Brothers gets my vote.......
 

.....for the worst e-tailer of the year.

Excuse my rant here but I just need to vent. I ordered multiple items and nearly $700 worth of parts from them over the past few weeks and here is the list of issues I have had so far...

Dash pad - warped but I will live with it(cause it costs so much money to ship this sized item back!!)
Heater controls - pure cheap garbage, rust on face, chipped chrome, scratched plastic knobs, sent back without question
Headlight switch - incorrect, sent back - twice(see below)
Under carpet sound deadening - whole truck stinks like tar paper, do not order, and just get some eDead45 from ebay!!
Sill plates - didn't come with screws(was suposed to), second package sent didn't include them either(was supposed to) - frustration builds
Tachometer conversion - in stock when ordered, but not shipped and now is still on backorder, going on 3 weeks+
Their Website seems broken, with no tracking info and previous order info - packages are on my doorstep without any notice/tracking info to me
Shipping costs Work with UPS to get better rates, the $10 shipping fee you want for shipping a rubber pedal pad is comical

And then to top it all off, I get this service today when calling them...

So I call Brothers regarding them sending me the wrong headlight switch - again, and I get this chick on the phone. (backstory here http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=337831) I explain what I need and say "it is pictured correctly on your website but whoever is in the warehouse has them mislabeled" so she starts in on this long winded story about how the photo on the website may be wrong compared to what I get blah blah blah(uh, no it shouldn't!!) and I say "I keep getting the wrong switch, I want the one on your website and the labels are incorrect in your warehouse so I am shipped the wrong one, now, for the second time" So she asks me if I have a catalog in front of me to check the part number, and I say "no, I am at work, but I have the website and it is the exact same thing, again I say "your warehouse has them misprinted, the part is a 60-63 switch I need a 64-72 one, these are labeled incorrect" So she puts me on hold for 5 minutes for something and comes back again with a story of how I am wrong and their warehouse is correct. I don't budge cause I know I am right and explain how their website is correct, just look at it, "that is the part I need"....she huffs and puffs and she puts me on hold again to go back to the warehouse and pull the part. She comes back and starts describing the smaller correct switch style and I say "does it have that orange front piece" and she says "no it's clear" I say ok, "that is the correct switch but the wrong manufacturer, I paid extra for the original AC Delco switch" She says ok, I will ship that one to you, and ends the call at that...just ends it, no "thank you for your business", no "I will make sure it is right this time", no "sorry for the inconvenience we will send a post paid box with this next one for your current return" nothing...a truly unbelievable lack of customer service

It took about 15 minutes in all, and I still don't know if I will be getting the correct switch. For the love of god, just pull up your own company's website and you can notice that it doesn't match up, with what is in your hand.

If they send me the crappy reproduction switch I am going to go ballistic on them cause this $20 switch has already cost me $38 due to me shipping it back to them twice now!!!!!

I will never do business with them again and the $50+ I have spent on returning items to them is money I could have spent on more parts....so frustrating, and I advise all others to purchase with caution...

In comparison, LMC sent a hand written thank you card, and has already got my backordered parts to me with updates and tracking info all along the way, correct parts every time.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I could not agree more. I ordered some core support bushings and it took two weeks to get it. Then I ordered a bumper and brackets and waited two weeks. Finally called them and they said they had no recored of the order. Placed the order through Manes and I had it in two days. One of the parts I got from Manes broke as I was putting it on and they replaced it with no questios asked. They sent a new one ASAP and I had it in two days later. Trust me, ditch Brothers and stick with Manes - they have fantastic customer service and are great to deal with. I know that when I spend my money I want a little appreciation in return...

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I just went through the same thing with them. It was my first order from Brothers and I ordered $750 worth of stuff. The whole order was held up for a 20 dollar part. They did not send an email or call to let me know. I waited a week and had to call them and the customer service people sounded like they could care less. I cancelled the part that was back ordered and several other parts. They better get their act together. It is tough economic times and every sale should count. I wont be ordering from them again.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I ordered a rear window Gasket from LMC. They sent me a windshield gasket. I called LMC told them the problem and they sent me the right one free of charge and told me to keep the other one.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

ACK!

I just spent over $650 on their one peice window conversion with power windows. And I am now crossing my fingers I do not run into any issues that you guys are describing.

Would like to give them the benefit of the doubt with my first order and hoping everything goes smooth.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I haven't used Brothers but I did get their catalog yesterday. I have to give props to LMC. I use them regularly and when there are issures with the order they fix them right away.

Just last week I ordered a grille fastener kit for my 69 and the kit is geared towards a 71-72 grille. The 69-70 has 3 more fasteners than the 71-72 grille and they short you those in the kit. Well I called to express my dissapointment with the kit and they sent me another entire kit to make up for the shorted pieces. Oh, and they sent it for free. Now thats customer service.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Dudes- I live right down the street from Brothers. It has been hit and miss for me for years with them. They are primarily a mail order company...they NEVER have anything in stock when I go there. They are basically a middle man that takes your order, and has your part drop shipped from the vendor. There is no Q/C on their part at all. I had very good luck there with a rear bumper...but that was in stock and I made sure it was perfect before I rolled out the door with it. Their A/C center vent "upgrade" kit is a joke. Thin 2-piece molded plastic that is not even fully formed, allowing for air to leak freely. I stood at the counter, and looked it over in front of the sales dude. I said to him, "are you serious?" "This is a total piece of crap!" He agreed with me! Solution: Go to home depot and get 2 rubber pipe caps for $3.

I do not buy a whole lot from them. I choose to drive to the Truck Shop in Orange. They have everything in stock ALWAYS. For the most part their Q/C is far and above that of Brothers, and their prices are usually less.

2 weeks ago, I went to Brothers to get a set of metal clips for my upper moulding. They want $45 for it. I went to Truck Shop, and their kit is IDENTICAL for $28. Truck Shop also sells the clips individually, Brothers won't do this. Truck Shop also threw in a few extra in case one broke (which is common)

One good thing I can say about Brothers....they do have the best show on the West Coast for our trucks! I go every year and it is awesome!

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I've used classic parts of america for quite a few things and they've been great, ship promptly, one mistake was taken care of asap and overall when price comparing they were cheaper (for the exact same thing!).

Another knock against brothers is their website - its terrible trying to find specific parts.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I ordered some side markers from Brothers, pretty simple order. They sent me 3 rear markers and one front one. Duh. Had to pay to ship the extra rear one back before they'd ship the missing front marker.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

wow, thanks for the heads up!

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I placed a few orders from them and did not have any issues at all. I ordered from Classic Perform & LMC and did not have any issues at all...I spent over
1500,00 in parts from all of them...

Sorry to hear about your mishapps.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

gotta love LMC

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Chuckles just bought an AC Delco headlight switch for his 72 from our local Oreilly's. Give your local parts stores a chance before paying shipping on something like that.

I'm sure that this is going to be moved to the review board shortly, but for what it's worth...I don't order anything from LMC unless they're the only people that carry it. It sounds like their customer service has gotten better, but I've had trouble with them in the past.

I try my best to support our board vendors if that option is available to me. After all, they're a large part of what keeps this forum running.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I ordered a new tach from brothers(didnt know they were out of stock) they called me the next day to let me know it would be a few weeks. Ive ordered from lmc a few times and never had a problem, just my experience

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

i have used Mother Truckers,Manes.LMC and classicparts all of them great service

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I have ordered a lot of stuff from Brother's in the past and they can be hit and miss - I ordered what they called a "complete" cab support kit - (bushings, etc.) and...it was not complete, all the parts are not included. I pointed it out to them on the phone and they really didn't seem to care. If you get something from them (and I probably still will) make sure you check it as soon as you get it, because you have a 50-50 chance of it being wrong. JMO.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Well I was going to drive over there to get a couple of hundred dollars worth of parts but if they dont keep everything in stock, I'll go to the Truck Shop instead they always have everything.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I have used them in the past & also a hit & miss for me as well. i wonder if there is a way for us to contact them as a "group" from a truck board & express our past issues & maybe show them that between all of us we spend alot of money there & see if there would be "special" attention given to us if we order & express that we are from the truck board??? i also wonder how the guys from the magazines get their parts? i never hear of any "issues" when they order all the stuff they do for their tech articles!!(lol) i agree that with these tuff economic times that people that are willing to spend money on "extra projects" should be important enough to have a "little" extra consideration given for follow up! i guess if there doesn't seem to be a "concern" on their part then maybe we should treat them like Spain and "boycott" them...LOL i bet if that was expressed then they might change there tune. also what about seeing if the magazine guys would be interested in hearing the stories & maybe doing a article on good & bad suppliers for parts?? independent survey ofcourse (lol)...
anyways just my 0.02 cents

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Your best bet is to call ahead Paul. I hate driving into OC anymore if I don't have to.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Early Classic has always done everything to make the buying experience the best in the business. Give them a call.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Same problem with Brothers here. I ordered about $700 worth of parts over a month ago. Only thing I have seen from them is the confirmation email for my order.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I used to live in Corona, CA. So Brothers was my local source. This was before they moved to a larger facility. Even back then, some parts were on backorder and it was easier to find them elsewhere. When you walked in the shop, it was never a friendly place. Some of the sales guys were helpfull and knowledgeable, others weren't. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give them a 5. Then again, I never had to have something shipped to my home.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Makes you wonder how they're still in business? They are really in the customer service business, and parts are secondary. I hate rude counter people.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I have had trouble from Brothers as well, I no longer use them. I have had good luck with LMC, ECE and Classic parts of America. This week alone i have had to return wrong parts to two different companies. How hard can it be to read a order form, then go get the correct part? I think most of these companies hire people that the fast food chains won't.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I try to use Early Classics in Fresno whenever I can. They shoot straight and they one of us!

Showdog

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Couldn't have said it better myself! I have spent a few thousand dollars at the Truck shop in Orange in the last year or so, since as you said - They have it in stock! I can look at it, and I can talk to someone there that has experience with it usually. Plus their store is like walking into some old shop, with plenty of cool stuff to look at while you wait for your # to be called out.

Brothers use to be a lot better than as of late, but for me it's typically a big let down. And it's not as if I am looking for something hard to find either...

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

There are other board vendors, and:

I haven't ordered from carolinaclassictrucks.com yet, but I plan to. I sent an email (after hours) about an M&H wiring harness. They replied the next morning.

I replied. They replied with good info, pricing, when the parts should be in, and very reasonable shipping.

Their price is good, shipping good, etc., etc. I'll be ordering from them soon even if they aren't a sponsor here...

They're so nice, I'll point them in this direction.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I ordered a battary tray and hei wireing harness and tach from brothers.. I drove there to make sure.. Guess what wrong tray non a/c is not what i wanted tach was cheep... Good thng i went. A lil gas saved me anger.. I bought all my 64 sb stuff from brothers 12 years ago and it was a lot better stuff quality control sucks there,, my 2 cents

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Having been in a few industries where customer service can make you or break you I have learned a few things.... When there are twenty other guys out there that do exactly what you do, your customer service is about the only thing that separates you from the rest, good or bad.

I have always had very good experiences with Classic Parts of America. The parts are decent quality and the prices are very fair. But then I am close enough to drive there and visually inspect the parts.

I have had good luck with LMC as long as I know exactly what I am looking for. Their counter people are not truck guys and can't really help if you have a question. But the parts are decent and the prices are fair.

I know other people in my Truck Club have had real good luck with Jim Carter and Manes.

It sucks to save up for parts and then get crap or crappy service. Sorry you guys are having to deal with that.

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

My fiance' is the customer experience manager for Allstate here in the Seattle area and boy did she get a kick out of my story last night...

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Well I did my first order though Brothers about a month ago. I can't really complain. So I ordered about 500 bucks wroth of stuff. Week went bye hadnt heard from them or got a email. So i called they looked up my order and told me that ups should have sent me A tracking order via email and they was sorry about it. I had 3 items on back order and they sent what wasnt on backorder. I ended up with about 4 packages the last one arrived 2 weeks after my intial order which I dont think is bad considering the backorders. He also told me that they was having a big sale for the month so they was having alot of back orders. Funny someone mention door sills plates in another post and I had the same problem one came with screws the other didnt

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

I did get sent the repo headlight switch - shocker...I have since called them to cancel the order and ordered the AC Delco switch I wanted in the first place. I still have not got my backordered tach conversion set - but apparently as of yesterday it was supposed to ship today...Per usual I have never recieved a tracking number and am just surprised by packages on my door...

Re: Brothers gets my vote.......
 

Well, I was about to order from Brothers and thought I would do a quick check here. I am glad I did!!!

The Brothers catalog just hit the bottom of the trash can.

Thanks, guys!