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5150 Will take your money and not give you a tune.

cr_sti

Go Kart Newbie
Location
IA
. . .

We have been doing sessions for logging to get tunes out 3-5 guys at a time
we also offer on dyno services so you rent a dyno and we remote tune it. To further shorten any wait times

however most people are too busy or cheap to do so.
i cant count how many times it takes 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months to get logs from customers
but yet if we get behind grab the torches !!!!!

You're calling customers of your service "cheap", when they opt for an option YOU provide, at a price point YOU set. That's absurd.

People get upset when you get behind because only you can control that. Others in the market have been successful at throttling inputs, or pricing themselves at a point that keeps volume down.

I don't think anyone is suggesting you aren't a skilled tuner, but your business acumen and bedside manner could use some work.
 

ZuMBLe

Autocross Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
Alltrack 6MT
however most people are too busy or cheap to do so.
i cant count how many times it takes 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months to get logs from customers
but yet if we get behind grab the torches !!!!!

You should be making people agree to a time frame to get logs back to you if that's the problem. You can say you have the initial price cover a time period and then charge a "top up fee" if the customer takes longer than the specified time. This is of course only if the hold up is on the customer's end.
 
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sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Location
United States
Car(s)
Turbo. Blue.
Telling people there's going to be an undetermined delay and that they can't request a refund just comes across as bad business practice. "Perceived delay" seems like a real cop out. Calling your customers cheap and blaming delays on them probably isn't the right move either. Typically it's better to apologize, help the customer that's having an issue, do what you can to prevent it from happening again, and move on. All I've seen here is 5150 defending themselves and making excuses, which I can understand when someone calls your company out like this, but there's nothing wrong with having some accountability either, and I haven't seen any of that. Only they got themselves into this position.
 

Navi

Autocross Champion
Location
BK/NYC/Hamptons
You should be making people agree to a time frame to get logs back to you if that's the problem. You can say you have the initial price cover a time period and then charge a "top up fee" if the customer takes longer than the specified time. This is of course only if the hold up is on the customer's end.

Mounttune does this. If you don't send logs back in a timely manner (I think 45 days) you lose the etune

I like the email where 5150 justifies the bedside manner by saying to go with another tune if you want a slower car. That's floating around in one of the threads also.
 

DallasDub94

Go Kart Newbie
Location
DFW
Car(s)
18 GTI S
Mounttune does this. If you don't send logs back in a timely manner (I think 45 days) you lose the etune

I like the email where 5150 justifies the bedside manner by saying to go with another tune if you want a slower car. That's floating around in one of the threads also.
Lol how is the car tuned by someone else slower if it's tuned properly and the tune is done?

Can't be that "fast" on a unfinished tune in early revisions... Probably ain't a good idea to beat on it either.
 

5150 Racing

Ready to race!
Location
Socal
You're calling customers of your service "cheap", when they opt for an option YOU provide, at a price point YOU set. That's absurd.

People get upset when you get behind because only you can control that. Others in the market have been successful at throttling inputs, or pricing themselves at a point that keeps volume down.

I don't think anyone is suggesting you aren't a skilled tuner, but your business acumen and bedside manner could use some work.
I mean to Cheap to pay for dynotime (which is no t in my control if they are remote

I have several Etunes going right now
many revisions in and out most dont need much after the base maps

0 issues that im aware of

also we have a time limit on logging (3 mos or 6 mos)
if its their delay, but TBH usually i just help em out or do the upgraded tunes free
 

HuangMoney

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Central NJ
I'm sure people have had good and bad experiences with 5150. I have met several people with E tunes who got them. East coast, no dyno tunes of course. Luck of the draw but several had bad experiences.

Friend and I road tripped to Boston to buy some parts from a guy selling parts for his roommate who sold his GTI to get a M2. Found out from his roommate he had a 5150 tune and had purchased 6 months revision plan and received his basemap and 1 revision, then after that, nothing. Ended up having to buy another tune for when he changed his mod list.
Met some people locally who went with 5150, general complaints about it taking several months to get a revision.

On the other hand, I know one guy who has had a good experience with them.

I myself was going to get a 5150 tune but I had no time to wait for a basemap that long while he was moving shops and had power out and all that. I had shop time scheduled several weeks after I ordered my tune to get a turbo put in. Had to reschedule 4 times, ended up going with a different tuner. I'm not going to go deeper into what happened because that's the past, but I dunno if it was just bad timing, but just stating my experience.
 

VW 91

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Windsor, ON
Jon I think everyone in the MQB community knows and respects your ability to tune. The problem is that it seems to always be the same issue that plagues your business. On top of that your responses come across defensive and never sincere. Your business acumen and customer service is absolutely terrible. Obviously I am on the outside looking in, but the reality is that not everyone will know the full story and yet they will still view your business in a negative light based on the details presented. At the end of they day, it is up to you to control the perception of your business. Transparency and customer service are absolutely critical.
 

Mk7gtifl

Ready to race!
Location
Orlando, FL
Communication is key, like he says, not many vehicles need a revision and the base map is fine, well if you don’t let the customer know, how are we supposed to know? We are not the expert, at least send an email and tell us. I sent the first log back in the summer, and nothing back 6 months later, can I run my car safely? Not everyone have knowledge to know if there anything wrong, and for that you guys are better off with someone that is professional and don’t trust you hard earned money to this guy.
 

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Jon I think everyone in the MQB community knows and respects your ability to tune. The problem is that it seems to always be the same issue that plagues your business. On top of that your responses come across defensive and never sincere. Your business acumen and customer service is absolutely terrible. Obviously I am on the outside looking in, but the reality is that not everyone will know the full story and yet they will still view your business in a negative light based on the details presented. At the end of they day, it is up to you to control the perception of your business. Transparency and customer service are absolutely critical.

I may be completely wrong, but I've noticed a trend of a certain degree of unprofessionalism on the part of auto service folks in California. The "if you don't like what we do and how we do it, go somewhere else" motto is something I've encountered first hand. For whatever reason quite a few companies and shops place their ego ahead of mutual customer/servicer interests. That is a sure way to lose business.
Transparency is hard to come by when every other mechanic/tuner thinks he's the next best thing to sliced bread. Mind you, I haven't had personal dealings with 5150, and perhaps the work they do is fine in general. But having observed their communications with the enthusiast community on multiple social media platforms, I'm reluctant to consider them an option in the future.
 

VL3X

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Delaware
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE
Threads like this make me really appreciate my decision to go with a simple OTS "flash and forget" tune from a reputable company (Unitronic). The process was completely painless and I'm 100% satisfied with my tunes and their customer service. Being a daily driver, with occasional circuit track days, this was the absolute correct decision for my personal GTI.

That being said, I totally understand the desire and pros of going with a custom tune. However (as I did with my STI), I'd suggest going to a reputable LOCAL tuner who you can meet with in person to get some dyno and road tuning time in to perfect the custom tune. Customer service and marketing are extremely important.. especially these days with so much competition. If I were in 5150's position, I'd provide some polite insight and offer to go above and beyond to satisfy the distraught customer in any way possible (within reason, of course). Instead, it looks like they came in all defensive and are now known as the "50/50 tuner." :ROFLMAO::sneaky:
 
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