Aircraft Spruce...grrrr
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:17 pm
I'm not in the habit of vendor bashing but I'll make an exception in this case. On November 28, 2016 I ordered a headliner for my 170 from Aircraft Spruce. I was told at that time that it would be a two-week wait. As of December 13 it had not shipped, and I gave them another call, whereupon they told me it would be another two weeks due to the "Christmas rush". A call back on December 28, and they told me six more weeks. I (reluctantly) told them I'd wait. That was seven weeks ago. I checked their web site today, and is says No Stock (Expected Wed Mar 15 2017).
As it turns out, their seamstress quit some time ago, a fact I learned from a member here on the forums, not from Spruce. I called their customer service and asked them to explain why I had been strung along for 11 weeks when they knew they couldn't deliver the headliner in a timely manner. Their response was that they just didn't think it would take this long to hire a new seamstress and get her "up to speed", and denied stringing me along. I don't konw what else to call it.
I asked them how much longer it would be, and they admitted that they probably could not meet even the currently advertised date of March 15. I told them I'd be happy for them to order one from Airtex for me at Spruce's advertised price, and they said there is no way they would order from a competitor. I know that to be false, as a friend of mine in California ordered a headliner for his C-175 (the same one that would fit my 170) from Spruce several years ago, and it came with an Airtex tag sewn in it. Telling them I'd had an airplane waiting on the ground for 11 weeks a thousand miles from home waiting on their headliner failed to sway them.
Bottom line, I told Spruce to forget the headliner (and any future business from me), and ordered one from Airtex at more than double the price. Shame on Spruce for stringing me along; shame on me for allowing them to do it.
As it turns out, their seamstress quit some time ago, a fact I learned from a member here on the forums, not from Spruce. I called their customer service and asked them to explain why I had been strung along for 11 weeks when they knew they couldn't deliver the headliner in a timely manner. Their response was that they just didn't think it would take this long to hire a new seamstress and get her "up to speed", and denied stringing me along. I don't konw what else to call it.
I asked them how much longer it would be, and they admitted that they probably could not meet even the currently advertised date of March 15. I told them I'd be happy for them to order one from Airtex for me at Spruce's advertised price, and they said there is no way they would order from a competitor. I know that to be false, as a friend of mine in California ordered a headliner for his C-175 (the same one that would fit my 170) from Spruce several years ago, and it came with an Airtex tag sewn in it. Telling them I'd had an airplane waiting on the ground for 11 weeks a thousand miles from home waiting on their headliner failed to sway them.
Bottom line, I told Spruce to forget the headliner (and any future business from me), and ordered one from Airtex at more than double the price. Shame on Spruce for stringing me along; shame on me for allowing them to do it.