I sent my 70 442 bumper after talking to Tito in early July. He quoted my the sale price of -$150. I got a call yesterday from someone else asking for payment prior to starting the bumper through the process. He was not going to honor the _$150 until I told him Tito had given me a quote which included the sale prior to me sending the bumper.

The person I talked to indicated the sale should have been for June only. It seems there is a communication issue within the company.

 

They do ask for either partial or full payment before starting the work, that's normal but there's definitely some commmunication problem. I'm going to call Tito later today to see if I can't get things straightened out for everybody.

 

Hey gang,

I just spoke with Tito and he explained what's going on. Apparently, they had a general manager that was just let go and on top of that, they have a meeting tomorrow to discuss things like the deal he offered me.

I will be speaking with him again tomorrow, after their meeting to learn of the results. I asked him to please push the managers/owners to honor the discount he gave me that you are all hoping to take advantage of as well.

I also asked that if he does get resistance on this, to ask that this deal only be honored for Oldsmobile owners as I have passed this on to all of you on this forum as well as my local Olds club members. He agreed about that being the right thing to do.

I'll provide an update asap.

John

 

John good job trying to help members save some money

 

Thanks! I always try to pass things like this on whenever possible. You probably also saw this in our recent newsletter, right?

I really hope they do the right thing. It would be in their best interest as well as ours.

 

John I didnt even look at the newsletter yet....also have not been to any meetings either. i would like to get some chrome done but i have enough fish in the pan to fry right now

 

I hear you, trust me. I was able to get my recent chrome work done was by cashing in a huge amount of change I had been collecting for years! I ended up with nearly $700 in coins!

Sadly, I've only been to one meeting since joining the club. I went to last year's summer picnic/meeting and hope to again this year but it's not always easy.

 

Thanks for the follow up. I am a bit turned off due to their lack of internal communication. Tito took all of my information over the phone and gave me a quote based on the the description of my core which included the price. I would have thought the quote would have been entered into their system at that time. Receiving a call requesting payment for a different amount is not a professional way to run a business.

I have several other items I was going to send depending on how the bumper turns out. I am now reconsidering if I want to do business with them again.

 

I spoke to Tito about a bunch of pot metal parts. He quoted me a flat fee per foot for plating. Sent him pictures to be on the same page. Then we spoke and the price went up. we then spoke again and again the price went up. Spoke a total of three times and everytime the price went up to plain old crazy.
I did not feel at all comfortable with this kind of atmosphere.

 

The manager Jose told me at $450 per bumper their losing money....... I dont think so

 

Yeah but if they are paying shipping both ways 450 aint bad

 

I had a number of pieces done by them including both bumpers. The bumpers alone was a total of thirteen pieces. The chroming job was excellent except for one piece but the straightening and fit was poor. I was unable to put the back bumper together it was so bent and warped. I worked with Jose and sent back a number of pieces along with a piece of stainless they restored that was too warped to go back on the car. I also included my spare piece of the same stainless part which they did a better job on but still looks a little wavy.

They do stand by their guarantee but you're looking at three or four weeks for each turnaround. This was in addition to the six weeks it originally took them. It cost a bundle due to the multiple pieces that make up each bumper.

 

One thing to keep in mind with the quotes they give over the phone is that the condition of the item you're sending in is unknown to them at the time. When Tito quoted me, he told me that sometimes the price can actually come down a bit if the parts are in very good condition. If the parts need more than the "standard" amount of repair work, they will have to raise the price. The problem is, they may not communicate this clearly over the phone and then you have a problem.

 

I agree with this. The condition of the substrate is a huge cost driver for chrome. Repair of pot metal is particularly variable due to labor required to fill any pits in the part.

 

That makes good sense however the chromer I have been using charges a flat rate of 500 no matter how mangled the bumper is and i am not promoting them just saying how they do it.

 

Ogden has two rates for bumpers: street chrome and show chrome. Where you run into the big variations is on pot metal parts. Condition of the substrate dictates pricing at every shop I have looked at.

 

When it comes to pot metal, there is no cheap way. every chrome shop here has quoted me by the hr with no finish time, for my eye brows it was like 200 each was there guess but could go either way.

 

I left a message for Tito last night. I'm hoping to hear from him today but I will follow up on my ride home tonight if I don't.

 

Any update?

 

I did call Tito a few days ago and he said he was going to review his notes from the meeting and call me back in 5 minutes. Maybe time moves very slowly in Utah but I have not heard back from him yet. Maybe he doesn't have good news and doesn't want to break it to me, I don't know. Either way, I'm going to be calling him again soon to find out what's going on.

 

Hey gang,

Below is the email I just sent to Tito at Ogden Chrome. Hopefully I'll hear back with some good news. I'll keep you posted.

Hi Tito,

Per our recent conversations, I am writing to you to express my thoughts about the way the "summer sale" is being handled. When we spoke early this summer, you quoted me for having the door handles and rear bumper rechromed for my '76 Olds 98. You quoted me a price which included the summer sale discountl; $150 off the price of an order over $300. This was because the summer season is slow for your shop and I gladly took the offer. Keep in mind that the price of a rechromed bumper has gone from approximately $400 that I paid about 3 years ago to over $700 currently.

I expressed my appreciation for the discount and offered to advertise this promotion to my fellow car club members, including on the Oldsmobile forum on which I am an active member. You were very happy about my offer to promote Ogden Chrome and bring in more business for you during your slow season. You told me to tell any potential customers to call you directly and mention my name to receive the discount. All was well at this time.

I immediately posted this sale on https://classicoldsmobile.com/ and it drew quite a bit of attention. A number of members showed interest and started calling for quotes. The 1st problem seemed to be that nobody else at Ogden Chrome was aware of this $150 discount, in fact nobody else had heard of it or would honor it. Even after you quoted people using the discount, another Ogden employee would call to collect payment and the discount was not included in the price. Here is the link to the actual, live posting:

Ogden Chrome Summer Sale - ClassicOldsmobile.com

Ogden Chrome Summer Sale - ClassicOldsmobile.comHey gang, Ogden chrome is doing some work for me and since this is their slow season, they are running a special: $150 off any order of $300 or more! These guys did...



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I also emailed the president of The New England Oldsmobile Club about your sale and he published it in the recently distributed newsletter which goes out to all members in the New England chapter. My name is mentioned in this article because it was I that was sharing this information and as with most clubs, we like to give credit whenever possible, especially when it comes to members helping other members with sharing information like this, especially when it comes to which vendors to use (or not use).

After we spoke over a week ago, you told me there was a recent management change at Ogden Chrome. When we spoke after the meeting you had, you advised me that management was NOT going to honor the sale that you offered me earlier in the summer, but only a 10% summer discount (which is then offset by the 5% EPA fee).

Between the wordlwide Oldsmobile forum and the New England Oldsmobile Club, my name is all over this. I am really unhappy with the fact that what I have shared with my fellow Oldsmobile owners is not holding water. I am a man of my word and I am very happy to spread the word about a positive experience with a vendor, such as I have done with Ogden Chrome to date. I have now spent well over $1000 with your shop and have brought you a fair amount of business by word of mouth based on my positive experiences thus far.

I would greatly appreciate it if your office would continue to honor this sale ($150 off an order of $300 or more) as I would originally promised by you. If you feel that you cannot offer this across the board, I think it would highly advisable to limit the offer to Oldsmobile owners as that is the only area in which I have spread the word about this. Perhaps we can establish a discount code such as "Regency" that would initiate the sale price. Since the summer is quickly fading away, I would also request that the sale be extended a bit to compensate for the time lost during this.

I am a business man of many years and I truly understand the value of a company's reputation. I also understand how important word of mouth is. The way that a company treats its customers is a critical aspect of any business and what helps assure that those customers keep coming back, bringing more customers with them along the way. I hope that this is also an important philosophy that Ogden Chrome puts great emphasis on.

Please share my email with the necessary parties in your office. I am more than willing to discuss this further in hopes of coming to a positive resolution. I greatly appreciate your time and assistance with my order and this situation.

Sincerely,

John C.

Active Member: Oldsmobile Club of America, New England Oldsmobile Club, National Antique Oldsmobile Club, Classicoldsmobile.com.

 

I received my 700 442 bumper Friday. I am happy with the result. My core was straight. So I went with the street chrome.

 

Did they give you the quoted discount ?
I am really surprised they haven't responded to the email that was sent I know they do great work but half if business is there reputation ! And at this point I am not sure there the company for me very sad as my chrome work is next in my list

 

Yes, I did receive the discount, see post #41. I don't know why they don't address the situation and be done with it. Obviously they have had a change in management which has no intention of continuing the summer sale. They just need to say it and move on.

It's unfortunate, I had wanted to test there work on one piece and then send them additional work based on how they did with the bumper. I am not going to send the additional pieces now. Their lack of communication is just too troubling.

 

Tito did reply just saying he was going to pass my email on to his superiors. Nothing since but you know I will be following up.

 

Boiler you say "700" 442 bumper? What is "700" the price? You said you got street chrome. I just dont understand what you mean by 700 442 bumper

 

Probably a typo, '70 442 bumper? as in 1970.

 

Yes a typo, 70 442 bumper

 

I am going to add my 2 cents here about my experiences. Last year in 2013 I sent them some pot metal pillars from my 68 442 front wheel drive car that were deeply pitted. Unfortunately I don't remember who I was dealing with on the phone but they did an amazing job and had no reservations about their quality and what they would look like when they were finished. At the same time I sent the rear bumper to Sherm's custom plating in Sacramento for their show chrome plating.
Both pieces came out like jewelry and look spectacular. When I mentioned to Ogden that I sent my bumper to Sherm's they said hey we are that good and maybe a bit cheaper.


So when I saw they were having a sale and I was needing a show quality job on a 71 bumper I decided to give them a shot. Sherm's was easy to deal with on the bumper they said show and it came back like a mirror, Ogden not so much.
There were several phone calls back and forth explaining how they couldn't guarantee it would be perfect yet it still cost almost as much as sherm's to plate it. The bumper looks good but they buffed the detail off some of the edges and it has a few waves where they could have worked the copper a bit more, not horrible but for that price I was expecting better.


I also referred a friend to send his pot metal there and he is getting the same runaround I got saying they won't guarantee the quality of the plating and the price keeps going up every time they call him.


Something changed and not for the better with them. I will stick with Sherm's since they have been delivering consistent plating for years.


All this is what my experience has been. BTW our local plating shops are no better.

 

I also have 2 bumpers that need replateing 1970 cutlass s bumpers . I guess ill be going somewre else , this ogdon don't relize how much bizzness they are about to lose this stuff gos worldwide shame on ogdon chromeing.!! u can get replacement bumpers from OPG for a rear with exhaust cutouts for 389.19 and a front bumper for a 70 cutlass or 442 for 348.19.

 

I'm going to reply to Tito today and see if I can't get an update. You're absolutely right that they need to understand the power of word of mouth advertising!

 

I would say the damage is done. Tito has been given many opportunities to respond to you. His lack of communication reenforces my perception of Ogeden Chrome. Someone else will be getting my additional chrome business.

 

Agree... was thinking of taking advantage of the sale for my 67 wagon rear bumper but with all this mess I will stick to Tri City. One flat fee for everything with no option for show or street chrome...NO BS from them and no drama...

 

Hey gang,

I just had a good phonecall with Jose, the manager at Ogden Chrome. He explained that there was a definite miscommunication internally whereas the sale was supposed to be just for the month of June. The other problem is that some customers were trying to get a 10% new customer discount on top of the the $150 sale.

I asked Jose to consider a proposal that I suggested that would help forum and NEOC members out while helping save Ogden's reputation in these customer bases. As the manager, he has to discuss this proposal with the owner of Ogden Chrome which he said he would do and then get back to me. I won't mention the exact proposal just yet as I don't want to confuse anybody into thinking that it's a live promotion. I think it would be a very fair solution for everybody involved.

I will update you when I hear back.

 

My fear at this point let's say they decide to honor the 150 discount but on the other end now it's 650 to chrome your bumper instead of the 525 that I was quoted just a few months ago

They have shown major communication problems with members getting several different quotes depending on ( who answered the phone ) that day

Bad service altogether at this point I don't TRUST them at all

And I know that they do good work but trust is key here I know that I have gave them refferals off of there work that I have seen

 

Im way down here in Texas, I recently asked a local restoration shop who they use for chrome plating. He said its a company in Utah, I asked him "Ogden Chrome Plating"? yes was the answer. He said they do great work and pay shipping. He also said no one in Houston did as good work as Ogden. I need my bumpers plated so im waiting to hear what 76 Regency hears from them.

 

Hey gang, yes I have good news!!

Jose called me back already and he and the owner of Ogden Chrome have accepted my proposed solution. Here are the details:

The Summer Sale is back on and extended through the end of September.
The sale is for $150 off the price of an order $300 or more
The new customer discount of 10% DOES NOT APPLY
When calling for a quote, mention the summer sale and the Classic Oldsmobile forum
Free shipping still applies

I think they are absolutely doing the right thing here and would still recommend using them. Their work is excellent and aside from the miscommunication concerning this sale, I have experienced great customer service with them as well as beautifully chromed parts.

Jose has joined the forum and should be chiming in sometime soon. He will be happy to discuss this further and back up the details above.

Thanks for your interest and support on this gang. Happy chroming!

John

 

How can we be sure that there just not raising quoted prices to cover the discount ? It's take. Them two months to decide to honor there deal on top of different quotes depending who you talked to ?

 

I guess you don't know for sure until you send them your bumper. They did get an ear full today about their service from me as a repeat customer and they took it well. I do believe they want to do the right thing and make it right all we need to do is give them a chance.

 

Well John thanks for your commitment to this, I guess we will see what they have to say. Ill talk to them again and see what they quote me. I do think they will get a reasonable amount of business from us here on CO, and more by word of mouth if the results are good.
Thanks again
Steve