Recent Midwest-Bayless order issues

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RJ80

True Classic
Just wanted to share a recent experience with Midwest-Bayless. I placed a several-hundred dollar order recently that included several parts that I needed to get my Lancia Scorpion back on the road again. This included a service manual, as the car is new to me. I received the order about a week after I placed it, only to find that they sent me the wrong manual -- a technical specs manual. I checked my order and confirmed that this was not the manual I ordered. No problem, mistakes happen.

I used the form on the website to leave a message explaining the situation, but not hearing back after a day, I decided to call instead. I explained the situation to the man who answered the phone, who then asked me if I'd read the return policy on the order slip in my package. He said it would have explained that I could return the item for a refund. I explained again that the wrong item was sent and that I need an exchange. He suggested that I return the incorrect item, then when they receive it, they'll send me the correct one. Ah... no. I'm not waiting two extra weeks for something that should have arrived already. I remained polite and courteous and explained patiently that I needed a better solution.

Finally, it was suggested that I just re-order the correct book on the phone now and return the incorrect one for a refund. Fine, that works. Then the man tries to charge me for shipping the correct book out. Nope, I'm not paying shipping twice, sorry. Finally, free shipping is offered to me since it's their mistake, but the computer isn't allowing the shipping amount to be $0. I volunteer to pay $1 for shipping and this works in the system. It wasn't until the very end of the call that the man even apologized for the error, which has cost me a week of working on my car. Meanwhile, I'm eating the cost of two manuals until I'm refunded for the first one.

In the end, things appear to be working out but this is the third time I've had a less than great experience with this company. Disappointing, since they seem to be primary suppliers for so much that I need. I get that this is a small business and there are going to be issues, but it's frustrating that they seem so common.
 
Never had an issue with them and I have bought a ton of parts from them.
I would suggest you ask to speak to Matt personally, I'm sure he will make things right.
 
I've had a couple of problems with MB. The first was a set of rings where the top compression rings had too much end gap (the lower rings were good). This was corrected quickly. The second problem was a missing part from an order. It was corrected, but I needed to email them twice to get it fixed, not a big problem. Overall, I can say that their service is decent compared to other online suppliers that don't respond to emails, especially when things go wrong. I will keep ordering from them.
 
Midwest-Bayless was Midwest X1/9. The original focus of the business, IMO, is X1/9. All of the suppliers online sort of have a niche market as a strength. That said with the current state of commerce none of them would really turn down business unless they absolutely had to. The more cars you provide parts for keeping the same staff and facilities means you dilute the service you can provide to each model.
The second point would be that the car you are working on has some completely different supply needs. Although the drivetrain is shared with other Fiats the coachwork is from a completely different set of bins/manufacturers. Add to that the fact that there were 1000 times more X1/9s sold in the US and even more Spiders(I suspect but neither know nor care :))
There were many suppliers in the 60s-80s but a 30 year absence of Fiat in the market certainly did not work in our favor. Our current suppliers,I suspect, work very hard to satisfy all of their customers. Things do happen and that makes the resources they have that much more spread out.
I am not saying your car and your needs sould go unanswered but there will be a limit to what you will be able to source stateside. When I had my Scorpion I got several hard to find items at The Monte Hospital. They are in the UK so you have exchange rates, overseas shipping and the likes to deal with but that is the cost of owning/operating a boutique automobile.
It is frustrating to have to wait but if your new Scorpion is like my X... There is something that will keep you busy until your parts arrive!
:)
I manufacture stuff and my clients sometimes forget custom handmade takes longer than off the shelf. I don't forget but in spite of knowing this I have managed to be a complete turd with two of vendors on order mix ups!
Regards
 
Yeah, I understand stuff happens and they're supplying a lot of parts for a lot of (what are now) esoteric cars. However, when something goes wrong -- like them putting the wrong item in my order -- I'd expect it to be quickly resolved with the correct part, when possible. I would have expected the response to my problem to be more along the lines of, "We screwed up, so we're express shipping you the correct manual at no additional cost to you. Please return the incorrect manual asap and we'll refund your return shipping costs."

The conversation didn't quite go like that. If I wanted the correct part within the next week, I had to buy it again and wait for my return to be refunded. That's just crappy service no matter how you slice it.
 
Yeah, I understand stuff happens and they're supplying a lot of parts for a lot of (what are now) esoteric cars. However, when something goes wrong -- like them putting the wrong item in my order -- I'd expect it to be quickly resolved with the correct part, when possible. I would have expected the response to my problem to be more along the lines of, "We screwed up, so we're express shipping you the correct manual at no additional cost to you. Please return the incorrect manual asap and we'll refund your return shipping costs."

The conversation didn't quite go like that. If I wanted the correct part within the next week, I had to buy it again and wait for my return to be refunded. That's just crappy service no matter how you slice it.

RJ80, (Sorry I don't know your name)
I can understand your frustration, but you also need to look at it from another perspective customers also screw vendors over and when your a small vendor a few burns hurt and you have to change policy. I have had only two problems with MWB I ordered something off of the site and paid at check out the problem was they no longer had any in stock, but MWB contacted me and apologized for the error and promptly refunded me. I have ordered over $1,000.00 worth of maintenance parts, repair parts and always received my order correctly, I even ordered the wrong throttle cable I received it and MWB allowed me to return it with the prepaid shipping return label. Self explanatory. I guarantee you call and talk to Matt and tell him your experience he will help you. One other thing about MWB they have extensive knowledge in house about all Fiats
Lancia's not just X1/9's I have been to the shop and it is top notch and professional people working their. They can also answer all your questions about your Scorpion and what your problem may be with your car. On many occasion MWB and MWB 124 who also is in house with them has saved me money with their great advise and guidance.

Very Respectfully,

Brian Benson
 
Thanks for the perspective, Brian. I'm fully aware of MWB's knowledge and parts stock, I've ordered parts for both my old 124 Spider and my 850 coupe from them. No question they're one of the best suppliers out there, which is why this experience was disappointing. If I wasn't expecting much, I wouldn't have been surprised. I haven't ever dealt with Matt directly, I'm fairly sure.
 
Thanks for the perspective, Brian. I'm fully aware of MWB's knowledge and parts stock, I've ordered parts for both my old 124 Spider and my 850 coupe from them. No question they're one of the best suppliers out there, which is why this experience was disappointing. If I wasn't expecting much, I wouldn't have been surprised. I haven't ever dealt with Matt directly, I'm fairly sure.
I hope you did not take me as rude I was just letting you know my experience with them.
Brian
 
Hi Rory,

I'm sorry that the issue you reported to us about your order by email at 5:30PM on Sunday, August 13 required a direct conversation to sort out, and was not resolved until Monday afternoon, August 14.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during this delay, and hope to see you as a returning client.

-Matt
Midwest-Bayless
 
Matt, I was unaware a direct conversation was required until I called. I did get your response to my Sunday email this morning (Tuesday), in which you expressed disappointment in my starting this thread. I'm disappointed that you've made your problem, my problem.

The situation hasn't been resolved, as I've still paid twice for an item that hasn't even been shipped to me yet. I'll request to close the thread when the situation has been resolved. Until then, that's all from me.
 
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I know I have ordered a few parts from Bayless and have ALWAY'S been happy with their parts and service. I have yet to make a large $ order as I have been very lucky that Most of my parts needs have been more minor. I have alway's been treated like I was important and I felt like I was a valued customer.
 
As small business owners, we understand that getting stiffed is more difficult to absorb than with a larger business. All through life we get to deal with policies that are in place because of a jerk or two. It may not be fair (it wasn't fair in high school, the military, or anywhere else), but it's real. We try to do the best we can to satisfy our customers, but "zero defects" is just something that companies preach to try to get better. If we could all learn to be a little more patient and understanding, it would serve us well. That is not to say "roll over & take bad treatment", but pick what the real issues are in the big scheme of things.
I am not making your issue unimportant as I cannot understand your entire situation. We have also been working with Matt at MWB and have always found him & his staff great to work with. We keep going back!

Another thought to help put things in perspective... we just had a very dear friend die, just 10 days after being diagnosed with cancer, even though they gave him several months to live. He would likely have traded places with most of us, even taking our problems.....think about that the next time you're waiting in line at the post office and start feeling aggravated.
 
MWB may not be perfect all of the time, but they do make things right. I would gladly take MWB over any BMW or Mercedes vendors I have purchased stuff from..
 
I would also say that although MWB is not perfect, or any more perfect than me, they do their best to make good on any issues which to me is much more important. Matt and Marney do a good job to start with and their recovery from an issue has always been very good.

I know that when it happens to you it is not fun and is certainly frustrating, especially when it holds up your project. I have so many projects at any one time that a late or missed item in an order isn't too much of an issue.
 
To Midwest-Bayless' credit, there is a return shipping label already in my package (which I didn't see the first time around). However, in the documentation also included it says "... if the part you received was incorrectly pulled during our shipping process, we will issue the correct part at the earliest possible convenience at no additional charge." Granted, this does specific this applies to phone orders, but I don't know why an online order would be any different. This was not my experience, MB told me I had to re-order the correct item. Not sure why I had to pay twice -- maybe the person I got on the phone was new?

But... MB says the new manual has shipped, I have tracking info, and it will hopefully arrive this weekend.
 
I just received my shipment of all things hydraulic from MWB. Order was perfect and the phone support from Matt was extremely helpful. I've been ordering from them for many years and have always had great service. It's always good to plan a trip to Ohio to see how the gears turn up there. I'm sorry for your trouble, but I know it will be made right. They always do.
 
Matt and MWB crew are a wonderful Business and they have made a mistake or two and corrected them quickly.
Bless Matt, and the great crew!
Bobr
 
I've ordered probably a few thousand dollars worth of parts from MWB over the course of 10+ orders. I'd rate the service overall at 95/100.

-Every order has arrived promptly. If I order on Saturday or Sunday, I'll usually have the order by the following Wednesday.

-All parts have arrived in as expected or better condition.

-I've called them twice with questions and the people on the phone have always been courteous and knowledgable.

-They've even called me about an order to make sure I actually ordered the correct part. They saw the list of parts in my order and noticed that all but one were for a specific model year range. They called to make sure I actually wanted the odd part out. Turns out I made a mistake and didn't catch that. What other major vendor would go to the trouble of doing that over a $2 part?

I've only had two issues - and IMO they're minor:

-I ordered a 2x of a certain part. I only recieved one. There was a note in the box saying they'd ship the second one out as soon as they got it in stock. A month later I still hadn't received the part so I called, referenced the order and they shipped it out right away. Got it 3 days later. Overall no big deal.

-Ordered a crank to water pump belt. Got the wrong belt. Still not sure if this was my fault or theirs as the accessory belt setup on the 84 X1/9 with AC is confusing. The desicription of the belt on their website led me to believe it was the right belt for my specific car's setup. Could be their error, could be mine. Regardless, the belt I did get fits the AC drive and I was missing that belt anyway so NBD.

I'll probably end up measuring the current waterpump to crank belt and just go down to the local brick and mortar and find something equivalent.
 
or any more perfect than me
There's your problem Karl. :p

I made the following comment with my opinion on vendor reviews in another thread...

"As for reporting experiences and opinions about vendors, I fully believe that any and all input should be made public (both positive and negative). First, you are only helping your fellow enthusiasts...let them make their own conclusions from there. Second, if a vendor wants to remain in business and specialize in this hobby then he needs to be made accountable for his services. If he sucks at it then he should not be there, period! The marketplace is a competitive one and they are profiting from our involvement in it. So they need to cater to our needs, or let someone else who will be in their place. I am a business man, have owned and operated several businesses over the years in the automotive and other industries. And I am speaking from experience in that position, as well as a consumer. If they can't handle a little heat for their shortcomings, along with a little praise for their excellence, then go get a job working for someone else. Believe me, if a vendor goes out of business, another one will step in to fill the need...it has already happened many times in the Fiat world. Therefore I believe this forum should support that position and encourage (not discourage) feedback specific to a vendor, and not be afraid of the vendors (as it seems to appear). Just my opinion."
 
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