Has anyone dealt with this company????? Curious on what your experience with them has been..........POS or NEGATIVE?? Thanks, LG, Mike
There is a ton of data in the archives, use the search function. Post if you have problems using search. Charlie Stephens
Complaint and Warning about Howell's Sheet Metal in TX!! here is a big thread, there are dozens more.
I am curious what your experience with the Internet is. A search here, or on any search engine will give you more hits than you can read in an evening. Then, maybe, ask a more reasonable question? Ok, so i see you are retired and maybe even older than i am. So, please do a HAMB search before you order. Anything from anyone. Then, consider buying it fro a supplier, not the mfg. That way you not only help keep your suppliers in business but you're buying inventory they have-not waiting for the manufacturer to decide to make a run of your particular part.
I am curious what your experience with the Internet is. A search here, or on any search engine will give you more hits than you can read in an evening. Then, maybe, ask a more reasonable question? Ok, so i see you are retired and maybe even older than i am. So, please do a HAMB search before you order. Anything from anyone. Then, consider buying it fro a supplier, not the mfg. That way you not only help keep your suppliers in business but you're buying inventory they have-not waiting for the manufacturer to decide to make a run of your particular part. NO ONE IS OLDER THAN YOU! BUT, YES, I am retired - going on 12 years and "LIVING THE DREAM"- building my FIRST hot-rod. MAYBE I'll make it 50 years! In my defense, I did a SEARCH before posting without results........(you can read my 2 cents on page 9 of the list of complaints) I see you are one of the many SMART ASSES on the HAMB.........no matter, I made a living dealing with such people...........I actually enjoy hearing from you/them as well, brings back good old memories from my working days. FYI- I too have dealt with Howell's on a POSITIVE note over a year ago. That is why I purchased from them once again June of this year and still waiting for my parts. NOW, after reading some of these complaints..........I AGREE with the comment that Howell will treat the customer right if they have the part in stock........otherwise, they could care less about your business. This is how they stay in business and sucker people in. WHAT A WAY TO DO BUSINESS....... REMEMBER, "don't be hating"...........sounds like RETIREMENT is a sore spot with you. THE "HAMB" IS THE GREATEST!!!
I was trying to cut you some slack, but ,come on. Type in "Howell's" into the Search box -I got 494 threads in 0.3 seconds. How hard was that? Wasn't try to be a smart ass,just pointing you in the right direction. Enjoy your retirement-no hard feelings, I am sure you earned it. Still, it pays to do a search before you invest in anyone's product. Have fun with your build. ")
I have bought several pieces from them. But I purchased them through the Ebay site. No problems with delivery or quality. It was about as I expected.
NO PROBLEM! MY BAD................ I typed "HOWELL SHEET METAL" and received NO HITS.........(you will NOT either) Should have typed HOWELL'S...........did not realized the HAMB was so precise. I see you joined six months before me and have over 4,000 entries compared to my negligent 200 +. I'm begging to wonder who's the one who is retired here?? Thanks for the input............... I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THE INTERNET AND THE "HAMB"
I had an absolutely terrible experience with them. I've had to deal with bad customer service before, but nothing on this level. If at all possible, i would look elsewhere.
I bought a few things 7-8 years ago and they didn't fit for shit. On the plus side, they sent the back for my T tub up with a friend and let me mail the payment after I got it.
For most of the folks who have less than perfect shipping records, I have found that, for those with ebay accounts, it seems to keep them reliable, at least most of the time.
I've had nothing but GREAT experiences with them, bought lots of stuff from them. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? lol.
I think there's kind of a disconnect between manufacturers and those who stock their products. Just because a company says they produce x number of products doesn't mean they make them all the time. On the other hand, a supplier can tell you what they have in stock from that manufacturer, so you have a better chance of getting it. Case in point, a few years ago, I needed a universal 16 gallon fuel tank from Tanks, Inc. Called them and was told by a rather tart lady that they didn't have that at the factory and, no, I couldn't just come by and pick it up. So I called Yogi's, who had the tank in stock and shipped it out right away. (of course, Tanks, was now bought out by Yogi's so that problem was resolved permanently). I have no dealt personally with Howell's but the prevailing feeling from various threads is that service is hit or miss with no predictability and that it's gone down hill since the "old man" retired. But, again, I haven't any personal tale to tell..
One thing Ive learned, confirm that the supplier has the part in stock to ship to you. I specifically ask, is this part on your shelf, will it ship from your location? Drop shipping, and taking the order and $, for a part that will be produced in the future is getting more common to avoid carrying inventory. Nothing wrong with it, I just want to know if I have to wait before I pay, or maybe keep looking for another option.
I ordered some parts from a supplier out west and they arrived the next day! Turns out they used a "fulfillment" company located in eastern PA. Inventory control's a weird beast these days. I know from being in business that anything sitting on your shelf is losing you money-many places try to turn their inventory over 6+ times a year-which doesn't bode well for those esoteric parts for your ancient car.
Mike, we ordered Model A panels in Nov '13. The one they said they didn't have was a recessed license plate piece that went below the trunk lid. Over time they didn't answer the phone or respond to e-mails. We told them to ship what they had but never received a tracking number. I went on-line to the Texas Atty Gen. You can file a complaint from there. I advised my builder of this capability but he wanted to go through his credit card company as they charged his card back in Nov instead of when they shipped our order. Last week my builder called them to inform them he wanted his money back. They seemed shocked anyone would want to do this. Jim told us he would check his inventory and get back to us. He called back in 10 minutes and promised us he would get our order shipped immediately. They have told us this same line before. Much to our surprise, by the end of the day my builder received an e-mail with the tracking number. He about shit when the order was delivered this week. I guess if you request your money back they come through but you shouldn't have to do this. We will never use them again. There is obviously a disconnect between orders and shipments. Personally, I wouldn't use them. Bob
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