Re: Split : RPM/Mike Lee/SyTy Perf
I have bought parts/service from most vendors on this board (including many that are gone)over the last 10+ years. I have personally understood that our vendors are giving us many products that we can not easily duplicate ourselves. Having vendors for this type of limited production vehicle very fortunate, but it causes problems and always will. We have a small demand which doesn't allow for overstock inventory. We have custom fabrication which takes design and build time. We have cost issues because there is no scale to production.
We look at our friends that have popular vehicles and who can get everything they need via mail order within a day or two, cheap and can pick from a multiple of suppliers. We can not continually expect that from our syty vendors. Our vendors are usually syty'ers themselves and most "new idea" parts are expermental at best and proven later. How many times have we all seen a "new idea" part come across the board and we all want it and want it now. We want so may things for are trucks we jump at everything that we think may be an improvement, untested or not.
In the end our vendors get the shaft and are gone, because at some point someone starts the BB lynching and it gets out of hand. Whether the vendor did right or wrong we will find a way to eventually move them out.
I have probably lost more dollars from vendors and "members" on this board than anyone else from bad deals and have kept most of it to myself and a couple of members that I consider very close and personal friends. I either worked it out privately or choose to let it go as a bad experience. When we take a chance on a new idea (especially a new vendor) we are taking a personal chance also. We don't really know if that person can perform or not as it been unproven at that point. Yet we will encourage them to go make a dozen or a hundred only to jump them when they can't produce. Much of this is our fault as the vendor.
I have said this before, these trucks are meant to be stock or slightly modified. When we decide to go to another level we are opening up ourselves to limited vendors, special orders, custom parts, fabrication, few choices, high dollars, extended wait time, etc. If this is not acceptable then one should keep their truck stock (or slightly modified) ...or owning a syty is not a good choice of vehicle.
Whether we have had good or bad dealings with vendors there was always a point where we all supported and encouraged them enough to make parts or provide services for us. If we had not welcome them, they would not have become a vendor. It does however, become a vendors responsibility to provide those parts and services as reasonably promised. We as an "experienced" community must also realize (after all the years of failed/runoff vendors) that most new vendors can't possibly under promise and over deliver products to us.
None of our vendors can (or could) make everyone of us happy, all to time. RPM can't always control his suppliers. We will never always be happy with them or any other vendor over time. RPM as been by far the vendor with the deepest line of products for our trucks. Like it or not the syty community would suffer with out them. The thing RPM needs to do is print a disclaimer on syty parts order catalog that says "All custom parts may take an extended amount of time". We syty'ers already know that most syty parts are custom.
Also, we the BB must realize that we are not the exclusive "syty community". There are many other owners of our vehicles that do not particapate here. Many decent past members have left for reasons such as this thread.
John
