RockAuto customer service fail

[roger2]

Up until recently I was a big fan of RockAuto.com. I had been ordering from that site for the past few years and all was good. A couple months ago I did receive a wrong part, but that was taken care of successfully through an online return process.

But my most recent order, a set of disc brake pads, has turned into a nightmare. I received the parts from RockAuto and assumed they were correct. When it came time to install, car jacked up, wheels off, and old pads removed, it was apparent that the new pads were more than an inch too short. Went to a local parts retailer and got right pads. Inconvenienced, but the job got done. No big deal at this point.

Next day started working my way through the RockAuto online returns process, answering questions about box labeling, parts numbers, my vehicle, labels on the actual parts, etc. It seemed like a lot of questions but I was anticipating a quick resolution similar to my other recent return experience. Wrong. What I got instead was an "offer" to purchase a return shipping label at a discounted price.

What?

I thought this had to be a mistake, so I started looking for a phone number and eventually found one. When I called, the greeting said that I had reached RockAuto's corporate headquarters, and that customer service was handled by email only, and not by phone.

So I contacted the customer service department via email, explaining the situation. In the reply I was told to take pictures of the old parts and the RockAuto parts (BTW, the RockAuto pads were CarQuest brand in a Raybestos box), and to give them the VIN of my vehicle. The tone of this email was terse.

I replied that the old parts were discarded. I provided the make/model of my vehicle (not the VIN though). And I complied with a subsequent request for physical measurements of the new pads.

The next reply from customer service was to inform me that the information I provided matched information their database, therefore, while I could still return the parts, RockAuto would not pay for return shipping. When I replied to that email, I received an automated reply stating that the case ticket had been closed.

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That is where it stands now.

It is more a matter of principle than money. If a company makes a mistake, they not should insist that the customer to pay to ship that mistake back to them. And there should be some way to speak to someone in real time. Not every problem can be resolved via email.

I don't know if the email customer support is a new thing possibly. I feel like I can not be the only person who has had a bad experience with it. But there is no readily accessible way to inform the company that their customer service department has failed.

 

[hjames]

Okay, Disc brake pads used to be fairly cheap, but I'll admit I haven't swapped pads for a few years - what kind of money are we talking here?

 

[roger2]

I get the quality ceramic pads, around $50 or so. This is not a matter of money

 

[gadget73]

I ran into that once too with a pair of struts. Database said the parts they sent were proper, but they did not fit the car. I paid the couple bucks to ship it back.

 

[skippy_ps]

Looks like they've tightened up their return policy.

Had a similar deal last year with suspension parts ordered from RA. Parts looked like they were re-boxed rejects but RA made me pay the return shipping. Learned some good lessons from that one.

Murray

 

[Sandstrom]

Frankly that is total B.S. Clearly they sent the wrong thing. It sounds like from what you are saying the pads were not even in the correct box. Obviously they have eaten a lot of return shipping due to their "pristine" database. I have never heard of any reasonably sized company with no phone support, amazing...

Auto parts are not an easy thing with all of the changes, deviations, mid-year changes, picking/packaging mistakes, etc, etc. But that shouldn't be your problem. If you are going to have an online auto parts distributorship you have to accept that this is going to happen and this is one industry where brick and motor is still plentiful and alive and well...

 

[usedto]

Clearly they sent the wrong thing.

Maybe yes, maybe no. I had a 1970 Corvette in my younger days. After the introduction of the new body style in 1968 and the increased popularity, GM had trouble keeping up with orders. To keep on schedule, they decided to stop production of the 70 early and go right into the 71 - hence 1970 was one of the lowest production years.

Mine was one of the last built, and had some parts that were supposed to go on the 71, but made it onto mine. Unless you had a parts man (no computer parts catalogs then) that kept up with all of the "updates", it was an issue getting the right part on certain items.

I've heard of other brand of autos that have had the same differences. That being said, Rock Auto can only be as good as the info they have. Not saying they're without fault, but we'll never really know.

 

[Mrv8q]

Had the exact same situation, but with Amazon. Wrong front pads in the right box, clearly a manufacturer mistake.
Ordered through Prime, and corrected by Amazon quickly, though I had to return the pads and wait two days for the replacement, of course.

I used to be a faithful RA customer, but most things, and I check, are cheaper and WAY faster from Amazon.

Personally, I’d eat the return charge, get your refund, and order accordingly in the future.

 

[roger2]

Maybe yes, maybe no. .....

I've heard of other brand of autos that have had the same differences. That being said, Rock Auto can only be as good as the info they have. Not saying they're without fault, but we'll never really know.

No. We know 100% that they sent the wrong part. Someone stuffed the wrong part in the right box. Part number and brand name on the outside of the box matched what I chose and paid for on their website. The part inside the box was not even the same brand. When I discovered their mistake I looked the pads up on Advance Auto Parts and O'Reily's websites, both of which had no trouble identifying the part correctly. I purchased from Advance.

Besides, in situations like you describe, which no doubt do exist, it is the responsibility of the seller to ask the right questions, or at least inform buyers of potential fitment issues. And yes, they are only as good as their database. But that data is their responsibility, not their customers' responsibility, although you'd think that they would appreciate being informed of a flaw in their data.

But this isn't about getting the wrong part. Any retailer can make that kind of mistake, and auto parts dealers do so frequently, perhaps for the reasons you describe.

 

[quaddriver]

I had the same problem(s) and ranted about it on another board and EVEN talked to a rock auto schill who hands out the 5% discounts.

Things to keep in mind:
Rock auto is not a parts company. They have not one single part.
They simply place orders thru the web portals for wholesalers and conduct the transaction. Wholesalers obtain the parts into many many regional warehouses and arrange for shipping that you paid for thru the rock. As such, there are no humans to talk to and a crappy returns process. OTC, you pay more for a part, but can return it.

Generally when you get a wrong part like a brake (most common) it is because of a heavy duty option that most people dont know where to look for. GM makes it easy with the SPID label, others, not so much. But you still have to know how to find it, decode it and order using that info.

Previously, a few years back, there were more centralized warehouses that you coud 'play the game' with and cut down on shipping by having fewer originations. Now that EVERYONE is in the game, the parts come from hundreds of locations and I have found now the tide has turned, if I can, I will get OTC when it is cheaper if it is EXACTLY the same part. Beware however of multi vendor boxing...many rotors for example that are bendix, are ALSO Raybestos, Motorcraft, Wagner and AC Delco, in the same box, with varying parts numbers but cost differently!

The new sexy is to use amazon. If you are prime, many of the wholesalers now use the same web portal to be amazon fullfillers for the SAME price markup as rockauto and free shipping. My last set of struts came that way, shipping gratis. But with amazon, you really really really have to understand your part fitment.

 

[gadget73]

Much of my RA shopping anymore is the clearance stuff. I've gotten a lot of shelf stock things for stupid cheap that way. The Continental's filters are all special order, so I like having them on hand.

 

[Bob]

write a letter to the CEO. tell him/her the problem. suggest a great solution. wait for response.

I no longer shop/dine/visit ANY store that has had its customer database hacked. I do not
buy anything at Sears after they dented my car. I stop eating at restaurants that serve
left-overs as new. I do not eat at any restaurant that screws up my order.

However, at restaurants that do it right, I tip well. at stores that help me find something
I always buy from them regardless of price.

your dollars - your needs - MUST be recognized by who you buy from.

 

[roger2]

write a letter to the CEO. tell him/her the problem. suggest a great solution. wait for response.

I no longer shop/dine/visit ANY store that has had its customer database hacked. I do not
buy anything at Sears after they dented my car. I stop eating at restaurants that serve
left-overs as new. I do not eat at any restaurant that screws up my order.

However, at restaurants that do it right, I tip well. at stores that help me find something
I always buy from them regardless of price.

your dollars - your needs - MUST be recognized by who you buy from.

How would I get a mailing address, or any contact info at all, for the CEO? Or for anyone outside of the Customer Service Dept?

 

[luvvinvinyl]

RockAuto, LLC Corporate Headquarters
6418 Normandy Lane
Suite 100
Madison, WI 53719
1-608-661-1376

 

[savatage1973]

I've ordered a few things from RA in the past, and never had issues--but that was well over a year ago. I find it much easier (and trouble-free) to purchase stuff on-line from Advance Auto, and then pick up the item in the store. They have tons of different discount codes, all the time on the net. You order on-line, get anywhere from 20-40% off of the store price, and then just go pick up your order at the local B&M store. If there is an "issue", you'll know right then when you pick it up, or it can be corrected at the local store.

We just recently got O'Reilly's in our area, so I haven't really shopped them yet--in-store or on-line, but I would assume (as competitive as the market is) that they would have a similar arrangement available.

 

[Bob]

call and ask for name of CEO. then write letter.

or google "rock auto CEO"

 

[Wildcat]

If it pisses you off that much, write the BBB in the city they are located in. Complain to the state attorney general. Contact your credit card company and tell them what was received was not what was ordered, and they may issue a chargeback for it. Better yet, file a claim in small claims court, not only to get your item returned and fully reimbursed both ways, but to "teach them a lesson." Can't tell you how many times I have wanted to do this in recent years!

But before doing whatever you decide to, make certain that in the company's terms and conditions, they state whether or not returns due to their error require a customer to pay return shipping. If it's clearly stated in the T&C, then there is no recourse--by the act of ordering from any company, we implicitly agree to T&Cs they clearly have posted on their site. If it is not clearly stated in their T&Cs, then it is well within our rights to pursue what we feel is a proper outcome.

I do, however, agree that the right thing to do is to cover return shipping if a customer asks for it.

I did have an issue with them over some strut bellows I bought maybe five or more years ago, but the return shipping was half the price of the part, and my time to drive to a UPS location to return it would have cost more than the entire part was worth, so I just kept what they sent. But it was the same issue--RA said they sent the right part (they did, according to their computer), and tried to convince us we ordered the wrong thing. I found it odd that they would not admit that the manufacturer put the wrong product in the box--when I was in distribution, that was one of the first things I would suspect if a customer had purchased a boxed part and it was incorrect.

We have to remember, though, that RA only resells items. They do not open the boxes, inspect every part and measure it for fitment against the original factory drawings, etc. They are like any other wholesaler--orders in, orders out.

If the parts in the box do not match what is correct, it is not their fault; yet, if it does happen, they should step up and make their supplier aware, or better yet, get the supplier to cover return shipping. The way RA operates, they are like other "in-between" distributors/suppliers. If they pay return shipping from a customer, they also have to pay their own return shipping to their supplier, so they are getting socked twice for return fees. (It's not an excuse--it's just the way the system works.) I know that any time we received a return from a customer when I was in distribution, we would credit their account for the return freight if requested, but we always had to pay return shipping if parts had to go back to the factory. It's just the way business is done with the "big boys." And also, if we heard of an instance of a wrong part being found in a boxed item we had sent out, we would check our own inventory to see if there were others...and we would occasionally find them!

Also, on the other point, a brand like Carquest is not a "brand" per se--it is an auto parts store chain who has another manufacturer build parts for them. It could be Raybestos is the OEM for some of Carquest's parts. And quite frankly, I'd rather not buy store-branded parts simply for not knowing who made them. If I order Akebono brake pads or a Denso O2 sensor, then I know exactly the brand and quality I am getting.

As for pricing and fitment, though: Amazon is the absolute worst at fitment (their databases are more often wrong than not...on dirt common parts).* Their prices are most often higher than RA (and when they are, they are way out of line, like higher than even the top retail price at local stores). They are clearly a crapshoot--I get the bargains there when I can, but they are few and far between. As for the local stores, forget it--they want over $8 for a pair of the same brand of light bulbs which RA sells for 40 cents each. Even with their alleged discounts, I have never had any local auto parts chain (and we have them all here--AutoZone, Advance Auto, O'Reilly, Hastings, Carquest, Pep Boys, NAPA, and others I'm forgetting) come anywhere close to RA's pricing, even after shipping and tax. The pre-built struts I purchased from RA were around $450, shipped; they would have been nearly $800 before sales tax if I had bought the same brand of strut using any and every available discount the store had.

I've purchased a couple dozen items from RA over the past several months and all has been well. So, no complaints. But I still have that issue with the strut bellows in the back of my head. Can't help it.

* Free tip of the day. The best way I've found to identify the correct parts for my cars involves three steps. I hop onto Rock Auto's site and find the manufacturer part number. I go to the manufacturer's site with the year/make/model and look it up to be certain it matches. I then hop onto any of the auto manufacturer parts resellers (usually, auto dealers who also run Internet parts sales departments) and get the manufacturer part number, which often works well as a cross-check to make sure the other numbers are correct. (This is especially important when attempting to locate a part through Amazon!)

 

[HiFi in WYO]

"Went to a local parts retailer and got right pads."

And this is why I still like to support brick and mortar businesses. If it's available locally and within a certain amount of Rock Auto (or any other internet place), I shop locally. I've had good luck with RA but I've also had good luck with O'Reilly's and they have no return shipping charges.

 

[beat_truck]

A few months ago, I had a set of head bolts that were wrong and needed returned to RA. They paid for the return shipping without issue (minus a dollar and some change because I opted to send them back through the USPS instead of tracking down a Fedex shipping center). I didn't feel like waiting, so I did like the OP and went and got the correct ones at the parts store in town.

The part number on the box was correct, but the bolts didn't match the old ones or the pictures on the website. During the return, the site asked me a bunch of questions about the item, and they gave me a paid print out to attach to the box to send them back. They said that they would refund me once they looked at the item and confirm that it was wrong, which they did.

 

[gadget73]

I often shop local but sometimes the parts I need are either not available or considerably more spendy.

Thinking about it, maybe that charge was the return ship method. I have sent things back with no cost penalty, and I've gotten defective parts replaced without even having to return stuff. I installed a pair of shocks and one of them began leaking oil as soon as I put it on the car. They sent me a replacement and didn't even ask for the old one since the pics showed it obviously leaking oil from a new part.