Disclaimer: I have had nothing but positive dealings with Suncoast.

Having said that I am sure, like has often been said, there are two sides to every story and somewhere in between is the truth. Let the OP and Suncoast work it out between themselves. No sense in bashing either party here.

 

^ +1

 

But a customer should not be expected to be an afficionado in the breakdown of a string of letters and numbers that make up part numbers. If you are in the Carrera section and click a part, you expect to get a part that works on the Carrera . You should n't then have to double check the part numbers the website ended up selecting.. you should trust they did it correctly. In this case we website did it wrong.

 

of-course if u click on a specific part, u expect that particular part to be ordered..

but who knows what really happened in this particular case..

website malfunction? user error? work of the devil? Act of God ?

all i know is when i try to duplicate the 'error', i end up with the right part for my car.

u try it:

http://www.suncoastparts.com/category/PO.html

select 997 2005-2008
select Carrera S
select Maintenance under Engine
add to cart carrera air filter 997
select Carrera
and it shows 997 air filter: carrera air filter - 997 model: 99611013152 in my cart..

how can u simply blame the vendor ?

 

Regardless of which party is at fault, Suncoast's approach to resolving this situation was rather unbecoming of a well known and well respected dealer on this forum. I hope Suncoast will take a closer look at the various comments made by forum members and see if they can learn and improve from this situation. That would involve putting aside one's pride and really looking at what happened.

 

The fact that I've personally received over 10 PM's asking for the name of the Other dealer sums it up right there.

 

There were some comments earlier about deleting this thread.

Moderators on this forum have been asked not to take down, delete, remove or close threads like this. It is for the membership to decide what is right and wrong, provided that actual factual information is provided without misrepresentation.

I'd like take off my moderator hat for a moment. I'm not posting this because I am a moderator, but because I'm an car enthusiast, a Porsche owner, and someone who does internet business/shopping daily.

I have spent well over $8K-10K with Suncoast in the years that I have owned my Porsches. I understand mistakes happen. Sometimes it is the customer, sometimes it is the vendor. I'm not sure if anyone has been able to replicate the website problem, and every time I order, I have the opportunity to review the invoice before I click order.

Nonetheless, I understand the OP's frustration with the situation, as well as Suncoast's initial response. My understanding is that Ric has tried to resolve the situation by refunding payment. But I understand if the OP won't go back to Suncoast.

I don't speak for Suncoast or Ric, but I have to believe that his comments about "voting" weren't well thought out. I don't think that this is a pattern of behavior, and in the years that I've been on this forum, have never seen him post anything to question his professionalism. I think he regrets it. But unlike things said, things "typed" can not be taken back.

In my eyes, Suncoast has supported this forum, and countless members. They provide common parts needed for reasonable prices. They provide technical advice on projects to add accessories or upgrades. For years, they provided free VIN decoding to any member here. Ric has procured Exclusive options that are not accessible without appropriate VINs.

I think Ric is working with the OP to make amends. As regrettable as his comments may have been, I do not believe his prior comments are representative of the kind of business he is associated with. Everyone says or "types" things that they wish they could retract.

 

well said.

 

11?

 

So this thing went more "viral" than I intended.

While I was frustrated and perplexed by my interaction with Suncoast, after a weekend's reflection, I feel badly. I was a large company C-level for 15 years and, after leaving corporate, my retirement job is as CFO for a large food bank. It's my way of giving back, and as a side benefit I'm gaining some compassion that is sometimes lacking in the for-profit world. My career background tends to make me look at everything through a customer experience lens. In this case, my business assessment may have been fairly accurate, but it was lacking in empathy. Basically, a betrayal of the softer skills I'm learning at the food bank.

The voting suggestion was clearly regrettable, but who couldn't picture themselves doing something similar in the heat of the moment - frustration runs both ways. I worked from home today, so I don't know if Suncoast reached out me. Suncoast is still in my favorites folder and it will remain there - and - be used in the future.

Let's write this off as a Friday the 13th thing. I did ship the parts back on Saturday and they will stay returned. Karma works in strange ways, and the superstitious part of me says that those particular parts are jinxed and I don't want them on my P-car.

Moderator, as the OP, I request that the thread be removed. Is that my prerogative? Or, we could vote on it.

 

RickinColorado has asked that I leave this open for 48 hours then close it up.

 

So - if we have to vote -my vote is Suncoast 0 OP 1.

Suncoast, as right as you might feel you are, it's 'your' confusing website. You have risked your reputation for a $10 shipping fee, in the court of public opinion. I wouldn't have done that.

 

Since the thread is still open (!) I would only add that while the internet has been a huge benefit to all of us, it still has its pitfalls. Nice to see the OP recant a bit. Frankly, you have NOTHING to complain about. I would only add my most recent internet FU to make you feel better. I ordered a BBQ over the internet. Looked like what I want and there were MANY to choose from. Well, I ordered a natural gas BBQ, not a propane BBQ! And worse, I only figured it out AFTER I built it. Couldn't return it either!!! The internet seller kindly credited by account for $75 AND offered to help me out buying another one. REALLY a bummer. To complain publicly about needing to pay shipping on a return? A bit extreme. Are we poor people owning Porsches? Anyway, the internet is a great place to shop, but it doesn't offer customer service. If you want service, order by phone and TALK to someone. Anyone you talk to is not going to put a Boxster filter into your order for your Carrera. Just like I wouldn't have ended up with a natural gas grill!!!

 

I wouldn't judge Suncoast for just one "incident". Do a search and see that they have been always great with customer service. They've always done good in my 6 year experience with them...

 

I have bought from them over 10 times. Problem once was fixed easily.