Hi all,
I've purposefully avoided this thread because I didn't want to drag it
out. Here's my simple response:
In my humble opinion, if asked, I would say Daniel Stern is the
foremost authority on car lighting. I think the man a genius in this
regard.
I also think he provides a valuable service in his industry. He
provides a great product and valuable information.
Here is where I found the drawbacks. Again, just my opinion.
In the Internet business, a certain aspect is lost - personal emotion.
When customers are happy, they submit a "thank you." When customers
are upset, they submit a "screw you."
But, when the customer feels "let down," all they can do is submit
their feelings and normally, they become a statistic.
In business, all that really happens is they count the profit and then
weigh the negative to see if this affects the bottom line. If too many
customers complain, changes are made. If it's just a few- and business
remains strong, then those few are written off.
This might be OK. The #1 rule in business is to make a profit. I won't
say what I mentioned is right or wrong, but I will say this.
Customers want to have a good experience, and the more business tries
to insulate itself from customer blow-back, the more the customer will
try and find new and creative ways to find satisfaction.
I felt like a statistic - just one guy with a bad experience. So,
because I am human, and because I wanted others to feel my experience,
I simply made a post to gain as much attention as possible, for as
many people to see - to make their own decision.
That's it.
Companies like FCP Groton, who pay MUCH attention to customers - have
set the bar. If people want to compete in that area, they too must
work to achieve the same results.
Bottom line - Dan Stern is a good man with a good business. He dropped
the ball on Jamie Babineaux - so Jamie Babineaux told a few folks. To
what end, that is your decision.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Jamie
Daniel J. Stern - 03 May 2007 21:18 GMT
Mr. Babineaux is correct: I dropped the ball on his order. He sent me
an upset e-mail this past Sunday evening a little before 9pm, and
while I obviously wasn't in the office, I was checking mail from home
later that night and responded at 11:30. I acknowledged and
apologised
for my human error, and offered to send him the bulbs free of charge.
No response (still none as of today, Thursday), so I went ahead and
shipped him the bulbs anyhow, free of charge. He'll have them in hand
shortly, and I hope he uses them in good health. If he's so angry
with
me that he'd get greater satisfaction from driving over them just to
hear the krunch, that's OK too. I'm certainly not the world's only
source for good lighting equipment, and I don't pretend to be, though
you'd usually be hard-pressed to find Marchal Ampliluxes and some of
the other rare stuff I keep.
Keep the greasy side down and the bright end forward,
-D. Stern