FloridaFJ80
Roaming Land Cruiser Heaven
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2005
- Threads
- 185
- Messages
- 3,051
- Location
- Ashburn, Va
- Website
- www.landcruiserheaven.com
So... after 6 months + 6 days of waiting, my leather kit from LCH has arrived. It’s been a long wait, but Frank threw in the center console and armrest kit for my troubles. This kit has a retail value of $160 dollars, so that is about an 11% rate of return over the 6 months that he had my money. That’s fair I suppose.
I’ll get to my initial impressions on the kit in another post, but first I’ll talk about the purchasing experience.
It’s no secret that a lot of people have been waiting for their kits to arrive. Without a doubt, sone have cancelled their orders and moved on. I considered this option many times. However, two things kept me on the fence. First, the reputation that Frank’s leather kits have is excellent. The consensus says that these are the absolute best kits you can buy for our cruisers.
The second thing that kept me on the dense was that I could find no evidence that Frank ripped anyone off. Kits were eventually delivered, or funds returned (as far as I know). I could find no posts to the contrary.
For the first 4 to 5 months, Frank was absolutely horrible at communicating anything about the order status. I do admit, I wasn’t a squeaky wheel. I had other projects going on, so I let time pass.
It wasn’t until July came around that we all started to hear from Frank in the form of email blasts that went to all that were waiting on their leather kits. The email addresses were sent bcc:, so we could not tell if there were five clients waiting, or 500 clients. A little bit nerve racking for sure.
By this time, I started to make regular contact with Frank or his office. In their defense, he never dodged my calls and he was always able to reassure me that the kits are coming. I remember thinking that this guy must be a great con artist, or he’s telling the truth. It was always just a few more weeks. I continued to put a lot of faith in Frank and I stayed the course. Finally, I had enough. I called Frank again and gave him an ultimatum, I wanted a tracking number by the end of the month, or my credit card refunded. I had every intention of following through and going with another vendors kit.
In the end, Frank fame through with that tracking number (a few days past my deadline). They arrived on September 14th.
A few bits of advice if your considering purchasing leather from Frank.
First, don’t believe the 4-week turnaround time. It won’t happen. Just count on it being several months and be happy if you get them within 8-12 weeks.
Second, don’t expect frank to proactively provide you with status updates. This is not his strong point. Frank has quality products, but he must have a little Colombian in him when it comes to business operations. Understand this, and you won’t be disappointed.
Finally, have faith. Frank will eventually pull through and deliver.
Some advice for Frank...
1. Consider collecting a small deposit from your customers st the time of order and the balance at when ready to ship. Your clients will experience far less anxiety. $1500 bucks is a lot to gamble with. Work out the logistics with your vendors to make this an option.
2. Be more proactive. Tell your clients exactly what is causing the delay. Don’t wait until the heat comes your way.
3. Don’t send email blasts. Personalize your communications with your clients. A blast email creates more anxiety because it gives the impression that you’re facing a more systemic problem that could threaten the financial viability of your company. This bolsters your customer’s fear that they may lose their money.
4. Re-evaluate your delivery timeframe on your leather kits. People will wait for quality.
5. Pay attention to your competitors. Poor customer service provides an opportunity for your competitors to get a foothold in the market. Be the best, and deliver in a reasonable timeframe.
To those who question on whether I would recommend LCH leather kits to others... Yes, I would. With the above caveats. The kit is very high quality. In fact, better than OEM. A full review will follow later.
Ryan, I want to thank you for taking the time to update this thread. You truly have the ih8mud spirit that brought me to this great forum over 13 years ago. You believe in community. Your advice along with others has been well received, and I have made tremendous changes in both my communication (emailing back in a timely matter and getting back on ih8mud). To my defense, if you want to get ahold of me right away, pick up your phone and start dialing. Calls will always get priority and I am the only one that answers them. You are also 100% correct, everyone who has ever ordered a kit from me and requests a refund will get it or you will get your product. I have never stiffed anyone or kept any money that doesnt belong to me. Seat covers turned out amazing as I knew they would and congratulations on a sweet rig.
I will talk to my manufacturer about the missing plastic piece on the rear covers. Once again thanks for your feedback!