Vendor Polls/Ratings?

[Gary Lewis]

I just had an idea that I want to try out on you.  And that is the idea of having polls on vendors.

Here's how they would work.  We'd have a folder called something like Vendor Reviews, and in that folder we'd have a thread for each vendor we want to review.  And each of you would have one vote on each vendor, with the results visible to all - members, the whole internet, and the vendors themselves.  You can just vote or you can vote and comment.  Or, just comment.  Your call.  In fact, you can come back any time and change your vote and that will be reflected in the total.  And no one can see who voted nor how they voted.

As for voting, I'd suggest we have a "star" system of 1 - 5.  So you'd vote for a vendor's star rating, like in the poll below.  (Go ahead and vote so we can see the way things would work.  And then come back and change your vote to prove that works.)

I'd leave the end date open so these polls won't ever end.  So over years and even decades we can get an idea who the better vendors are.

I suggest we start with vendors like Autoline, LMC, Jeff's Bronco Graveyard, NPD, & Dennis Carpenter.  And the guideline would be that you should have had dealings with them in order to be able to vote.  So that would probably limit it to national outfits - right?

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Better ideas?

What do you think of this idea?

One star

Two stars

Three stars

Four stars

Five stars

Login to vote   

[85lebaront2]

Gary, sounds good to me. Jim might want to add Pete's used parts as that's where his Saginaw came from along with his mirrors.

[Gary Lewis]

That's an idea, Bill. But we might want to break those kinds of things into regions. So, we could have two major categories:

1. International: This would include vendors that sell internationally, like LMC, NPD, etc.
2. Regional: We might want to cordon off rough regions, like Eastern or Southern, for those vendors that some of us deal with but aren't national much less international. And, this could include a region for Europe, Australia, South America, etc if there are vendors there that people want to rate.

[86 1/2 Brutus]

I think thats a great idea.  Me just like probably everybody else has horror stories and good stories.  I'd sure look at it

[Rembrant]

Gary,

I think it's a great idea, but...a lot of votes are going to come down to opinions, which vary wildly. One thing I see very often is people complaining about LMC. I've personally had pretty good experience with LMC and their products. Does that mean I have lower standards, or that I'm less likely to complain, or maybe I've just had good luck? lol.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, they say opinions are like ***holes, everybody has one, but you don't necessarily want to see it.

I always have a hard time with 1-10 or whatever.
You ought to see me in urgent care!  

So can we include vendors that have random items?
Rusty was complaining about the CCCP yesterday, and rightfully so from my understanding.
But I can't think of a better source for NOS than U-techcenter, and would want to praise them even though I'd really want to guard them like a poker hand.  

[Gary Lewis]

All ratings are opinions.  So this will be nothing different.  Just like Amazon, say, where you can give a rating to a product.  But in this case we are rating the vendor itself.  So we will have to be on our best behavior.  

But, if you have a bad day and give someone a 1 or a 2 you can come back the next day or a year later and change it.  Maybe they made it right?  Maybe the next purchase was excellent?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think you need to include Rockauto and Tabco.

I'm sure there are others, but those were in my mind when I read the thread title.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - We can include U-techcenter.

What I'm thinking I'll do is lock the folder down so no one but admins can start a thread as we want them to be consistent.  But people need a way to suggest other vendors for the folder, so maybe we move this thread into that folder so people can suggest?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think mistakes happen.
The telling part is how a vendor responds to them.

It might not even be their fault, like an angry customer due to a lost package, or the wrong item in a box from RA.
They don't open each box to check. And you wouldn't expect a warehouse worker to know exactly what should be in each box anyhow.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I really think this needs to be in the marketplace.
The stickies are already taking up half the page.

Is there a way to write a review beyond just giving stars, like a schoolteacher?
I know there are instances where I'd like to heap praise and point out where someone has gone above and beyond to make it right.

[Gary Lewis]

I think Marketplace is a good idea!  

And certainly you can do a whole review.  You'll be able to both vote and post, although the two won't be associated as the voting is anon.

And Rock Auto had already come to mind, but I'd not thought about Tabco.  Good idea.

[kramttocs]

I am going to say I am optimistically cautious (cautiously optimistic?) on this.
Unless I am downright treated poorly and/or scammed, I chalk a lot of things up to human error or beyond the control or knowledge of the seller.

I like that users can change their rating if the situation changes. For example, with the information provided I would consider Rusty's experience a positive one in the end. They offered photos up front and they made it right. To me that's a good seller and doesn't sound like someone trying to pawn a bad part off. Who knows if they had a new hire pulling parts who had no idea what the part should look or function like. That's a situation where as long as they work with me on the resolution, I would buy from them again.

My personal lessons learned have driven home the importance of photos and knowing that no one cares about your vehicle like you do.

Rusty - please don't think I am discounting your situation. It's just the example readily at hand


Update: I meant to add - if there was ever a forum where something like this will work and help out the greater good, this is it.

[Gary Lewis]

Scott - I think it is crucial that people be able to change their votes.  Had I voted about RockAuto back in the day I'd have emphatically said they are a zero, not even a one.  But I've subsequently learned that they do have a very good role to play.

And, as you said, it was one individual that told me an un-truth, probably just to make a sale.  Had I to do that over again I'd get the person's name and help them understand that if they didn't check the box before shipping then I'd be having a voice conversation with his supervisor as I'd just written down what he said, word for word, the time of day, and his name in full.  Saying that he might have backed off.

But it is that kind of documentation, as well as pictures, that is necessary when dealing with vendors.  

[Gary Lewis]

kramttocs wrote

Update: I meant to add - if there was ever a forum where something like this will work and help out the greater good, this is it.

Oops, I missed the update.  I think you are right on this point as well.  We have no ties to any vendor, although we have Scotty Johnston, Tim Meyer, and Keith Dickson as members.  But we have no ties to those companies.  And we have no sponsors.  So we are in a good position to critique them.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Scottie and Tim are the Vanguard!

LMC is what it is, but I'm sure with Keith's input will evolve.
Quality will improve with a viable sounding board (in him)

But I DO worry about Fordification...

[Gary Lewis]

I wouldn't worry about FORDification.  He has the same passion for that as I have for this, and he won't neglect it.

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's good to hear!

I only got a glimpse, when he posted here about accepting the job and uprooting his life.

I hope both endeavors continue to be rewarding for Keith!