What more can be said? I can see the perspective of both AC and the unhappy customers. Mikes' AC business is growing because he does great and unique custom work. He is a victim of his own success. Who else does these custom domed decals for MINIs? So obviously some things have fallen through the cracks, but apparently overall here at NAM the pros outweigh the cons for AC

Mike has taken the public and private criticism and has and or will most likely make improvements in product descriptions on his website and communication/customer service. It is up to him on how to make unhappy customers (i.e. Mrs. Skurvy and the others) happy again. He may not be able to satisfy everyone, but he can only do what he can do. And I do hope that everyone will work with Mike to find a way to be satisfied and happy with their purchases of custom work from him.

As for my experience with AC for both MINIs I was happy with the outcome of it all. The custom art work for my sunroof decal took literally hundreds of emails and many phones calls over a 4 month period from the initial concept to the final details. The roof art is unique and one of a kind. Even with MINIs and all the customization that we can do it can be difficult to find that one thing that is one of a kind for your MINI that you will not see anywhere else. Mike helped me achieve that for my MINI and it was worth the wait and all the challenges we faced. So my experience is a + for AC, but for those who have had issues I believe Mike will do all that he can do to make you happy.

 

Whew, this thread has really gone on for a while, with interesting comments from all sides - from other people like myself who were left wondering if they'd ever see what they ordered... from people who received their order and met Mike and have only compliments for Aesthetic Creations... and from Mike himself, explaining how he makes his products and why sometimes it takes so long.

Some people have criticized me and the others who have complained, saying that he makes good products and that they are sure eventually Mike would come through and that these posts only do more harm than good and negatively impact his business for no reason. We aren't doubting the quality of his products or Mike's commitment to the MINI community. But some of us have waited months and had stopped getting responses from AC as to the status of our orders; we had promised ship dates that were missed and left unexplained; some have even placed multiple orders and had problems and delays in each one.

So I think it is totally fair and honest to post like this. It certainly seemed to help speed things up for me and Mrs Scurvy at the very least. And think about it - if someone in "real life" asked me about my experiences with AC, would I be honest to just say that they make a good product?

Anyway... I think my problems have been resolved. Mike did get back to me not long after this post started, quite apologetically, and shipped out my centercaps and something else extra to make up for my troubles, which he did not have to do. I expect they'll arrive today or tomorrow. And I expect I'll be quite happy with them.

So bottom line - I think Aesthetic Creations makes creative, quality products. I think they are really dedicated to the MINI community and should be encouraged to continue developing new products. I'd probably order from them again.

 

Well said! I'm glad that your problem got resolved!

 

Thank you very much for saying the issue may be resolved and I look forward to hearing you received your order and are happy! Pictures would be even better so we can add it to our gallery!

I do need to state, however, that this thread in no way helped your order get to you sooner. The centercaps were enclosed in an airtight case and had been for almost a week during the curing process. They were set to be shipped the next day. I was, however, able to put even more safeguards into effect to ensure this will not happen again. Please understand that the lack of e-mail communication at the time was because your order, as well as countless others was being physically worked on and that at anytime a phone call would have cleared up the misunderstanding.

 

Well, I don't mean to start this whole thread up again, but I was told in an email that my caps were going to be finished and shipped a week or so ago. (I could dig up the email but it's not that important). So clearly that email, which was supposed to clear up a misunderstanding on the status of my order, only created more confusion and frustration for me. I understand that your process takes a while but it seems like there was more to my delays than the curing process.

And while a lot of people seem to think that a phone call would have straightened this out, consider this: you've said that you had a hundred or more emails waiting to be read. What if all 100 of those people called you instead? Isn't it easter & faster for you to deal with 100 emails than with 100 phone calls? It seems that a phone call just would put the person who called at the top of your priority list, even if that person placed their order before others. Which again may explain why some people got their items long after other people ordered the same item.

Anyway... I did receive the caps today, they look nice, so thank you.

 

You know I have sat back & watched for too long & I just gotta say... I do give Aesthetic Creations a whole lot of credit for catering to the MINI community & doing excellent custom graphics work but I have seen too many of these unhappy threads pop up & I am so sick of seeing people jump in & defend AE to no end & bash the unhappy customers. I mean lets look at it objectively...

Say you are a 1st time customer...
(picture it & be real, take your MINI blinders off)

you go to a website that claims 4-5 weeks delivery...

you place your order; you wait 4-5 weeks; your order doesn't come; you email the vendor; you get no response; you email the vendor a few more times; you get no response; you start a NAM thread to see what's up; a zillion people bash you for unrealistically expecting that a vendor can make epoxy dome decals faster than BMW can manufacture an entire car; then the vendor's rep comes on NAM to shame everyone into guilt for being hateful (frankly I have only ever seen extremely civil discussions of displeasure expressed here on NAM & that is rare on the internet).

I have never expressed publically but will now that 2 of the 3 orders I have place with AE arrived at my house wrong. Both wrong orders were corrected to my satisfaction & I lived... all was OK. I will order from AE again but each time I do place an order I know in my mind that my order is very likely to not arrive correct & lead times may be long. But for people to constantly come on NAM & place unabashed praise & dog anyone who dares express displeasure, that is just wrong because as we have seen here lately incorrect orders & late deliveries have become more commonplace. I think all of us are willing to try to help AE get thru this tough/busy place & we all want Mike to succeed but can we at least be real & acknowledge that there is a problem without whining & making excuses?

 

Wow. And you misaddressed the envelope which got lost in the mail, making it over a month and we have yet to receive it, which I've been nothing but kind and understanding about because people are human and make mistakes.

Secondly, we do not have a REP, the rep you are referring to was another Vendor. Who BTW, thank you very much Motorswag for your support and for asking twice to change the title. We really appreciate that.

If we have what, 5 people complaining on a huge forum than I'm going to accept that we are doing something right, learn from it and move on.

I am officially unsubscribing to this thread, so anything further will have to be directed privately to Mike as the business owners. And you'll probably have to call him.

 

You're welcome, but I think you're making a mistake by unsubscribing to this thread and implying that emails will not be answered. If you were misconstrued, please come back and explain.

As far as 5 unhappy people, you'll find that many people will not voice their opinions in public and you should check the read count on this thread. It's the ones that say nothing and never come back that are the customers you want to worry about.

Since I've put my foot in where it may not belong, I will make no further comments on this thread, but will only say that it seems a resolution has not been reached and you might think about a way to find one.

BTW, I'm neither a rep for AC, nor do I have any business or personal relationship with them.

 

Yeah unsubscribing from this NAM thread will def make life easier for Pathetic Creations but trying to blame their customers for their own shoddy customer service will do nada for their sales.

 

I've ordered lots of stuff from AC a couple of times Mike was slow you know what I did pick up the phone and call. Talked to Mike got everything fixed and got what I needed. He does custom work and it is good. Pick up the damn phone and call the man before you start bad mouthing him.

 

Popcorn, where's the popcorn?
I just received my domed "S" decals from them and am very happy. Based on my initial experience, I would oreder from them again.

 

Am I going to have to motor over to Bama and check on you? Ill bring some beer too of course

Ta da!

 

No more Pop corn is needed because this Drama in over.

I think everyone has stated what they want to say good or bad. As a business owner you just can't please everyone. I've tried very hard to please everyone. So at this point all the issues that started this thread have been resolved in the best way we can. Some were left greatly satisfied some not so much. That is the best the anyone can do.

We will do everything in our power to keep this from happening again so lets move on and stop beating a dead horse.

Cheers

 

I have reviewed all materials related to this thread and determined the continuation of this thread is neither constructive or necessary. As in all matters related to customer service - you can't please everyone