Outrageous overbill by Kanter Automotive

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KanterCustomerService said:
This year marks our 52nd year in business providing quality service, parts and a lifetime limited warranty to the collector car industry.

Regarding, Mr.Ron Weinger (DuelingCudas) of Berkely Heights, NJ issue. We do take seriously all situations where a customer feels they may have been mistreated. We do understand that each and everyone is allowed to post their opinions on a product or service on the internet freely for others to view (or on multiple forums/blog as was done in his case).But it is incumbent on all parties to post all of the relevant facts.

8/7/12. Mr. Weinger called into our sales staff for an estimate ($225) on the rebuild of his power steering pump.

8/24/12. Mr. Weinger came in and worked with Mr. Kanter, wrote up the work order for the rebuild, APPROVED and paid in advanced as this is company policy.

9/12/12. After further examination of the unit Customer Service called Mr. Weinger to inform him of additional repairs that were needed. Mr. Weinger was given the opportunity of not proceeding and receiving a full refund and declined; he APPROVED the additional charge of $100.

9/24/12.Customer Service received a call from Mr. Weinger. Very upset because he felt he was overcharged because he received our invoice from the rebuilder with his unit by mistake.

9/24/12.Customer Service explained to Mr. Weinger of the mistake of receiving our bill from the rebuilder with his unit. The markup was derived was from industry standards. At that point he was very upset and threatened a lawsuit, phone call to the better business bureau, and multiple posts on the internet. If we would not lower the price and give him a refund.

As numerous posters said, our markups are within the industry norms. We dealt with Mr. Weinger honestly and directly and he had the choice to proceed or cancel several times. Of the 100,000 customers we deal with each year there are one or two like Mr. Weinger.

Thank You
Kanter Auto Products Customer Service
[Phone Number and eMail deleted by Staff]
Click to expand...

as always..two sides to every story..
 
I own a business and we service and repair what we sell. If I perfrom the work, the markup would be similar. If I spend 15 minutes putting something in a box and sending to someone else to perform the work and I never touched it again I might have added $50 to the rebuilders charge. That's just how I operate. (I'm in medical industry, not auto....fyi)
 
I know retail has high markups, inventory, overhead, etc. . But this was taking the part, boxing it and shipping it out. Since Kanter does mostly mailorder that should not be much more in their real cost than what someone would pay extra as 'shipping and handling'. And I know the food industry is extremely marked up, but that is perishables, atmosphere, tons of manual labor. And I know on ebay you could spend $5 for shipping of a $1 item - but you know up front.
I paid on dropoff, not delivery. And I checked around with multiple outlets, many having the pump listed but none having any in stock, and had no prospects of getting any. Kanter is relatively local so I was able to drop off the pump, and I expected to pick it up, rather than send it someplace, have them then send it out, then reverse all of that, adding at least an extra 2 weeks transit to an unknown actual rebuild time. I could have checked around the clubs, ebay, etc for used pumps, but that would have taken more weeks and I was hoping to get the car back on the road for at least some of the remaining cruise season. And the pump was really hosed, not just replacement seals, so the rebuilder added $75 in parts to the job (to which Kanter charged an additional $25). I do not know if the rebuilder would have accepted a direct send. I will certainly know to check next time. I know middlemen need, and I expected them to add, a markup. I had no qualms paying the markup on other parts I bought from them, over $400 retail, in the past 12 months. But I still think, and some out there agree, that a $194 and change markup for shipping (actual cost from the rebuilder to me was around $17; what I saw from sellers who didn't have any - from $20 to $30) and handling is outrageous.
I went into this blindly. Even those who disagree with me and want to do business with Kanter can go in with open eyes.
(Oh, the rebuilder guarrantees the rebuild. It's on the invoice.)
 
Being a business owner markup is 1.5-1.67. Obviously whoever did the estimate did not do a thorough enough inspection to make sure that the repairs would superceed the cost of a new replacement. It's a power steering pump not a super rare component that can't be found. Sounds to me like the parts house is gouging the customer a bit. The thing that has made my business so successful is, in some cases you need to cut your profit margin a bit to facilitate in cushioning the blow of a mistake be it the customers mistake or the company's mistake. You piss off 1 person, you stand the chance of getting someone who is affiliated with a forum to really bash the business in question. I'm sure there may be other underlying issues but I've dealt with parts houses that love to take advantage of the unknowing consumer. Especially women.
 
No- all this is BS.You knew what the agreement was-your word is no good.Obviously that means nothing to you-when you agree to something be man enough to fulfill your part of the bargain.
 
2 things here
1-they been in business 52 years now you know why
2-if the part was in my hand i would have told kanter to suck it and pay the rebuilder shop.especially if paid with credit card:burnout:

im sorry and the rebuilder shop is who again????pm me if youd like i need to rebuild 2 chunks
 
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