Guys, no doubt there are thousands of happy MB clients. That's obvious. But that's no reason to dismiss an order that was truly handled very poorly. Any one of us could have arrived in this position -- more will in the future if this is not paid attention to. I have personally had many good experiences with MB, but it's how a company handles the bad ones that defines the brand. In my case, I got an upset email from the company owner, but no real help, just a request for more money up-front to set MB's own mistake right. Matt has yet to respond to my emailed reply, that politely cited where things went wrong.
That's why it's disappointing that MB chose such a path. If the MB policy says it would replace an incorrect part at its cost (which it does) I shouldn't have had this runaround. Just that simple. All I ever wanted was "Sorry for our mix-up, we'll get the correct item to you right away at no cost, please return the wrong one to us with the enclosed shipping label." That's all I wanted!! I don't want free parts and I don't want to destroy the business. I understand the importance of suppliers to our hobby, having owned seven obscure Italian cars thus far, and the last thing I want is another parts business to fall. But that doesn't mean I will allow myself to be taken advantage of.
Maybe I just slipped through the cracks and I will probably continue to order from MB in the future despite the less than optimal outcome this time. I guess MB needs to train its phone workers better and Matt needs to not take things to heart, but learn from what is a fair dose of constructive criticism.
The correct manual I re-purchased should arrive soon. When I'm home from Monterey/Pebble Beach Car Week festivities later next week, hopefully this whole matter will conclude with my refund for the wrong manual. Certainly none of this is life or death, just an irritating inconvenience and more importantly for each and every one of us, an apparent inconsistency with MB's own printed return policy that Matt should be aware of. Now he is.
I certainly didn't mean to ruffle feathers for the sake of ruffling feathers. This was meant as a public service announcement, not some slanderous thread.
I'm glad that many appear to be long-time acquaintances with Matt and MB. Matt pointed out in his email to me that I've been a customer since 2009, but that didn't seem to help my case one bit.
Rory
