Lokar
June 11th, 2011, 07:27 AM
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Rogues Island, USA
Posts: 3,613
Lokar
I just wanted to share an experience I had this week with Lokar.
I had broken the dispstick on my TH400 so I needed a new one. I didn't want anything fancy just something that would work and not leak. So I purchased a TCI dipstick. I've never been a fan of the top hat type grommet seal on newer cars but it was cheap so I bought it. I prefer the old school o-ring type seal. I like to stick with what works. Well my intuition proved correct as that damn seal leaked all over my new driveway. Add to the fact that the bracket is no where near the bolt to attach it to and you can imagine how livid I became. They had some funky standoff bolt and tab arrangement that just made me scratch my head.
I decided to break down and spend the extra bucks on a Lokar unit at that point. It had TWO o-rings, I was in heaven. Soon as it arrived I went to put it on. To my dismay it practically fell into the hole on the transmission. Barely any friction at all, in fact it almost fell out on it's own. I went from zero to hot in a nanosecond.
I fired off a scathing email to Lokar blaming there 'offshore' operation for the woes of America and vowing to never buy another pos product from them. Shortly afterward I got an email from the owner, Debbie Walls. She assured me her products were not 'Offshore' but made right here in the good old USA, Tennessee to be exact. She asked for my phone number so that she could contact me personally and clear up this situation. I complied and within a short time Jeff McClure called who is the head of R&D for Lokar. Luckily I had calmed down by this point and felt rather sheepish after having read the mission statement on the Lokar front page. It clearly stated they were all American and would always be that way. Boy did I feel like an ***. But regardless I still had a valid complaint.
Jeff asked if I could measure the base plug for him but I had already sent it back to Summit as an RMA. He then asked if I could measure the hole in my transmission which I did. He stated the holes were .755-.758 in diameter. Well mine measured .748 (of course this was on my back in the driveway so I'll give it a fudge factor and call it standard) I called Jeff back with the information and he stated that the Lokar plugs are .750 in diameter so you're looking at .005-.008 at the plug at worst not counting the o-rings. Obviously I had something wrong with my dipstick from them as mine had over 1/16 inch of play and the o-rings were all but useless and barely touched the walls of the hole.
I acquiesced on my earlier rant and informed Jeff I had purchased several other Lokar products in the past that were beautiful and functioned perfectly. I also apologized for my 'offshore' comments and he understood we all have those days and it was understandable considering how the dipstick fit.
Lokar will replace my dipstick to anything I want at this point and have even offered to special make a part should I require that. They have also agreed to contact Summit on my behalf should there be a problem with the refund and they are in the process of having the part sent back to them from Summit so that they can inspect it further. I applaud Lokar on how they handled the situation. They handled it better that I did
It's companies like this that make me proud to be an American and I felt they needed recognition.
Salute Lokar
I had broken the dispstick on my TH400 so I needed a new one. I didn't want anything fancy just something that would work and not leak. So I purchased a TCI dipstick. I've never been a fan of the top hat type grommet seal on newer cars but it was cheap so I bought it. I prefer the old school o-ring type seal. I like to stick with what works. Well my intuition proved correct as that damn seal leaked all over my new driveway. Add to the fact that the bracket is no where near the bolt to attach it to and you can imagine how livid I became. They had some funky standoff bolt and tab arrangement that just made me scratch my head.
I decided to break down and spend the extra bucks on a Lokar unit at that point. It had TWO o-rings, I was in heaven. Soon as it arrived I went to put it on. To my dismay it practically fell into the hole on the transmission. Barely any friction at all, in fact it almost fell out on it's own. I went from zero to hot in a nanosecond.
I fired off a scathing email to Lokar blaming there 'offshore' operation for the woes of America and vowing to never buy another pos product from them. Shortly afterward I got an email from the owner, Debbie Walls. She assured me her products were not 'Offshore' but made right here in the good old USA, Tennessee to be exact. She asked for my phone number so that she could contact me personally and clear up this situation. I complied and within a short time Jeff McClure called who is the head of R&D for Lokar. Luckily I had calmed down by this point and felt rather sheepish after having read the mission statement on the Lokar front page. It clearly stated they were all American and would always be that way. Boy did I feel like an ***. But regardless I still had a valid complaint.
Jeff asked if I could measure the base plug for him but I had already sent it back to Summit as an RMA. He then asked if I could measure the hole in my transmission which I did. He stated the holes were .755-.758 in diameter. Well mine measured .748 (of course this was on my back in the driveway so I'll give it a fudge factor and call it standard) I called Jeff back with the information and he stated that the Lokar plugs are .750 in diameter so you're looking at .005-.008 at the plug at worst not counting the o-rings. Obviously I had something wrong with my dipstick from them as mine had over 1/16 inch of play and the o-rings were all but useless and barely touched the walls of the hole.
I acquiesced on my earlier rant and informed Jeff I had purchased several other Lokar products in the past that were beautiful and functioned perfectly. I also apologized for my 'offshore' comments and he understood we all have those days and it was understandable considering how the dipstick fit.
Lokar will replace my dipstick to anything I want at this point and have even offered to special make a part should I require that. They have also agreed to contact Summit on my behalf should there be a problem with the refund and they are in the process of having the part sent back to them from Summit so that they can inspect it further. I applaud Lokar on how they handled the situation. They handled it better that I did
It's companies like this that make me proud to be an American and I felt they needed recognition.Salute Lokar
June 11th, 2011, 09:03 AM
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,257
How a company responds when there is a problem shows their true colors.
Everyone raves about Tire Rack. I USED to rave about them, until I had a problem on a set of tires.
Their customer service was horrible, and I was really angry.
So much so that I would grow rubber trees and mold my own tires before I would buy from them again.....
They sent me a gift certificate, and I sent it back.
Everyone raves about Tire Rack. I USED to rave about them, until I had a problem on a set of tires.
Their customer service was horrible, and I was really angry.
So much so that I would grow rubber trees and mold my own tires before I would buy from them again.....
They sent me a gift certificate, and I sent it back.
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