Love when a vendor treats you like a 4 year old - EPCO shifter knobs - SUCK

[Jonzmaro]

Posted a week or so back looking for suggestions for a knob for my '13 RS. Ended up ordering from EPCO - ivory ball, with boot adapter, universal non-thread adapter.

1) the ball they sent is a cheap POS, weighs less than the stock knob, completely hollow with a glued-in sheath, and three set screws

2) the boot retainer DOES NOT FIT over the shaft, not even close.

3)2 of the 3 plastic sleeves ($7 up-charge) do not fit, the 3rd can be crammed on....only to find out once on, the ball does not fit over the sheath!! Ridiculous!

TOTAL FAIL

What do I get when I inform them? The patronizing "we have not had any such feedback from any other...yada, yada, and a request that I photo document my shifter.

Are you kidding me? First, I wasted my time trying to install, only to have to put back to stock. (hey, only 15 minutes, but it was MY 15 minutes) IMO, if a customer e-mails a detailed description, explaining how a simple piece of metal and plastic simply do not slide over a shaft....done deal. Wrong parts sent. You send the CORRECT parts out the next day, no questions asked.
They told me one of their "tech" people would call....ummm, that was two days ago.

What do you guys think I should do? I'm pissed. Looks like they 3rd party these orders through another co. Parrella. It is obvious: either they never checked the order, or worse: they are sending out incorrect parts for this application. I told them twice what year/tranny/model I have. As my 7 year old son would, and did say...."EPIC FAIL DAD".

[mc_acoustic]

Originally Posted by Jonzmaro

Posted a week or so back looking for suggestions for a knob for my '13 RS. Ended up ordering from EPCO - ivory ball, with boot adapter, universal non-thread adapter.

1) the ball they sent is a cheap POS, weighs less than the stock knob, completely hollow with a glued-in sheath, and three set screws

2) the boot retainer DOES NOT FIT over the shaft, not even close.

3)2 of the 3 plastic sleeves ($7 up-charge) do not fit, the 3rd can be crammed on....only to find out once on, the ball does not fit over the sheath!! Ridiculous!

TOTAL FAIL

What do I get when I inform them? The patronizing "we have not had any such feedback from any other...yada, yada, and a request that I photo document my shifter.

Are you kidding me? First, I wasted my time trying to install, only to have to put back to stock. (hey, only 15 minutes, but it was MY 15 minutes) IMO, if a customer e-mails a detailed description, explaining how a simple piece of metal and plastic simply do not slide over a shaft....done deal. Wrong parts sent. You send the CORRECT parts out the next day, no questions asked.
They told me one of their "tech" people would call....ummm, that was two days ago.

What do you guys think I should do? I'm pissed. Looks like they 3rd party these orders through another co. Parrella. It is obvious: either they never checked the order, or worse: they are sending out incorrect parts for this application. I told them twice what year/tranny/model I have. As my 7 year old son would, and did say...."EPIC FAIL DAD".

[Jonzmaro]

OK MC, I'll get my film crew right on documenting the ever fascinating and uber-complex example of parts that DO NOT FIT over the shifter shaft they are supposed to fit over!!...lol

Stay tuned.....

[Blk-Ice]

Send the Crap Back for a refund!

[jrisebo]

I would send it back. If a company densest stand behind their product, I don't want it.

[Chris-10]

I had to file mine down to get it to slide onto the shaft. I called and complained, they said they would send another adaptor which they did but I made the first one fit. Took about 30minutes to file it down with a rat tail file.
Other than that I'm happy with it.

[Jonzmaro]

They sent a UPS label for return. Chris.....interesting.
It is just silly to send stuff without fully qualifying the parts, which crazy as it sounds, seems to be what they are doing. They suggested after evaluating my info. that I "seek a threaded adapter solution". OK, that would have been a good thing to suggest before sending me the order.
Anyway, I will return, and I am sure they will refund 100%.

Kind of a bummer though, no big deal, but back where I started with the stock shifter. I wish Chevy would have just used an old fashioned screw-on.

[Sir Nuke]

I have use EPCO for MANY years.....and have ALWAYS gotten a superior product. BUT based on your description (its got set screws to hold it on) you ordered one of their off the shelf universal knobs....not the thing to do. have them make a custom knob that is made for the exact size (thread size) of your shaft and it will fit perfect. There is a section of their site to custom order, and its easy to do, and isn't any more expensive.

http://www.epcoshiftknobs.com/index.html

[mc_acoustic]

Originally Posted by Jonzmaro

OK MC, I'll get my film crew right on documenting the ever fascinating and uber-complex example of parts that DO NOT FIT over the shifter shaft they are supposed to fit over!!...lol

Stay tuned.....

Sorry I didn't mean and disrespect, I thought you said you DID get it on but it just looked like crap.

That being said, you dont need a film crew. Cell phones are good enough

[Ject]

I can understand them wanting photo documentation. I always take a picture if something isn't right so they can see exactly what Issue I have.. It is common practice if you buy something and it doesn't work as advertised to show them.

On the other hand.. hopefully you get the problem resolved.

[EPCOmfg]

As a representative/employee of EPCO Mfg, INC, the shift knob manufacturer that Jonzmaro is referring to, I feel it is necessary to respond to this thread. EPCO has been a US manufacturer for over 60 years. EPCO takes great pride in supplying many OEM’s and retail customers with the highest quality shift knobs available. Our engineering department faces the daily challenge of keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing specs of the automobile manufacturers: thread size changes, design changes, etc. Unfortunately, this was the situation with Jonzmaro. GM changed the shifter design so our 2010-2012 boot retainer would no longer work on the 2013 model.
Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to us. When Jonzmaro emailed to explain his situation, we politely asked him to shoot a picture with his phone to help us understand the issue. When he refused, we kindly asked him to return his order for a full refund, including shipping. Well, he got his refund, and we are not sure what else we could have done for him!
Meanwhile, we will be coming out soon with a knob for the 2013 Camaro that will have a factory fit including a boot retainer. Thank you to our future and current customers, and especially to our long time customer that brought this thread to our attention. Great forum! Keep up the good work!

[jrisebo]

Thanks for the explanation EPCOmfg, sometimes customers can 'glorify' the story when things go wrong.

[Rabamaro]

Originally Posted by jrisebo

Thanks for the explanation EPCOmfg, sometimes customers can 'glorify' the story when things go wrong.

I had a great experience with EPCO. After the original knob I purchased looked nothing like the color on their website, they offered to custom make one to match my car for free. I returned the first one, sent a pic of my car, and two weeks later had the new one.