[alfa] Caribou tops

[CARIBOULH@xxxxxxx]

Stan made one of the most intelligent posts I have read here about a retailer 
of a product vs. the manufacturer of a product. And in this case, no I do not 
"sew up" my tops, I contract with another companyy to do so and thay have 
done so for me for about the past 14 years. And in these 14 years they have done 
a great job, but not each and every thing is made perfectly (even Mercedes 
makes a "lemon" every now and then... doesn't mean every car they make is 
terrible).

Stan wrote: <<Usually the MFG requires the return of the product for 
inspection before any restitution is made>>

Absolutely true, if you call around to other vendors or top manufacturers you 
will find out that this is the standard way it is done. And every other 
vendor/manufacturer that I know of WILL NOT even take back a top for exchange or 
credit after it has started to be installed on a car! Figure that one out! I am 
offering to take it back YEARS after it has been in service!

Just like going to Sears when the DVD player you bought conks out... you need 
to bring the bad one in to the store first and then they give you and 
exchange unit. They won't give you a "freebie" first on the promise that you will 
then bring the "bad" one back later.

So if a top is bad, I do not absolve myself for resposnsibilty of it, but I 
try to (as in Dean's case) work with the customer in any way I can. Depending 
upon the time period (and certainly in Dean's case) I will wind up "eating" the 
returned top, after all I can't go back the MFG and claim a warranty item 
when it's been on the customer's car for over two years and the warranty is just 
one.

Now one other thing you may not be aware of and Tim made an excellent post on 
that...

Regarding the folks who continually make "negative posts"... I know you don't 
want to believe it, but it looks like 99.997% of my customers are quite 
happy. Since I started this business I have served over 37,500 individual customers 
and if seven aren't happy... well you do the math. If "all" my tops were bad 
(like some folks try to make out) there would be way, way more folks 
complaining than there actaully are. 

Also since I started doing Alfa tops about 13 years ago, I have sold over 
3000 tops. I believe that is more Alfa tops over the past decade than any other 
vendor, maybe serveral vendors together. When I have sold over 3000 and the 
next highest guy has sold maybe 500, isn't logical I am going to have six times 
as many problems? 

Plus.. over the past decade I have sold Caribou tops to other "name" Alfa 
vendors for resale to you all (some who even "sponsor" this Digest), service 
shops, upholstery and top shops and even Alfa dealers (who have represented them 
as "actual Alfa tops"). So the fact of the matter is hundreds of you have 
Caribou tops on your Alfas and don't even know it!!!

But do another math exercise here, I guess that there may be about 40,000 
Spiders in North America (someone correct me if I am wrong here), so if I've sold 
over 3000 tops then one out of every 13 (almost 14) Spiders has one of my 
tops on it! 

Ed at Caribou

Fiat parts at: www.caribou.cc
Alfa parts at: www.AlfaSpider.cc
Max-Flow Converters at: www.SportsCarConverters.com
convertible tops at: www.convertible.top.ms
top care products at: www.Renovo-USA.com
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