Delays are what happens once the word is out that you do good work. Nothing against PHP or VMP, but Mike Troyer is *THE* expert at tuning Fords, and look at HIS lead time.......6 months or so?

I just hope the same thing doesn't happen to Justin.

 

I found out about PHP in December and emailed Bill a few questions which he responded to right away. I was pretty impressed and placed my order the next day. At the time Corey was just getting back to work after suffering through a severe illness herself and was working through a backlog of orders built up over a couple of weeks (or more) that she was out of the action. Just about the time things seemed to be returning to normal her sister became very ill and I think we've all read the tragedy that followed. I would imagine the backlog they have now is huge and while I don't know them, they sure seem to be the stand-up kind of people that are giving it everything they have to get caught up. As a consumer I can see where people want their product, but as a human being you really need to take a look at what they've been through in the past 2 or 3 months and have a bit of empathy and patience. Business is business but life is more important.

I guess my final words would be, if you have the time to come here and complain about them, take a few more minutes and read about what they have been/are going through. If you don't have the patience to wait for a short while until things have been sorted out, maybe it is better if you look for other options.

 

Most the people who come on here and complain, from what I see, are complaining about not being able to get ahold of them to check their status. Heck, it took me posting on 2 forums, 20 calls, and finally I got an answer from Jack&Jan on php forum stating that he would check on it. But still I never heard anything after that.

I understand that they are busy, but you can't let customers go without knowing, especially if it was long after the estimated wait time. That's where a phone person would come in handy. Someone there to process orders, handle shipping, and answer order status questions. Also, a quick confirmation letting people know you received their order would help a lot as well. I know once I sent in my form, and money, I never received a simple "Order received." So, for months I had to sit around and wonder if my form got through, b/c I not once got through on the phones.

I know business is booming, and PHP puts out a great product. I love my gryphon, and I don't regret going with PHP at all. I had a problem with my edge, and it was quickly answered by Bill on this forum. But a simple customer service person to answer the phones, and just give the customer the quick order status answers would give a lot of people a since of security. That person could also handle shipping and other nonsense, which would free up a lot of time for Bill and Corey.

I'm sure there are somethings I'm not thinking about, but as it sits now, phone hours are limited, and when they are open, it's not likely that your call will be answered. If anything, a phone person would give Bill ad Corey a break they deserve.

 

good things come to people who wait

 

I totally understand that PHP operates in a highly specialized field, however, if they, Bill and Corey want to keep working 23 hours a day and getting months behind EVERY time something takes them out of the office for more than a day or so thats fine, but if they don't they will have to start training somone. If they had started a year ago with someone, today that person could be answering calls, processing orders and ansering questions. Hell I already bet that somone from this forum, who already knows a bunch about tunes and Fords, lives within a half hour and could start now, and be an asset. Just my .02.

Believe me, I'm on PHP's side, when I'm ready to order, I will wait to get theirs, but when your buisness is ready to expand its ready to expand, yeah there is less profit involved in every order, but if it allows you to make more product faster, your making more money, its econ 101.

 

hence why the SCT Livewire is an option that rivals the gryphon...

 

Yep!
They do!!!
I totally agree!

 

Not sure when you ordered, but for the past four months or so, customers receive a copy of their invoice and a link to pay it. These customers are much more in the loop than before, which is one reason we chose to go this route. (The other reason is that I love the fact that we don't have anyone's credit card info anymore, and paying is password protected now. No more shredding and black-markering order forms anymore! ) So that part is kind of handled.

A few months back, we also added a section on the forum where a customer could inquire about the status of his order. It went well for the first couple of months, and they the poop hit the proverbial fan in December, and I'm still trying to recover and answer as many inquiries as I can. As soon as I can get caught up, that system actually works very well.


As for phone calls, we are on the phones constantly, so believe me -- many customer's calls ARE getting answered. I know what you're trying to say, though, and yes, it's sometimes difficult to get through when all the lines are being used.

One area that I know that I need to work on is handling Upgrades. We recommend that customers insure packages sent to us (so they know that they have arrived); however, I need to be more diligent about opening them right away (generally, I've already spoken with customers via e-mail, so I know what's in the package) and just dropping them a quick e-mail.

To everyone who believes we should hire someone to answer phones, we agree! This is trickier than you might think, though. If we hired someone like me, for instance... heck, I can pretty much handle any gasser phone call, but 2½ years into this, there are still some things that are still beyond me. I can pretty much hold my own discussing 6.0L FICM reprogramming and can even discuss our diesel calibrations. Even at this point, however, I don't feel comfortable discussing someone's stage 2 injectors or their Adrenaline HPOP! And quite frankly, I don't have the automotive background to be able to speak well about the mechanical stuff and probably never will because if goes far beyond book learning and relies significantly more on experience.

What this means is that to get the full benefit from an employee who can answer the phones, we would have to hire someone who has a strong mechanical background in gasoline AND diesel vehicles. Then we would have to educate them about our products and what we do. THAT is the ideal person.

My sister Renee' and her husband have always had their own sales company. Early on, they used to take their products to shows around the country. However, when my niece was born, they changed what they were selling and switched to ads on tables (www.adsontables.com if you're wondering what the heck that is). Renee' was actually the one who went out and did face to face sales, and Kurt stayed home with the kids. They simultaneously maintained two other mail order businesses (Precious Moments dolls and something else), and Kurt handled the processing and shipping of these items. Okay, so now Renee' is gone, and Kurt's trying to make decisions as to the direction he has to take now. Over the next couple of months, we are going to see if we can afford to take him on part time TO ANSWER PHONES! If we can, we're going to do our best to convince him to move to GA (he's not staying in Hartville, MO anyway). So it looks as if we may have an extra person to answer phones within the next six months or so (he's not doing a thing until my niece is finished with first grade).

Thank you for your positive feedback and suggestions. We are always open to hearing ideas about how we can improve (as long as they are constructive). Just please understand that they may not be feasible realistically.

Have to go homeschool my sons now so that I can be back at my desk by the time phones open!

 

this kurt,he's skilled in gas and diesel tuning?so he has the knowledge to answer the calls you just spoke of?

 

I think she said that Phil. But remember, he just lost his Wife. He's going to need some time to get his life back under control. Let's just let Corey work this out herself, OK?

And, I honestly think we've just about exhausted everything there is to say about the subject in this thread, so I'm closing it.

- Jack