Unfortunately, when it comes to Imperials and upholstery work, I have seen few
jobs that come close to his in quality of workmanship. Most shops don't seem
willing to duplicate the original as closely as Gary. We see evidence of that
on Ebay where we see cars that have been "professionaly restored" by shops that
don't care and owners that don't know any better, even though thousands of
dollars have been spent.
The folks that I know that were happy with the work that Gary did for them
actually drove their car to his shop and waited for it to be finished before
they went home. I think that my friend and his wife even assisted in the
assembly of the seat covers. For all of their trouble, the car is absolutely
beautiful.
Personally, if I do decide to have some work done I plan to find a local shop
to do it. I have a few in mind that I plan to check, but I will not allow them
to touch my car until I see some samples of their work. I reason that making an
appointment and leaving a car in the shop incents them to finish it so that
they can make room for their next job.
Gary needs to do a better job of taking care of his business or he will not be
around too long. A bad recommendation from the IML could really poison his
reputation.
Paul
In a message dated 1/16/2004 12:50:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mtnose@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> Hi Greg,
> I received my order from Gary in about 6 weeks, and it was a $1200.00
>order of weather-stripping, clips, trunk and some interior parts. Everything
>was great except I am missing a $100.00 item (a plastic trim around the seat,
>and a decal that was to come with a trunk handle). I think he may have
>backordered these items but I'm not sure as no invoice came with the order. I
>also over paid $80.00 to cover anything he might have needed to adjust the
>order, but he filled my order exactly as I wrote it. So my next step is to
>write him (Gary's preferred way of doing business), as phone, e-mails and fax
>do nothing, asking for the status of the missing items and refund. I only wish
>Gary would break down and hire a secretary to handle customer service (or just
>someone that can maintain a computer to answer e-mails), it would give him
>more time to do what he does best (work on old cars) not do paperwork. The
>increase in business and cash flow would offset the salary of the secretary by
>far.
>
> Marty 59 Imp 4 Door Sedan
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Greg and Russell
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 5:00 AM
> Subject: IML: Vendor/supplier WARNING!
>
>
> Hello List,
>
> Before any of you seriously consider contacting Gary Goers concerning your
>leather interior or trunk kits or weather-stripping for your Imperials or
>other Mopar products, please listen to how he has treated me! Had I known
>what type of person I would be dealing with, I would have looked elsewhere.
>
> First let me say, like all of you who have heard of the quality of his work,
>it is excellent. That is not the problem. It is, plain and simple, how he
>TREATS his customers. I would have found myself without any customers at all
>if I treated mine the way he has treated me! From the time I first contacted
>him, I was warned by others of the ridiculous time frame I was looking at to
>get back my leather seat covers. It took almost 18 months before I finally
>received them! No amount of calling, pleading or even threatening legal
>action (he had a $500 deposit) did any good! The same thing occurred when I
>attempted to order weather-stripping and a trunk kit. Although I did finally
>receive the items I ordered, it took repeated emails explaining my need for
>these things and the time frame in which I was working. He still took months
>getting me what I ordered!
>
> But his latest behavior is inexcusable! Going on 7 weeks ago (December 9,
>2003) I contacted him because my $2,500 leather seat covers had turned two
>different shades of gold! They look awful! I was shocked when I discovered
>this and took them to my upholsterer who said because they had a metallic dye
>on them, he could not redye them for me! He doesn't know of any source for
>that type of dye. I immediately contacted Gary and surprisingly, he did
>respond with a terse note saying this color change had only happened once
>before and he wasn't using that hide supplier anymore! He reluctantly offered
>to remix some dye once he received a sample of the shade of metallic gold I
>wanted him to match. I did this the very next day! I explained to him how
>urgent it was that I get the dye quickly as the upholstery shop would simply
>move on and my car would be put at the bottom of the list! To this day
>(January 16, 2004) he has yet to reply to any of my emails! I have been
>patient but this is ridiculous! My $2,500 seat covers are useless unless I
>find another leather shop who can match this dye. Does anyone have any
>suggestionss/
>
> I am beyond being exasperated with Goers. I don't see how he stays in
>business. I have written him, gently inquiring when I could expect the dye.
>He can't even take one minute to reply to my emails. Not one minute! He
>doesn't answer his phone nor does he respond to a FAX. I have given up on him
>but I am writing this diatribe to WARN others on the list of the treatment I
>have received. Maybe this message will save you from the hassles and
>heartaches I have experienced dealing with him. Again, does anyone know of
>someone who is reputable and would be willing to mix up the metallic leather
>dye? Until the covers are dyed, my interior work has come to a
> screeching halt!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Greg McDonnell
> '65 Crown convertible (dead in the water at this writing!)
>
>
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