It hurts me to write this but...as a professional that did not get professional service to help one of their customers and I feel I have to say something.

I had a customer bring his car into my shop to get various repairs to his 02 Cooper "S" and while in there I noticed his Prosport gauge set was not working properly. He has the set that has the Oil Temp and Boost gauge combo. His gauges were powering up and down and even when on, the Boost gauge didn't work at all. I first went about troubleshooting the power supply and found a bad connection at the OBD2 port for Battery power. I found and fixed that. Next to troubleshoot was the Boost gauge. Here lies the problem. I wanted to get the factory schematic to check the way the gauges were originally installed, so I went on Alta's website and found the gauge set, went to the Gauge set and installation instructions and found "coming Soon" link is http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...Boost-Oil-Temp

So, dissapointing but no big deal. I called up and a lady answered the phone very politely, and I told her of my dilemma, she took my email address and told me she would look into it and send me a set via email.

Next, I contacted them through the "contact us" link on their website, stated what my problem was and simply stated that I would appreciate a PDF of the install instructions so I could check the gauge set. No reply.

I called back and spoke to another very polite woman, and she transferred me to someone in the technical department. He couldn't see where my "contact us" info had come through, so he gave me his Alta Email address where I sent him an email directly. Again, I was assured that I would get the PDF to check these gauges. Never happened.

Lastly, I contacted a member of the Alta staff through here via PM, explained to him my problem. Still never a response.

I was never once nasty, always polite and professional....All I needed was the Installation instructions. I have purchased Alta products for my own car(Lower control arms), and have been quite happy with them, but thank God that didn't require anything other than my own brain power....I am also glad that this is not something that could've kept my customer from driving his car. The end result on the gauges is that either the Boost gauge or the vaccum sensor is faulty, everything appears to be wired properly. Either way, Alta has not stepped up with any suggestions or anything else.

Sincerely,

Chad Matthews

 

And how long did all of this take?

 

Right...sorry, since last Tuesday...8 days and no reply

 

That is odd for ALTA...call them back and ask to speak with Jeff Perrin...Have him talk you through the stuff and see what happens...

I have always had great service and advise from ALTA...hope it works out

 

Yep. I'm surprised too... They are usually all over this stuff here on NAM. They are one of the few companies where I don't have this worry at all.

 

I've always gotten replys from them very quickly. This must be a rare case in which, by sheer volume, some emails get lost in thier system. Not to imply that you sent a lot, but people could be ordering a lot of stuff to get ready for The Dragon.

 

Damn, I give em the benefit of the doubt for sure, but 4 attempts doing exactly what I said and they told me to do??? I gave them my email address 4 times(by email or by mouth). I get busy just as much as the next guy, but that's rediculus. If a product that they sell has the potential to put customers out of transportation for days on end, they have the responsibility to make call backs or keep their websites up to date. There seem to be alot of gaps in the program. Find a hole and fill it. Be responsible on every level to better what's around you. Maybe this will help them see some of those problems.

Chad

 

Could it be possible that your spam filter is blocking an email with a large attachment?

 

I highly doubt this delay is on purpose.

I know they were victim to some extensive email/ website server issues in the last few weeks that were externally created. Perhaps it's an email server problem that is reflective of this.

Certainly this isn't reflective of the 'Modus Operandi' of anyone from ALTA.

Hang tight!

 

Just wanted to add another to what everybody has been saying about Alta. Never had a problem getting a hold of somebody there; very fast and always friendly.

Hope you get things sorted out.

 

I don't think it was on purpose at all either...

 

I urge you to give ALTA another chance if this...(hopefully)when this is all sorted out

 

I'M here! Let me read through this and reply back in a minute! Sheesh!

 

OH K!

Couple things. 1st My apologies for any issues, concerns or problems.

2nd THIS IS NOT NORMAL! You will TONS of positives on this board (and others) regarding our HIGH levels of customer service.

3rd The website was hacked for lack of a better term and sections of it were violated and the instructions were one of them. It will take some time for us to get that back up. (NOT an excuse an explanation.)

4th: No clue where the contact us went. Should go to general sales, but I will check to find out. We answer ALL e-mail within 24-48 business hours. If you don't get a reply CALL us (which you did! ) NOTE: If you have a AOL, Yahoo or similar e-mail address our mail ROUTINELY gets blocked by spam filters and we can reply 100 times a day and you will NEVER get the mail.

5th: In light of that, PM me your contact information and a FAX number might be needed if the e-mail simply isn't working. But give me the e-mail as well, and I wil PERSONALLY check that someone is at least attempting to send the instructions to you.

6th: If the gauges aren't working you can get wiring schematics at PROSportgauges.com or ring them as well. (again NOT passing the buck giving you multiple options.)

7th: If the boost gauge is the only one that quit, it may be the boost sending unit. I have had about 5 come back with that in recent weeks. ProSPort will send your client a new unit no charge. Minor paperwork / phone call and that is it.

8th: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS MINI PM ME IN THE EVENT THAT SOMETHING HAS GONE AMISS. I WILL EVEN GIVE YOU MY PERSONAL CELL PHONE # IF NEEDED! ASK A BUNCH OF THE MEMBERS HERE AND THEY WILL VOUCH THAT I DO ANSWER THE PHONE

9th: THANK YOU for your business and we would NEVER intentionally try NOT to help a client. I mean come on! I wouldn't get anywhere in this business if we treated clients that way.

10th: I REALLY hope we can get this resolved for you in the AM!

Chat soon! THANKS NAM!

 

Excellent point!

 

I have to say there is nothing better than Altas customer service. They are great Adam is always on top of his game. Let say he knows what he is talking about. Thank you adam for all the help all my purchased items.

 

Thanks for your reply...I really thought I had gone through all avenues before posting this(and it hurt me to do it personally). I have sent you a PM with my Cell # to discuss with you some details that should be left out of this thread. It may be a problem with my Email(I've never had any problems though), although I checked in my spam folder as well...maybe we can do a test if you don't mind.

Chad

 

THANK YOU! That is a REALLY nice compliment coming from you. Also Ken tire to ring you yesterday about the backordered scoop. Let me know what you think of the alternative options, etc. Always happy to help!

 

I knew this would get resolved , probably why my dealership only carries Alta and Dinan as aftermarket vendors. +1 for Alta being great at customer service.

 

OK, Adam called me this morning....and we think pretty much alike on business, customer satisfaction etc....I wish I had known to contact him earlier, but I never had any personal contact there. I do now. Also, this thread acknowledged that communication errror could have been avoided and he took responsibility for that, no excuses. That's just good business.

Thanks Adam... I'll have my customer get in touch with you about the gauges.

Chad