You sound like a reasonable guy, but in all fairness I don't think you've read the entire thread here before posting.
I never said there was no problem with the BBK pipe. I said "if there is, we will fix it or replace it under warranty".
I've been offering to fix or replace his pipe free of charge including a call tag for the shipping since he called me the first time.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showpost.php?p=7355968&postcount=22
Just like Sony did for your TV (which you seem very pleased with).
How do you think Sony would've responded if you said "hey my T.V. is busted but I don't want it fixed or replaced. I want every cent back that I paid for it?
You didn't say that Sony offered to give you a 100% refund for the TV.
I also offered to sell him a new pipe at WD (big 'ol discount)and refund that money as soon as his defective pipe arrives back @ BBK. If he chose to keep the defective pipe he could do so.
Sounds like Sony's # 2 option a bit........
So where in your opinion did I go wrong?
I try to be reasonable. Getting hot headed seldom gets me anywhere.
While your comparison to my Sony situation is mostly valid, there were a few things about the situation that make it different enough to not be a direct comparison.
First, if I told my original retailer I wanted a full refund of the TV a few days after I purchased it, I'm sure I would have received 100% of it back, no questions asked.
Second, the TV still worked. Sure, the big blue spot on the screen sucked, but I wasn't without a working TV at any point in time. In this case the OP (original poster) doesn't have a car he can drive because he doesn't have a midpipe.
Next, they offered a free repair of the product in my home. Fortunately, I have a 50" TV in my bedroom (Sony), so even if the guy broke my tv while fixing it, I still have a similar product to satisfy that need.(it was a battle at first with them, too, but shouldn't have been.)
Third, it's not against the law to use my TV without a power strip to plug it in. In the original poster's case, it's against the law for him to drive the car without a midpipe. (yes, I know he welded up the air pipe, but we'd be talking about various degrees of leagality, not the yes or no relationship of not having a midpipe at all.)
Lastly, Sony's replacement offer was reasonable. Assuming I understand your offer (and I may not), you offered to sell him a new pipe at a deeply discounted price of $360 dollars. According to
www.latemodelrestorationsupply.com, they sell your Catted X Pipe for $369.
Sony sold me a $2300 TV for $750 dollars plus shipping AND they let me keep my existing TV. (which still works fine, mostly.)
That's nearly a 66% discount.
If you offered MR. OP the replacement pipe for 121 dollars AND you let him keep the pipe he already has, I think this thread wouldn't be 3 pages long, nor would it have people feeling like the little guy is being ignored.
I know the internet has become a vehicle for people to blow things out of proportion and has made voicing a complaint much more easy than it's ever been before. That having been said, once in a while you get someone who's legitimately got a valid complaint.
Alternately, it seems the internet has made it all too easy for a business to lose focus on the value of one customer. I'd argue that it's never been easier to flush an entire customer base, only to wake up the next morning to find the internet has refilled your pipeline again. That mindset can't last forever. Sooner or later someone else is going to swoop in and build a better mouse trap.
And you're gonig to be left with a pile of moldy cheese.
Now's the time to exceed everyone's expectation and step up to the plate. It's pretty clear this isn't an isolated incident, so this can't be a wholly unexpected situation.
This seems to have spiraled seriously out of control, all over trying to save the company the 100 bucks it actually costs to make this pipe.
I'm not sure this helps, but that's all I've got to say about that.
Alan
