What do you want changed about GL?

I'd like to start a thread about things we want GL to change. Please keep it civil and productive. I am sure we all have horror stories to share. I have not met many peop,e that dealt with GL on a regular basis that were satisfied customers. Well, what do you want changed?

I'll start it out...

I would like GL to have a true claim process whereby you will be awarded some type of settlement if your claim is judged to be correct. I am sick and tired of being screwed and told to take it or leave.

Who's next?

Honestly, I think the biggest thing they need to work on, is their customer service. They need to stop the attitude that THEY are always right, and remember, its the customers that keep them in business.



and yeah... KEEP IT CIVIL

I would like an improved auction process, similar to ebay. Ending results, pictures, bidder numbers, winning bids, etc. should be available to all bidders for at least 30 days.

I'd like all the parts that are in the pic's of the truck, to still be on the truck when you pick the truck up. Also to stop using forklifts to move said trucks.

reps that return calls and e-mails

"customer service" reps that return calls and e-mails

in my recent case, like 1 minute of the reps precious time would have saved 5 refilling outs of the form. in the end i had to do "whatever it took". which will greatly confuse the titleing and registration process.

Issue the SF-97 at time of pickup seems like an obvious one

My number one compliant is not being able to pull up my invoices and then look at what I bought. This needs to be present for a long time, not just 30 days. This pulling the sales 24 hours after they close needs to go back to the way it was.

Second is not being able to see the B/Q stuff on my watch list after it closes.

I've never bought from GL but from what I've seen and read I think I'd like to see better security at the lots and more disclosure on the reasons some trucks seem to get sold and then pop up later. The idea that there might be something odd going on leaves a bit of a bad taste some people's mouths.

I would like more accurate descriptions of the items we are bidding on. Sometimes they are too brief, sometimes they are outright LIES. Maybe, just a listing of the known facts about the trucks or trailers, overall condition, serial number, mileage, year, mfg, major parts that are known to be missing, etc.

In no order of importance:

1.
More control over items that have been sold or are still on auction. The govt. (that includes the military) no longer owns the items, be they typewriters, boots or Deuces. It is patently absurd to say to someone whose purchase has been scavenged "We don't have any control over it". You think if I call Sears this afternoon and pay for a toolbox, only to show up and find the drawers missing that that's ok?*

2.
More reasonable, customer friendly hours. GL wants to sell this stuff at retail prices? That's fine, be a retailer. Offer more reasonable hours. No reason a GL employee can't be on a location between say 0900-1300 on a Saturday. I am pretty sure military installations are open on the weekends.

3.
A better claims process that isn't akin to the insurance industry, with it's myriad of excuses to get out of paying claims.

4.
No more double taxing. A company that big certainly has the technological capability to correct this "error".

5.
SF97's at pickup. GSA does. DRMO used to. No (reasonable) reason GL can't. Period.

6.
No charging of the customer until the EUC clears. I have been a consumer for almost 20 years and 99% of the companies I have dealt with do not charge you for an item and make you wait months. In fact, the only company I can think of was Wolf Camera and their hubris bankrupted them.

7.
Being able to see closed auctions. Transparency = honesty.

*I know someone is going to say "The pictures have a disclaimer, etc."

My response is that as excuses go, that one is pretty weak. They are not taking a picture of one deuce and using it for 100 auctions, they are taking the time to individually shoot thousands, if not tens of thousands of individual items per month. Using a picture of a Silverado with nerf bars for the same item on an F-150 with a disclaimer "Pictures are not of actual items-pictures are representative of product" is a lot different of seeing the actual item you are bidding on. Lots of companies do that (my employer included). They are doing this for a reason. There is no reason that if your truck has a towbar in the bed in the pictures for it not to be there when you go to pick it up.


Now, none of this is going to happen, I know this. GL has a monopoly and all business with monopolies will misbehave to their heart's content. Why has business has lobbied so hard for deregulation in the last 30 years?

I like this thread so long as we keep it civil.

Customer service is my number one complaint. I have purchased quite a few items over the years from GL and their service ranges from great with some CSR's to poor with others. I know it's like that in any huge company, but I still feel something could be done to improve policy company-wide.

I recently sent a request in about clarifying one of my invoices and here's their response:

Dear Mr. Stansbury:

Thank you for your email. Government Liquidation is unable to comply with your request.

We hope this information has been helpful; feel free to contact us if you require additional assistance and have a great day!

Warmest Regards,

Customer Service Department

Click to expand...

They were unable to comply, but they hope that has been helpful? LOL

A. Need a human on the end of the phone, rather than a recording, when calling GL for anything!!
B. Not using the deuce you purchased as the yard deuce to start, move, and jockey trailers while you are first waiting on the EUC, then waiting on the call back from the recording (back to A.) to pick it up.
C. Cut down on EUC time.
D. Allow submission for SF-97 when you call recording (back to A), so you can pick it up when you pick up at GL
E. They need to call you back!!! PERIOD!!!!

FYI, 99% of the bases may be physically OPEN on the weekends, the vast majority of DOL (Dept of Logistics people that run amongst lots of other things on base, DRMO) are M-F 9-5 workers. I highly doubt that you'll see weekend hours at GL. No DRMO I ever went to was open on weekends or after 5PM on weekdays.
Other MIL guys will verify this Im sure...

emmado22 is 100% on with his answer about DRMO hours.
Very lucky here, GL has there own warehouse, so when it goes up for bid, it is in there ware house and not DRMOs. Also, on that note, the DRMO here and GL watch the lot. One day, I walked over to look at a couple of trucks that had not been turned over to GL yet, and the DRMO guy (who I have known for years) stopped me and told that I was NOT allowed to look at the trucks at that time, and that I had to have a DRMO rep with me. This was to prevent items from being taken off the trucks.
Another plus, the DRMO and GL guys here play well together.
One of the few, Frank USMC RET

These are all good ideas. Many of them have been discussed in other threads, so I'll try to summarize. Please also keep in mind that if you feel strongly about something, a written letter or an email to info at govliquidation dot com or fax is the way to make your voice heard. And please remember to include details such as sale and lot number, dates, names, etc.

Wait, one more disclaimer - I do not claim that we're perfect and I don't want to give the impression that we think we are. I'm simply responding to the concerns posted here.

BKubu: Valid claims do result in some type of settlement. In your case, you were offered a complete refund. You chose not to the take that route, which is certainly your prerogative. The exact monetary amount could not be corroborated since there is no way to know for certain what parts were removed from the truck. Hence, the full refund, which you opted to turn down.

M1075: I bring up eBay all the time. It really is the online auction standard. Our website has slowly gotten more like eBay over the years. But please remember that we're dealing directly with the government and items that were once the property of the Armed Forces, which adds a layer that eBay doesn't have to work with.

EO2NMCB: Whenever something like this occurs, please notify us. If parts go missing or there is forklift damage, we want to know about it. There are several reasons why this could be occurring, some of which do not include GL employees at all, but we still want to know about it.

tie6044: From what I understand, the SF97s used to be issued at time of pickup. They were notoriously wrong and made for difficult visits to the DMV. Hence, the new system where GL creates them on our own.

Michael: Are you referring to EUC invoices not being visible after the close of the sale? That has just recently been updated. In the future, invoices for BQ sales will be posted to customer accounts. Also, the functionality to view the Lot Details pages after the sale has been restored as well. If you want to know why, ask emmado22, who guessed correctly.

maddawg308: I have been bringing up the issue of lame descriptions and hopefully this will improve. You don't buy out of Barstow by chance, do you? Whenever anyone runs across an example, PM the URL. I'm being serious.

clinto: There are folks who have been working on some of these issues. A well phrased letter from an intelligent customer such as yourself may help them in building their case. Again, I'm being serious.

And don't get me started on customer service. I doubt that anyone on here gets more irritated with them than I do. This is another instance where examples are helpful. You can PM them to me, if you want, but a letter to management would be best. Training methods have been implemented, which I hope will improve their performance before I go into cardiac arrest.

Well, you've kept me busy today, boys. And just so you're aware, when we get great ideas from customers, we implement them. So when you have a suggestion, send us an email. If you like being able to sort your invoice by date, you have a fellow customer to thank for that.

We should have a few interesting improvements rolling out in the future so keep your eyes peeled.

I want to add something here, which may not seem important. When you say 'customer service', I believe you're referring to customer service as a whole, i.e. anytime a customer contacts us for a service. There is a separate customer service department at GL. So if you have a bad experience, you may want to note who you were interacting with. A name is best but you may want to make reference to whether it was an EUC rep, titling clerk, invoicing specialist, etc.

Well, let’s see what I would want changed about G/L so more bidders will find it easier to buy Government surplus? Won’t more bidders mean a increase in bids so that the final price will be more?
Some how helping G/L increase their bottom line at the cost of my bottom line doesn’t thrill me too much.
I guess those of you that have plenty of money and less time will like it but it just don’t feel right to me.
I liked it in the first days when the L/L website was so hard to navigate only a true diehard surplus buyer would stick to the end. I hope G/L gives each of you a little gold star for be so.....helpfull. Wayne

Michael: Are you referring to EUC invoices not being visible after the close of the sale? That has just recently been updated. In the future, invoices for BQ sales will be posted to customer accounts. Also, the functionality to view the Lot Details pages after the sale has been restored as well. If you want to know why, ask emmado22, who guessed correctly.

Click to expand...

None of my complaints has been fixed as of today.

If I click the invoices tab and then click on one of the invoices and pull it up I still get the following message if I click on one of the lots: This is esp irritating if DRMO has decided they want it back and I have forgotten what it looked like.

Lot Details
A complete listing of the past bid results for Internet Auctions only will be available for 24 hours following the close of the sale. However, the lot numbers and high bid amounts will remain posted for your convenience.

Click to expand...

Second is not being able to see the B/Q stuff on my watch list after it closes.

Click to expand...

I had all of the trucks that closed yesterday at Huntsville, AL on my watch list. I did not bid on any of them. Today there is one item in my closed watch list (something else I was watching that was not B/Q) and clicking on it gives the same message as above. Sale 3603 lots 900 to 919.

Robyn,

First, thanks for being available to us. It is really great! Even when we are less than helpful!

As for item descriptions, I did notice when looking around that Barstow essentially has no description. The M1009 I bid on and won listed the year and mileage. That was about it! Other locations were much more detailed.

rr

Some of the detailed description are right out of the TM We need to know about the item being sold IE no motor no tries not that its made of steel and has a GVW of ___ and has 10 wheels (if there are all there). More important is if they put the fork lift thought the radaitor or not. I'm not say you need to do a 100 point inspection. But if there is know damage/missing parts, it needs to be noted. As most of the trucks I bought have been.