Outstanding service!!

[Bushbasher]

I hope this is ok to put up, if not, please, one of the mods, by all means delete it. Having said that, I think good, no, GREAT service deserves recognition.


I'd just like to take this opportunity to publically thank and recommend a bloke and his business for the unbelievably outstanding service he has afforded me today. But first a little background.

I went to get my AU Fairlane pink slipped last week and discovered my ABS module had an issue, the light was on and it wouldn't communicate with the laptop for diagnosis. Apparently this is not uncommon for AU traction control versions of the ABS module. After asking in the AU forum for help in solving my problem Macman supplied a link to a bloke called Antony Pazin of Specialized Automotive Electronics in Parramatta. I sent my ABS module to him by express post on monday afternoon and had it promptly back in my post box wednesday morning apparently all fixed. I plugged it back in and it appeared to work so I reassembled the ABS and put the car back together only to see the light come on again. Off I went to the ford dealer to see if the module would communicate to the laptop now, which it did, only to pull up an internal error code for the module. Back home and on the phone to Antony and the conversation went something like this ;

Me - " the unit is talking to the laptop now but it's saying there's an internal error"

Antony - "Oooohh, that's not good, that usually means you need a new module"

Me - ,OH CRAP!! "so I just wasted $250 for nothing"

Antony - "no mate, that's ok, if it doesn't work I won't charge you"

Me - " thanks mate. I don't suppose you have one I could buy by any chance?"

Antony - " no but I'll make a couple of calls and see if I can find one for you no problem, give me your number I'll call you back"

Me - " mate , that's great, I really appreciate that thanks"

less than 5 minutes later the phone rings ;

Antony - " I got one organized, it'll be sent over to me so I can check the serial number is right before I send it to you"

Me - "sweet, do I pay you or do I pay the other guy direct?"

Antony - " No, just pay me like you were going to. I'll open it up and do the mod to make sure it doesn't fail and send it out express today so you'll have it tomorrow"

Me - " Antony, you're a bloody legend, how much do I owe you?"

Antony - " no worries, just pay the same amount you were going to pay for the other one she'll be right"


At that point I would have kissed him if I could have.

So Thank you Mr Antony Pazin of Specialized Automotive Electronics in Parramatta for not only your outstandingly speedy turn around time in the first instance but your truly legendary service above and beyond the call of duty. I am indebted to you and can't praise and recommend you and your business highly enough, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Bushbasher

[stockNAfairlane]

Sweet, good to hear some decent service being offered.

[russellw]

It is pleasing to hear that there are still some people dedictaed to maintaining high standards of customer service and equally nice to see it raised publicly.

Cheers
Russ

[Yellow_Festiva]

Good story.

Seems good customer service is still in fashion.

Perhaps a sticky in applicable sub-sections that mentions state by state reputable places to get work done (based on direct experiances from forum members as above).

I have just had 2 lots of major work done myself on 2 cars where both shops could have easily inflated the final price (or the problems found) and was very much surprised when both bills came it at right on the initial 'rough quote', even though both jobs had a degree of trial and error / investigative work.

Jason

[Mad Maxine]

I would also like to relate a great customer service experience I had recently at O'Brien Glass (the windscreen mob) at Geebung in Brisbane.

I rang them to see if they could attach my rear view mirror, as I didn't want to do a half-arsed job using the cheap products over the counter. I ended up speaking with three different people, but eventually got through put on to a lovely lady named Marion, who said 'come over and we can do that for you no worries'.

So, I jumped in the Coupe, got to O'Brien Glass, and a chap named Dave came out, removed the old adhesive, checked my mirror was OK (it was a replacement one from the wreckers, as the old one fell onto the transmission lever of course, and smashed), and put it on pretty much straight away.

When I went in to pay, Marion said "No charge" - I nearly fell over. In appreciation, I took a photo of Dave in the Coupe (plus another chap who was practically drooling over her from his desk in the front office!) and told them their excellent service would be repaid in good press, and since this seems like a good opportunity, here it is!



It made for an excellent Saturday!

Shazz

[duaned]

That's great service from O'brien's, many of us now may put them first on the list for window needs in the future. And damn, what a hot coupe!

[russellw]

I'm going to stick this thread and place it somewhere that it can be seen and added to by others with positive experiences.

Cheers
Russ

[mik]

i can add to this i think, a bloke i`ve been to many times now for metal coatings, heat proof coatings, he also does blasting of different types and is an absolute proffesional, Andrew of competition coatings in Coburg(Melbourne), to give an idea the sort of bloke he is, one of the jobs given him was some exhaust bits to get blasted and coated, after blasting, some of our welds were found wanting with a heap of pin holes, he could have rang and said i can`t finish the job it needs welding, or he could have just did the coating, instead he took time to reweld the dodgey area`s and finish the job, and then charged no extra for it.
the bloke is not short of work so don`t expect to drop an item in today and expect it tommorow, but is well worth the wait imo.
Andrew of Competition Coatings(the Blast factory) 10 audrey ave nth coburg ph 03 9354 8021

[4Vman]

Etheridge Ford,

Just had the FG in for its 15000k service and attention to a few QC issues and they went above and beyond to not only fix them but fully detail the car to brand new, i mean BRAND NEW.

Great Job Andrew and the team..

[Cashie]

FTG

I can vouch for Darren at FTG...
Over the years I have purchased many items from FTG and have always received excellent service and pricing.

[Iggypoppin']

Back in the day, had two windows smashed on the XR6, had instant windscreens on the phone the next day, they took pity on me, as one of the guys had a BA XR8, did me $100 off the total price and fast tracked it to within two days.
Couldn't have been happier with the service.
The job was very well done too.
Instant windscreens Edwardstown

[ZA-289]

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

Back in the day, had two windows smashed on the XR6, had instant windscreens on the phone the next day, they took pity on me, as one of the guys had a BA XR8, did me $100 off the total price and fast tracked it to within two days.
Couldn't have been happier with the service.
The job was very well done too.
Instant windscreens Edwardstown

These guys did a great job tinting my BA for a great price also. Car was ready within 2 hours.

[CairnsXCGXL]

Big thanks to the wonderful service from our member @vdo, great help and went above and beyond to help with my tacho. Really appreciate and highly recommend.

[roddy1960]

Big thanks to good old EBAY . I rang two local Ford dealership parts departments in the past week for the following .

Gas Struts for AU Falcon with spoiler and the pivot studs .

Best price for the struts was $140 and for the pivot ball only , not the stud as they're no longer available was $13 excluding postage . Hmmm.

Got on EBAY ,. Found the gas struts to suit Ford Falcon AU 1-2-3 built between 1998 and 2002 for sedan and for those with the spoiler for , wait for it , wait for it .......$35 , free postage too . Then I found the 10mm studs and pivot balls for $5.75 for 6mm thread or 8mm thread , so I got a pair of both for the same cost as what Ford wanted for the pivot ball only wqhich is useless anyway without the stud . I'd already sourced two new steering dust boots for same Falcon via EBAY for $18 for the pair and free postage .

Yesterday they arrived , so did the gas struts ant the pivots should be here Monday according to the tracking info .

This morning I tried one of the gas struts on the yet to let go side of the boot lid and fits into the ball socket fine behind the retaining clips . Although a bit of sloppiness that's due to the buggered pivot ball that's slightly better than the broken one on the other side . The new one will fit fine .

This is why Ford ****s me so often with the prices and growing frustration but faith restored when many items not specifically genuine required can be found via online retail or outright EBAY etc ...

[roddy1960]

To be fair to Ford (re my previous post) one of the guys at Tilford (Hobart) did give me the part numbers for genuine / cross reference etc.

Pivot ball is EFF43634A

Stud is V800241536D but was told no longer likely available

Spoiler compliant gas strut AU sedan 1998-2002 is ERF406A10B

Just incase anyone wants to track down genuine parts for boot lid issues .

So , I was happy about that via the chap at Tilford ..

[GTLEGEND]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

Big thanks to good old EBAY . I rang two local Ford dealership parts departments in the past week for the following .

Gas Struts for AU Falcon with spoiler and the pivot studs .

Best price for the struts was $140 and for the pivot ball only , not the stud as they're no longer available was $13 excluding postage . Hmmm.

Got on EBAY ,. Found the gas struts to suit Ford Falcon AU 1-2-3 built between 1998 and 2002 for sedan and for those with the spoiler for , wait for it , wait for it .......$35 , free postage too . Then I found the 10mm studs and pivot balls for $5.75 for 6mm thread or 8mm thread , so I got a pair of both for the same cost as what Ford wanted for the pivot ball only wqhich is useless anyway without the stud . I'd already sourced two new steering dust boots for same Falcon via EBAY for $18 for the pair and free postage .

Yesterday they arrived , so did the gas struts ant the pivots should be here Monday according to the tracking info .

This morning I tried one of the gas struts on the yet to let go side of the boot lid and fits into the ball socket fine behind the retaining clips . Although a bit of sloppiness that's due to the buggered pivot ball that's slightly better than the broken one on the other side . The new one will fit fine .

This is why Ford ****s me so often with the prices and growing frustration but faith restored when many items not specifically genuine required can be found via online retail or outright EBAY etc ...

Agree and disagree, its good to see aftermarket components available when genuine is obsolete. From my history, the cheaper ones that although fit don't seem to last as long as the genuine, speaking in general terms that is, not specific to gas struts (front wheel bearing on a AU for an example).

I hope I am wrong in your case and that your purchase is a good one, but most times the genuine one is dearer for a good reason, but best to check as sometimes the genuine is cheaper also.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by GTLEGEND

Agree and disagree, its good to see aftermarket components available when genuine is obsolete. From my history, the cheaper ones that although fit don't seem to last as long as the genuine, speaking in general terms that is, not specific to gas struts (front wheel bearing on a AU for an example).

I hope I am wrong in your case and that your purchase is a good one, but most times the genuine one is dearer for a good reason, but best to check as sometimes the genuine is cheaper also.

Thanks ...I see your point .. With certain things , no compromise such as brake components , transmission stuff , drivetrain items etc but the dust boots I got came from a company called CV Joints Pty.Ltd Australia via their EBAY facility .On inspection they look perfectly fine but only time will tell if they let go any sooner to the original ones .

The gas struts if they fail fairly quickly it's only $35 down the drain but if they last several years it'll be a bonus . A lottery is correct . The studs though cannot be got from Ford so I was told although the pivots can be . Like a ship without a deck !!!!!...so to find the complete stud/pivot although there are two different threads I bought both , 6mm and 8mm was good . Got to drill and tap or weld anyway because the original surrounds are corroded to buggery , common fault apparently as it turns out .

Genuine v non genuine . About 7-8 years ago I bought a new Panasonic DV Camera but came with only a single battery . I rang the Authorised Panasonic dealer not too far from me and was told a second battery would cost $230 .

We have a crowd called Every Battery in Launceston who source all sorts of batteries for all sorts of things so I rang them . I was astounded to be told that they could provide the same battery , made by a licenced under Panasonic (Japanese company) with same 7.2V rating for $92 including postage . The salesman told me that the only difference was it wouldn't have the Panasonic logo on it . I use that camera to this day a lot and both batteries are still working and recharge the same . In that instance I could have paid $138 more for essentially the exact same item .

I think that this happens more and more over time .

[GORDZ]

I got outstanding service from Budget rent-a-car in geelong a couple of months back. Gave me a truck for the day, gave me an over 25 yearold pricing, half price insurance and let me leave my ute in their park for the whole day. Was just very friendly and chatty and great to deal with. Cant remember her name but she'd have been late 20's, tattood, blonde lady. Kudos!

[BomberXR]

Originally Posted by GORDZ

I got outstanding service from Budget rent-a-car in geelong a couple of months back. Gave me a truck for the day, gave me an over 25 yearold pricing, half price insurance and let me leave my ute in their park for the whole day. Was just very friendly and chatty and great to deal with. Cant remember her name but she'd have been late 20's, tattood, blonde lady. Kudos!

sounds like she was keen on ya mate..... . I got some excellent service last 2 times I have bought (42 inch Plasma and Blu ray player) from the Good Guys at Highpoint, go see Roman..older guy around 60. Great prices and very positive, old fashioned customer service.

[Paull]

O'Brien Glass - Malaga WA.

The person that fitted the new windscreen was an absolute proffesional (Simon), great bloke to have a chat with and removed the old screen with little to no damage. No broken glass (small or large) found its way into the car and the new screen was a perfect fit.

Very very happy and will use this Company again and again.

[Sorted]

PACEMAKER

Purchased Pacemaker 4480 Competition Extractors 02/09/2008
Where Number 1 and 6 Pipes join the Weld Cracked 15/07/2010
Pacemaker replacing them no hassle's as the extractors have a 2 year Warranty

Glad i went with the name brand rather than some cheap eBay copy

[EB#]

Lismore Automatic Transmission Service

This is the place where I get my trans serviced on the BA, but on a couple
of occasions I've needed an engine oil/filter change on short notice.
The phone conversations usually work like this:

Me: Hi Rod, I need an oil change, can I bring the car down some time and use the hoist ?
Rod: Sure, the hoist is available at the moment, what are you up to now ?
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.
Rod: No problems, I have oil and filters ready to go.

The car gets an oil change service, we chat about Fords and such (Rod has two of them),
and I sort Rod out for time/expenses. It's an easy paced hour or so, excellent value for money, good company and a few laughs.

That is good old fashioned service.

[davessleepin351]

For Mechanical work of all types in Adelaide i have had great service and help from Michael at Saints tyre and auto. He has worked on such cars of mine as Mitsubishi Cordia VR4, Ford EBII Gli, Ford EBII Xr6, Ford BA Xr6 T, Lexus LS400, Holden VR SS, Holden VS Exec, and my XE 351 Falcon. He has won the best small business award a few years in a row now and it shows. Has always gone the extra mile with all jobs ive had him do from full rebuilds to basic maintenance and suspension work.

[davessleepin351]

If ure in the barossa valley and your fords a bit hot under the collar give Scot from Barossa Radiators a call, he's a big ford fan (has a ba gt i believe) and treats em like gold. only sells good gear and knows just what each model likes. Even machined up a custom thermostat for my eb xr6.

[Mechan1k]

Winford Ford Mcgraths Hill, NSW

They have been excellent within warranty and out of warranty as well. Up front with pricing ... and if it went overtime ... was not charged extra for it. Warranty work was accepted where thing needed replacing (and other items that I didn't expect to be covered either.)

No job was too hard for them ... they have looked after me and will go back there again for sure.

Crescent Motorsport Liverpool
Joe has looked after my vehicle since i was introduced to him by a friend. Nice bloke ... always tells you straight up what needs to be done. Guarantee his work 100%. One of those mechanics that are hard to find.

Adam Gorrell Auto Electrical, Mcgraths Hill
A1 work ... nice guys ... nice premises as well ... for a basic job it was done really nice ... with pretty much all cabling hidden and vehicle cleaned after work completed.

[XWGT]

Ballarat Toyota
Whislt in for a service it was noted there was a leaking input shaft seal and it was arranged to be fixed under warranty.

I dropped the car in.....and was called to say the parts had arrived but they were incorrect so they would source the correct ones.

They then stated that as I had already been incovenienced by dropping my car in, that when the correct parts arrived they would send a technician to my house to fit the new parts. (30klm away)

I declined the offer and had it done in the shop but it was definately going "above and beyond" to satisfy the customer. I really appreciated it.

[fos408]

I want to recommend a couple of people who do work om my cars . ANA Electrical and Mechanical. I started to take a few things to Shaun when I first moved here a couple of years ago an now trust him with my XR and everything on my Exploder as well thye other cars in the family. Always does a great job and doesn't rip you off. Also drives a nicely modded Fg ute which helps.
And Saab Tech,yeh yeah , I know its the missus car ,at least it is a convert, they are also bloody great to deal with ,nothing is ever too much trouble, fit you in asap ,loan car, again good pricing. Thanks

[Mad Maxine]

I hope you mean 'Explorer' Fos! ;)

[Valid8]

I had a pleasureable experience whilst buying an alloy washer bottle on Ebay from Original Parts Group. The inlet tube on my old washer pump was too big for the outlet on the new bottle, so I called the mobile number on the invoice, spoke to Fab and to my amazement he said that he wants only happy customers and has posted me at no cost a new washer pump to suit the new bottle. Cant beat good customer service, so good on ya Fab, good on ya OPG.

[potsyfromparkes]

Originally Posted by Valid8

I had a pleasureable experience whilst buying an alloy washer bottle on Ebay from Original Parts Group. The inlet tube on my old washer pump was too big for the outlet on the new bottle, so I called the mobile number on the invoice, spoke to Fab and to my amazement he said that he wants only happy customers and has posted me at no cost a new washer pump to suit the new bottle. Cant beat good customer service, so good on ya Fab, good on ya OPG.

And the belowmentioned guy is the goods for NGK tr55ix spark plugs @ $12.oo each for 2005 BF XR8.Based in melbourne,ordered 8 plugs on his Ebay site (harold-performancelub);plugs arrived in Parkes;NSW two days later,full price $96.00(no postage/no handling fees).Harold supplies his mobile No. if you have any queries; and is a genuinely nice guy to talk to.

Local Repco dealer wanted $25.00 a spark plug and another spare parts place in Parkes wanted $20.00

I know some say that u can get them cheaper from the states but for local service and delivery time Harold is good. Great service!!!!!