[aubin24]

Anyone know what the deal is with Norm's Fiberglass?

I ordered ZR1 Fenders and Dual diffuser Fascia from him on March 4th.

On March 15th, I call Norm and told him that he only charged my MasterCard
for the fenders. I didn't want him not to receive payment for the fascia. He said
thanks, your a good man. He then said that the fenders were done and he was
working on the fascia. That both items would be shipped out later that week.

I called again on March 26th, to let him know that I did not get the parts.
He said that he was having problems with his air compressor and that
the parts would be shipped out on Monday March 29th. On April 3th, I sent Norm an email

(Hi Norm I placed an order with you on 3/4. Just checking to see if you had
shipped out the dual outlet diffuser Fascia and the ZR1 fenders for my 09 solstice.
I would appreciate it if you could email me back to let me know.)

April 8th still no email from him.

I also checked my MasterCard on April 8th, and still no charge for the fascia. If and when I get
the fenders. Do I have to wait another 6,8,10 weeks or whenever for the fascia?
I don't want to make a big deal of this. What is going on?
Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[DaveOC]

Sometimes, email gets lost, forgotten, or otherwise misplaced. Why don't you give Norm a telephone call.

Norm makes all his products to order, he doesn't maintain any inventory. When he has some problems, everything gets delayed. It's one of the things you have to put up with when dealing with an artist.

Norm is a good, honest guy to deal with, and trustworthy.

Contact and Shipping Information

 

[Sly Bob]

Yeah call him. Norm's a great guy and you can't go wrong but as Dave said, they are made to order and they don't keep stock.

 

[D-ROD]

I agree, it's best to call Norm, when I left a message on his voice mail, he called me that same day. Took only just over 2 weeks to get my dual rear facia, once I place the order. Must of caught him during a slow time,

 

[rob the elder]

Norm is a sole proprieter and central force behind his business. He does not maintain an inventory perse. He makes parts to order. He does GREAT work but its all hand made and starts when he gets to you.

You can not rush an artist.:thumbs:

Rather than expending energy here, do what the rest of us do, give him a call and talk with him. And remember, like a lot of people who are very sympathetic to others, he wants to tell you what you want to hear so at times he can be a bit optimistic.

I have been waiting on special order fenders for several months. He said he would get them done when he can and I trust him. I just check in with him every few weeks to see how its going. :grouphug:

The wait will be worth it . . .

 

[Northern Sol]

Norm is a sole proprieter and central force behind his business. He does not maintain an inventory perse. He makes parts to order. He does GREAT work but its all hand made and starts when he gets to you.

You can not rush an artist.:thumbs:

Rather than expending energy here, do what the rest of us do, give him a call and talk with him. And remember, like a lot of people who are very sympathetic to others, he wants to tell you what you want to hear so at times he can be a bit optimistic.

I have been waiting on special order fenders for several months. He said he would get them done when he can and I trust him. I just check in with him every few weeks to see how its going. :grouphug:

The wait will be worth it . . .

:agree::agree::agree::agree::thumbs:

 

[TX08manualGXP]

I did research on him too and will order the rear diffuser for mine once I order my dual exhaust. even some of the shops recommend Norm and have his link on their site so I wouldn't worry. He might be waiting until he gets one or two so he can mold them at the same time. Maybe I ought to order mine now.

 

[shadowsonic]

I called Norm cause what i ordered was taking longer than expected he answered and explained he had a backup but will ship the items just be patient he will pull through.

 

[Senatorius]

Norm's product may seem to take a bit longer than the estimated time he may originally estimated but in the end you will be happy with the product he ships out, i know i was.
Norm is the man!

 

[1 LIL NDN]

Sometimes things go wrong when casting custom parts . When this happens its a delay and start over process . Norm posted to me about something last week .I sent him an e-mail and its been about 5 days haven't heard a thing from him. He will get back to you. Also there are Shows that he may be attending thats a hold back to if he has a display to set up W questions and answers. ( example) I ordered custom center capfor wheels from a dealer in Dec.& PD ,and between shows and other things I just got them in March Was well worth the wait .

Just bite the Bullet " Chit Happens " and all works out in the end.

 

[boboborino]

I do not disagree that Norm does awesome work, I have yet to order something through him and probably one day will, but I can agree somewhat with the OP, a vendor should give an est. time of delivery, and should try to hit that mark, Norm is knowledgeable and has been doing this for a while and should have some Idea on how long it will take him, even if it's a 6 - 9 week lead time, at least then the purchaser can decide if he/she wants to order or not, and if it gets in earlier than the customer is happier than pigs in you know what.I have had this situation when ordering parts for another vehicle, delivery times were unacceptable for most but for those that waited for quality workmanship were well rewarded.

Bert

 

[rob the elder]

I do not disagree that Norm does awesome work, I have yet to order something through him and probably one day will, but I can agree somewhat with the OP, a vendor should give an est. time of delivery, and should try to hit that mark, Norm is knowledgeable and has been doing this for a while and should have some Idea on how long it will take him, even if it's a 6 - 9 week lead time, at least then the purchaser can decide if he/she wants to order or not, and if it gets in earlier than the customer is happier than pigs in you know what.I have had this situation when ordering parts for another vehicle, delivery times were unacceptable for most but for those that waited for quality workmanship were well rewarded.

Bert

What you are saying is not unreasonable . . . but . . .

I deal with my painter on a daily basis. He is both my vender and has become a good friend. I get to look at how his business operates from the inside.:grouphug:

The vast majority of small venders are making a living but are far from getting rich. They operate in a market that is nearly totally discressionary. That is people go buy their products after they have paid the rent, put food on the table, put clothes on the kids etc. When consumer confidence goes down, people stop deciding to buy discressionary stuff. When their pay goes down or does not raise then they stop buying.

My painter has been in business 10 years. He never knows if he is going to make enough money to pay himself until near the end of the month. In a bad month, he gets little to no pay. In a good month he may pay himself $900 or $1000. He seldom makes more than $15000 in a year. If he did not love the work, have a nestegg in his 401k and a working wife he would not be in the business at all.

When someone comes in his door with a job he really wants their business. He is a people person and has a lot of empathy for his customers. When they say they want to pay him to do work, he WANTS to tell them yes. He is highly motivated to tell them yes.

But on a day to day basis, he does not really control his productivity or priorities.

He has a three man shop. On any given day one guy may not show up for work. Their productivity goes down by 30 - 40% depending on which guy is absent.

He may get an insurance company that sends him a job but ONLY if he can get it turned around in a week. So the priorities change.

Promises get made.

Changes happen

This is not Wallmart or Chevrolet where they have a lot of employees and a lot of on hand stock.

Small businesses cannot afford to tie up a bunch of money in inventory. They dont have the money.

Its a first come, first served business, with the possibility of interrupts that can and will impact the schedule.

Part of your buying decision ought to be a recognition that its a nice to have and you are willing to wait for a great product to show up in its own time.

:thumbs:

I am happy to continue to wait for my custom, one off Punisher fenders. Soon . ..

 

[normsf]

Wow, just saw this post. You most likely will have your parts by the time you read this as they were sent out late Sat last week. I sent them out in two packages because of the sizes and didn't charge you shipping on one of them. Hope that helps and great making your parts for you. I wasn't happy with the rear diffuser so I made another one and will now charge your account for that one. Thanks again Norm

USPS tracking #s VI 399 507 765 US and VI 399 507 774 US

 

[rob the elder]

Maybe time to say I told you so. :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

 

[TX08manualGXP]

Yep, for a custom made part, it don't get much better than that. Rock on Norm!

 

[BellaVerde]

You're the real thing, Norm!

 

[rob the elder]

Now I need to call him about my Punisher fenders :yesnod::grouphug::thumbs:

 

[King-Oka]

I don't know how many similar threads are here on this forum. Lots for sure. I, myself was getting impatient with Norm after I ordered my first part, but it came - finally - and fit perfect and looked perfect. So much so, that I ordered another part. This time I took the estimated delivery date and added 30 days. It was still late, but it came - finally - and fit perfectly, so the next year I planned on ordering the fenders to go with the front and back fascias.

Then the worst thing happened.

I hit a deer. Wrecked the front fascia. and a few more bits. I still wanted the F430 front fascia, and was prepared to have my car laid up for several months to get it. While I was at it, I ordered the fenders.

Then the best thing happened.

Norm put a rush on my replacement fascia and fenders. I had them at my shop in Canada in about 4 weeks. I was shocked - very pleasantly shocked.

Now I know, that he had other orders to fill, but I also know that he hates people being stranded without their cars. So I would like to thank Norm for arranging priorities such that we can all drive, but that we sometimes have to wait to "upgrade" while others get priority service to "repair". I think that's just fine.

I also admire a guy who can evaluate his own work and decide to redo it, when it doesn't meet his own standard, like apparently he did for the OP.

These parts he makes - are like a fine wine. Worth waiting for.

Keep up the great work Norm.

 

[Falcon Wing]

I had Norm's fenders and rear diffuser.... WELL worth the wait!

 

[compression]

Norm is a great person to deal with. I have shipped him money before the products were ever made for another car, I waited half a year for the hood to come in, but it was WELL WORTH it. Now everyone gets to enjoy the same hood ass myself. I have had 4 hoods on my car. OEM, RK sport, VIS carbon fiber, and Norms GTO. BYFAR norms was made the best out of all the hoods I listed for my car above. And yes it as better then OEM, GM had little drops of clear on my hood, and didn't put enough paint on it as you could see the primer under the paint in some sections.

Norm for the WIN. :thumbs::thumbs: