Workshop Sticky Rant

[Hadouken]

Very informative indeed Duncan. Now it is black and white.

Out of curiosity, what does facebook fall under if you post a bad experience about a workshop....

[Duncan]

well I've got absolutely no idea there....not even on the damn thing

[luke gtr]

How about some input Luke, 46,096 posts you must have seen just about everything that has happened for years

What can and can't you say on this type of Forum. Surely we have the right to post results, good or bad without getting SAU in trouble ?

I think you can say just about anything on SAU type forums as long as you do not attack the shop and I for one, ask blokes to stop it if they get too aggressive in their post, all it does is get the thread shut down

been around for a while and learnt the following:

Not allowed to post negative reviews (see Duncan's post).

Which is fair, as other workshops could sign up and really hammer competitors.

But, the main thing....

Look for the MOST POSITIVE REVIEWS.

Yes, there may be some negative, but the workshop with the most positive mentioned, usually has a reason for it.

Hope this helps

[Nismo 3.2ish]

So, to clarify some facts....

1. skylinesaustralia.com is a privately owned website, Christian (Prank) is the owner. He has appointed volunteer moderators and admins to help the site run smoothly. Let's think of it as a benevolent dictatorship with a secret police network.

2. There are a series of state based not for profit clubs like SAU.NSW. Other than using these forums and a big overlap in members, there is no formal link between the clubs and the forums. The forums are member based organisations with elected committees. So people can join them and have their say if they want things to work differently (within the limits of state law and club constitutions)

3. Everyone agreed to the forum rules when they signed up, and they are at the bottom right of every page for forgetful people. In the case of businesses the relevant rule is:

Defamatory remarks made towards businesses or individuals will not be tolerated on this website - We understand that if you have had a bad experience with a business you want to warn other people of said experience. Unfortunately, the same publicly expressed opinion could be viewed as libelous and/or constitute an attempt to deter business from any individual or business. Australian law holds the site owner partly responsible for any defamatory remarks posted on said website, and that is unacceptable. Informing people via PM's is tolerated as it is not a public message. With this said, feel free to post any information about a business or individual that you have had good dealings with.

So, taking that all into account, why should Christian take a personal, legal risk because someone wants to (fairly, or unfairly) make negative comments about a workshop? Over 13 years this forum has been running there have been many, many bad experiences with workshops, lots of them have been posted here, many have led to legal threats and some have started legal proceedings. And yet, because of tight guidelines and quick actions enforcing those guidelines, Christian has not had to defend (or worse, lose) formal legal proceedings which would be very personally expensive. Lots of other forums have come and gone in that time.

As Pete said, the best thing you can do if you want to share a poor experience is to state the facts of what has occurred as you understand them (non-emotional), and do not publically name the workshop in the thread. Pete has in fact had one of the worse experiences I have heard of lately, but both of his threads are still here because they were largely fact based (taking into account many people posted in them) and the workshop was not specifically named. I and other mods had to remove some posts and warn some posters about coming close to breaching rules but overall the threads have not needed to be removed. If the workshop in question contacted the forum and threatened legal action we would probably agree to hide (not delete) the threads, this has certainly happened in the past.

I'd suggest that anyone who wants a place to post whatever negative comments they wist put their money where their keyboard is and start their own forum to do so.

Thanks Duncan, cannot be any clearer than that. Also interesting

It is basically how I thought it would work as you have to be fair, I also have had good experiences at the same shop.

Knowing that a real person could be in a legal bind over this will make me even more careful before I press send

As long as I can still call a few blokes on here DH I am a happy camper

[Nismo 3.2ish]

been around for a while and learnt the following:

Not allowed to post negative reviews (see Duncan's post).

Which is fair, as other workshops could sign up and really hammer competitors.

But, the main thing....

Look for the MOST POSITIVE REVIEWS.

Yes, there may be some negative, but the workshop with the most positive mentioned, usually has a reason for it.

Hope this helps

I think this is good advice, but there could be more negative posts than positive for the same shop and you will never see them, they will be deleted, or denied ???

So if you have a shop doing 400 builds a year and get 100 good reviews and a shop doing 100 builds and gets 100 good reviews . they seem equal, but they are nowhere near equal ?

But the 300 bad reviews get lost ?

I GUESS I AM JUST SOUR sorry

[GTRKat]

There's always going to be good and bad but there are two sides to all stories as well.

Personally I couldn't care less what someone I've never met on a forum has to say. Go to a workshop, have a look at the cars they have there and see if you like what they do.

Best way is to go talk to them and see how you feel.

[Duncan]

...As long as I can still call a few blokes on here DH I am a happy camper

Well actually....rule 2 says:

Treat all members with respect and courtesy - We will ban any member(s) who make personal attacks, threats or mistreats any other member in anyway (discretion is up to the moderator at the time of the offence)

[djvoodoo]

So why are threads about certain 'car dealerships' (with alot of negative comments) allowed and are still open today, but 'beware of workshop x" not allowed?

Isn't it the same thing??

[Duncan]

The only reason I could think of for a thread like that still to be open would be if the forum owner started it. Feel free to use "Report" if you see something like that and the section mods can review it.

[Nismo 3.2ish]

There's always going to be good and bad but there are two sides to all stories as well.

Personally I couldn't care less what someone I've never met on a forum has to say. Go to a workshop, have a look at the cars they have there and see if you like what they do.

Best way is to go talk to them and see how you feel.

Kate I sort of agree with you, go to a workshop and make an opinion based on how you feel and the info you can get about the shop.But if they could not make you feel all warm and fuzzy about what they can do for you , you would not use them.

How many blokes have been told it will be a 4 to 8 week build and 4 to 8 months go by and still waiting, not feeling to warm and fuzzy then, but when it is finished they kiss their butts ?

Most shops have done some great work and it seems the crap gets sweep under the forum's carpet because you cannot say what really happened to your car if it is negative, why, it gets closed because the owner of the site can be sued when you do. I understand that better now from Duncan's post.

People that have had a good job done will jump down your neck if you are negative and they will stick up for the shop, that is accepted, but the blokes that have had a bad experience and express their opinion in the same tone, they get the thread closed!

These people are professionals, not only at doing work on your car but also work on your head from the reputation they build. I have no trouble believing most shops can build some great cars and more better builds than bad ones or they would not last very long. BUT a good shop will stand up and fixes their mistakes.

In my case I have always said these blokes can do very good work. When I have had problems I have always given the shop a chance to fix it or 2 or 3 chances.

[Nismo 3.2ish]

Well actually....rule 2 says:

Treat all members with respect and courtesy - We will ban any member(s) who make personal attacks, threats or mistreats any other member in anyway (discretion is up to the moderator at the time of the offence)

Point taken, whoops

But through the course of a long thread I would think 70% of them would have been closed if someone was disrespectful in a post ,lol

It must be hard to pick out banter from disrespect at times

[niZmO_Man]

Well said Duncan. I hastily typed my previous response up while eating at work so it was a bit shit.

I think Nismo 3.2ish has been quite good since he started posting. I remember one of his first threads, he got some negative replies but kept a mature mind and sorted out his issues without having a bitch like the kids usually do.

[GTRKat]

Well to start with I'm not Kate.

I'm still not really sure what your point is there. Because again, there's 2 sides to all stories and often here the shops don't get the chance to defend themselves either.

People tend to get pack mentality on here too and get very high and mighty as if they've never made a mistake at work and there's usually no proof as to what has even happened.

I'd still go on my own gut feeling rather than some of the rubbish I read on here.

[Nismo 3.2ish]

Well to start with I'm not Kate.

I'm still not really sure what your point is there. Because again, there's 2 sides to all stories and often here the shops don't get the chance to defend themselves either.

People tend to get pack mentality on here too and get very high and mighty as if they've never made a mistake at work and there's usually no proof as to what has even happened.

I'd still go on my own gut feeling rather than some of the rubbish I read on here.

Kat, - the E, sorry

Yeah I know what you mean, I have read a lot of rubbish lately.

As for getting high and mighty, how can you say that, what do you know about other peoples problems, you have not had to live with it for half a year and now, pay for it.

In my case I reported the problem to the shop 3 days after picking the car up, it was not noticeable until the overflow emptied. That was 7 months ago and it remained the same until I had to get someone else to fix it. I had tried to have it sorted for months, without any luck.

Sure people make mistakes and I gave ample time for the mistakes to be fixed before getting upset, took the car in 3 times and was told it was fixed, well, it was never fixed ?

Loyalty is one thing, blind loyalty is another.

[Trex]

...

[Nismo 3.2ish]

I am sick of some people that talk up a storm without any idea what happened, well except for what they are told by the shop. I do not want to ague with anyone regarding this, I know what happened and it is probably going to cost $10k to fix it

Here is an email I sent to the shop on the 18/3/15 (the shop is not mentioned but if someone does not believe me and wants a PM I will send it in full, and countless others)

As you can see, this was not the first time I mentioned the water loss, I picked it up on the 13/3/15 , did not drive it on the 14th and called them 2 days before this email. Keep in mind , the overflow has to empty before you can see the loss from the radiator.

V V V V V

Have done another 250Klms , but this time it used 700ml of water, water still clean with a slight scum on top after filling.

The water temp remained just under normal, never changed.

Oil is still a good colour , pressure is a steady 50.

Regards

Pete

On 18/03/2015 3:34 PM,

[Hadouken]

I think this is starting to get out of hand.

Not saying you are in the wrong. Just need to kerb your frustration a bit. We understand your pain.

[Nismo 3.2ish]

I think this is starting to get out of hand.

Not saying you are in the wrong. Just need to kerb your frustration a bit. We understand your pain.

I wondered when you would POP up, you are frustrating , lol

There is nothing I can say to you to change your mind, so

This is when i would like to dump Rule 2, lol

[GTRKat]

Ok Peter you've lost me now.

I'm not using your example as anything specific, I don't actually know what happened to you.

I'm backing up why it's just not feasible to just let people go on the internet to say whatever they want.

Way to take it personally.

[Nismo 3.2ish]

Ok Peter you've lost me now.

I'm not using your example as anything specific, I don't actually know what happened to you.

I'm backing up why it's just not feasible to just let people go on the internet to say whatever they want.

Way to take it personally.

Sorry if I misunderstood Kat , it just hit close to home I guess

I totally understand that people should not be allowed to say whatever comes into their head and dump on workshops. There is always 2 sides to every story.

Frustrated, you bet!