!?!?!


Todays latest spam blockers....... who the hell are you kidding!
Keep you biz email to biz only and surf for porn and dating services on a free hotmail/yahoo email address. Spam blockers HA!

Isn't it funny how Bill obsesses about UUC? How flattering!

Yes, guys, I obviously do look at Bf.c... but in no way should it be considered a "communications path" to me when the UUC phone number is on the main page of our website. Want to get in touch with me or anyone at UUC, pick up the phone - 908-874-9092.

NEVER assume e-mail gets through, I get bounces BACK from customers all the time... who then complain that I don't write to them. Go figure. That's part of the reason contact e-mail no longer appears on the UUC web site. In my opinion, it is not possible to guarantee a customer can be serviced properly that way.

- Rob

Rob and others,
Just to add my .02 I have recently had to cancel an order with one of your dealers for you guy"s bars and went with the TMS bars instead. I have had the same experience talking with your customer service reps (next week, next week, etc.) until I got to the point that I simply just starting asking for you. I have heard nothing but great things about your products and the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone associated with you has been top notch. That being said, you will be the first one I call here in a few weeks when it's time for SSK. I understand the situation but just as business person to business person I think you are missing out on a great deal of business regarding inventory / suppliers. Again, this is by no means a hate email, just sharing as others have. Best of luck!