keegan Engineering, head work
 

Hey Guys, need help! What does anyone know about Keegan Engineering's reputation? Sent my head in 2 months ago-was supposed to be a 2 week turn around!! Mike answers about every 3ed or 4th email and has promised it out the next week several times. Left phone message and no phone calls.

Deleted your other duplicate thread. Hope you get your issues resolved. We don't really have regional sections here, you might try clubroadster.net, they have decent regional sections where you might have better luck.

An in person visit goes a LONG way with these kind of issues.

According to their FB they build motors for 949?

Please keep us updated. They looked like a pretty reputable place, I was thinking about talking to them, myself. But this doesn't sound promising.

robert

Yes Crusher has a motor built by them.

I had a similar experience with the motor he built for me. It took almost 4 months to get it back and very slow communication. Part of what didn't help is that his wife just had a kid.

I'll keep trying. I know he just had a kid, been there and done that twice. I still had to take care of business. Maybe they had complications-I hope not. I also know that he does really good work and that is why I chose him over others. Just didnt expect it to take this long and spotty communication. At least I know he does take a while. I'll let you guys know how it comes out. Thanks for the delete on 2nd post Curly-couldnt figure it out. You are right, in person visit always helps, but....I'm in Louisiana and he is in California. Kinda puts me in a bad spot. Ya'll have a great day !

Isn't the Insideline project car motor being built by Keegan. Check out their long term Miata build, purdy pics inside.

My experience has been the same as/worse than the OP's.

"It should be done by _______" has been happening for almost FOUR months. Almost every time I send a follow up email after one of those dates comes and goes, 5-7 days would pass without a response. "Still waiting for a reply to my last email, see below" would usually be followed by a same day response. Today makes day 7 of me waiting for dimensions on the crate so I can provide him a shipping label.

With spending ~$4k, one would hope to have a little bit better communication.

^ I concur, if you're so loaded up with work that you can't communicate with your clients, it's time to start turning down work until you can catch up.

For one, no machine shop would turn down work. No matter how backed up. Keeping work coming in is what keeps the doors open. And its never wise to rush your machinist. Things take time and there is always another customer who is paying more than you or is a real race team with real needs. Pestering and rushing results in shitty work. However in your defense, they should have been better at communicating and scheduling work.

I worked for a machine shop for 5 years and i have seen builds get pushed back months like this when it gets busy. There is alot that goes into building engines. Some times machine parts are back ordered or a machine breaks, this leads to down time.

Yes but give me a real lead time. Dont tell me 6 to 8 weeks when you're backed up 4 months and then more crap happened in those 6-8 weeks and it wont be another 5 months till I could realistically get my shit back. Blowing your lead time is bad. Blowing your lead time and telling someone "oh it'll be done next week" for 4 months on end is even worse. You make more happy customers by saying 3 months for lead time and having it be done in 2.5 months, rather than saying 2 months and being 2 weeks late.

I absolutely hate the practice of putting other people's work in front of mine. I'm a paying customer. Sure, maybe there are a few more important customers that might have some emergency work that needs done, but that excuse gets old really quickly. I've seen that sort of BS literally drag on for more than a year. Nobody's work is worth that sort of delay. Also, asking for something to be done in the time frame that was originally quoted by the machinist isn't "pestering and rushing" them.

robert

I spent several years in the automotive field in various positions, including aftermarket parts sales, and was constantly reminded of the restaurant business.

That is, you have so many people who either are - or think they are - great craftsmen (chefs) but have no business sense or training. This is why you have great chefs drive restaurants in to the ground (or never get them off the ground in the first place).


If you regularly cannot stick to a promised delivery time, you should start overshooting it by a wide margin. I'm constantly boggled by how few people in the automotive aftermarket understand the notion of "underpromise, overdeliver."

If you realistically think it's going to take 4 months, set your delivery time at 6 months. Then, when it's done in 5 months the customer thinks he got his parts early and you generate positive goodwill - vs them thinking they got the parts late and generating negative goodwill.


That leads to a second comparison with the restaurant industry: if you are a great craftsman but shitty business person (or are overwhelmed trying to do everything), acknowledge that early and bring in some competent help to run the front of the house.


I hope everything gets resolved and Keegan gets back on more solid footing after what seems like some growing pains.

Keeps getting better...

6/14- I asked him about the flowsheet he said he was sending, as well as info on weight/dimensions so I can get a shipping label.
6/22 he replies to the email. Doesn't answer either of my inquiries. Simply asks if I had sent payment yet.

:crx:

You really should not air all of this out publicly. These kind of issues rarely end up with either party's reputation fully intact. It is not fair for the public to pass judgment without both party's side of the story.

GIMME A BREAK!!!

This is a classic example of an industry where the "builders" have gotten spoiled so bad that sending them work and a ton of money still results in a gambling game on whether you'll get what you're paying for in the timeline you were promised.

Can't deliver on promised timelines? YOU DESERVE TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!!!!

Yeah except years and years of people dropping their pants and taking it without lube from builders is what led to this in the 1st place. Maybe they'll actually start caring about the customer when it starts affecting their reputation?

They're more than welcome to come here and post their side of this of course. Who knows, maybe OP is mis-representing the situation a good bit.

+1 thank you
+1 thank you
+1 thank you

If a vendor is giving you terrible service, was not a single or isolated incident, and even had a chance over the phone to rectify things, but did not take it, what would you do at that point? I saw someone having the exact same problem as I was having, and decided to chime in. I don't feel one bit of wrong doing for sharing what I have.

In all honesty, I hope that when this engine arrives, it is fucking awesome, and I can feel slightly less shitty about how this transaction has gone.

:party:

I know that you are angry, and that sometimes we all do things without fully thinking about it when angry.

I hope it really works out for both of you. It is hard to say at this point without knowing more about what is going on with them.

What is going on with Keegan is that it is race season and he is backed up. This reeks of what went on the Stewart at SD with shocks.