The Truth About Jon B.

[garolittle]

I thought that would get your attention. I just ordered some seat belt harness pads and a pair of rear tires from Parts Rack. As usual, Jon was fast, friendly, and helpful.

My advice ...

"If it fits on a Viper, you should buy it from Jon"

 

[Bad_Byte]

I appreciate what your saying and his biz must be great cause everytime I call I get the put on hold.

The problem with being the only expert I suppose.

 

[Vreracing]

I do too, but within about 30 secs he's back on.

I've just bought 3 things from him that seemed to work pretty well.

 

[garolittle]

The great advice is worth the wait. Be patient and you will be satisfied with your purchase.

 

[Shelby3]

Here's how you handle this. Call Jon a call on off hours and leave a message with your number. When he returns your call, put him on hold. I did it and it felt great. I'm good for another 10 on holds from him, it's that good. There is a reason Jon is busy and that's because he can get almost anything related to a Viper and at competitive prices. It's worth the wait.

 

[SapphireGTS]

Yeah the hold thing gets annoying. Bill at Apex answers the phone and helps you out when you call rather than saying "I have a customer on the other line buying a $4,000 exhaust system so call back." I like buying Viper parts from people who actually WORK on cars. Bill at apex will find you ANYTHING. I dont think parts rack warehouses everything they sell. Most often they call the product makers and get in stock the part you just ordered. You can usually call the manufacturer direct. Thats what I did with corsa. They even beat Parts Rack price because they were mad that he was selling corsa for cheaper the they sold it to him.

Just my experience.

 

[Gerald]

mmmmph.... chuckle....ack!


****edit****

 

[BlownViper]

Yeah the hold thing gets annoying. Bill at Apex answers the phone and helps you out when you call rather than saying "I have a customer on the other line buying a $4,000 exhaust system so call back." I like buying Viper parts from people who actually WORK on cars.
Just my experience.

I cant count the # of times I have called and been put on hold and given the same reason."Can I call you back later,someone on the other line is ordering 20k"calls back hours later,so I no longer order from him.Does he have a shop or does he work out of his house?Maybe he should hire somebody to help him and he would prob have alot more business

Just my experience

 

[slaughterj]

Yeah the hold thing gets annoying. Bill at Apex answers the phone and helps you out when you call rather than saying "I have a customer on the other line buying a $4,000 exhaust system so call back." I like buying Viper parts from people who actually WORK on cars.
Just my experience.

I cant count the # of times I have called and been put on hold and given the same reason."Can I call you back later,someone on the other line is ordering 20k"calls back hours later,so I no longer order from him.Does he have a shop or does he work out of his house?Maybe he should hire somebody to help him and he would prob have alot more business

Just my experience

Same experience here. My recommendation to JonB - just let the voicemail get it if you're on the other line, and call back - it doesn't do any good to talk to people if you're just going to tell them to call back or that you'll call them back - that's what your voicemail message can say.

 

[ntmatter]

I think JonB needs to put people on hold from time to time because he spends as much time as necessary on the phone with each customer helping get the exact right part for their Viper. I've ordered a *ton* of stuff from JonB, and every time I've called he's taken the time with me to make sure that I understand exactly what it is I need - he does this whether I'm calling on a $70 set of brake pads or a $2000 set of track wheels. I've found Jon's advice to always be honest and straightforward, even when it results in a smaller sale - just recently I ended up getting a set of track wheels from him that was nearly $1200 cheaper than the ones I'd originally asked for.

 

[varanus]

Yeah the hold thing gets annoying. Bill at Apex answers the phone and helps you out when you call rather than saying "I have a customer on the other line buying a $4,000 exhaust system so call back." I like buying Viper parts from people who actually WORK on cars. Bill at apex will find you ANYTHING. I dont think parts rack warehouses everything they sell. Most often they call the product makers and get in stock the part you just ordered. You can usually call the manufacturer direct. Thats what I did with corsa. They even beat Parts Rack price because they were mad that he was selling corsa for cheaper the they sold it to him.

Just my experience.

Hmmm. Apex is 3O minutes from where I live. Out of the 7 phone calls I have made to them, only once has someone answered the phone and I think it was a receptionist or someone. The other times it took 2 to 5 days for return calls to me. It seemed like they were only there part time. By then I had bought parts elsewhere. When it came to tuner work for the sc and nitrous I factored the "apparent reliability" of the business and went elsewhere. So my $20,000 went to other vendors. Maybe I wasn't dropping $20,000 at one sitting , but at the end of a year I had spent that amount and Apex lost it. Maybe they are just looking for the home run deals, but I know of a few others that had similar experiences to mine Mulitply 5 customers lost at $20,000 each over the
Jon B has always called back with a few hours at most and Sean Roe usually calls back within 15 minutes.
Like the above-just my experience too.

 

[RC Viper]

Sometimes the cost of a person being as available and informative as Jon makes himself is that you tend to get put on hold occasionally. Think about it. If you are the person calling in you would be going to VM if he did not place the first caller on hold.

Personally, I can put up with this for good prices and expert advice.

I do agree that it would be good if Jon could add another person, but that would change his cost structure and eventually drive up prices to cover his overhead.

Perhaps I could offer to let his phone roll over to my staff assistant at work in exchange for more upgrades....

 

[Newport Viper]

JonB is great! Returns my call, when you leave a message or email promptly. What else can you ask for.

 

[SapphireGTS]

Hmmm. Apex is 3O minutes from where I live. Out of the 7 phone calls I have made to them, only once has someone answered the phone and I think it was a receptionist or someone. The other times it took 2 to 5 days for return calls to me. It seemed like they were only there part time. By then I had bought parts elsewhere. When it came to tuner work for the sc and nitrous I factored the "apparent reliability" of the business and went elsewhere. So my $20,000 went to other vendors. Maybe I wasn't dropping $20,000 at one sitting , but at the end of a year I had spent that amount and Apex lost it. Maybe they are just looking for the home run deals, but I know of a few others that had similar experiences to mine Mulitply 5 customers lost at $20,000 each over the
Jon B has always called back with a few hours at most and Sean Roe usually calls back within 15 minutes.
Like the above-just my experience too.

Sean is very helpful and knows the cars really well (plus he works on them). He doesnt have a chip on his shoulder like some people do. I get the vibe that he thinks its a privledge just to talk to him.

 

[genXgts]

I'm sure I'll end up buying something from him eventually, as of now I am 0 for 3 with the option of holding not given.

Surely costing thousands in lost business, but maybe it doesn't matter to him, and to that I say good for him. Sometimes bigger is not always better, I found my stuff elsewhere!

 

[Jerry Dobson]

Maybe I am lucky, I have no problems with any of these guys. I have talked to Bill, JonB, and Sean. Yes JonB has put me on hold but came right back.

I just ordered something from JonB this week. The only person I am talking to is the UPS driver. I use the WEB site.

Jerry

 

[Bonkers]

I think Jon is a bit overwhelmed (an probably needs at least one assistant) but so far has gotten me what I need when I needed it.

He's still on my good side and i will still do business with him...

 

[varanus]

Hmmm. Apex is 3O minutes from where I live. Out of the 7 phone calls I have made to them, only once has someone answered the phone and I think it was a receptionist or someone. The other times it took 2 to 5 days for return calls to me. It seemed like they were only there part time. By then I had bought parts elsewhere. When it came to tuner work for the sc and nitrous I factored the "apparent reliability" of the business and went elsewhere. So my $20,000 went to other vendors. Maybe I wasn't dropping $20,000 at one sitting , but at the end of a year I had spent that amount and Apex lost it. Maybe they are just looking for the home run deals, but I know of a few others that had similar experiences to mine Mulitply 5 customers lost at $20,000 each over the
Jon B has always called back with a few hours at most and Sean Roe usually calls back within 15 minutes.
Like the above-just my experience too.

Sean is very helpful and knows the cars really well (plus he works on them). He doesnt have a chip on his shoulder like some people do. I get the vibe that he thinks its a privledge just to talk to him.

So are you saying that Sean thinks so highly of himself that he feels customers are lucky just to talk to him? Your last sentance somewhat contradicts the first 2.