CP Performance ................
 

I ordered Gaffrig gauges this past August based on a picture in their catalog displaying Gaffrig presision instuments, guages made by Livorsi. As it turns out I have Gaffrig Performance guages, a totaly different company. Not that they are bad guages, just not the same as the rest of my dash. As a consumer, I feel cheated so I talk to the main guy at CP and tell him my story, ordered the guages had them installed, don't have the boxes. So I get the not problem, send them back, we will take care of you. I send them back and get a call a week later telling me they will not take them back, period. Basically, sorry pal but your SOL. We are sending them back to you. :mad:

BC- If you bought them with a credit card you should be able to get a refund by writing a nice, clear letter to the credit card people, explaining every detail, include a photocopy of the catalog etc. This would be the easiest route for settling this. They will lay down the law with CP who I'm sure will cooperate in order to keep their merchant account. I'm no lawyer but contract law and consumer protection law is on your side.

As you say- they may be decent gages but at this point it's the principle and as nice as your Daytona is I'm sure you'd prefer the matching gages you thought you were getting.

Did you talk with Mike @ CP?

You have to watch CP. They double charged my credit card & then ignored me when I told them. I had to go through AMEX to get it corrected. It was the last time that I ordered from them.

Gaffrig has put out a beware in the PB mag of copies of there guages....

Did I mention CP Performance clearly illustrates "precision instrument" under the logo Gaffrig, which signifies Livorsi Marine. I just want to get the word out that CP misrepresents their products listed in their catalog.

BAD CAT I AM NOT STICKING UP FOR CP OR YOU . BUT WHEN YOU BUY ANYTHING UNBOX IT AND INSTALL IT,YOU OWN IT.YOU KNOW THATS TRUE WITH MOST ANYTHING YOU BUY IN THIS WORLD.I FEEL THE LACK OF YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL BEFOR INSTALLING GAUGES IS ON YOU. SORRY :confused:

Taz-I think if you reread his post you will see that he said that he had them installed. As you should know most shops don't care and would just install them even though they aren't the same. Even if he had opened the box he probably wouldn't notice the difference unless they were side by side.

IT SEEMS TO BE A BAD DEAL FOR BOTH PARTIES.ONE WHO BUYS SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATCH.AND ONE WHO CAN'T TAKE IT BACK BECAUSE HE CAN'T RESELL A USED BUT NOT USED ITEM WITH NO BOXES ECT.(IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT?)WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THIS CASE?I DEAL WITH GENERAL PUBLIC ALSO THIS IS A TOUGH ONE.

SOMETIMES AS A MERCHANT , WE HAVE TO REALIZE HONEST MISTAKES ARE MADE ON THE BUYERS BEHALF DUE TO NEGLIGENCE. YOU HAVE TO SUCK IT UP, THE CUSTOMERS ALWAYS RIGHT, IT WILL SOMEDAY BITE YOU IN THE ASS LATER ON IF NOT TAKEN CARE OF PROMPLY. IF YOUR GOING OUT OF BUSINESS AND NOT THINKING LONG TERM ITS YOUR CALL. JUST MY .02 I deal with customers all day long, and sometimes want to kick their teeth in, and other times feel sorry for them because they truley have their head up their ass!!!! :rolleyes: :D

[ 01-18-2002: Message edited by: JASSMAN ]

[ 01-18-2002: Message edited by: JASSMAN ]

Bottom line people still need to take responsiblity for there own actions. If they misrepresented what they where selling intentionally, or by mistake that is there fault, but to buy something in August and now in January there's a problem ? I know if I am buying something to "match" an existing component I check that it actually does before I do anything with it.
Just my .02

Were the gauges returned in their original condition (NEW) and original packaging right away? Or were they used for a period of time, parts cut, modified and returned?

I believe that there is always two sides, but some people believe that this is a good place to air dirt..

Tough to say what to do. However, I usually er on the side of following the examples of those who are smarter or more successful than I.

I remember reading an interview with one of the founding family members of LL Bean in a business magazine a few years ago. The guy was asked why the company seemed to be successful regardless of the economic conditions and he claimed it was due to customer loyalty. When asked why customers were loyal he said that it was due to LL Bean willingness to please the customer even at the company's expense. When asked for an illustrative example he gave the following.

One day a customer sent them a box with a letter. The letter stated that the customer had received the enclosed waffle iron as a gift and thus did not have the receipt. However, the letter went on to state that the customer would like to exchange, the brand-new, unused waffle iron for a pair of LL Bean boots, as he believed that the waffle iron and the pair of boots were the same price. Could LL Bean please send him a pair of size 9 boots.

Well, LL Bean employees unwrapped the contents of the package to find to their surprise, indeed, a waffle iron. More specifically, one with waffle batter still squeezed between the waffle plates. Thus, the unit was not, new and unused, but rather used and still dirty. Further, LL Bean did not make, nor sell any waffle irons then nor in the past.

After much debate about how to respond, the company wrote the following letter (I'm paraphrasing as I can't find the article):

"We hope you enjoy your size 9 boots and will think of us again whenever the need for fine outdoor wear arises. Thank you for your patronage. Sincerely, LL BEAN."

I seem to recall that the company is still doing well and did well even during this past holiday season of diminished sales. Maybe LL BEAN is onto something?

They should take them back, even if they are slightly used.

I will give you an example, I purchased a pair of waders from Cabelas a number of years ago. Wore them hunting for 3 years and finally poked a hole (ripped the side out of the boot is a better description) in them on a willow a beaver had chewed off. I took them back to Cabelas because when I bought them the add said" Probably the last pair you will ever need". High dollar cordura, insulated and so on.

I didn't really expect them to take them back, but I wanted to see what they would do. I presented them, no reciept, 3 years after I bought them. The return clerk heard my story, questioned how I ruined them and I was up front with her, we discussed their add she looked up the add in the catalog and said "well I can give you $80 credit toward a new pair (the cost about $160 when I bought them) I said sold!!

Now there is no way in H*LL that 99% of other places would take something that I ruined back 3 years later and give me 50% credit.

But you know what? I have purchase almost 100% (fishing, hunting, boating, reloading, camping) of my outdoor stuff from them and numerous guns. Why? because their customer service rocks, and when people ask me about buying something outdoor related, I tell them this story and recomend them.

Oh, and I had CP Performance book marked in my favorites because I was thinking about ordering a part from them, I think I will do some more searching to see what my options are before I order from them.

[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: Vonbongo ]

I can't speak on this deal because I haven't seen the ad or the rest of the "eveidence", however you can bet that any time a merchant takes the high road we the customer are taking it in the ass. LL Bean, CP and any other retailer just keep raising the prices to cover the "good will" they dispense. But it does make us feel better, doesn't it?

Good Will is more valuable than that pair of boots from LL Bean or the waders from Cabelas, and those two companies realize it, that's why they'll always be around. I've always been satisfied with their product, even if it may be a bit cheaper somewhere else. Bottom Line: I know I can trust them, so they'll always have my business. :D :D

I disagree, check Cabela's prices compared to say West Marine. Cabela's is almost always cheaper and sometimes by a significant amount. Sure they don't carry all the marine stuff that West does but basic stuff is there.

I would say that they make it up later by repeat customers. I mean what the heck is $80 to them in the scheme of life if I come back and buy something? Over, and over, and over :D

I bought my procomp gauges from CP. The tachs were the wrong type[inboard not outboard]I made a phone call, sent them back recived the correct ones, no quesions asked. My experence with CP

The facts to a two part story. I am responding on behalf of CP PERFORMANCE as we do not proclaim to be perfect in every case our #1 concern has always been to satisfy you our valued customers many of which are repeat customers and have become friends. When BADCAT's had called he explained his problem to us, as we discussed the tangled mess between the two gaffrig companies and their battles. I agreed that he should return what he exclaimed at that time we're unused gauges even without the boxes we felt we could take care of the repackaging for him without any problem and offer him a full refund .Our standard return policy is that we offer a 30 day refund policy I felt in BADCAT'S instance that we should bend and accept his return 6 months later.Next is the second part of the story as we received the gauges back all five gauges we're virtually destroyed not only had the gauges had all of the mounting straps cut and modified they we're also missing there hardware. Two of them had no bulbs all of them we're covered in silicone sealer from being mounted in the boat,and three of the gauges had scrathed lenses . These gauges looked years old not months old and installed not never installed as BADCAT'S had stated. Lastly the return wasn't made due to a faulty or defective product such as the LL BEAN story posted here, just that it took BADCAT'S 6 months and installing the gauges to decide this was not what he wanted.I would like to clear the air that returning the gauges was never a issue until we received BADCAT'S gauges back in non-resaleable condition, when he received these gauges they we're new. All we asked was they be returned in the same condition even without the boxes for a full refund.I am sorry to see today as I read our e-mails that BADCATS has decide to try some sort of blackmail, our e-mail reads that if we don't refund his money that he will continually post derogatory statments about us on this page. I am very sorry to see this type of thing clutter your page.We feel this is one of the best sites anywhere and is a great assets to everyone.
CP Performance

CP Performance, I'm glad you posted a responce. Like has been stated, there are 2 sides to every story.
I personaly have only had good service from CP.

Having done business with BC myself, it was easy to give him the benefit of the doubt. If the gages were returned in a condition (aside from no boxes) which rendered them unsuitable for re-sale then CP has some validity in not issueing a refund.

I am still confused about the advertising issues and perhaps delivering a product that was not as advertised and maybe even a "knockoff". Is there a CP response to this issue? I'm sure other board members would like to know as we often do add gages to our existing sets and certainly would prefer matching ones given the relative cost of gages. I'm not trying to stir the pot, just trying to get the facts straight.
:D

[ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: Cattitude ]