Good reply Ron, and as an owner of a small retail business, several Vanagons
and being employed full time in a retail/service business if you've never
owned a business with even one employee, you just haven't lived. So unless
you enjoy paying too much at your local dealer and getting no/bad service
and advice, Lighten-Up and move on to something else.
Bob Allen

----- Original Message -----
From: "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: Re; Bus Depot Problems

> Brian (and others),
>
> It always upsets me to read this sort of comment.  I am very much aware
that
> over the last year or two our customer service had declined. It was
> basically a result of our incredibly fast growth.  Frankly our need for
> employees outpaced our ability to find good ones in this somewhat remote
> part of PA.
>
> While I wouldn't claim that everything is now perfect, I have taken major
> steps over the last several months to make improvements to our customer
> service, and they have been paying off.
>
> The improvements were on several fronts.  Perhaps most importantly, as I
> mentioned on this list before, we brought all of our email response back
> in-house instead of farming it out.  The prior arrangement had resulted in
> numerous complaints about slow email and poor communication, but at the
time
> we just couldn't find the manpower and time to do it here.  In the few
short
> weeks since it's been back under my control, we have already cut the email
> response time in half, and each outgoing email is now individually checked
> for accuracy by myself or my store manager before it is sent.  We also
> upgraded to new custom-designed point-of-sale software that makes it
easier
> to track, fill, and separately charge for backorders, and rented
additional
> warehouse space so that we could keep more in stock (reducing the number
of
> backorders in the first place).  Finally, I let go two employees whose
> performance and/or attitude toward customers was in my opinion sub-par.
This
> left us shorthanded, creating other short-term problems until we were able
> to find suitable replacements, but in retrospect it was the right thing to
> do and I should have done it sooner.  Overall, the crew that we have now
is
> much more responsive, dedicated, and thorough.
>
> I'd be lying if I said that everything were perfect.  We still make more
> mistakes on orders than I feel we should, and you still may have trouble
> getting through during a busy morning, as even now we can never seem to
> quite catch up with the demand.  (The faster computers should help a bit,
> once they're all running; also remember that email is the easiest option
if
> you can wait 12-48 hours for a reply.)  And the real acid test of all of
> these improvements is yet to come, in July and August, where things get so
> busy that even if we had so many employees that we were tripping over
> eachother it still would hardly be enough.
>
> Also, you must remember what our focus is and is not.  We do not promise
> much in the way of tech support.  We do not promise particularly fast
> delivery unless you order via expedited service (in which case we DO
promise
> fast delivery - don't overlook this option!). If you call the toll-free
> order line, we do not provide any customer service at all other than
taking
> orders by part number. And even otherwise, our level of customer service
is
> intended to be appropriate for a discount house, not a "full service"
> retailer.  As I've said before, think Sams Club, not Macy's - our primary
> focus is on product and price.  That said, and within that framework, I
> think our service is now getting much closer to where I want it to be, and
> certainly much better than it was a year ago.  I hope you'll try us again
> now that we've finally had a chance to put some of these changes in place.
> And if the service that you receive is below your expectations, please do
> not hesitate to email me directly at ron@busdepot.com .
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   (215) 234-VWVW
>   www.busdepot.com
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by Part #    1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>
>
> > When I first bought my Vanagon, Ron was a real help to me on several of
> > occasions.  I became a loyal B.D. customer. But, I have to admit, since
he
> > hired on help, it has been nothing but aggravation for me dealing
> > with them, and hence, I have found other, shall we say, "customer
> friendly"
> > sources for my parts.  I have even bought parts from local dealers
knowing
> full well I
> > was paying through the nose, and swallowed the extra cost with a
> > spoonful of peace of mind.  I honestly believe that our little Vanagon
> > community would be a darker place without Ron's help and the Bus Depot,
> but I really
> > do resent spending my money anywhere where I don't feel genuinely
> appreciated as a
> > customer.  If you read the list for most any given calendar
> > month, you will no doubt stumble across a thread of B.D. flaming - but
to
> B.D.'s credit,
> > there is always an equally fiery group rising to his defense.  I
> > have always avoided getting involved in these disputes in the past, but
> for
> > some reason, I felt compelled to give my two cents today, and in the
most
> positive of
> > spirits.  So, in closing, I submit that I probably represent a handful
of
> > people who want to say; "Ron, we love you... but weed out the Soup
Nazi's
> > from your good people, and we will all live better lives".