Is Fcp Losing It

[FCP Euro]

I will email you Scott so you can resolve my reund of the failed part and shipping label.

regards,

Will look for it.

[z31jaime]

We've supported the Volvo community since our inception back in 2001. Like all business, we are going through growing pains and trying to address all of the issues discussed here. We just ask for some patience and support. Some of you have 40+ orders with us - most of themall being positive experiences which are rarely discussed.

It seems the issues fall into two categories.

Explainable - Parts quality & shipping.

• Quality - That there are several parts brand in the market to serve a mix of customers with varying priorities. Some want Genuine Volvo, others value (Lemforder), others just want the car fixed at the cheapest cost as reasonably possible. FCP sources a mix of these brands to satisfy that mix of customers while still maintaining safety and quality. Most customers understand there is a correlation between the price paid and the value received. Note there are times where we believe we can deliver greater value then Genuine, which is why we have sourced more Lemforder, who is a Genuine Volvo supplier.
  

• Shipping - FCP made a decision to lower its margins/prices while adding a lower cost shipping option for greater customer options. FCP has grown up during the ecommerce age in partnership with companies like UPS. Shippers remain under pressure from companies and consumers who want it NOW and shipped for FREE (yes, we'd like this too). Like FCP, UPS and others have a mix of options to serve its customers and most recently products like USPS Economy and UPS SmartPost have come to market. These programs reduce shipping costs in exchange for a longer delivery time and no tracking number. These are the same shipping products available from merchants like Amazon.com, but unlike some companies, FCP does ship as soon as possible. (Ever notice how that Amazon Super Saver Shipping order sometimes can sit at Amazon for a couple of days?) This means most orders received before 4PM EST M-F are fulfilled that day from our inventory, while the remaining orders are often drop shipped from our vendor partners from all over the country. Now customers that plan ahead get lower prices AND free shipping, whereas those on a timeline get lower prices and can purchase a guaranteed delivery option at a reasonable shipping rate. We think only paying for what you need is a win win.
  

Inexcusable - Picking errors and pricing errors. We want to know about them so we can fix them.

• Warehouse errors. - We don't like them, but human beings at our warehouse and our vendor partner warehouse do make mistakes. We want to know about them, seek to minimize them, and ask you to check your order when you receive them, perhaps the same way you check your credit card statement when you get that in the mail too.
  

• Pricing errors - For the past few months we have revisited our pricing strategy and the use of coupon codes. We felt that the we overused coupon codes, so instead of making you use a code to get the discount, why not skip the code and lower the price. As a result we have repriced tens of thousands of parts, mostly lower, but admittedly some higher due to cost increases. Yes, we have used coupon codes again as our customers seem to like them - a lot. This remains a challenge as we want to create excitement, and yet we are often already very competitively priced. Got any ideas? Admittedly we have made some pricing errors (one particular Genuine Volvo brake pad sku is making one guy in the office a bit nuts) and I am sure there are more to be found, so please let us know if you see something. In the end keep in mind that costs tend to increase over time, but you will find we are VERY competitive with nearly everyone. Yes it remains a challenge to source Genuine Volvo from the Volvo Dealer network and remain competitive with them at the same time. We consider Genuine Volvo to be a convenience to our customers in that we are less expensive then MOST Volvo Dealerships and believe we deliver a more convenient and consistent order experience. It is also the reason we have developed direct relationships with companies like Lemforder who make many Genuine Volvo parts, as many of our customers would rather buy Lemfoerder over Genuine Volvo and pocket the savings.
  

We are human and as we grow we remain committed to our business and the customers who got us there. We'd be crazy to take any customer for granted which is why we participate in these forums and seek your constructive input.</p>

You can email me diretly at scottd@fcpgroton.com.

-Scott Drozd

CEO

Scott,

I think the main problem here with people is, your "growing pains" excuse has been used time and time again. Yes as a company as you get bigger things will happen everyone can understand that. BUT if Management can't get these issues in check your customer base is going to get sick of it. EVEN back in 2011 when I had my issue I was sent a similar email to what you posted. At some point FCP is going to need to sit down with its staff and SAY "OK guys, we know whats wrong, we need to fix X,Y, and Z (as you listed above) and this is what were going to do to fix it starting today". If you need to take 1 or both sites down for a few days to make sure all the prices match, then do it. If you need to re orginize your warehouse to make sure people get the parts they want then do it. if you need to hire more staff, then do it.

People on here don't want to here about your growing pains, and for us to please be patient, they want to know exactly whats being done to fix the problems and when the problems will be fixed. Yes your staff are humans, but your "company" is not. A company that has proper checks and ballances will have ways to compensate for human error. Yes most of your orders happen with no issues and people don't talk about them, but any good buisness person knows that its the bad reviews that people care about, and it seems that your company is starting to get a lot of them.

I think thats what everyone on here is complaining about. How is it that people continue to slip through the cracks and only when you or Maxx get involved do issues get resolved. People have to come on the Forums and make a post complaining about FCP in order for someone to take action. If it comes down to saving a few dollars with you and rolling the dice on it being right vs spending a little more and being confident that my order will be right... I'll spend the money and get it from a company I trust. Yes many people on here have 40+ orders, but my very first order had multiple issues with it, and took over a month to finally get sorted out. I can honestly say FCP is the ONLY company I have ever ordered a car part from and had ANY issues with what I got. And I think thats what everyone on here is upset about. FCP was once a trusted company, and little by little its going the way of "stylin motors."

I don't mean this to be negative on FCP, I'm just trying to give some advice on what I think the majority of the customers want to see. My 2nd order from you was 100% spot on. it did restore some of the confidence I had in the company, but every time I see a post like this all I think is "guess im not the only mistake they made."

[Scootdiggity]

Perhaps we should revisit with other loose parts in the box?

For the record, I've never had problems with Tasca, I have had problems with FCP Groton (shipping the wrong parts) but they rectified them and Scott and Mike have been excellent to work with. I'd buy from either of them because stupid mistakes do happen but how they're resolved matters most.

I just miss DWV the way things used to be.

You can still order from DWV on their online site as I have been using them for my recent needs with zero issues and shipping is fast, the problem with fcp is they use the same excuses for their shortcomings and always promise to fix issues but never stand behind their word which is the the main reason i wont do business with them anymore. I feel they need to clean house with most of their employees and start anew because they are still giving the b.s. responses they gave several years ago when members called them out on them. If scott's job is to address the main issues brought up many times over and make the company run more smoovely he is doing a piss poor job to say the least. I feel some people were still doing business with FCP because they offered the supporting member discount and when they took that away it was easier just to do business with the competition. I still feel fcp does shady business practices by having two seperate sites with different prices because they expected moost customers not to go to both sites to price check against each other. I also feel they could pull one over on customers further when they did not ship what they advertised you would get brandwise. Also not getting rid of companies so many members were having trouble with like uro pcv kit which is pure junk. No customer service means no business because when a company is not looking out for their customer they loose business real fast.

[troyhyde]

Got to chime in with the FCP excuses....

EVERY aspect of buying from you was better 10 years ago. Better website, easier to navigate. Better prices as compared to the other online vendors. Negligible error rate. No funky cheapo parts.

There was no need for endless coupon codes. The prices, quality of product, and reliable service stood on its own as a reason to buy from you.

Fast forward. You've been using the "growing pains" excuse for 4 years or better and frankly I think most folks think its laughable at this stage of the game. I think you guys are smart enough to know the difference between bashing your business operation and bashing you personally so don't go off and get offended. The reason we are speaking out is because we still remember the good times. We are trying to steer you back onto the path, not hammer on you for the fun of it. Defending your shortcomings is wasted energy on your part. Get to fixing the problems already, we can't wait another 4 years for you to catch up with the competition.... Your reputation is approaching the point beyond repair for some folks.

Till you figure it out, other vendors will get the lions share of our business. RMEuropean and Tasca for me personally.

Just copy their model for goodness sake if you can't figure out what else to do!

[volvos60t5x]

Scott, got the labe, thanks for the fast reply on my issue.

regards,

[Pops Racer]

RIght, they should offer blue box. Even at the same price as dealer, at least I can get everything in one order.

The Market Place has spoken.

I dont mean to make this a curbing, I mean it as a wake up call. Its honesty, not bashing. We want nothing more than for FCP to thrive.

Keep it simple. QC your shit. Do your best with pricing, shipping etc. But for Bullwinkle's sake, hire smart people.

[FCP Euro]

Maybe it's our fault that we haven't been as active on the boards discussing all of the changes that we have made to the company, but here is a list of some of the changes and additions that have happened fairly recently.

• Developed and launched a new website www.fcpeuro.com dedicated to a higher quality and branded product offering. We will be phasing out fcpgroton.com in the winter.
  
• Removed nearly all of the general "aftermarket" brand from the website and it now reflects the exact brands we provide: http://www.fcpeuro.com/brands/
  
• Over 200 brands that span our Volvo product offering. All parts and product lines are inspected for quality by our Quality Assurance manager and Volvo Master Technician, Jay Vangorden. You can see some of his work here on our you tube channel.
  
• You Tube channel created with nearly 40 DIY instructional videos - http://www.youtube.c...cpgroton/videos
  
• Added over 1000 Genuine Volvo Blue Box products to the website
  
• Extended call center hours to Monday - Friday 8 AM to 7 PM and Saturday 10 PM to 4 PM
  
• Removed entire line of DSS Axles and replaced with higher quality EMPI Brand (http://www.fcpeuro.c...rts/?brand=EMPI)
  
• Added several Certified Master Technicians to our call center along with a Master Volvo Technician. Tech support (for anyone even people who haven't purchase from FCP) is available 877-634-0063 prompt 4 from Monday through Friday 8 AM to 7 PM and Saturday 10 - 4MP
  
• "Aftermarket" Suspension kits have been replaced with Sachs, Meyle, Or OEM Lemforder Kits (http://www.fcpeuro.c...=Lemforder kits)
  
• Genuine Volvo parts and OEM Aisin have now replaced most aftermarket parts in PCV Kits and Timing Belt Kits
  
• Corteco OEM Cam and Crank seals now available
  
• Complete Bosch line added to our online catalog and stock
  
• Complete Lemforder Line imported from Germany and added to our online catalog and stock
  
• Complete CRP (Continental Rubber Products aka Conti Tech) added to our catalog and stock
  
• Partial Pro Parts Sweden line added to our online catalog and stock
  
• Complete Line of Meyle and Meyle HD products available on our online catalog
  
• All sub optimal quality replacement parts have been inspected, removed, and replaced with Genuine Volvo or OEM Brands
  
• Nearly all of the lower quality brands and products have been phased out of our catalog
  
• Free shipping has been lowered from $149 to $25
  
• Lowered almost all of our pricing to be competitive or lowest even without a coupon code (but the new coupon code is available in the R forum and we have committed to keeping the code active for the next 12 months)
  

We know we still have a ways to go but we feel we have made progress and changes on many of the topics and issues being discussed here.

-Scott

[Burn-E]

FYI, EMPI axles suck on lowered cars. I know some people have had good luck with them but we've seen a rash of boot failures on EMPIs in the Midwest Crew.

And why not completely replace all aftermarket parts in the PCV kits? That URO hose is going to fail EVERY time. Is every hose OEM now? Last I heard the elbow was still URO.

[FCP Euro]

FYI, EMPI axles suck on lowered cars. I know some people have had good luck with them but we've seen a rash of boot failures on EMPIs in the Midwest Crew.

And why not completely replace all aftermarket parts in the PCV kits? That URO hose is going to fail EVERY time. Is every hose OEM now? Last I heard the elbow was still URO.

The elbows, oil trap, clamp, and hoses are all Genuine Volvo. The only two pieces that are still URO are 9471644 and 1271654. We haven't really had any issues with these two URO pieces and it helps to keep the price of the PCV kit lower than IPD, who offers a primarily all aftermarket kit. We can add/remove to reflect an all Genuine kit fairly easily if that is the preference.

[Burn-E]

9471644 = #7 in this image

1271654 = #12 in this image

I wouldn't worry about the first one since it's basically a protective sleeve for the two smaller hoses. But 1271654 is one of the culprits that has failed and leads to redoing the job months / years earlier than necessary. That's the hose that leads up between the intake manifold and the block and runs back into the top of the engine by the spark plug cover.

[Dick Dastardly]

1271654 = #12 in this image

I wouldn't worry about the first one since it's basically a protective sleeve for the two smaller hoses. But 1271654 is one of the culprits that has failed and leads to redoing the job months / years earlier than necessary. That's the hose that leads up between the intake manifold and the block and runs back into the top of the engine by the spark plug cover.

Yep. They separate at the joints and leak.

That is the ONLY oil leak on my car right now..stupid Uro pcv..

[FCP Euro]

9471644 = #7 in this image

1271654 = #12 in this image

I wouldn't worry about the first one since it's basically a protective sleeve for the two smaller hoses. But 1271654 is one of the culprits that has failed and leads to redoing the job months / years earlier than necessary. That's the hose that leads up between the intake manifold and the block and runs back into the top of the engine by the spark plug cover.

Changing that to Genuine Volvo (1271654) would increase the price of that kit roughly $10 - $15. That's an easy change for us and a large quality improvement for a slight price and cost increase. I will have our product team make the changes tomorrow.

Yep. They separate at the joints and leak.

That is the ONLY oil leak on my car right now..stupid Uro pcv..

Did you purchase it from us? If so, email me and I will send you out a Genuine Volvo free of charge. If anyone else has a PCV kit with a leaky/defective URO brand product that they purchase from us in the past 2 years, please do the same and I will honor this as well.

[z31jaime]

Whats your Email? Yet another issue with PCV tranaction from last april that I can get resolved!

[FCP Euro]

Whats your Email? Yet another issue with PCV tranaction from last april that I can get resolved!

scottd@fcpgroton.com

[Bah]

Seeing Scott come in here and listen to us, and actively fixing things, is why I do, and will continue to support FCPGroton. Customer Loyalty isn't dead in this country :)