Fair warning Steeda so called premium clamps ...🙄

[smurfslayer]

To be fair, "I'm sorry you're having problems" sounds like typical corporate non speak.
Right up there with "I'm sorry you're offended".
Adressing people in plain English works better.

it‘s almost like verbal judo. Owning the issue, and apologizing for it has a bit of a disarming effect; it can defuse some of the anger - as long as it’s not overdone and repeated over and over.

And in a situation like this, defusing is needed. Who here hasn’t had a mod, repair or activity go south and the get worse the more you try to fix it. Accompanied by the consuming anger from the frustration.

A guy I knew was arguing with me once, it was a pretty animated disagreement. We’d been arguing point by point and he was frustrating me, seemingly going back on points we’d already covered. I was about to respond when he said something that stuck with me:
”… if I didn’t care about thei issue or your perspective, I would simply ignore you, the fact that I’m engaged with you on this says that I at least have concerns about the points you’ve raised “

That broke the argument, got me off the ledge, and thinking more rationally.
The discussion taught me a lot for the all of 10-15 minutes it took.

So, the vendor is here, in the discussion and engaged. Talk to them Guys.

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[25Raptor]

At this point I don't care what Steeda - says, wants to do, recommends, or claims...
They played the defensive game as I expected they would (It's what goes on now in this Country) and as I stated prior a simple "sorry, call us to make arrangements on how we can fix this" would have worked wonders. As far as the question of did I contact them directly about the issue - I never said I did, or didn't, I never said - cause it doesn't matter, it's about the failure of a part they sold me, they said was an upgrade that clearly isn't and my communicating this to folks on this board to help people not make the same mistake. This was NEVER about the money, it was about giving folks honest information, honest truthful reporting, about nonsense that happened. About a company misleading customers in order to make MORE money. As far as people trying to school me about what I should have, would have, and need to do - I get it, that's human nature.

This SmurfMan guy - makes everything sound so very dramatic, no one needs to be diffused except maybe he does. His responses sound like that of a couples councilor, or court mediator, go lay down my friend I think you need a nap.

 

[25Raptor]

This is Kyle with Steeda. @25Raptor send me a private message with your order number from steeda. I would like to apologize that you are having this issue. We stand behind our products and if there is ever a problem, we want to make sure it is corrected. Please reach out so we can get you taken care of!

Should have responded like this about 20 posts ago - thanks, - it was never about the money it was about reporting a bad product to others and your company steering me to buy a bad product for $65 more. What I want to hear you say is "we are taking that product off the shelves for evaluation and possible re-engineering."

 

[LouG]

It can be tough in retail. When I was at the Harley shop a customer bought back a Tail pack he'd bought about a month before. He wanted a refund becuse it was "no good" He'd "never used it".
So I checked it out, it had old mud stains right up the back, all the crap off the back wheel.
So I refused a refund. Anyway to cut a long story short he threatened, lied, swore, got nowhere and then went to the boss who said to give him a new bag. He wasn't even a good customer.
So guess what I did with future whingers?

 

[BimmerDriver]

I wrote:

Steeda should have responded better.

How should we have responded better?
Best,

TJ

See what Kyle wrote on page 4. That's how you do it, TJ.

 

[25Raptor]

Some alternatives to Steeda clamps:

You can use the the pipe portions below that slide over both ends and use regular 1 inch band clamps - or buy the same type Steeda sells (the upgraded Chinese version) for less than half the price ($23) and swap the nuts and bolts with the 12.9 grade shown below. (the nuts and bolts ARE SERIOUS)

I bought the band clamps again and got the 12.9 grade nuts/bolts and will install today. I also bought the pipe pieces as a back up cause they were only $9 - So when I'm done I will report back for those still interested.

• 
  M12-1.75 x 80mm Hex Bolts, 12.9 Grade Alloy Steel, Black Oxide Finish, Full Thread, Coarse Thread UNC, Hexagon Head Bolts 5 PCS
  
  
  Return or replace items: Eligible through January 31, 2026
  
  Buy it again
• 
  2
  uxcell M12 Flange Hex Nuts, 5pcs Grade 12.9 Carbon Steel Black Oxide Finished Hex Flange Nuts for Machinery
• 
  
• 
  2
  Elifecenter ID 2-1/2" to ID 2-1/2" Exhaust Coupler Stainless Steel Exhaust Adapter Fit for OD 2.5" Pipes
• 
  2
  ZEHCLP Exhaust Clamp Butt Joint 304 Stainless Steel Band Clamp Sleeve Couple Reducer (2.5 inch)

 

[Starship Enterprise]

I get the frustration. But.....My only thought is if you contacted Steeda CS first you could have gotten a true sense of what their level of response is. Maybe they would have refunded your $65 and responded the way you wanted.

You could still have posted your experience here but also would be able to share information on how good or bad their CS is.

How they responded on this message board is very telling though. You had pictures and proof of product failure and was still treated like a problem that needs to be swept under the carpet.

CS on the phone is a one to one issue, but responding on a message board lets everyone know how customer issues are treated. I was not impressed.

Good luck with your new parts. Maybe look into hardened steel bolts to be sure you don't have problems.

 

[25Raptor]

I get the frustration. But.....My only thought is if you contacted Steeda CS first you could have gotten a true sense of what their level of response is. Maybe they would have refunded your $65 and responded the way you wanted.

You could still have posted your experience here but also would be able to share information on how good or bad their CS is.

How they responded on this message board is very telling though. You had pictures and proof of product failure and was still treated like a problem that needs to be swept under the carpet.

CS on the phone is a one to one issue, but responding on a message board lets everyone know how customer issues are treated. I was not impressed.

Good luck with your new parts. Maybe look into hardened steel bolts to be sure you don't have problems.

These ARE hardened steel bolts and nuts that was my point posting them 12.9 grade.

CS is CS on message boards or on the phone it's a scripted mindset I'm sure it wouldn't have been any different.

The only reason the response got better after quite a few postings (my opinion) was they were getting such a bad rap and had to try to save face. These people COULD CARE LESS about my issues. (again, my opinion)

After this incident - It's kind of obvious to me that there are some heavily invested Steeda fanboys on this website (for whatever reason) that will defend them, and defend them, even in the face of the obvious.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Sometimes CS is scripted and sometimes it completely depends on who responds/picks up the phone, and what mood they are in that day.

I hope your re-install goes better with your new parts.

 

[kylesteeda]

A message from our VP of Operations:
First & foremost - any & all situations a customer has should be channeled through our customer service department at 1-800 950 0774 or by contacting your sales professional in order to process a claim correctly.

Steeda truly wants to make this situation right. From our review, it looks like there may have been some confusion along the way. We noticed earlier posts asking about a Venmo reimbursement and another about disputing the charge, and now the focus seems to be on the part’s performance. Regardless, our priority is resolving the issue to your satisfaction.

Unfortunately, it still appears that we were not contacted directly regarding the forum post. Had we been, we’re confident this could have been addressed quickly and privately. Since learning of the issue, several members of our Steeda team have been reviewing order records and phone logs to locate your contact information so we can reach out directly. We’ve also tried to send a private message, but it seems your profile settings prevent that.

To ensure we address the concern thoroughly, we pulled the clamps from our shelves and began testing. Our initial tests with standard (single-wall) clamps showed failure at approximately 70 ft-lbs. We expect our upgraded clamps to arrive later this week and plan to test and share those results as well.

At Steeda, our goal is to deliver the highest quality parts and the best customer experience possible. That’s only possible when we have the opportunity to work directly with our customers to resolve issues. We’re still very willing to make this right and would appreciate it if you could reach out to us directly so we can move forward together.

 

[Gojiras breath]

Kyle, can you physically look at that part and say its good? There seems to be no mechanical attachment point on the head side. If it torques and functions fine, my concern is removing it in 6 months when things are heated and rusty. I see the head side wallowing out and the grinder comes out to get it off. One time use. Only my
Opinion. I'm old and dont like loud cars so i never mess with my exhaust.

 

[tj@steeda]

This thread is getting more & more entertaining - the OP never called us, never reached out to us, still hasn't contacted us as of 9:00 p.m. EST - from what I am aware of.

Yes, we stand behind our products 100% - never said

Reading this as I sit here with my Steeda H-Pipe getting ready to be installed tomorrow... with the standard clamps it came with. Fingers crossed I have better luck.

The standard clamps work just fine - we offered the upgraded clamps for peace of mind, been running the standard clamps on my Mustang for 5+ years without issue. You are in good hands with Steeda.

Best,

TJ

 

[tj@steeda]

I dont care either way about the post. The responses from TJ would have landed him in my office this morning. No positives. How about " sorry you are having problems, ......."
It looked like a canned response from an uncaring employee. When people are frustrated with a product they will react in a cynical way. So wording has to be thought out. If i read his responses cynically i hear "how dare you ruin my reputation by not contacting us first.". And " i know our products are great so you are wrong".

It is SO EASY TO LOOK GOOD IN THIS THREAD STEEDA. You did everything to look bad. Train your staff on customer service. Jeeze.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I understand your concerns regarding the tone and wording of my responses in this thread. You’re absolutely right, customer service is a top priority at Steeda & something I don't take lightly, having been with the company for 15 years. I can see you are very vested in this thread & trying to interject when & where you can - glad you don't have too many closed-door meetings to be able to support the thread.

Your suggestion of starting with something like “Sorry you’re having problems…” is a great example of how we could acknowledge the customer’s experience without sounding dismissive or argumentative - if he went through the proper channels, so we could evaluate what may have transpired, vs. trying to tarnish our image in a public form is a different story.

Thank you,

TJ

 

[tj@steeda]

Yes, if you read my reply Steeda siad lots of people use them without issue. So they claim there is nothing wrong with them. My results disagree

JD, I believe there’s been a misunderstanding regarding the responses and feedback. While an issue developing with both the standard clamps or the HD clamps is highly unlikely, we acknowledge that issues can occur ... no company operates at 100% flawless execution ... we certainly strive to do that & have been pretty successful with over 35+ years of uninterrupted operations.

That said, we adhere to strict ISO 9001 standards and maintain a very high level of manufacturing quality and process control. We don't manufacture the clamps - they are sourced & many other companies utilize the same clamps for their systems.

If we didn't handle your situation adequately, I will be more than happy to review your situation. You can send me your contact info to [email protected]

Have a great night.

TJ

 

[Gojiras breath]

TJ. My man. Still with the "if he would have contacted us first". He didnt. He responded to kyle and said he won't. That issue seems to have sailed but i could be wrong. I understand if he had, this thread may not exist. Noone at steeda has that control.

If its not junk, tell me why its not junk besides it was spec'd to yalls standards and noone complained yet people said- they complained. Lets get past that and actually answer the question. Same thing i asked of kyle. How do you remove it in 6 months (after rust and heat) when you can't put a wrench on the other end? It's the "upgraded part". Kyle reported back on a torque test. Thats incomplete.

I'd skip "VP of Operations" and ask the oldest, grumpiest guy in the shop what he thinks about it and report back. Or not.

Anything else i said has been said. I'm not gonna boycott steeda over an exhaust clamp. You and Kyle and "VP of O" don't need to agree with me either. It's a potential issue with something thats probably .00001% of sales. Its nothing. I think a few of us would just like an actual answer since yall are following this.

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