Fool me once...
I'm writing this review after my second attempt to purchase from MSAR.
The first time was around the holidays last year. I ordered a steering wheel and after a few days of no shipping notification, I decided to shoot them a message through the form on their website for an update. No reply. I send another message, no reply. I placed my order on 11/28 and I didn't receive a reply until my FIFTH attempt at contacting them on 12/6.
Response from "Justine": "Please be patient….we are processing your order…we don’t have staff here 24/7, but we understand that because of Amazon, customers expect their order to be on a conveyor belt and on the way instantly. In the world of motorsport….it just doesn’t run that way!"
Talk about passing the buck. Zero accountability and deflection.
My response: "I completely understand that not all retailers run like Amazon, however, if a retailer is experiencing delays, they will normally convey that info to the customer so as to avoid this type of correspondence. The retailer will either have a warning message on their website or they will send a message after placing the order. Of course I can appreciate the fact that it's the holidays and things are busier. That is not lost on me.
I actually tried contacting you guys 5 times - 2 times through the form on the website, 2 replies to my order confirmation email, and 1 email to info@ address. You can understand why anyone might feel like they are being ignored if they try that many times."
Even after all that, no apology.
To their credit, they did attempt to ship my order, but by the time they did, I already initiated a chargeback on my credit card, so the order was cancelled.
Against my better judgement, I decided to give MSAR another shot, hoping that the first transaction was just bad luck and they really were inundated with orders around the holidays.
I ordered another steering wheel and lo and behold, it was the same song and dance of placing an order, waiting a week with no update, sending 4 messages without a reply. The only thing that seems to catch their attention is when you file a dispute with Paypal. Needless to say, this ended in the same refunded (at least they did that) order.
It's pretty clear that this company's priority isn't customer service, at least not for their online customers. I have read positive reviews for them when it came to dealing with their brick and mortar store, but their online "business model" is rubbish.
I should've heeded the advice of another critical review of this company.
Unless you're local to MSAR, they have stock, and you can SEE the item in person, avoid them.
26 May 2022
Unprompted review