Factory Five Racing Forum banner

My Whitby Experience

7K views 53 replies 21 participants last post by  kobra01 
#1 ·
My Whitby Experience

The story is unfortunately not complete yet, but I thought it might be valuable to share my experience to date. Valuable for me to get off my chest and valuable to other current/potential customers.

I started my build a tad over 4 years ago. It went like gangbusters for the first few months. Got to the roller stage pretty quickly. Once winter and the need to do wiring hit, things ground to a halt. Picked it back up in 2015 and got the engine running. First start was quite the experience. From there, progress happened in fits and starts, but by March 2017 I had a mostly finished (and driveable) car, save for bodywork, paint, interior finishing and some troubleshooting.

I learned of Whitby through the forums and quickly came to the conclusion that it was going to be the shop for me, due to reputation and location (~2 hour drive from me in SW VA). Had some email and phone conversation with Jeff a few times over those first couple years to gather intel. In March 2017, I decided I was done and needed the pros to finish the car. I contacted Jeff, created a punch list of work I needed done, loaded my car on the trailer and dragged it to Greensboro. I met with Jeff and we talked through the work I needed done. We then toured the shop and I heard the Whitby story. I don’t recall details of conversation, but I left thinking my car might get done in less than a year, but that a year was probably what I should expect. I was fine with that expected outcome.

I emailed Jeff in July just to check on things. He had said they would first go over my car and see if there were any issues with my build that might need dealt with. I had hoped to get that review. He replied that nothing really had happened, which was understandable. In early November, I got an email from Jeff informing me that my car was “in the body shop for seam work and panel gapping.” I was excited to hear that. Less than 8 months in, they were starting work on my car. Less than a year total certainly seemed probable.

Sometime in March or April, I decided I needed to check on status. In retrospect, waiting ~4 months to check on status was a huge mistake on my part. It took a couple weeks to simply get a call back from Jeff. When we talked sometime in April, he basically told me that nothing had happened with my car since November. It had been moved and then forgotten about. Obviously, I was not pleased. Jeff was apologetic and assured me that my car would be a priority and that I would be billed based on when I dropped the car off. I was left with the impression my car would be done in fairly short order and that my original expectation of ~1 year would be met.

In early May, I called again to check in. Jeff informed me that he had hoped my car would be in primer at that point, but that stomach bug had run through the shop and thrown everything off schedule. I conveyed my frustration and Jeff was apologetic and appreciative of my patience. He told me that he wished he could say it would be done in June, but that July was more realistic.

Yesterday, I called again to check in. Jeff thought that panel fitting was done, but was unsure what else had been done. He was pretty sure nothing had been sprayed on the body. So nearly a month after he had expected it to be in primer, it still wasn’t. Disturbingly, now he did not seem concerned nor was he apologetic. I also explained that I needed some photos for DMV paperwork. He indicated he thought they had some I could use and he would send them. I hung up, stewed a bit, discussed the situation with a friend and called Jeff back. I explained that something about our approach needed to change, since the approach to date was clearly not working. I told him:

I was going to come visit in about 2 weeks. We later agreed on 6/20 for a visit.
I needed to see a schedule for completion, with weekly milestones. I assumed that, given the details described above, July was no longer realistic. Jeff disagreed and stated that July was still their goal. He offered to have the schedule for our 6/20 meeting. I said that was no good; I needed it sooner than that. I told him to send the schedule with the aforementioned photos for DMV. He agreed.

I’m very frustrated. Best-case scenario is now 16 months total time from drop-off to completion, 8 months from when they claimed to have started on the car. I’m skeptical, but hoping that I truly am at the top of their list now and that I will get a schedule that I can use to hold them accountable.

Throughout, Jeff has assured me that they will deliver a car that I will love. I don’t doubt that. The quality of Whitby’s work seems to be universally praised. The quality of the customer experience at this point is a real disappointment. Most recently, Jeff’s lack of concern for my clear dissatisfaction is disturbing. I hope that the final product makes the frustration of how we got there feel worthwhile.

If you choose Whitby’s, I hope you learn from my story:
Stay in touch with them. More often than you think is necessary. They obviously have far more work than capacity. I don’t know how they prioritize what they do, but my suspicion is that the being a squeaky wheel moves you toward the top of the priority greasing list. I think that’s an unfortunate way to make customers feel, but it’s my perception at this point.
When trying to stay in touch. Call and call early in the morning. Early in the morning I’ve been more likely to get Jeff instead of the receptionist. Getting the receptionist to put Jeff on or to get him to call back is challenging.
Be demanding. Again, I think it’s unfortunate that a customer should feel like he’s managing the project, but that’s where I’ve arrived. Don’t be afraid to demand specifics that can be used to hold Jeff and crew accountable.

I hope that I can update this thread with positive news. I don’t think Jeff is ill-intentioned. I do believe he and his shop do top-notch work. I don’t want to publicize things to soil his reputation, but I think it’s fair to share my honest perception of what’s going on. I based my choice largely on what I had heard about them and others should make their decision based on as much information as they can/want to gather. Additionally, I’ll share this with him and give him an opportunity to respond.
 
See less See more
#51 ·
Very, very nice. Congratulations. Looks great. Love the color combo.
 
#52 ·
I'm green with envy!:wink2: It sounds awesome and the little scream I heard when you took off says it all. May there be lots of good weather left in the season for you to enjoy.

It was good that you documented what went wrong in the process as well as giving credit for finally getting it back on track and delivered. The frustration will disappear quickly in your rear view mirror.

Alan
 
#53 ·
Very nice!
JR
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top