Whining about H&R Springs customer service...
 

Just a cautionary tale about trying to get a straight answer out of H&R Springs customer service.

I unpacked my set of H&R coilovers yesterday. I noticed that the 2 spanner wrenches included with the set were different sizes:

Attachment 199027

This difference seemed odd, as the spring perches and locknuts are almost the same diameter. Sure enough, I tested the wrenches out and discovered only one of them actually fit.

The larger wrench:

Attachment 199028

The smaller wrench:

Attachment 199029

I decided to call H&R Springs customer service out of curiosity. My intent was simply to find out of the smaller wrench was mistakenly included, or if there was some proper use for it that was unknown to me. My desired outcome was simply that, if it was a mistake, they could be alerted so an appropriate change could be made to future kits. I figured if they went the extra mile, I might get a free larger spanner wrench out of it, but it didn't really matter to me.

I reached a CS rep named "John F". When I described the situation, I heard his tone change and immediately felt like I was being treated like a "problem customer". At various points, he told me:

(1) You only need 1 wrench to adjust the coilovers (then why include 2?)
(2) Spanner wrenches don't have to fit perfectly to work, the tooth does the work
(3) The locknut itself doesn't need to be turned under a load like the spring perch, so you can just turn it by hand
(4) 2 different size wrenches were included since the spring perch and locknut are different sizes (ignoring my repeated statements that the difference in the size of the wrenches was much, much greater than the difference between the perch and the locknut)

And frequently, after making one of these explanations/excuses, he'd say, "I just don't see the problem here."

Finally, when I was just giving up so I could get off the phone, he suggested I take some photos and email him so he could see what I'm talking about (which I just did about 30 minutes ago).

What I found astounding was that I, as a customer, took the time to alert them to a possible problem with their product, and the CS rep couldn't figure out how to handle the conversation without resorting to basically telling me to just deal with it. I work in a small retail business, and while I am completely on board with the idea that occasionally you have to "fire your customer" when they make unreasonable demands, I hardly think calling with a question about a poorly-sized wrench supplied in a kit is an unreasonable demand.

We'll see if and how John F responds to my email with the attached pics.

talk to his boss/supervisor/manager/etc

thats retarded, that wrench is definitely not acceptable.

I'm willing to assume he was not working on Sunday, but it's now Tuesday afternoon and still no reply from my friend John F at H&R Springs.

Escalate my complaint, give him another day or two, or just forget about it?

Call that mo-fugger... :2cents:

So, I sent "John F" an email with basically the same info posted above the same day I started this thread. This is what followed:

He replied:

My response:

He changes the subject:

I answer:

He then kind of admits the locknut is a different size, but still insists the spanner wrench works fine:

I try to move towards a solution:

He replies with:

So it took John the better part of a week to halfway admit that the wrench was the wrong size and the best solution he can offer me is to "contact a distributor".

Customer service fail.

So wait. You bought this used from someone? And you're basically complaining about their support of a product you did not buy from them or one of their distributors in regard to a issue that is not really an issue?

Just trying to understand here. Is Tim a distributor or is he some guy on the classifieds who sold you some "NIB" parts?

Is it possible that Tim accidentally put the wrong wrench in there?

In a sealed bag in a sealed box? Sure, I guess Tim might be running a big scam to steal the properly sized wrenches out of H&R coilover kits and replacing them with smaller wrenches, but it seems unlikely.

Keep in mind I opened the conversation with H&R customer service not asking for anything other than an explanation for why a wrench was supplied that doesn't fit.

OK, cool. I was misunderstanding then. If its sealed in the bag then theres about a 99% chance of SNAFU (however minor) on their end.

Honestly, my issue isn't even with the answer as the way it was delivered. If I'd called, described the problem, and he'd said, "I'm really sorry, certain kits have a different sized locknut. I don't have individual wrenches, but I can direct you to a distributor if you want to purchase one", I'd be completely happy. Same answer, but delivered in a way that acknowledges my problem, and doesn't waste my time.

But after a week of arguing with the dude just trying to get him to acknowledge that I wasn't just making the problem up, taking photos to prove it to him, waiting days on a reply, then having him do nothing other than send me a link back to their website...well, he's working in the wrong department.

What are you, a woman? Obviously their CS leaves a bit to be desired, but you're also worrying about it more than you need to IMO. In the time you've wasted trying to deal with them, you could have gotten the parts installed on your car and found out for certain whether you really need to bother with a second wrench or not.

Factors that may ease your mind:

1. The lock nut does not need to be snugged to the perch with ape-like torque. In fact, one of my Koni perches was missing its set screw (they use set screws instead of lock nuts) and despite the perch not being secured by anything other than spring tension, it has not moved one iota in almost a year of driving, as evidenced by the small alignment marks I put on it with a paint pen when I discovered the missing set screw during the initial install. Koni did send me a replacement set screw free of charge (great service :bigtu:) but I have yet to install it.

2. Depending on the spring length & rate and how high you have things adjusted, the perch will have tension on it from the spring. If not with the whole coilover assembly out of the car, then with it installed and the weight of the car on it. One wrench "should" be sufficient to tighten or loosen the lock nut without spinning the perch along with it, assuming you didn't install the lock nut with ape-like torque.

3. You are not going to be adjusting your coilovers frequently. Once when you install them, maybe a few days later if things have settled a bit, and then a final time if you get concerned enough about handling that you want the car corner balanced.

4. A 99¢ rubber strap wrench from HF will work just fine if you need to hold the perch in place while you use the spanner wrench on the lock nut, and it will probably be cheaper and easier to acquire than a second spanner wrench. Granted, it doesn't say much for H&R service when going to HF is preferable to dealing with them. But at this point you're probably better off just solving the problem and moving on. :2cents:

Not to be a jackass, and I dont currently or ever have I had aftermarket suspension pieces. But it looks like the nut thingy closer to us in the picture is smaller and smaller wrench looks like it would fit that?

No, you're right...and that was kind of my point. I called their CS because the number was printed on the info sheet and I was curious. What could have been a 2 minute conversation turned into 20 minutes on the phone and a week of emails, because I let "John F" piss me off with his attitude. And I tried to indicate with my thread title that this was a bitchfest about relatively minor issue.

Actually, I took a pic of that as well and emailed it to H&R, just didn't include it here.

Attachment 198832

I helped adjust a Bilstein kit on RotorNut's car and all the collars were the same diameter (large spanner fit them "properly")and all we had were my Ohlins spanners which are 1 large and 1 small. I was still able to use the small one to get a grip on the collars to loosen them and snug them back together. Stop whining.