What would you do?

[fsstnotch]

See.. I don't want to call you Era guys on track minded... But Both JWD and myself who have a completely unbiased opinion on the subject, have posted the same view. This thread is not good for Era period! At least... the appearance of this thread is not good for them!

Who knows.. maybe me and JWD are just spoiled because Mike and Rich at hurricane do use the internet, and they DO respond to comments made to them and they do respond to emails with a quickness? :/

[jose velez]

Originally Posted by jwd

And since there is a long waiting list for these cars, I'm willing to bet that there was no cost to ERA and that the next person in line moved up 1 spot.
Since my Cobra is done and I've been looking to build a GT40, ERA is out of the running and RCR is now in first place. Their loss, not mine. I'm glad somebody had "a pair" and posted this situation. Probably saved me alot of agrivation.

Comparing ERA GT to RCR is like apple and oranges (price, details, construction, etc). The bend metal the customer claims is stainless steel computer cut and has to be welded to form the tub. The details of the ERA GT to the original is second to none. So I hope that you are happy with your RCR if you ever buy it.

[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by jose velez

Comparing ERA GT to RCR is like apple and oranges (price, details, construction, etc). The bend metal the customer claims is stainless steel computer cut and has to be welded to form the tub. The details of the ERA GT to the original is second to none. So I hope that you are happy with your RCR if you ever buy it.

I would suggest that you take a look at the chassis of Goran ( Sweden ) & Dave Brown ( NZ ) before concluding that ERA detail is second to none in originality.

Jac Mac

[JWheaton]

Fsstnoch -- you absolutely do have an opinion here. This thread started with a question, "How do I get my money back?" Those who know how best to communicate with ERA, the ERA owners, offered up their suggestions. Your assistance here has only been to tell us how bad ERA is for not putting on an online dabate.

Pavulon has been advised on his best approach given what he has told us to be the story. If his story is accurate then ERA will respond. What is known is that his story has more to it than originally written.

Does this reflect badly on ERA -- hell no. Just as it would not reflect badly on any other manufacturer, like Hurricane, to not conduct business on a web forum.

[jwd]

Originally Posted by JWheaton

JWD - READ the thread. If you don't, you ASSume way to much.

ERA nor any other manufacturer are required to respond to customer complaints on this site. Get over it.

I guess that when he said he was trying to sell his "place in line", I ASSumed that he was not the only person in line. My mistake. Sorry.

I realize ERA is not required to respond here BUT, they did in the beginning. Not to try to resolve this situation, only to put the blame on their book-keeper. I think that if they had not responded at all, this thread would have been long dead. Instead, their post only acknowledged the problem and that the refund was held up because of the book-keeper, not because it wasn't owed to him.

Maybe fsstnotch is right. He and I are spoiled by the best customer service in the business.

[imagine2frolic]

Sept 6th was the beginning of the thread. It is almost 3 weeks later. Peter doesn't use the internet, and Bob is strictly personal, and then there is tbell. Nobody from ERA has to respond here, although Bob did on this thread.

As of yesterday Pavulon has had no contact from ERA. I am a small business owner, and lack of communication with the customer is not good. Even if it is to tell them to F.O. it is better than silence. Looks to me like there is fault on the both sides of the fence. ERA was handed the ball by posting here. Sounds like they need to throw the ball back. Not here in the public forum, but at least in private with Pavulon.

[fsstnotch]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Sept 6th was the beginning of the thread. It is almost 3 weeks later. Peter doesn't use the internet, and Bob is strictly personal, and then there is tbell. Nobody from ERA has to respond here, although Bob did on this thread.

As of yesterday Pavulon has had no contact from ERA. I am a small business owner, and lack of communication with the customer is not good. Even if it is to tell them to F.O. it is better than silence. Looks to me like there is fault on the both sides of the fence. ERA was handed the ball by posting here. Sounds like they need to throw the ball back. Not here in the public forum, but at least in private with Pavulon.

PERFECTLY SAID!

My whole point in every post on this thread has not at all been that they need to post here. It is that they need to resolve this issue with SOME contact to the plaintiff of the thread! He keeps posting back here saying he's tried to call and still nobody returns those calls. That is just unacceptable for any reason. ERA does NOT need to reply to this thread. It has been said that they do not use computers, strictly personal, etc etc. Do they have phones? JWheaton, you are right, all the ERA owners who have posted have tried giving pavulon info on "how to get his money back." Call Peter and work it out, it's hard to do that if he never returns phone calls.

I personally have not once bashed ERA even once in any of my posts. In fact I believe in every one I posted... "I AM NOT BASHING ERA." I have done nothing but stated the facts from reading this thread. Appearance is very important for business, and FACT is that this thread gives ERA a very bad appearance.

[imagine2frolic]

Not even Pavulon has bashed ERA.

[jose velez]

The most of negatives comments are from Non-ERA customers. Any hidden agenda? Why it has lasted this long? This forum is not supported officially by ERA and Bob response is to customer that needs his help or other members help in building their cars. Peter does not use the Internet, dislike cellphones and new technology.

To quote Jim Holden early in this topic:

"I would ever so gently suggest that taking your issue with whomever onto the Internet will probably be counterproductive. Your protestation to the contrary notwithstanding, it's interesting that you chose to post this thread here.

Jim"

Bye

[fsstnotch]

Jose...
If pavulon can not come to a cobra forum and ask for advice about cobra related material.. what exactly is this board for? this thread could have been posted in the Kirkham forum and people would have resonded exactly the same way. If the allegations are untrue... somebody needs to say that. Until then, I will stand firm on my ground that this thread makes ERA look like dirt. Sorry to all you ERA owners! But that's exactly what this thread makes ERA look like! If Peter does not like phones or the internet... HOW THE HELL IS ANYONE GOING TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIM?!?!?!?!?! Maybe somebody at the company needs to step up and play secretary or something?!!!

[jose velez]

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

Jose...
If pavulon can not come to a cobra forum and ask for advice about cobra related material.. what exactly is this board for? this thread could have been posted in the Kirkham forum and people would have resonded exactly the same way. If the allegations are untrue... somebody needs to say that. Until then, I will stand firm on my ground that this thread makes ERA look like dirt. Sorry to all you ERA owners! But that's exactly what this thread makes ERA look like! If Peter does not like phones or the internet... HOW THE HELL IS ANYONE GOING TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIM?!?!?!?!?! Maybe somebody at the company needs to step up and play secretary or something?!!!

ERA Website:

What if I want to cancel the kit after I've given you a deposit? The deposit is 100% refundable up until the time we actually start building your kit. After that, we will adjust the refund to reflect our added costs.

This is very clear. Do your superiors/boss knows that you spend this much time in the web on non job related matters..

[FrankJohnson69]

Fsstnotch,

Have you ever had the oppertunity to deal with ERA or any employee of ERA? Do you own or have ever owned an ERA auto of any type?

If you can answer yes to either of these questions I would say you have a valid position to make such comments. Your comments otherwise are one sided and skewed.

IMNSHO If one has a gripe with a company. Go to the company and discuss it. If the comany doesn't respond with a reasonable answer in a reasonable amount of time. There's other approaches. If one wishes to bring down a companies reputaion with no valid information other that hearsay I say take it somewhere else.

Thanks!

PS. Yea, I drank the ERA coolaid and I like it.

[fsstnotch]

Frank, the answer is no to both. So basically what you are saying is that since I have never dealt with Era, I can not have an unbiased opinion on this situation... that's... awesome! This thread has made me very happy to have done my business with Hurricane. Especially since Era was in my top 3. I would not have been able to deal with the total lack of communication that Era appears to have, especially from here in Iraq where I rely heavily on emails rather than phones. Heck, I wouldn't have even had a good phone number that they could have NOT called me back on! Pavulon has stated numerous times that he has tried going through the company with no response. He has also stated that he is making the motions to take the next step. He started this thread not to bash ERA or give them a bad name, he was hoping that some of you Era owners could help him out and give him some insight as to how to go about getting Era to respond to his calls! He has thanked each and every person in this thread who has given him a good answer and defended himself to each that has basically called him a liar and said that Era is made up of a bunch of gods that never make mistakes and always have good communication. Must be you have to actually go to the shop to get that communication. I don't knock Peter or Bob or anyone for not saying anything here. What I don't get is how they can not have any customer relations! I mean, did all you owners send them money and wait a year till one day it just showed up on your doorstep? You can not run a business without customer relations!

jose, I run the internet! That is my Job, as long as the internet and phones are operational, I have no job. My jopb is completely reactive. when somehting breaks, I fix it, and I don't sleep until it is fixed. No Comm, No bomb!

To all you Era owners who can understand where pavulon is coming from! Good on you! Whether the website says he gets no refund or partial refund is beside the point. He and Peter OBVIOUSLY made an agreement and at this time it would APPEAR that pavulon will just have to accept that sometimes people don't hold their end of the deal. That view could go both ways for ERA and Pavulon, since pavulon DID back out of his initial purchase.

Live and learn! That's life! Unfortunately some people get knocked down on their way!

[Hans-Olof Blom]

Fastnotch!
I live in Sweden and I have bought and built an ERA Cobra without any communication problems. Peter P. can often be difficult to reach because he is talking to someone else on the phone. That cannot be called a total lack of communication. He can only talk to one person at a time.

[hey,littlecobra]

alright.
at this point the thread is not serving any good purpose; it's going to stay at 'ERA supporters' and 'non-ERA supporters'.

No one is going to change anybody's opinion. There has been a lot of good discussion, but I think at this point constructive conversation has begun to deteoriate.
I pride ERA owners on being well behaved and professional.
I'm not sure if Pavulon is entitled to a refund or not, but regardless I wish him luck in his quest and certainly I don't begrudge him the right to post.
I would recommend to MYSELF and fellow ERA supporters that to let this thread slide off the page so to speak, we just quit posting responses to uninformed, uneducated posters.
Kristen

[Excaliber]

fsstnotch

He and Peter OBVIOUSLY made an agreement and at this time it would APPEAR that pavulon will just have to accept that sometimes people don't hold their end of the deal.

An obvious agreement? We have ONE person making accusations and people like fsstnotch willing to accept them at face value and conclude ERA won't "hold their end of the deal".

WHAT DEAL IS THAT fsstnotch, if it's so "obvious"? Have you seen any paperwork from Pavulon that shows this 'deal'? Shame on you for suggesting ERA won't "hold their end of the deal", you don't even know WHAT deal they made!

[ERA2188]

fsstnotch. I don't believe anyone not directly involved in this situation - and that would be Pavulon and ERA - are really in a position to make an intelligent comment regarding what this situation entails. But as far as customer service, ERA does a very good job. Peter gives attention to cobra owners - even when the kit isn't his. I was visiting several months ago when two Streat Beast kit owners came in looking for assistance because their manual left them wanting in a few areas. Peter spent an hour with them - taking them to his fabrication shop - and showed them how to approach resolving some specific problems. He didn't have a negative comment about the kit they had, nor did he try to sell them an ERA. He simply tried to help them resolve their problem.Sure you will find ERA owners standing up for Peter, because they know him and his staff. They are really good people. Every company that does business gets into a unique situation on some transactions that might have different interpretations depending on the details and the parties involved. And like the old country lawyer said "no matter how thin the pancake there are always two sides to it".

[jose velez]

I quote fsstnotch: "jose, I run the internet! That is my Job, as long as the internet and phones are operational, I have no job. My jopb is completely reactive. when somehting breaks, I fix it, and I don't sleep until it is fixed. No Comm, No bomb!"

Wow I am really impress with your capacity but if you run the Internet like you claim why you posted this in this site at the Hurricane Motorsport

"BTW, I did try to go to the hurricane forums but it was blocked by the servers the military uses. At least I can get here and FFR. Lots of good info!"


If you are the chief coj___s why the site from HM and others are blocked for your use. Maybe you are not supposed to be using it for personal use. I have been in the computer business for the last 27 years and I implement Internet usage policies everyday. I know that your use is not authorized. You can call my boss and tell him I am using the internet for personal use. Can I call your boss so he can add www.clubcobra.com to the list? I have no issues to call anyone in the world almost for free. (I have a good redundant unrestricted bandwidth which I pay with my money and not tax payers.)

I suggest that the next time measure your words before you use the word dirt on someone you do not know and will never know. A person that I am proud to say he is my close friend. BTW I do not have any problems in communication with ERA from Puerto Rico.

[JWheaton]

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

jose, I run the internet! That is my Job, as long as the internet and phones are operational, I have no job. My jopb is completely reactive. when somehting breaks, I fix it, and I don't sleep until it is fixed. No Comm, No bomb!

You and Al Gore probably invented the internet together.

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

To all you Era owners who can understand where pavulon is coming from! Good on you! Whether the website says he gets no refund or partial refund is beside the point. He and Peter OBVIOUSLY made an agreement and at this time it would APPEAR that pavulon will just have to accept that sometimes people don't hold their end of the deal. That view could go both ways for ERA and Pavulon, since pavulon DID back out of his initial purchase.

Guess what -- THAT is bashing. So don't claim to be innocently standing by helping an old lady across the street. It is clear, from all the advice from ERA owners that know how to work with ERA, that Pavulon has been given advice. Advice that unfortunately was not helpful to him. Oh well, BASH us ERA owners that understand his problem and gave advice.

I know Peter. I know he helps anyone who needs it regardless of car or manufacturer. I know he spends 95% of his time with a phone hooked to his head talking to people. I know he is good people along with the rest of ERA employees. I know when he makes a deal he stands by it. I am sure a deal has been completed and we have case of sour grapes left over.

[1bad66]

gees....I thought Streetbeast was bad.......