Chrome Pros plating: buyer beware

[1BigDog]

The pasted message below was my last email that I sent to chrome pros in Corpus Christie Texas. As you can see the customer service sucks big time. While the wheels came out nice, they also left in the dampeners in the rear wheel, causing me a whole ton of extra labor to remove them. Unfortunately for me I didnt order them through Ebay, but directly on the phone, which may have given me more protection. But, if there is no response from them by Friday then I will file credit card fraud charges against them with my Citi card. So, some of you PM'ed me about this company possibly considering using them for plating. Right now I would not recommend them to anyone. Ill see what happens after Friday. Sure do wish that we had a member in the Corpus Christie area to go there but apparently not.

 

"Ben, this is the third email that I have sent you. You still havent answered my previous emails. When we spoke on the phone you promised to inspect the return core wheels this past Monday and issue the 485.00 credit as you promised to my card. That has not happened. I spoke to another rep on Tuesday who assured me that the wheels would be inspected and a credit issued. When I asked for his name he hung up. Still no credit to my account nor any response from your company. You had no problems responding to my inquiries for the last few months but now that payment was made all that I am getting is the runaround it seems. I need a commitment from Chrome Pros as to when the credit will be issued.

Jeff Koppelman"

[Guest]

Just got an email from Chrome Pros and they werent too happy. But, according to the rep they will be issuing a credit today. Ill see how that goes.

[Rick Haywood]

What were they unhappy about? Didn't like the fact that you wanted what was do you?

[Guest]

Got a response from the nameless guy I spoke to. He claimed that I never asked for his name and he was not too happy about that. Plus they raised the trust issues. But Randall did say that he processed my order ahead of 20 other orders and the credit was issued. Now in all fairness I did ask his name at the end of our conversation and its possible that he was in the process of hanging up as I was asking so it could have been an error on my part. I did apologize to him about it and thanked him for expediting the matter but, as I told him, I have dealt with numerous companies over the years and have established a certain trust with them. Since I am a first time customer and have layed out a large sum of money, not returning communications or fulfilling a promise can cause a lack of trust.

Ill see how it goes.....

[dacheedah]

Looked at their web site, they should provide instructions to strip all parts in advance. Customer service is important, a bad word kills future business.

[playboy]

If I understand this correctly you sent them a set of core wheels and they send you a set of finished wheels (not your cores ) back.

 

If that's true they should have prepped the wheels before chroming and removed things like valve stems and rubber bushings.

[dacheedah]

If that was the way it went I completely agree. Here is what I read first "Your custom wheels/parts are carefully logged into our shipping system and engraved to ensure all customers recieve their original parts" they also have the exchange program and in that they charge extra to remove the parts from the wheel. So I guess either way they should have stripped it.

Bearing removal$ 25.00 per wheel Bearing race removal$ 25.00 per wheel Bearing race cut-outs$ 50.00 per wheel Damaged hub repair$ 75.00 per wheel Wheel repair for bent wheels$175.00 per wheel Swingarm bearing removal$ 50.00 Swingarm bearing cut-outs$ 50.00 each Broken or stripped bolts$ 50.00 each

Edited July 13, 2012 by dacheedah

[RSTDdog]

Your Core deposit is just that, a core deposit, Its not operating capital for their company so refunding upon receipt of your wheels shouldn't be an issue. Are they implying they have twenty sets of core wheels to inspect before they get to yours?? I'm guessing they are dipping in to the deposit money and were probably waiting on more money to come in before they could afford to credit you back.

 

 

With respect to leaving the bushings in vs removing them before chroming, If chrome plating got on the wheel surface cavity where the bushing installs, you may not get the new bushing in. Its a press fit as it is, extra material like chrome could make install difficult.

 

I Don't know enough about how the wheels are plated to know what would be better, leave the bushings in as a mask, or leave them out if they can plate without getting it in the machined holes for the bushings.

[spitfire9]

I tool my Vulcan wheels off, had a shop remove the tires, bearings, valve stems etc, and shipped them to Chrome Pros about 18 months ago. I did have to jack around with one guy on the phone who tried to suddenly raise the price from the original quote, but he relented. Got them back and they look just beautiful. The chrome job was very nice. But- they do seem like a mom and pop shop. Cousin Larry tells you one thing, and Billy Bob does the other. Sorry you had such a disagreeable experience with them.

[playboy]

Your Core deposit is just that, a core deposit, Its not operating capital for their company so refunding upon receipt of your wheels shouldn't be an issue. Are they implying they have twenty sets of core wheels to inspect before they get to yours?? I'm guessing they are dipping in to the deposit money and were probably waiting on more money to come in before they could afford to credit you back.

 

 

With respect to leaving the bushings in vs removing them before chroming, If chrome plating got on the wheel surface cavity where the bushing installs, you may not get the new bushing in. Its a press fit as it is, extra material like chrome could make install difficult.

 

I Don't know enough about how the wheels are plated to know what would be better, leave the bushings in as a mask, or leave them out if they can plate without getting it in the machined holes for the bushings.

 

 

 

You make some valid points I never thought about. Your right once the wheels were dipped without bushings you wouldn't be able to get the new ones in. Would be the same if they powder coated something and filled up all your bolt holes.

[dacheedah]

But if that's their business they should have a solution or everybody would complain abour reassembly. If they are listing a fee to remove the dampers their has to be a reason.

[Eddie]

I used them for my wheels and didnt have any problem with them. They did a great job and the wheels still look great . I did strip the wheels because I wanted my wheels back not someone elses. It took longer than I wanted but it was not during riding season so no big deal.

[Guest]

If I understand this correctly you sent them a set of core wheels and they send you a set of finished wheels (not your cores ) back.

 

If that's true they should have prepped the wheels before chroming and removed things like valve stems and rubber bushings.

 

They had a set in stock and they were already in the hot tank so I opted to have them send the wheels to me and I would repack my old ones in the same carton and use the return authorization label to return them. It actually worked out to be cheaper this way and less of a hassle. When I originally spoke to Ben at CP he stated that all parts are removed or plugged. This wasnt the case with the rear wheel. Those dampeners should have been removed and the holes plugged. I am now having a tough time removing the old dampeners. I even tried a blind hole puller to no avail.

 

That being said, the second rep, Randall, came through for me and my refund was issued to my card. The quality of the chrome is excellent but I felt like I had to jump through hoops at times to get things right. It all comes down to an issue of trust and honesty. If you say your going to do something then follow through on it. Or communicate the problem with the customer. Hmmmmm, that sounds familiar.

[Guest]

The other week I assembled my front wheel with new bearings, seals, mounted the tire and added dyna beads. All went well until I tackled the rear wheel. I already posted on how Chrome Pros hot tanked and plated the rear wheel with the rubber dampeners still installed and how they were destroyed in the process. It was hell getting them removed. I had to use a sawz all with a metal cutting blade to cut through the rubber and make slots in the dampener casing. I averaged 1 hour per dampener. That would be a pretty penny at shop labor rates. I was working for less money then Thom's neighbors in Texas. Used a sanding wheel in a drill to clean up the bores and got the new dampeners in. Cleaned up the 6 finger hub and tried to install it. It wont fit!! The asses also chromed the hub shaft. It was 3mm thicker then stock. Spent another hour sanding the hub to specs. Stock is 48.4 and chromed it was 48.7. Got the hub back on with all new o rings and seals and mounted the tire. Those tire irons I bought last winter sure came in handy. I didnt want a shop to scratch the chrome and then I would have gone nuts so I did it myself. Not too hard, just some elbow grease.

 

My point to this is to make aware at how they do business. They sold themselves to me as a company that does hundreds if not thousands of wheels a year and they know what they are doing. I asked them if they were aware of what the Venture wheels may need and I was assured that they have done plenty of them so I shouldnt worry. Maybe it was the Oxy's I was taking at the time,,I dont know, but I let my guard down and now im paying the price in labor and riding time. Just something to keep in mind just in case you decide to go chrome on your wheels.