Pro Systems

ERA 626 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 09:33 AM

I want to be careful about what is said on a public forum. That being said.
The Facts are;
This guy advertises on this site (a cobra site)
I spoke to him over a year ago about my carburetors and again on Saturday.
I sent him the carburetors ($40 shipping) on Saturday
On Sunday he said to me that he no longer does any thing for FE Carburetors!!!!
And wants to bill me to re-ship them to me!!!

I would NEVER do business with him again!!!!!

Jim Vander Wal · #2 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 10:36 AM

ERA 626,

I have worked with Patrick and the ProSystem's team and generally found them to be very accommodating and quite willing to answer questions.

Now let me get this straight.
You spoke to him a year ago, right?
You didn't call this time (a year later) to find out what he could do to help you and if ProSystem could or was willing to work on your FE carbs, still correct?
You shipped your carbs "out of the blue" expecting that ProSystem was a general run of the mill, everyday carb repair shop, Am I close on this?

And you're pissed because they don't do the work that you need and don't want to pay the shipping to return the carbs to you?

A little planning goes a long way. A phone call could have saved everyone a lot of trouble and you your current state of aggravation.

I've been in Patrick's shoes before. I've also been in yours. My comments stand.

Jim 1855

ERA 626 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 11:12 AM

Read the facts above...
I spoke with him on the phone on Saturday BEFORE I shipped the carbs. He said that if I told you before that I could work on them then send them in which I did.
Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding and I am sure it will work itself out. But I paid to have them shipped he could in turn pay to ship them back but it is clear to me that he is willing to upset a customer over $40 in shipping.
It is NOT the money, I asked him if I could have him re-build them he said no. I asked him if I could purchase new ones from him he said no. He also said that he does not work on "these small jobs anymore" Then he asked for a credit card # to ship them back. Again it is NOT the money, Why does this person advertise on Club Cobra (a cobra web site) when he does not work on cobra carbs??? WTF???
IMHO VERY POOR customer service.
I don’t plan on having a long drawn out thread over this In fact I have already found some one in BACC who will work on them for me. But I trusted him. enough said.

Jim Vander Wal · #4 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 11:44 AM

sorry, missed the saturday note
must be one of those communication issues
As I said before my experince with Patrick has been quite good

Jim

cdnus · #5 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 01:20 PM

I was about to fill out the spec sheet for ordering a carb, had it in front of me now it's in the trash.

Thanks for the heads up.
Had enough problems in the past dealing long distance. IF what you say is true this guy is a jerk & does not deserve our time of day.

Jim,
Why is it so many people on CC tend to jump all over a guy when all he is trying to do is forewarne people of similar interests of potential problems when dealing with unscupulous individuals.
READ before you type!!!!!!
Craig

Cobrabill · #6 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 02:09 PM

http://www.braswell.com/index2.htm

More money but you get more carb.

ERA 626 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 02:36 PM

Cobrabill,
WOW great web site (Braswell) I wish I would known of him before I called ProSystems!!!
I know of a local person who will attempt to re-build the ones I have but if that does not work I will contact them.. Thank you.

Craig,
THANK you for the comment about jumping all over people! I am just trying to warn others about this guy and I just stated the facts. I did not include how I really feel!
Dont walk away RUN!!

decooney · #8 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 02:43 PM

Hey Mike,
If you get tired of hassling with it, there are a couple of people that could dial it all in for you, car must be onsite. Tom at FE or Gary at GT can do it. Let me know if you need help. Duane

mrmustang · #9 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 02:46 PM

http://www.ponycarburetors.com/

SPF1061 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 04:33 PM

Wow -

My experience with Patrick at Pro-Systems has been excellent. He built a carb for my 392 FMS stroker that was a monster right out of the box. More recently he has been working with me trying to build me a carb for my Roush 427R. I have not been easy to please on this project and he has had some difficulty in delivering exactly what I am lookiing for. After investing several weeks and two different carb approaches, he offered to simply refund my money if I was not happy. He has never complained about my stupid questions and has given me quite an education in carburator design. I am hopeful that I will wind up with the "perfect" carb for my motor. One thing for sure is, I am positive I will not wind up with a carb I am unhappy with. Based on my personal experience, I highly recomment Patrick James and Pro Systems. I guess there are two ends to this see-saw.

-Steve

speed220mph · #11 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 04:37 PM

If anyone need work done on Holley Carburetors--they all need work--I have an expert here in the middle of NASCAR country who is considered by racers as one of the best. I can vouch for him because he sorted out a problem I had with my 3X2 setup that no one else, including myself, could fix.

Lew Ledyard · #12 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 06:30 PM

Bummer to hear. Sounds like there may have been some sort of disconnect. My experience with Pro Systems, and Patrick in particular, has been extremely positive.

PRO-SYSTEMS · #13 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 06:06 AM

Mr. Lagrone,

Mr. James is in flight back from Florida following the race and asked that I immediately handle your special situation.

If I am reading between the lines in your last e mail to our company correctly, I understand that you are threatening undue defamation of our company for the price of shipping some carburetors back to you that were shipped to us as a result of incorrect information that you supplied.

Just so we are clear, allow me to repost your E mail:

You stated: "And for that you are willing to piss off a customer??? I have been an active member of Club Cobra since 2002 do you really want to do that over $30?" Good Luck.

There are some implications here am I correct? Implications that a man would lie to his friends at Club Cobra and threaten extortion from a company for a measly $30.00

If I am incorrect I certainly apologize. Please tell me I am wrong and explain your E mail.

Just so we have the facts straight, Mr. James explained that a communication from February of 2005 was thought by you to have occurred in January of 2006. I understand Mr. James attempted to correct you but you were adamant about the e mail information and approximate time frame.

If your supplied information was correct Mr. James would have known he was in possession of your much needed custom Super Stock plates for your project.

Unfortunately, your date was incorrect by approximately ONE YEAR and one month from todays date (the correspondence was dated Feb 15th of 2005 not approximately January of 2006 as you claimed)! As a result the parts required to repair your carburetors were all spoken for and unavailable. If any of these special components became available we would have considered contacting you immediately and today (Monday) we may have been able to make some calls to see if some of the customer reserved stock is available.

However, at this point we should really reconsider unless you can explain your last E mail.

We do apologize for the inconvenience of your situation, however as Mr. James stated to you, the "After hours technical support line" that you contacted does not have access to sales information and he told you he needs to rely solely on the accuracy of your supplied information to give you the "go ahead" to ship the carburetors at that time.

However, we are a fair company and if you agree that our statements concerning your supplied information and our explanation of this case to be accurate and true, as a gesture of good faith we will return your carburetors to you at our expense via UPS ground.

Also, to ensure you receive your carburetors in the same condition as they were shipped, your carburetors and supplied shipping container(s) will not to be opened or repackaged by our facility.

If you agree to these terms, please E mail your shipping information and requested insured amount to:

steve@pro-system.com

Attn: Steve

We also believe you owe us and everyone on Club Cobra (they're good folks in here) an apology for deceiving them.

Thank you.

ERA 626 · #14 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 08:34 AM

Again READ THE FACTS ABOVE...I will attempt to stop the package that I was told to ship to you. If I can not I will contact you.

greg schroeder · #15 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 12:11 PM

It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and just a minute to destroy it.

I've done business with Pro Systems and give them a huge thumbs up. I don't know the people from Pro-Systems personally, but I can say I've been around the block enough to know people. In my opinion when dealing with Pro Systems vs. most others I'd say Pro Systems is well above average for customer service and doing what they say they're going to do. The product and follow up service I received has been perfect. The detail is also well above average.

I have a Roush 427R in my cobra. The third carburetor I now have on the car came from Pro Systems. It's absolutely night and day better performance over the two previous set ups that I had fiddled with for months to dial in. I told them purpose I had in mind, that being I didn't care about fuel economy, build it fast in a straight line. I told them what engine/set up I had in detail, other than the cam specs Roush declined to give me, and they sent me the carburetor. I bolted it on, took it to the dyno then did a 1/4 mile pass with my G-tech to compare before and after.

Here are the changes I've observed.

It made about 10% more rear wheel HP at the dyno.

It drives better around town.

It instantly hammers when you nail it.

It uses more fuel around town.

Here's the G-tech before and after.

Black - Pro Systems

Red - old carb

daddy1dave · #16 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 02:57 PM

I too had very positive interaction with ProSystems. Had them build be a carb. for a 460. Filled out spec. sheet, talked to Patrick, installed carb.,made some minor adjustments(talking with Patrick)and then had to peel myself from the back of the seat. Patrick very responsive on phone and email. Sounds like a failure to communicate ...............

trs900 · #17 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 03:17 PM

I think since they are offering to send back at their cost I would accept offer and be done with it and let things be.

ERA 626 · #18 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 06:27 PM

Greg,
I too was very excited to have ProSystems work on my carbs. Even after he said "we no longer have a program for your application" I asked him if I could purchase new ones from him and he said "no" I asked if he could rebuild/re-jet mine and he said "no".

I agree with your statement "It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and just a minute to destroy it.”

I also am a business owner and I treat EVERY customer like they are my best one. Customer service is VERY important in my book.
The response from ProSystems on this thread was a LOT different than the one given to me on the phone and after that I was hung up on...
I sure don’t know what you consider to be good customer service, but I don’t think any one deserves to be hung up on.
It is not my intent to destroy any ones reputation, I am just stating the facts, is that not what this forum is for ? If you would like to know how I really feel send me a PM
It seems to be every time some one posts something on this forum every Tom, Dick & Harry jumps out of the wood work to try and bash the person having the problem instead of being supportive, I don’t get it.
I have lots of friends here on Club Cobra and hope to keep it that way.

cdnus · #19 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 08:47 PM

ERA626
You aren,t the one who seems to be at fault here according to Pro's beligerant response
You clearly stated you spoke to them 1 year ago in your original post, but it seems some people can't read & comprehend black & white.
Their statement,
"Just so we have the facts straight, Mr. James explained that a communication from February of 2005 was thought by you to have occurred in January of 2006. I understand Mr. James attempted to correct you but you were adamant about the e mail information and approximate time frame."
is clearly Butt covering by someone.
Who's confused here?
Can people not see through this smokescreen.

Craig

ERA 626 · #20 (**permalink**) 03-20-2006, 09:13 PM

Thanks Craig,
I also felt the response from ProSystems was arrogant.