What happened to Autoform?

[Bluvenm97]

Does anyone know if they went belly up? Or maybe their customer service is just that bad.

I've been trying to contact them for over two weeks now, and all I get is voicemail. I left a detailed message - no return call. I'm starting to get the same feeling I got when I found out my pool company went out of business halfway into my warranty after they stopped answering the phone.

Can someone help? I'm out $300.00 right now for a part that was painted with '96 GTS stripes instead of '97 stripes, like I asked for. It also took over a month to get it. Baa Humbug

 

[Warfang]

In their defense... this time of the year, smaller businesses tend to be less available. Keep your fingers crossed and try again after the new year.

 

[jasontiff]

They were still up as of 4 weeks ago. I was in contact with Steve up until when I took delivery of my top. They were out of pocket quite a bit and hard to get a hold of when they were prepping their car for SEMA, but that wrapped up a good 6 weeks ago.

I had better luck contacting Steve through email, which I believe was [email protected]. Out of probably 5 calls, I only got through to Steve directly maybe once. The other times I left messages.

Good luck!

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

I talk with them pretty often and the Email is definitely the easiest way to get the quick response. Just leave the contact info and ask them to call you back.

 

[TexasPettey]

I just got a top from Steve as of a couple of weeks ago. I know he answered when I called, but he's been really swamped. It took a couple of tries to reach him.

 

[Bluvenm97]

Still no replies and I've tried all the ways suggested already. At this point I'd just be happy to get a refund for the $100 they charged me to paint it.

If you're thinking about ordering from Autoform, I'd think twice at this point. I'll never order @##$ from them again.

I'm gonna see if my CC company will help me out...

 

[Canyon707]

Well I can't be sure either he was making a top for me and I have yet to hear back from him. The last time I spoke with him was when he needed my cc number. He told me he was doing ok and was pretty busy with some other projects. I hope I get my top. I called but no reply seems a bit strange to me. There service seems a bit weak but the holidays may have something to do with it.

 

[kevin96rt]

Well I can't be sure either he was making a top for me and I have yet to hear back from him. The last time I spoke with him was when he needed my cc number. He told me he was doing ok and was pretty busy with some other projects. I hope I get my top. I called but no reply seems a bit strange to me. There service seems a bit weak but the holidays may have something to do with it.

Part of being a business owner is excellent customer service ALL the time. I hate returning calls over the Holidays but thats the price you pay when you run a business.

 

[dave6666]

+1 on the year round customer service bit. We all deserve some time off every now and then. Sleep too. But when you own your own business you are obligated to your customers to respond to their needs in a reasonable, polite and timely fashion. The technology is there. Even if all you can say is I'm busy, hey, it's an acknowledgment.

Alternatively, this can't be good advertising in this thread.

 

[jasontiff]

This does NOT bode well. I tried to email Steve to tell him about this thread so he could try and remedy things...and the email address isn't live any more. It bounced back. It's the same email address I corresponded with him through when they were making my top.

Their site is still up. Does their number still work?

 

[Canyon707]

I called and left a message. The last time I talked to him he said all he needed to do is paint it. Never heard a thing back yet.

 

[jasontiff]

I called and left a message. The last time I talked to him he said all he needed to do is paint it. Never heard a thing back yet.

My top took a grand total of about 8 weeks. At the end of 4 was when it was being painted/assembled. How long have you been waiting? How long did he say it'd take? Did they take all of your money up front?

Despite a longer-than-anticipated wait time, Steve came through. I was definitely the aggressor on the phone and through email and didn't always have the best luck reaching him/them. The receiptionist would usually inform me when Steve was out of the office and when I should expect his return. She was really helpful, but I still had the best luck through email.

 

[Darbgnik]

I don't know him, but my email has a finite # of emails I can receive before its full and starts to bounce emails. I lost quite a few by forgetting to empty my trash folder. Just trying to help.

 

[jasontiff]

I don't know him, but my email has a finite # of emails I can receive before its full and starts to bounce emails. I lost quite a few by forgetting to empty my trash folder. Just trying to help.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that. My work email account is the same way. They may just be swamped. Their email server may have just been down last night or something too.

If anyone gets a hold of him by phone you may want to mention emails are starting to bounce back.

 

[PDCjonny]

Bad or non existent customer service must be a occupational requirement with Viper parts dealers and tuners. Never seen anything like this in any other business.

They all have the same excuse, we're a small shop or a one man operation. Too ******* with work to get back to you, be patient. They have your money but now can't come to the phone or even take two seconds to reply by email. It's laughable.

Funny, no problem getting a hold of them when it's credit card time.

Emails full. Yeah, that's it...

 

[whitebluevipe]

Bad or non existent customer service must be a occupational requirement with Viper parts dealers and tuners. Never seen anything like this in any other business.

They all have the same excuse, we're a small shop or a one man operation. Too ******* with work to get back to you, be patient. They have your money but now can't come to the phone or even take two seconds to reply by email. It's laughable.

Funny, no problem getting a hold of them when it's credit card time.

Emails full. Yeah, that's it...

not to be smart but you must be darn lucky not to have these problems. half the people i deal with in the auto and construction industry are like this. i waited 2 years and 4 months for an engine for my truck from snyder and snyder machine shop in northumberland PA only to have problems after all that time. i could go on and on. does this make it right? hell no, but what can you do? autoform has the best looking rt/10 hardtop in the business as far as i am concerned. so if you want that top you have to deal with whatever goes along with it. i've come to a point where i am half afraid to do anything with my cars because i know all the headaches that can go with it.

 

[jasontiff]

Unfortunately, poor customer service seems to be the rule rather than the exception. I've had a few good experiences with Viper vendors and would HIGHLY recommend them in a heartbeat (Tator, Jon B, Scharf), but there are others I'd tell a cautionary tale about.

I didn't find out until after I'd bought (but not received) my top directly from Autoform that Jon B will not only match their prices, but beat them, as he's their largest distributor. They say hindsight is 20/20, but if the top were purchased through him HE'D be the one hounding them and I don't think Jon B is a guy Autoform would want to piss off. If only we'd known that prior maybe this headache could have been avoided.

That said, you may give Jon B a call and see if he has any strings he can pull because of his long-standing relationship with Autoform, or if he knows any more about their situation. I wish you guys luck that have already given Steve money, and you can guarantee I'll be buying any Autoform pieces I need directly from Parts Rack in the future.

 

[Freddog11]

Agreed! Let's not lump all the Viper parts guys into one BAD heap. On the larger side, I've only dealt with JonB twice and customer service was top notch. Great things have been said about Tator, and look at all the free help he provides both over the phone and on this site. I bought windows from VMania, which is basically a one man operation, and Biff answered every call or returned it within ten minutes. Maybe one of these guys should buy out Autoform...Biff? JonB? Anyway, there's some great guys out there helping us out, alot of times for free.

 

[Canyon707]

My top took a grand total of about 8 weeks. At the end of 4 was when it was being painted/assembled. How long have you been waiting? How long did he say it'd take? Did they take all of your money up front?

Despite a longer-than-anticipated wait time, Steve came through. I was definitely the aggressor on the phone and through email and didn't always have the best luck reaching him/them. The receiptionist would usually inform me when Steve was out of the office and when I should expect his return. She was really helpful, but I still had the best luck through email.

6 weeks so far but the hard part is no communication. He called for my card so I guess that part is over. I can't imagine Autoform out of business to many good things there but, time will tell.

 

[PDCjonny]

not to be smart but you must be darn lucky not to have these problems.

Actually it all depends on how professionally a business is run. If you are dealing with a guy working out of his garage who has a day job, well then you get what you pay for. For a "company" to ignore calls, emails and repeated attempts to contact them after they have your money.....sorry, that's an amatuer. It appears in the Viper parts business there are no shortage of amatuers.

 

[JonB]

In their defense... this time of the year, smaller businesses tend to be less available. Keep your fingers crossed and try again after the new year.

Warfang is on.....

PartsRack is AutoForm's #1 distributor for many years now. We sell their stuff with confidence, and we DO alert our customers that they 'seldom' ship with any haste.
The Christmas Holidays are busy for AutoForm....lots of presents. Then, the Christamas-New-Years holiday employee break. Then: NAIAS clients(Auto Show) are some of their biggest customers (non Viper) and their BUSIEST time of year is October-Jan. I know for a fact they were working 12-16 hour days all weekend. Now, Steve and family are out-sick-flu. Too many details to share.

Despite the cynics here, the small-batch low-demand nature of the Viper and accessory parts is a fact of life at some times. PartsRack tries our best, and some Type-A Viper owners demand better than the system can provide. IM NOT SAYING YOU DONT DESERVE BREAK-NECK FLAWLESS SERVICE........ Im just saying that reality sets in, and this is AutoForm's 'worst' season for prompt service.

My bet is the $100 refund will be a cinch on that mis-striped part. If you ordred it thru Partsrack, COUNT ON IT. (No Name in profile)

 

[dave6666]

Type-A Viper owners demand better than the system can provide. IM NOT SAYING YOU DONT DESERVE BREAK-NECK FLAWLESS SERVICE........

Man, just because a guy wants a return phone call is no cause to label him a "Type-A." And I also don't think that wanting a return phone call is the equivalent of BREAK-NECK FLAWLESS SERVICE.

He just wants a return phone call.

For the record though, the Autoform parts I bought from Parts Rack (side sills) were 4 weeks or so with good customer service from Steve as I did contact him directly. I would recommend Autoform's products to anyone that asked, and it certainly seems that buying them from Parts Rack can streamline and expedite that purchase. It worked for me.

 

[Canyon707]

I spoke with one of his guys this afternoon so there still in business Steve is out sick. Im am also in business that is customer oriented and I make sure I call back everyone that calls me and I do it the same day. It really isn't to much to ask of anyone to return a phone call. Like I tell my clients I am just 7 digets away. Anyway since he has my money for a top I was glad to hear there still in business. I told them about this Forum and that they should try to make themselves right. Its just good business.

 

[JonB]

...............
For the record though, the Autoform parts I bought from Parts Rack (side sills) were 4 weeks or so with good customer service from Steve as I did contact him directly. I would recommend Autoform's products to anyone that asked, and it certainly seems that buying them from Parts Rack can streamline and expedite that purchase. It worked for me....

Thanks. VERY Seriously. Thanks.



ps "IM NOT SAYING YOU DONT DESERVE BREAK-NECK FLAWLESS SERVICE........ Im just saying that reality sets in...."

 

[gen2lover]

did Jon and Dave just kiss and make up?Are we witnessing HISTORY here?:*****:

 

[Warfang]

did Jon and Dave just kiss and make up?Are we witnessing HISTORY here?:*****:

Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

 

[gen2lover]

lmao.

 

[KenH]

What some people don't understand is that going through someone like Jon at PartsRack rather than direct lets Jon help manage the supplier end of things. As a large customer, he will get better service and info than the average customer off the street and is part of his value add to the transaction. At least you will know what's up with your order.

My advice ... let Jon do the worrying for you, that's what I do.

--- Ken

 

[gen2lover]

BINGO. I agree with Ken H.

 

[PDCjonny]

Six weeks he is waiting and the guy can't get an email with the status of his order.
I'd be out of business with that type of customer service.
This is what you get when you have limited or no competiton.