I am unsure on how to start this but I guess the "beginning" is just as good as any other place to start.
I have been in the Miata community for about 6.5 years now and regularly frequent and post on three different Miata forums and dealt with most of the major Miata specific vendors in one way or another. I have spent money with said vendors and like everyone else I have those that I prefer to spend money with and recommend.
One that I have had a "troubled relationship" with is 949 Racing/SuperMiata and that is mostly due to my first hand(and seeing others) experience with Emilio.
The "first strike" against 949 Racing/Emilio came about when shopping for my Miata that I hadn't even bought yet, over 6 years ago. The 15x8 6UL was a strong contender but after some research and seeing some 6UL failures and what I perceived as a indifference to the issue on the part of 949 Racing/Emilio, I decided to go with Konig Flatout's which I loved and was a bargain since they were on sale.
My "second strike" against them(him/Emilio) was when I was shopping for coilovers about 5.5+ years ago. I had narrowed it down to Xida's, AFCO's and Fat Cat Motorsports. I reached out to all three via email and phone and the only one that seemed to be willing to answer my questions and seemed to "educate me" and want to gain my business was Shaikh with Fat Cat Motorsports. So that is where I spent my $2k+ with and was very happy with the coilovers and customer service.
Over the next few years I spent money with 949 Racing but my online interactions/observations continued to "leave a bad taste in my mouth" as Emilio just always came across as a "blunt tool" with what I perceived as little regard to customer service and at times even thought it might be "personal" as I would at times make comments that made it seem that I had a "personal issue" with him.
I once again was considering a set of 6UL wheels(about 2.5 years ago), this time in 15x10 but due to the lingering 6UL "failure issues" and my opinion of their customer service I decided to go with Enkei RPF1's. Admittedly, this time around cost was more of a factor than last time but not really the deciding factor.
To date I would still do business with 949 Racing/SuperMiata and recommend them if their products best suited the situation, imo. Then the most recent 6UL "issue" thread(17x9 variant) was made which I didn't see till about a week ago. I followed with interest and participated as I saw fit but obliviously my thoughts/opinions were not from first hand experience with the wheels but my issue with the situation wasn't necessarily the wheel failure itself, rather the lack of response and customer service aspect.
Then two days ago 949 Racing released a email discussing inspecting ones car and the parts on it, in my opinion, it addressed the issue without actually addressing the issue, this was "strike three" against them. I decided and posted,
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showpost....5&postcount=74 that I would no longer do business with 949 Racing/SuperMiata, nor would I recommend them.
I am the type of person that tries to live life by principles and I felt that the way I perceived 949 Racing/SuperMiata's lack of interest and response to the most recent 6UL failure was irresponsible and not a company(s) that I want to spend money with or in good conscience recommend to others.
Thru the course of this most recent 6UL issue there were individuals that directly and indirectly said that I ''had a agenda" or had a "pitch fork" mentality which I of course did not(or don't think so:p ). I decided to step back and look at "the whole picture".
That brings us to today and after some thinking on the subject I decided it would only be fair/right to reach out to Emilio and try to get a understanding of his perspective on the 6UL issue but ultimately my viewpoint on 949 Racing/SuperMiata's customer service.
I first PM'd Emilio on here and when I clicked on his profile I noticed that he was looking at the thread on the 17x9 6UL wheel failure, this gave me some solace that he was taking a interest in the issue. I typed up and sent said PM. I then decide to email Emilio so I called 949 Racing to get his direct email.
Ed picked up the phone and after explaining what I was "looking for" in rather vague terms. Ed explained that Emilio and he both check and responds to emails but it was he(Ed) that typically responded unless Emilio needed to get involved.
I was in the middle of copying/pasting my PM to email 949 Racing when I got a call back from 949 Racing. The voice on the other end said 'this is Emilio and Ed we wanted to talk to you'. Well that turned into a one hour and forty five minute discussion. Emilio and Ed were very helpful about both subject matters.(6UL failures and customer service)
To my pleasant surprise Emilio apologized for his actions/behavior that led to me(and others) having a poor opinion of 949 Racing/SuperMiata and taking my business elsewhere. Emilio also explained that it is in his nature to try and simply solve a problem/issue with little thought to how the message is conveyed but that he was actively trying to improve in that area. In all honesty I could tell that he has been in the last 6 months or so and had acknowledged this in my initial communication via PM.
To make a long story even longer, most of the "issues" I had with Emilio and 949 Racing/SuperMiata were misunderstandings, perception and or not having all the facts. I am truly glad that I reached out to Emilio/949 Racing and that they were willing to take almost two hours of their time to "make amends" and wished I had done this much sooner.
I don't feel comfortable getting into some of the details that Emilio and Ed shared with me about the whole 6UL "failure issue" but they said they are more than willing to discuss it with ANYONE that has questions or concerns and can be done via email or a phone call. I will say that just like my personal situation with them, the whole 6UL situation has misunderstandings, misinformation, perception and lack of facts that complicate it.
They said they have been expecting a lot of emails/calls in regards to this most recent 6UL "issue" but I was literally the FIRST ONE to reach out to them, which surprised me as well. In the midst of this phone conversation, I realized that I have been unfairly basing my opinion of Emilio based mostly on online interactions and a few phone conversations that were probably less than a few minutes each. This was in my mind like "dating someone online" with the expectation of actually getting to know who they are which is unrealistic, imo. For the record Emilio and I are not dating. :rofl:
TLDR: This is a great community with great people and vendors, like 949 Racing/SuperMiata, and some times we don't always "see eye to eye", misunderstand each other and take things "personal" so it is in the best interest of us all to try work out differences, misunderstandings, etc.
949 Racing/SuperMiata contribute a lot to the community with knowledge, experience, great products and are striving to maintain, build and improve their customer service and relationships with customers. The latter is the reason that inspired me to make this thread because I have in all honesty been a bit harsh on them over the years which I regret and apologize for. If you didn't read the whole post I ask that you do especially if you have or have had issues with any person/vendor, thanks for taking the time to listen to me ramble!:thumbs:
