MitsuStyle - SLS - mixed feelings

Just thought I'd share to you all, my recent buying experience from SLS. This all started on 7/12. I purchased one of their DSM T3 manifolds, along with a Tial Wastegate. Nick told me I could get it the manifold at a good price through PM's here, so that was what sold me on theirs over Punishments manifold. I called them, and put the order in with Mike who I believe was the parts guy. When I told him I wanted the wastegate as well, he asked if black was ok, because he had a black one sitting there. I said black is perfect.

Approximately 5 days later the package showed up on my doorstep. Inside was the manifold. It looked great! Also in the package was my receipt, and a hand written note on the receipt saying that he had to order the wastegate and it'll be sent seperately. Strange because he had said that he had the black one sitting right there. But no big deal.

2-3 weeks later I call up. Mike said somehow my order got missed and that he was sorry. Said he had some in stock and would ship one off to me the next day.

2-3 weeks later I call up because I still have nothing. He said sorry, he is out of stock, but will call up his distributor and get one sent to me asap.

2-3 weeks later. I call and he says sorry, he is having problems with his distributor, but will have one drop shipped the next day from a different distributor.

2-3 weeks later I call and Nick the owner answers. He tells me that Mike has been let go due to issues like this that have been happening. He tells me that he will get one sent out to me asap, and email me the tracking number.

2-3 weeks later I am in Spain. Derek tells me that no package has arrived. I email them since I'm not going to pay long distance to talk to these clowns. I still try to be as polite as possible. This whole time I have not yelled or gotten angry with them, I've kept my cool the whole time, and tried to continue to do so. Here is the email I wrote them on 10/24:

Nick,

I spoke to you on the phone about 3 weeks ago concerning my Tial 44mm
wastegate that I ordered like 3 months ago. Your sales guy gave me
the run around for a long time. When I spoke with you, you told me
that you would get it taken care of, send one out right away and email
me a shipping number. I've been out of the country and am in Spain
right now, which is why I can not call you. My roommate has told me
nothing has arrived yet. I would like to get my money back for this
now, because this has taken entirely too long. Please write back. My
girlfriend lives a few minutes from you guys, so I can have her just
go there and get the money in person. Let me know when it's a good
time for you. If that is not doable, then you can just backcharge it
right back to the credit card I used to pay for it. Please just shoot
me an email back. If you try to call my cell phone if you have that
number, you'll probably go straight to voicemail since it doesn't work
over here. Thank you.

I wait for 5 days, and finally get a responce on 10/29. A nice long well thought out responce that really showed that he felt bad and was sorry. Here is the email

Being it was purchased on a card we'd need to credit it back to a card,

OK, maybe he completely missed the part in my email saying that he could charge it back to the card that I purchased it with? So I send him this reply the next day 10/30.

OK, could you please credit it back to the same card I purchased it on. It is Visa ******* exp *****.

Thank you,
Brandon

A week passes. No reply, no money in my account. I've had it now. I've been patient, I've been polite. It's now 11/7, and my off the shelf, easily drop shipped item that I ordered 4 months ago still isn't here, and the vendor's communication with me is dwindling down to pretty much nothing now. I send the following email back to him on 11/7 since I am still in Spain and don't feel like wasting long distance time for this crap.

Nick,

Just wondering the status on this. I still show no credit back from you on my card. I will be back in town from Spain this weekend, and there's a good chance I'll be up in Fargo during the week. Phone calls and emails don't seem to get me anywhere. So if it takes me being there in person to get any sort of action done, then that is what I will do. When I walk out of there, I fully expect to either have my card credited back, or the wastegate that you charged me for. I'm not a rude person, or a jerk at all. But waiting 1/3 of a year, for an off the shelf, drop shipped part, is simply ridiculous. And getting told everytime that it'll get sent out soon, I'm just getting lied to here, and I don't appreciate that much. I'm not in the wrong here by asking for my money back. But I'm not going to wait another 1/3 of a year for my money back. If this isn't settled soon, I will pursue other options. Thank you and take care.

Brandon

Still I get no responce, and no money in my account. Fast forward to 11/13 now. I get home from Spain and drive up to Fargo to spend time with the g/f. The next day 11/14, she has to work. While she's at work, I decide to take the 5 minute drive to SLS from her home. I find it pretty easily. They have a nice sized building in a great location right off Main. I go up to open the doors, they are locked. I look inside the "showroom" area I suppose is what you'd call it, and it's completely empty, baron. Looks like a place that should have had a FOR LEASE sign out front. I then go look in the window of the garage entrance, and I see some cars in there, and I notice the lights are on. I pound on the door a few times, nobody comes. I then call and someone answers. I think his name was Darren, but I don't remember. He said he was the machinist. Seemed like a real nice guy. Anywho, the conversation went something like this.
"SLS how can I help you"
"Hi, are you guys around at all?"
"Yes we are"
"OK, because I'm outside your door, right next to your truck"
"Ohh, ummm well we don't really take walk in customers anymore"
"Oh that's fine, because I'm actually an existing customer that has been waiting over 4 months for a wastegate, and I'm here to either take home my wastegate, or get my money refunded"
"Oh wow, ok who have you been talking to?"
"I put the order in with Mike and then got the runaround from him for a couple months, then I spoke with and was emailing Nick after Mike got let go"
"OK, what email were you sending it to?"
"You're gmail one. I know it works because Nick replied once, but never again"
"OK hold on let me get Nick on the phone"
....on hold for a couple minutes waiting for Nick. Mean while, I'm still standing outside by their door in the 40* weather, no one has come to the door to actually meet me in person, or to let me in out of the cold....
"Brandon, OK this is still Dustin, let me help you get this all figured out."
.... Why wouldn't Nick talk to me since he atleast knows my situation?....
"OK Dustin, (I go on and explain the whole story to him)"
"OK Brandon, your not really in the computer, but I've found your paper receipt. Looks like we owe you *** dollars, and you purchased it with Visa *****."
"Yes that's correct"
"OK well I'm sending the refund through right now, it should show up on your bank statement in a few days."
"OK Thanks for your help."

That's the jist of the phone call. I never did meet them, because they never did let me in. They just had me waiting outside their door and talk to them on the phone. Real classy. I get home and send Nick the following email:

OK. Well today I showed up at your store but the store entrance was locked up and the place was empty, and no one answered when I pounded on the garage entrance. I called and got ahold of someone who I think said was your machinist. He was actually very helpful and said he was refunding me today. So I am expecting to see the refund hit my bank account in a few business days. Not sure why it had to take me showing up at your shops door to get this taken care of. And not even actually getting to talk to anyone in person, just stand outside in the freezing weather and speak to a person on the phone the whole time, who's on the other side of the door.

Anyhow, I hope this is the end of it. Take Care.

It's now Friday. I still don't have any money in my account. Hopefully next week sometime it shows up because maybe it takes a few more business days to post up. We'll see.

Really it's too bad it had to come to this, and from a semi-local vendor. My feelings on them are mixed, because they seem decent on the phone, and the manifold I got from them looks great, but yet here I am over 4 months after I made my order, still without a WG, and customer service was beginning to vanish. But I'm amazed how a in house built manifold takes 5 days to get to me, but a drop shipped off the shelf wastegate is impossible to get. I usually don't like to say negative things publically like this about a vendor, but I think it is completely warranted in this situation, and I feel like I've been just getting pushed around and written off as no big deal. So I'm just spreading the word on my experience with these guys.

OK that's all, if you actually read the whole thing, thanks for reading!