Ford Focus Forum banner

Tulsa-based company doesn't want business from Focus owners!

3K views 35 replies 26 participants last post by  WUGcatsvt 
#1 ·
So I've seen this shop here in Tulsa, "Car FX", for some time now thats had high-end tricked-out Mustangs (and a new '08 Challenger) sitting out front; so I decided to stop in and give the shop a look over. Sure, why not? I don't drive a Mustang but I do drive a Ford...so why not? Its basically a high-dollar carbon-fiber and hand-job ricer shop that caters to new-era American muscle cars.

...and evidently they don't want our business. :what:

I pulled up in my Focus, which has no Ford logo on the front I might add for the sake of the story, and walk in. I made it about 10 feet in and this older guy with a gnarly beard meets me halfway in.

"I ain't got nothing for you in here, buddy, we cater to only American cars in here."

Well its a good thing I drive American then. :screwy:

Did he honestly think I was driving a ricer, or was he just being an ass? Either way its cool. Years of working in the support industry has prepared me for knowing when I'm not wanted, unfortunately I'm about as stubborn as a mule; and I wanted to see what he had...which is why I came in in the first place. On the walls were hoods and shifts, Baer brakes and shift knobs, and carbon fiber as far as the eye could see.

Naturally I took this opportunity to inform him that I drive a SVT Focus, an American car last I checked, and a few Mustang parts have been known to find their way on a Focus from time to time, in fact; I actually have a Saleen suspension kit on my car right now. Stick that in your tailpipe and smoke it, Fonzie.

Still, he was standing there, more or less barring entry, so I turn to start towards the door; still kinda looking mind you "on my way out"...and he starts in. He said that he makes good money on newer American cars, that it wouldn't be good business sense for him to "step back in time" to cater to Focus guys.

"Thats why I got nothing for you."

He proceeds to go on about how Mustang owners pay good money for parts and tell all their friends, where (in his opinion) Focus guys tend to be a little lower on the food chain and don't order as many parts or tell as many friends.

"Catering to you Focus guys would be the kiss of death for a shop like mine, and since the Focus is dead, I want nothing to do with it."

Don't get me wrong, he had a lot of nice parts I wanted to check out, but by this point I was disgusted, so I left. So maybe I wasn't going to buy anything today, then again, perhaps I might have found a exhaust tip or a shift knob I just couldn't live without. Maybe if he'd been a little more open to supporting a fairly large niche market, I could have recommended him to a few local Focus friends and beyond.

Instead I'm recommending anyone that has had business with him locally to post about it and email him. Even if your not local, email him anyway. Lets be heard.

Here's their website: http://www.tulsacarfx.com/
 
See less See more
#2 ·
wow. I can understand not carrying in stock any focus parts but flat out saying it would be the kiss of death for his business?? :dunno: :screwy: I know shops that don't carry focus stuff but will order anything I want as long as they can get it. The kiss of death to this guys business will be himself.
 
#5 ·
I've had words withthis owner at a local weekly car show before. He takes Cobra badges and slaps them on regular Mustangs and those get sold at dealerships and what not. I mentioned that it was lacking in taste since they weren't in fact Cobras. He said, "it's just a badge". :rolleyes:

Also, a LOT of Mustang and Cobra guys own SVT Focuses as well. The owner of that shop could have been turning down business from a Mustang owner too for all he knew.

Another thing.......they had a custom 07 Focus at the recent Mid America Team Shelby Meet as well. A bit hypocritical if you ask me.
 
#6 ·
Quite true, but hey, if he wants to pull out his gun and shoot himself in the foot; who am I to say different?
 
#7 ·
honnestly I cant stand a lot of muscle car owners/worshipers and this is no exception. That is flat out wrong. Time and time again you run into this type of crap from these guys.

and I am sorry if I offended anyone on here...but Its guys like him that put a bad taste in my mouth with muscle car owners in general
 
#8 ·
The fact that he said the Focus is dead shows that he has no clue. It would be nice to show him that the Mustang is only sold in the US as a large volume sale and the rest of the world as a specialty vehicle, unlike the Focus.
 
#9 ·
some shops just want to concentrate on a certain market or specialize on certain cars only.

the owner there is entitled to an opinion and if he doesn't want to work on a focus, then so be it. if he doesn't want to bring in parts for the focus, then just move onto another shop. you can't strong arm or force a shop to get parts they don't have access to via their distributors.

if he doesn't find any profit in bringing focus parts, then that totally makes sense. overstock on those parts could really bury a business.

he probably has an already established clientele so he will bank on that until things change. if he needs to diversify, he will do it in the best interest of the company through his eyes.

well....that's what i would do if i ran a business but i sure as hell won't be that ignorant because telling off a customer like that could go a long way. when word gets out like that, it could seriously put a dent in the positive image on the business.
 
#11 ·
"The focus is dead."


"Long live the focus."


It's not like we're "lacking" in aftermarket. Honestly. No real harm from some musclecar ricer guy who specializes in body kits to not want to work with the focus crowd.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I would have told him: "Hmm, well that's to bad. The only reason I didn't drive my Terminator is because it's sitting in my garage waiting for a Kenne Bell S/C; I was just coming in to get a quote from you guys on the parts and installation."

Then just walk out :lol: The guy would have been kissing your feet in a heartbeat.

Here is a pic of the "staff" on their website:


Which one is the douche-canoe?
 
#14 ·
Cliff's notes:

A shop owner cannot please everyone but this guy is the textbook definition of a douche pickle.



:banana:
 
#15 ·
This line of thinking is nothing new. California Mustang once had Cal-Focus. These folks are used to a seasoned market. They don't have the patience to cultivate a (local) Focus market. Their experience is totally different. Yeah, I think it's ridiculous for a shop owner to be an ass to anyone who walks in their establishment. Unfortunately I'm not surprised.
 
#18 ·
ZedX31485 said:
I would have told him: "Hmm, well that's to bad. The only reason I didn't drive my Terminator is because it's sitting in my garage waiting for a Kenne Bell S/C; I was just coming in to get a quote from you guys on the parts and installation."
you know what you should do is send him an email saying this is exactly what you were here for or something like that
tell him you were here for some parts for your mustang that you were working on but since he was so adamant about not wanting to serve you you went elsewhere

:)

D A N N Y
 
#19 ·
First, send him a DVD of Raffi pwning all kinds of misc. import and 'merican muscle in the FS Focus at Cali Speeway.

Secondly, if you ever go in there again, ask him why it's okay to rice out a Mustang with every bolt-ton part under the moon while he talks smack about 'imports'. What a hypocrite.

When the muscle car market dries up, and everyone is back driving econoboxes because of gas prices and the economy, I'm sure BillyBobRedneck will go out of business.
 
#23 ·
hotrodkris said:
omg that red 'retrobuilt' mustang is an abortion
If that's the kind of work that they put out, I don't think that they'll be around too long anyway.


As for the shop owners statements, yes, they were wrong and he deserves to see a large decrease in business for his ignorance, but at the same time, people that drive compacts are generally classified as "lower income" guys.

I've found that in my experience of sponsoring "tuner forums" that I never got any business out of them. In fact, I actually lost money. Not to say that the tuner crowd doesn't care about their cars, but most simply don't have a lot of money to throw around.

It doesn't make what he did right. He should respect everyone who walks through that door. You never know who could be on the other side of that counter..and you never know what they are there for.....

dave.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top