Anyone else being blown off by Autohome?

[R_Lefebvre]

I bought my tent from Autohome Canada. Everything went well, it was in stock. Discounted actually. I don't have much to say, I paid my money, product arrived, that's all there was to it.

Then it snowed. I had some questions about the performance of my tent in the snow. I sent an email to AutoHome Canada, who forwarded it to Italy. I did feel like I got blown off by both of them on the issue. The answer was basically "Yes, your tent could be damaged by 24hr's snow load. No, no warning is in the manual, and no, nothing was stated in the advertisements. You should store your tent inside." Frankly the whole thing was a bit ridiculous.

That being said, the only person who DID put a decent effort into dealing with me was Mike. And I didn't even buy it from him. FWIW.

From what I can see of this situation, and seeing the comments here, and past history reading things about AH-US: I'm guessing there's more to this story than is being told, and the armchair business critics should reserve comment.

 

[mep1811]

Autohome

But has MEP1811 got his cover or heard from AutoHouse since this was posted?
I know he has been waiting at least 5 months since the EXPO when he talked to AH.

Would you believe just out of the blue I get this e-mail from Mike at Autohome.

Mike

I have your travel cover. Have had for some time. But I do not have an order from you to ship against.

If you still want it, it's available.


Interesting. I wish I had kept a log of the e-mails and phone calls I have made.

 

[kai38]

Would you believe just out of the blue I get this e-mail from Mike at Autohome.

Mike

I have your travel cover. Have had for some time. But I do not have an order from you to ship against.

If you still want it, it's available.


Interesting. I wish I had kept a log of the e-mails and phone calls I have made.

He forgot he talked to you at the EXPO about the cover too? Where I think you re-ordered the cover again?

 

[1leglance]

I have owned an Autohome Columbus and dealt with Mike at Autohome USA a number of times, he is a straight shooting no nonsense guy and I have had nothing but great experiences with him.
We live in a world where folks can post on a public forum anything they want and often without any proof...to the orginal poster I find it interesting that you mention no keeping track of the emails & phone calls. Maybe the difference between you and I is that I always keep a record when dealing with someone who is going to get my money.

I agree with Martyn that working as an importer is a nightmare, when I had my cigar shops we were buying from Central America and the Carib and customers just had to understand the nature of shipping & paying in advance for product you haven't seen yet.

I hope this all works out in the end as Autohome makes great tents.

 

[bajajoaquin]

This sort of thread is totally unbecoming to Expo and airing grievances on a public forum is a terrible idea and serves no purpose. You all can do what you want on this site but this is a bad idea.

I'm not sure I agree with that statement.

Although it appears some posts have been removed, this thread otherwise has remained pretty civil. From what I've read, we have a customer who has tried to get results, and resorted to a public airing of grievances to put pressure on a supplier.

The response from the vendor was that there were some difficulties, but they're being addressed. It doesn't sound like they were being addressed before the pressure was applied.

Do a search on USA 6X6. How many people got screwed before word got around about that outfit? By the same token, some customers are just cranks. Nothing can please them.

From reading the whole thread, here's what I get: This company provides a good product, but may have slow turnaround times. It doesn't look like a question of integrity, but of capacity.

What you get out of the the thread may vary.

 

[Co-opski]

OP~

No soup for you!

:ylsmoke:

 

[mep1811]

Autohome

Yes I should have kept a log for the past several months but I did't think ordering a cover would take so long and get the run around.
Even now AH trys to make it sound like they have been waiting for my order after I have given them my information several times.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Yes I should have kept a log for the past several months but I did't think ordering a cover would take so long and get the run around.
Even now AH trys to make it sound like they have been waiting for my order after I have given them my information several times.

That is beyond cheep in my opinion.

If they lost it, then fess up. Come clean and just say "Sorry, really not sure what happened, we dropped the ball, but if you are still interested we can get it out to you asap."

Now honestly, would that have been that hard to do? It is not like they had to offer to give you one for free, just fessing up and saying that they "may" have bee at fault would have been the decent thing to do.

Pretty sure I for one will not deal with them now. I am perfectly willing to learn from the mistakes of others. If they can not even treat you right now, well, shoot no reason for me to send my money to them.

Thanks for the update by the by.

 

[tdesanto]

Even now AH trys to make it sound like they have been waiting for my order after I have given them my information several times.

Mike, just so I understand what happened here: did you actually have an order with AH? By order, I mean payment was made and an invoice was provided. I don't mean that you exchanged information and notes were taken. I think there's a bit of a difference when you look at the email from Mike Spies that you posted here (Busch League move BTW). It looks to me from the email that Mike S didn't have an invoice to work from.

Regardless of what's happened here, I think it's childish to post this stuff here. A lot of damage can be done to someone's business by postings like these over a $40 cover. If information was exchanged and you told Mike that you wanted a cover, I don't doubt that you had some expectation that he should have ordered a cover for you. But, if you hadn't paid him yet, then you should temper your expectations a bit.

Things don't always go as planned and sometimes things happen. I've had issues with products I've bought from vendors supporting this board before, and I'm not just talking about a cover here. I mean stuff costing over a hundred times that, and I've never once felt like it would be professional of me to whine about it here.

Take it up with Mike. I've never had anything but honest dealings with him. He's provided a ton of support to me when he didn't have to all because he was proud of the products he sells, proud of his business, and generally glad to help people out. He remembers his customers by name when he sees them and he's always glad to take time to talk to them when he does.

Anyone who doesn't have direct knowledge here should stop propagating the BS. For those who have worked with Mike Spies before, I invite you to share your experiences.

That being said, the only person who DID put a decent effort into dealing with me was Mike. And I didn't even buy it from him. FWIW.

From what I can see of this situation, and seeing the comments here, and past history reading things about AH-US: I'm guessing there's more to this story than is being told, and the armchair business critics should reserve comment.

This is exactly the kind of thing I often see from Mike. He seems to go out of his way to be helpful. Thanks, Rob, for posting that story.

Oh, and kai38, while I'm on a rant, does everything you post in every single thread have to be in bold? Do you always have to shout at everyone else so that they can here you? Most often times, you can get people to listen if you whisper instead of shout. Or, is what you have to say more important than what everyone else posts in standard font?

 

[kai38]

Mike, just so I understand what happened here: did you actually have an order with AH? By order, I mean payment was made and an invoice was provided. I don't mean that you exchanged information and notes were taken. I think there's a bit of a difference when you look at the email from Mike Spies that you posted here (Bush League move BTW). It looks to me from the email that Mike S didn't have an invoice to work from.

Regardless of what's happened here, I think it's childish to post this stuff here. A lot of damage can be done to someone's business by postings like these over a $40 cover. If information was exchanged and you told Mike that you wanted a cover, I don't doubt that you had some expectation that he should have ordered a cover for you. But, if you hadn't paid him yet, then you should temper your expectations a bit.

Things don't always go as planned and sometimes things happen. I've had issues with products I've bought from vendors supporting this board before, and I'm not just talking about a cover here. I mean stuff costing over a hundred times that, and I've never once felt like it would be professional of me to whine about it here.

Take it up with Mike. I've never had anything but honest dealings with him. He's provided a ton of support to me when he didn't have to all because he was proud of the products he sells, proud of his business, and generally glad to help people out. He remembers his customers by name when he sees them and he's always glad to take time to talk to them when he does.

Anyone who doesn't have direct knowledge here should stop propagating the BS. For those who have worked with Mike Spies before, I invite you to share your experiences.



This is exactly the kind of thing I often see from Mike. He seems to go out of his way to be helpful. Thanks, Rob, for posting that story.

Oh, and kai38, while I'm on a rant, does everything you post in every single thread have to be in bold? Do you always have to shout at everyone else so that they can here you? Most often times, you can get people to listen if you whisper instead of shout. Or, is what you have to say more important than what everyone else posts in standard font?

yes

 

[Robert Bills]

Yawn.

 

[Maximus Ram]

I have had a Overcamp RTT for over 10 years. The elements have destroyed the cover.

I have contacted Autohome numerous times over the past six months for a replacement, which I want to pay for.

All I get is the runaround. I will be told yes they have one in one e-mail and then call and talk to the same person who I e-mailed and been told not they do not have one. I've been told let me check and I will call you back and nothing. I call back ut the answering machine. The usual M.O. for a bad company.
I've spoken to them in person ,more than once, at the Overland expo, they took copious notes, looked at my setup. Nothing.

I'm curious if anyone else has gotten the same runaround?

Are they really in business? I wish I could get a new tent but the tent is great !!

Autohome is the only source for any parts that I can find but if someone know of another place I would love to know.

Thanks for letting me vent.

So what I get from reading this is that you have talked and corresponded but never actually placed an order and paid for a cover , correct ? or am I missing something ?

 

[modelbuilder]

Similar story with Autohome...

Well I've never spoken to Mike or anyone else at Autohome. Having said that I have been waiting patiently for my awesomley cool Overland RTT. I can't believe they have never fulfilled my order. They never even called me once to confirm that I was not in the system. It's a shame that something I haven't paid for has not been delivered yet. The gall of these people.

Autohome...if you would like to make it up to me I can give you my address so you can ship my Overland RTT.

I hope you can rectify this situation.

Please PM me for my mailing address. Due to the fact that my non-existant order has been delayed please feel free to send me a free awning.



Joe

 

[mep1811]

Auto house

Yes I have placed an order each time I contacted them. (Why else would I call ?)Each time I contact them I am promised that they will get back to me. I received an e-mail on 9-12-10 to which I replied on 9-17-10. I am still waiting on a reply.

Here is an example of what I get. I then sent an e-mail w confirming my address and that they still had my CC on file. Nothing after that

I received this on July 9th
Mike


We received the cover I ordered for you on Wednesday PM in our shipment.


I am sending via UPS ground.


Regards,




Mike Spies
AutoHomeUSA
312 West 4th Street
Carson City, NV 89703
http://www.autohomeus.com
The World is out there... Go Look!
mspies@autohomeus.com
888-852-2359






On Jul 9, 2010, at 11:11 AM, MEP1811@aol.com wrote:


I am looking for a new travel cover for a medium Overcamp as well as a awning.
I have made this request repeatlly for the past several months to include a personal request at the Overland Expo.

I wish I could et these items from another source who wishes to do business but I have no choice.

Any chance of getting any response? Thanks Mike Perez El Paso, Texas

 

[Lemsteraak]

Dude, this thread is getting boring

The OverCamp is a special order tent. AutoHome USA doesn't stock one unless someone orders one so you cover would have had to been made special in Italy for you, by hand. I know Mike only carries the structural parts you may need for the OverCamp in an emergency. You can have a cover made in a pinch and it is rare they need replacement.

Obviously it isn't cost effective to ship just a cover direct from Italy or you would have done that. The costs are prohibitive, for example it costs as much to clear a small shipment like that through US customs as it does to clear a complete container. Also, since the cover is made in Italy, not the US, NAFTA will not apply so you will technically have to pay Canadian customs as well as US customs and you also have to pay GST.

If Mike says the cover is on the way, it is, he is a stand up guy. If it has taken a long time to get a cover, it is because it does take a long time to get it. Mike runs AutoHome by himself and it is very complex because of the long supply line. No, I don't work for AutoHome but used to run Lofty Shelters, and worked with Zifer to develop these tents.

Rich