[Wolfus Aurelius]

Hey, all,

In the Southeast Forum I asked some time ago about a good place to have a clear bra put on. The X-Pel place the BMW dealer uses wanted $900 (he came down from $1200). Another more sensibly-priced place has been bouncing me around. I made an appointment for today, took the day off, and was there on time, only to be told that he has to run to another contract job -- in the middle of my job, mind you -- and that would delay things about two hours. Naturally I was upset, as I thought I was the customer for today. When I make an appointment and commit myself, I expect the same commitment from the vendor.

At this point I'm ready to order some nice carbon fiber bumper strips from Amazon and plan to have the bumper repainted in a couple of years if it needs it. The trouble is that I've made a deposit on the film -- reasonably, since he had to order the film and cut it for my car. Is there any way I can back out of this and get at least part of my money back?

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by Wolfus Aurelius

Hey, all,

In the Southeast Forum I asked some time ago about a good place to have a clear bra put on. The X-Pel place the BMW dealer uses wanted $900 (he came down from $1200). Another more sensibly-priced place has been bouncing me around. I made an appointment for today, took the day off, and was there on time, only to be told that he has to run to another contract job -- in the middle of my job, mind you -- and that would delay things about two hours. Naturally I was upset, as I thought I was the customer for today. When I make an appointment and commit myself, I expect the same commitment from the vendor.

At this point I'm ready to order some nice carbon fiber bumper strips from Amazon and plan to have the bumper repainted in a couple of years if it needs it. The trouble is that I've made a deposit on the film -- reasonably, since he had to order the film and cut it for my car. Is there any way I can back out of this and get at least part of my money back?

The call he took is probably for a dealership. Think about it, would you press pause on a singular customer versus a continued flow of revenue? Have a bit of patience. You got a good price for the skills he is providing.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Yeah, but the problem is, I have lost confidence now in this guy and his shop, which seems to be mostly him and his wife. He had a contract with me, too, and he didn't call me to tell me he had an emergency. My time is valuable, and it's something I can't get back.

We're slated at the moment for next Saturday, 5/25. If he bounces me again, I'm going to demand my money back. Maybe that's unreasonable -- but so are these delays.

[XPEL]

Originally Posted by Wolfus Aurelius

Yeah, but the problem is, I have lost confidence now in this guy and his shop, which seems to be mostly him and his wife. He had a contract with me, too, and he didn't call me to tell me he had an emergency. My time is valuable, and it's something I can't get back.

We're slated at the moment for next Saturday, 5/25. If he bounces me again, I'm going to demand my money back. Maybe that's unreasonable -- but so are these delays.

Wolfus,

Keep us updated. We completely understand your frustrations. Dealerships do not give notice and do not care about anything but their customers so it's difficult when they call and it's a small operation with one installer. We're not saying his decision was correct, just that it's a bit of a tricky situation.

Let us know how Saturday goes.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Originally Posted by XPEL

Wolfus,

Keep us updated. We completely understand your frustrations. Dealerships do not give notice and do not care about anything but their customers so it's difficult when they call and it's a small operation with one installer. We're not saying his decision was correct, just that it's a bit of a tricky situation.

Let us know how Saturday goes.

XPel, I have every intention of contacting you, and calling the sales rep for your company, if he cancels on me again or if his work is not up to snuff. If he does cancel, I'm done. I wrote to him yesterday, and he answered that everything was fine for Saturday. He has my phone number and I expect him to call if there is a snag.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

I'm trying it again. I dropped the car off at A2D Films this morning at 9 am, and as promised, he called me an Uber to get me home. He thinks the car may be ready about noon, and will call me, but I will probably Uber back about 3. Here's hoping --

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by Wolfus Aurelius

I'm trying it again. I dropped the car off at A2D Films this morning at 9 am, and as promised, he called me an Uber to get me home. He thinks the car may be ready about noon, and will call me, but I will probably Uber back about 3. Here's hoping --

How did it go this time?

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Update to Saturday's appointment: The shop owner called me at 3 pm to say all was done. I Ubered back and found the car looked fantastic. Not much point in my posting a picture, as the car looks almost the same as my most recent pics: close up you can just see the edge of the film near the headlights. The price was as he had quoted me. And he gave me my warranty card with the 10-year warranty from that date.

Worth the wait, I suppose.

[wdeerfield]

so if i am reading this correctly you were originally quoted 1200. dickered on price down to 900 and then got all pissy when he couldnt do it in the time you wanted. yet you didnt want to pay the initial price to begin with. seems you lack patience and understanding when it comes to conducting business. If you get a deal you get lesser service or pushed back in time due to other issues commanding a higher value to the business. They did you a favor by knocking 300 off. The least you could do is be okay with a small delay in getting it applied.... If i get a deal from someone im on their time, not mine...

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

so if i am reading this correctly you were originally quoted 1200. dickered on price down to 900 and then got all pissy when he couldnt do it in the time you wanted. yet you didnt want to pay the initial price to begin with. seems you lack patience and understanding when it comes to conducting business. If you get a deal you get lesser service or pushed back in time due to other issues commanding a higher value to the business. They did you a favor by knocking 300 off. The least you could do is be okay with a small delay in getting it applied.... If i get a deal from someone im on their time, not mine...

No, you're not reading it correctly.

The first quote was for $1200, but I never got to see any of the guy's clear bra work. All I heard from him was how much of a professional he was. The price drop (his idea, not mine) was not confidence-inspiring, not if he was a pro as he said. Setting up a time with him was not the issue. I didn't feel comfortable with him.

The other guy, the one who quoted me $500 (not a deal -- his standard price), kept bouncing me around, and not calling me to say he had to postpone. Seems to me you don't understand that a businessman has at least that much of an obligation to his clients, not to waste our time. And I *was* a client; I'd already paid him a deposit on the product. If he'd been the one offering me a 25% discount, I'd have been okay with a delay. But I take a day off work for this, get there, and find out he can't do my job? Of course I wasn't happy.

[John in VA]

I love a happy ending!

[wdeerfield]

I can see your frustration there. Glad it worked out in the end. I always tell myself I don't know the whole story with people when I'm having an issue like this. People may be dealing with stuff you don't know. We're all human.