How are you guys dealing with mp3car, the business? - Page 3

Sonicxtacy02 · 05-04-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ABTsportsline

when i first became an mp3car customer, they DID have a phone line. the fact that they later decided to remove it is my fault? if i could go back and "undo" my patronizing of their business many years ago, i would.... but i did my due diligence when i started...

i appreciate your situation (i'm a disabled vet, FYI), but that's just the initial transaction. i'd hesitate to completely rate a vendor based on the initial purchase alone. :beer:

that's all fine and dandy, but that helps out their explanation of not having a phone line - not the reason why we are saying they NEED one - for warranty/legacy support of their own products, not for suggestions. I've had my products from them completely stop working - through no fault of my own. i've also ordered products from them and they've sent the wrong ones. are these not legitimate reasons to call a business? the immensely copping-out reason of stupid questions is all on their end - i can't imagine they're getting the volume of those calls that the sympathizers on here are leading us to believe. i'm sure you get a couple of calls about what will work with what - but like ANY electronics store, the sales staff should be prepared to answer those questions. when i go to Car Toys and buy a headunit for my girlfriend, i have questions on whether the headunit can work with an ipod, fit in her car, etc. you know what? the sales staff talks to me and answers my question immediately.

i'll even take another angle - give me an example of a legitimate business that we all know of that does NOT have a phone number to call. anything. can you? i can't. Even the guy who slings used car parts on craigslist has a phone number. the absence of a phone contact number is actually one of the clues to fraud listed on the government's website regarding fraudulent internet activities & scams. I'm not calling mp3car a fraudulent company (obviously they're legitimate, albeit with ****-poor customer service), but let's be real here.....

if you want yet another example - what if you're wanting to order parts on their website, but are wondering if you need to order another part for putting it in your car, and the description of the part on the store is not clear.... or what if you have a question about an upgrade they offer for another part they sell? these are questions directly about their own products relating to your order. honestly, this was MY case when i ordered from them years ago. given that i was making a $3,000 purchase, i think i am well within my right to make sure i'm ordering everything i need for my car, and to make sure it will all work well together.

can't argue the "we don't want to pay someone $30k/year" either - this is clearly a mom & pop organization. they don't have an actual storefront, only have what, 4-5 "employees", and only have a webstore. no phone number. i also run a business like that, but i have a phone number. and yes i sell products off a website to regular customers around the country. i'm a small-time one-person operation, and i am able to manage all my affairs.

i'm sure you'd be singing a very different tune if you ordered parts & they didn't show up, showed up being incorrect, or if they showed up broken or not working. put yourself in a concerned client's shoes.

i'm very happy for your sucess. i would not be surprised if this thread and my issue was the genesis for your rapid service. i also PM'd fiberoptic and heather and received a response from neither. i DID get an email back from Stephen after i had emailed them but only after i had made a stink in these forums.

i think what many of you sympathizers are failing to realize is that there are underlying issues that have caused this to come to a boil. i've been on here for awhile, been a customer of theirs for years. if i'm treated this way, what makes you think that you, a brand new customer, will be treated any better down the road? i experienced GREAT customer service before i had paid; once my money went to them, it was all downhill from there. and unlike other posters, i haven't been here my whole life complaining. at one point i was active enough where i was helping people & partaking in conversations here. but the bottom line is while i appreciate this forum & the knowledge/insight of the posters here, i don't appreciate the invisible strings that mp3car has over it. there is a bias, and apparently minions of posters who just run to mp3car's defense without understanding the issue. If you were in my position i'm sure you'd see a different angle to this.

i'm not doubting some of you have had good experiences - and that's great, it really is. i'm talking about those of us who did not receive the same "great" service you guys did. so if you did get great service, just please understand that not all of us get that, and let us try to resolve this or figure out a solution. i'm not going to stay here indefinitely and trash mp3car, but i don't think it's uncalled for to let any potential new buyers know what they're getting in to. For your sake, i hope anything you buy from here stays working & arrives complete, so you never have to contact them. :beer:

I hate to sound repetitive here... but its a business decision that the business owners have made... and it doesn't really matter if anyone agrees or disagrees with it. There are people that believe that the people at mp3car are out to sell products in order to get rich quick... but as someone who's been inside the HQ i can clearly see they interest in the hobby remains present. The bottom line is if you think Rob or Heather promote this forum in order to sell items in a web store and make a large profit your ideas of the company are completely flawed.

Furthermore, you've stated that your initial gripe has be settled. Why continue to dwell on anything else?

ABTsportsline · 05-04-2009, 03:53 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

I hate to sound repetitive here... but its a business decision that the business owners have made... and it doesn't really matter if anyone agrees or disagrees with it. There are people that believe that the people at mp3car are out to sell products in order to get rich quick... but as someone who's been inside the HQ i can clearly see they interest in the hobby remains present. The bottom line is if you think Rob or Heather promote this forum in order to sell items in a web store and make a large profit your ideas of the company are completely flawed.

Furthermore, you've stated that your initial gripe has be settled. Why continue to dwell on anything else?

with all due respect, my situation isn't settled. i might have finally gotten a response over email, but that doesn't change the underlying issue. at this point i'm not on a crusade, but i did see posts after mine that i felt needed some clarification or reply - my last post was just responding to the other posts.

if you want to chalk it up to a business decision, that's fine. doesn't fix the problem. Obviously Rob & Heather (i have no idea who these people are, but they keep getting mentioned) made a poor choice in that regard, if it was indeed "their business decision." I'll retract that as soon as someone can show me a business model that was proven to be more successful by offering less support. :beer:

HiJackZX1 · 05-04-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by theonlykid

Send a PM to the owner, are you kidding me! Not having a phone # for support and ordering is lame and using the excuse that one is not in place because people actually call is lamer. Sometimes customers have questions and sending an email and waiting 48-72hrs doesn't cut it in this day and age. Every other company I know of in this market has phone support, Mini Box, Mo-Co-So, Logic Supply, just to name a few. If a customer calls for support for a product that they didnt buy from you its not to hard to say I am sorry but you didnt buy that from us we can't support it. It might not be what the person on the other end of the line wants to hear but as a busisness they have the right to make money. At the very least buy a Blackberry so you can answer emails in a reasonable amount of time.

I totally agree. I have dealt with Mo-Co-So and they are awesome. Logic Supply is even better, they offered to trouble shoot an issue that was plaguing me for months. In the end they helped me to RMA my MoBo and connected me directly to IEI for a replacement so I wouldn't get caught in the middle man waiting game. They also emailed me receipts when I asked for them. I have bought items from MP3Car in the past, but when they had phone support. Now that that is gone, I have been fearful to order from them. I like things done in a timely manner and having to wait for 2 to 3 business days is bad.

prodigalsun · 05-04-2009, 04:32 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by migrant

I registered just to post this, because I had bad experience with them too.

Robert D Wray

family (at the home address listed below):
********* ****
***** * ****

known addresses:
* *********** ** (mp3car), Reisterstown, MD 21136-6018
* *********** ** (home), Reisterstown, MD 21136-6018
** *********** ** (********** **** ********** Corp), Reisterstown, MD 21136-6018
**** ****** ** ***** *** (********** **** ********** Corp), Baltimore, MD 21224

known phone numbers:
410-***-**** (work)
410-***-**** (home)

alternate email: rwray@********.com

tip: if you called his house and spoke with one of his family members, you are more likely to get a response from him. (since his family members will tell him that you called, and he will contact you because he will not want people to continue calling his house)

that should be enough. let me know if you need more info

best of luck

I can't believe that someone would actually post personal information on the internet like this about the forum's owners/management. This user should be banned from the forum for pulling a stunt like that. No matter what the feelings are about issues such as this, it should never come down to posting information such as this about people, possibly endangering their family etc over a simple issue like this. Just not professional and should not be accepted in any form.

Enough about that tho'... Funny, I've been reading these posts and can see merit on both sides of the debate, but at the end of the day it all comes down to consumer choice. All businesses cannot be all things to all men, and as a consumer you have a choice. If a store makes their policies publicly available (which is what mp3car does) and you choose to buy then you're basically accepting those policies. If you read the policy and you don't like it then shop elsewhere, no need to vent. Concerns are best heard with the buying decisions we (as consumers) make.

Tidder · 05-04-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by prodigalsun

I can't believe that someone would actually post personal information on the internet like this about the forum's owners/management. This user should be banned from the forum for pulling a stunt like that. No matter what the feelings are about issues such as this, it should never come down to posting information such as this about people, possibly endangering their family etc over a simple issue like this. Just not professional and should not be accepted in any form.

He was warned the first time I edited his post. He came back and then posted that if anyone wants the info I censored, PM him. He's banned.

Funny thing about all that, he was a new member so all his posts were moderated, meaning that they didn't get seen by the public until a mod approved his posts. None of this info ever got out. Just another example of people not reading the rules and information when they first sign up.

ABTsportsline · 05-05-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by prodigalsun

Enough about that tho'... Funny, I've been reading these posts and can see merit on both sides of the debate, but at the end of the day it all comes down to consumer choice. All businesses cannot be all things to all men, and as a consumer you have a choice. If a store makes their policies publicly available (which is what mp3car does) and you choose to buy then you're basically accepting those policies. If you read the policy and you don't like it then shop elsewhere, no need to vent. Concerns are best heard with the buying decisions we (as consumers) make.

true.... except for some of us, the policies were changed after we ordered from them, but still needed support. what do you say to those people? is it not ok to be dissatisfied that terms changed after you bought into the program? ok to vent then?

if it's any consolation, i won't be giving any more business to mp3car ever again. in fact, when i get my final piece of support in the mail (if i get it), i'll probably be long gone from these boards.

that won't stop me from going out of my way to make sure any possible consumer to mp3car knows what they're getting into. This includes better business bureau, forums, any place i can. I'm not on a slandering or libel crusade either, i'm just recounting an honest tale of very, very poor customer service & support. nothing wrong with sharing the truth. If mp3car wished to shut me up, they could have tried to make things right.... lord knows they've had countless opportunities over the years.

Bugbyte · 05-05-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ABTsportsline

true.... except for some of us, the policies were changed after we ordered from them, but still needed support. what do you say to those people? is it not ok to be dissatisfied that terms changed after you bought into the program? ok to vent then?

Okay, let me understand exactly what you are saying. Is it accurate to say that:

1. Since mp3car used to be a distributor for Infill but is no longer a distributor for Infill that they should support the Infill product? Would this apply to any store, whether online or brick and morter? If so, how long should they support it and what should they reasonably be expected to do if they are unable to source parts for it?

2. The store (or more broadly, any store) that posts terms and conditions should not be permitted to alter or change them once posted?

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I just want to understand exactly what you mean. I went back and read your first post and your last one and that seemed to be what you are saying.

Also, can you give us a little more information on why you were told to place an order for a remote but instead they were going to ship you a GPS antenna? I don't get that.

ABTsportsline · 05-05-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Okay, let me understand exactly what you are saying. Is it accurate to say that:

1. Since mp3car used to be a distributor for Infill but is no longer a distributor for Infill that they should support the Infill product? Would this apply to any store, whether online or brick and morter? If so, how long should they support it and what should they reasonably be expected to do if they are unable to source parts for it?

2. The store (or more broadly, any store) that posts terms and conditions should not be permitted to alter or change them once posted?

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I just want to understand exactly what you mean. I went back and read your first post and your last one and that seemed to be what you are saying.

Also, can you give us a little more information on why you were told to place an order for a remote but instead they were going to ship you a GPS antenna? I don't get that.

you've been nothing but respectful toward me and i appreciate that. let me elaborate as i've nothing to hide.

1) yes, i do expect this. i'm a business owner as well. it almost goes without saying in this realm that you support what you sell - this includes legacy products. i wouldn't expect every single entity to follow this standard, but i guess i'm miffed when it happens to me. What i do in my business (if a business relationship with a supplier goes south) is we continue to offer support that we are able to for said product. if we can't, we'll find a way to replace said product with something we can support (within reason, obviously).

Sometimes entrepreneurs make mistakes - lord knows i've done business with suppliers i regret ever contacting.... but the method mp3car has choosen to handle all this is truely mind-boggling. the phone thing i still can't wrap my head around. Basically they don't like to talk on the phone to customers, is what it shows. Either that or that the operation is not legitimate, which is why they don't want to be contacted. the excuse of "not wanting to offer free tech support for various applications" is the most absurd thing i've ever seen relating to a private business. honestly. i can't imagine they were getting *that* many calls - and if they were, it takes literally 5 seconds to say that. so in exchange for the convenience of them not having to answer the phones, they give up an inordinate amount of customer service & communication. like you said, it's their choice. it's just a very, very poor choice.

all this wouldn't be such a big issue if they'd respond to emails in a timely fashion. the fact that it takes 2+ days to get a response blows my mind. are they not opening their email everyday? i have my email opened on my PC all day long for my business, and i'll reply when i get an email. why? because they're my customers and source of income. I also have a blackberry to do business when i'm mobile, and if i'm on vacation i'll check the email at least daily, or have my associate stay on top of that if i'm unable to. I would think i'm a smaller operation than mp3car as well, so that's even less of an excuse for them, IMO.... given that they have multiple employees.

Regarding sourcing of parts, i don't know as i'm obviously not aware of their situation or what is going on.... either keep a stock of some parts or at least keep channels open for communication - the suppliers i have gone south with personally, i can at least refer clients to source parts directly from them. In some cases we upgrade clients to a newer platform or item that we do support free of charge. sure, we lose a little bit of $$ on that.... but like any business that does a return or exchange, you make up for that with a loyal customer who will either come back or rave about you to their friends. this has been proven many times over, which is why most companies do this.

2) a store can change things whenever they want - but they need to be prepared to face any repurcussions or fallout from angry customers. this (again) shouldn't be new. especially when you have a case of having a long string of unhappy customers. I hate to play detective here, but from my watching these boards over the years, if i had to guess, i'd say they pulled the phones b/c they were sick of the issues with the Infill & Streetdeck. You can even tell based on the attitudes of the actual store staff in how they handled this issue. What mp3car did, in so many steps, is sell us an item with no support, take our money, and run.

The point was there was support when i bought it. I actual talked to a nice gentleman (still remember his name: Naqueal James (sp?) on the phone - it was because of his encouraging words i went through with my order). Before i ordered i had reservations if the system would work in my car, if i needed anything else, and how much you guys knew about this Infill unit. Heck, if i'm going to spend $3k on something, i can do my own due diligence right? i needed to ask on the phone, which they had. if it was email only, i would NEVER have done business with this company. it's just a good rule of thumb, and the ONLY businesses i've ever seen that were email only were scams or companies willing to take your money and run. ironic that we're having this conversation here today, but i digress..... bottom line is i made my decision because i was able to call and speak to a human who made me feel confident about the purchase. This convinced me to go ahead with the order, and initially, support was good.

So yeah, i'm a little miffed. to this day, my Infill hasn't worked 100%. I've been trying to get answers on both streetdeck & the hardware issues i've had. Of course no one takes responsibility anywhere for it so now i'm stuck with a windows PC that only has part functionality & no front end.

At one point i asked Mp3car since they won't support Streetdeck (SD), if they'd comp all of us poor owners of SD with copies of Centrafuse instead, since they actively support & sell that on the site. i was told i could buy Centrafuse, but they won't comp us with it. Infill doesn't work with Streetdeck - that was Mp3car's decision. So Mp3Car made a judgement call to go with one front end; relations went sour with the developer, and the consumer is the one who is SOL, not Mp3car. so we bear the brunt of that failed relationship, basically. What is my motivation to buy Centrafuse? What is my motivation to buy ANYthing else from mp3car? that's what i'm waiting to hear.

Information on the GPS antenna issue
Need a replacement antenna. emailed the store to inquire since i didn't see what i needed listed on the site. i was replied to with a link to a page, instructed to buy that product, and they'd ship it out. i click the link - page shows an Infill G4 remote. I do NOT buy, instead reply to email that the page shows an Infill G4 remote, but i want the GPS antenna. The email reply (all the emails take 2 days between) says that disregard what the page says, they use that page for older, legacy, or non-supported items. ok, whatever, i trust them. order the $50 "remote control" while even putting in the comments on the checkout page to confirm this was for a GPS ANTENNA for the Infill G4. as per the email conversation.

A week later i get the remote control. send an email, make this stink on here, then i get a reply with apology & offer to correct, sending out then. finally get my replacement antenna in today. wrong one. so now i sent another email back, am waiting to hear what the explanation is this time. so yeah, situation still not resolved.

all i want is to have a working unit. when i bought it, it was advertised to have a specific feature set & to be able to do certain things. it isn't and hasn't. i haven't used a front end for months now, just using mp3's raw in their file folders on windows to listen to music through windows media player. haven't had nav for a year now. nothing. i could pay less than 1/3 of what i did for this to get a Pioneer or Kenwood double-din to do the same thing, but HAVE navigation. so i'm very not happy.

ABTsportsline · 05-06-2009, 04:42 PM

have to give credit where it is due. Stephen @ Mp3Car was rapid with communication and responded to my last email within hours. he profusely apologized for the mixup and offered to send out a new unit overnight. got it today.

FTR i'm ok with mix-ups and mistakes - i know we're all human. i just prefer good communication - let me know what's up, etc.... Stephen did this very thing, and proved what customer service should be like. Kudos to Stephen for helping me in this matter. Hopefully his ideas & quality customer service rub off on the other employees there - namely the owner (who refuses to ever get involved and make things right)

Thank you Stephen.

Bxsteez · 05-06-2009, 04:48 PM

Your a better man than I. I'm sick and tired of idiotic mistakes, but then again when u try and make right on ur mistake its ok. They left off my output cable on my POL that i bought but they apologized and sent me out a cable immediately. Other vendors in this hobby are much much much worse.

ABTsportsline · 05-06-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bxsteez

Your a better man than I. I'm sick and tired of idiotic mistakes, but then again when u try and make right on ur mistake its ok. They left off my output cable on my POL that i bought but they apologized and sent me out a cable immediately. Other vendors in this hobby are much much much worse.

i know what you mean.

i'm not 100% with mp3car, i'm just happy with Stephen's level of service. My overall experience has still been pretty bad, and that doesn't change the fact i regret ever doing business.

Stephen has made great strides, and i appreciate his work. burden shouldn't be on him to un-screw all the damage mp3car has done over the years, however. Now, if i can just get a working front end, we'd be on an excellent track toward making me happy...

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