Yeah, I've had a similar experience with them recently. To be honest, I had no problem at all with John and Sandy at SteamBrite. There were some problems with shipping confirmation and some damage from Fed Ex. John and Sandy handled their part very professionally, but I can't say the same for Donald.
I had a vacuum booster and Hydroforce filter get absolutely demolished in shipping. Well, first I should point out that I was expecting my shipment much earlier than when it came. I dropped $2100 on miscellaneous stuff on a Monday, paid via credit card, and was told the order would ship out the very next day, so should receive it by the end of the week...great. Well, come the end of the week, no shipment, so I call them to inquire about where it is since I received no confirmation. When I called I got Donald, who told me that it wasn't really all that important, and he had several customers at his counter needing help. Excuse the shit out of me?..
.....I remind him that I just dropped over 2 grand, and that it is VERY important to me, and I could really give a flying f*ck about his "other" customers! He goes on to tell me that if I received no confirmation, it has not shipped. I received some sort of email from them, but it was in computer gibberish, couldn't make out a thing, figured that was it, just a computer glitch. I tell Donald that I received something from them, but couldn't make it out at all. He then says that I would be charged a second time for shipping!!....WTF?.... :shock: ......I tell him you better not dare try charging me again! Long story short, he then gives me some BS about their emails / computers not working. Whatever.
So I finally get my stuff, most make the journey fine, except for the booster and filter. John and Sandy dealt with the damage claim through Fed Ex, and it went about as smooth as one could want. So about 10 days go by, and I call them to find out when I can expect my stuff. John tells me he will check on the status and return a call ASAP. Several hours later Donald calls my home, leaves a unprofessional message while I'm out on a job. He tells me on the message that he can't understand why I sent back the hydroforce filter. The actual filter was fine, but the housing was shattered. WTF good does the filter do me with a shattered housing????....So he says he's going to ship it back to me. What?????? He also gives me a cocky remark about me not picking up my phone but wanting to get this resolved, and also saying that I expect him to triple pack the stuff to ensure safe transit. You damn right I expect you to do whatever it takes to make sure the order can make the trip. I could care less if he has to use some extra shipping peanuts. I call them immediately and get John on the phone and ask him wtf is Donald's malfunction. I ask him what good would it have done me to keep the filter with no housing. I tell him that if Donald returns a broken filter to me, I'll jump on the first flight to San Antonio to personally shove the filter up his ass, and that I don't appreciate Donald's cocky remark, especially after almost 2 weeks have gone by. He apologizes and says he'll get it handled. Boy o boy, I'm sure they get guys spending a whole lot more than 2 grand, but to me, that's a shit load of money, and when I put that money out there, I demand service!! Donald really dropped the ball, not sure I'll EVER buy anything from them again, regardless of price. I praised them in the past, always had great service from them until this last time.
BTW....I ordered 100 feet of 2" Proflex hose from them, and received it with some cheap ass, rock hard black plastic GLUED ON cuffs. Is that the way they all come, regardless of vendor, or was this another shining example of what quality you can expect for their cheaper price? Cause shit, I would rather have spent an extra $20 to get some quality cuffs on them.
I received my filter and booster last Friday, almost one month after placing my initial order. Glad to say they finally got it right. The stuff was packed like it could have been dropped off the top of a highrise building, the way it should have been done the FIRST TIME!!
plus they have free shipping and if you pay through paypal you're protected.
