Comp Cams

[goinbroke2]

Originally Posted by prostockpete1

there are a few canadian WD .s who buy direct from Comp cams .. see if your local speed shop has a account with Karbelt or Keystone automotive or i would think the canadian east coast engine shop Armstrong brothers probably buy direct from Comp

Good point, I got my cam as it turned out, but yes, A&J is about 20 minutes from here, should of asked John when we were at the last Greenfield race.
(hindsight is always 20-20 lol)

[BillyCarroll]

Originally Posted by Terry Cain

Thank you Billy. I stand corrected about Comp not being racer friendly and if I ever see ya at a race I will offer ya a drink.

Thank you, Terry. We face the challenges like many companies do, one being we get far more calls than we can possibly answer in a day and another simply being that we had the luxury of many great people who reached retirement around the same time and are enjoying life outside of the company now. Although we have people assuming their roles, in the best case scenario it will take decades just to gain the time they put in. The relationships they had will never be replaced. Not taking anything away from the new relationships being made, but all things take time. We are doing our best. We have a good group. No problem keeping us honest though if there are problems we need to work on.

I'll look for you at the track. I'm looking forward to it.

[BillyCarroll]

Originally Posted by goinbroke2

Well, I might as well throw another one at you then Billy, I tried ordering a custom cam for my stocker and was told Comp no longer sells internationally (Canada) I got the one I wanted (comp) but it was from someone living in the US.

Any chance this was a mistake and can be rectified or is this in stone?
Thanks

This one caught me by surprise a week or two ago when I came across a thread questioning this. I have been with COMP coming up on 15 years (not on the sales side) and I thought this could not be right. When I asked a few people internally I got mixed responses. The correct answer though is that to a retail customer we do not ship directly to Canada, only to a warehouse distributor or a speed shop who has a account setup with us. This didn't make sense to me until I got to the reasoning behind it and how this came about. Years ago we did ship to Canada to all customers, but when we invoice we charge for the product and shipping fees. I believe the change was made due to fees (customs, taxes, tariffs, etc.) that used to be simply handled by the recipient starting to get charged back to our account. Some were in addition to fees the customer was paying and many were billed back to our account by UPS or FedEx after the transaction making it very hard for us to reconcile it, or do so without making it an expense the customer didn't account for making it a bad situation. The easiest fix was to deal directly with distributors where the billing and freight transactions allowed for minimal paperwork and fees. Not being on the sales side, I don't have a list of the Canadian speed shops and distributors, but I could get a list together.

[goinbroke2]

Originally Posted by BillyCarroll

This one caught me by surprise a week or two ago when I came across a thread questioning this. I have been with COMP coming up on 15 years (not on the sales side) and I thought this could not be right. When I asked a few people internally I got mixed responses. The correct answer though is that to a retail customer we do not ship directly to Canada, only to a warehouse distributor or a speed shop who has a account setup with us. This didn't make sense to me until I got to the reasoning behind it and how this came about. Years ago we did ship to Canada to all customers, but when we invoice we charge for the product and shipping fees. I believe the change was made due to fees (customs, taxes, tariffs, etc.) that used to be simply handled by the recipient starting to get charged back to our account. Some were in addition to fees the customer was paying and many were billed back to our account by UPS or FedEx after the transaction making it very hard for us to reconcile it, or do so without making it an expense the customer didn't account for making it a bad situation. The easiest fix was to deal directly with distributors where the billing and freight transactions allowed for minimal paperwork and fees. Not being on the sales side, I don't have a list of the Canadian speed shops and distributors, but I could get a list together.

Thank you so much! I understand completely why you would do that, wish it would of been explained better on the phone. My impression then was, Comp gave up on international business. Great to see I was incorrect!

[Alan Roehrich]

I'd like to state that I do not necessarily blame any Comp employees. The reason for this post was to provide information that multiple people asked me for. I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder.



I will say that Comp now has pretty much no one who knows Stock And Super Stock well, especially not at the level that Tim Cole and Chris Padgitt know it. Chris is still working, at Bullet. Also, apparently, Comp no longer wishes to keep Billy Godbold on the payroll full time. He's the lobe designer. Or was. Yes, they have him "on retainer", as a "consultant". And to be honest, that gives engine builders the impression that Comp has little desire to actually constantly strive to improve their cams and develop better profiles. Billy was originally very excited to see that there were investments made in new machines and equipment.



I've done business with Comp Cams for decades, I truly appreciate that Tim, Chris, and Billy made certain that a small engine builder such as myself was treated extremely well.




The time I spent at the PRI Show made me extremely concerned for where the automotive aftermarket is going in the next 2-3 years, and beyond.

[Terry Cain]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

The time I spent at the PRI Show made me extremely concerned for where the automotive aftermarket is going in the next 2-3 years, and beyond.

Yes, noticed it myself. I've pretty much given up on anyone listening to me because I am a budget racer. Big Buck has taken over.

[Adger Smith]

" I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder." Quote from Alan
I feel you are right.
I was a Loyal open Account WD with Comp from way back in the 80's
I was also a small 2-3 man Engine Machine Shop/Speed Shop
My Deep WD deal went away with the new management.
Guess they thought they would make more money charging me Jobber.
Instead they lost a customer. They showed me that they value mass marketing sellers. I went to a supplier that valued my business and Loyalty & offered price points where my business could make a good profit.
It is a shame that the Corp bean counters just don't understand how it works.

[goinbroke2]

Originally Posted by Adger Smith

" I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder." Quote from Alan
I feel you are right.
I was a Loyal open Account WD with Comp from way back in the 80's
I was also a small 2-3 man Engine Machine Shop/Speed Shop
My Deep WD deal went away with the new management.
Guess they thought they would make more money charging me Jobber.
Instead they lost a customer. They showed me that they value mass marketing sellers. I went to a supplier that valued my business and Loyalty & offered price points where my business could make a good profit.
It is a shame that the Corp bean counters just don't understand how it works.

When have bean counters EVER improved anything other than the bottom line for the share holders??

[Woodfin]

As a small guy and getting smaller [no pun intended] In the past, I enjoyed the same relationship as some of the others listed above. It is a fact of life that the small operators are fading out.

I opened Woodfin Automotive in 1972 with a hand full of tools and $300.00 in my checking account. It was a good run that lasted 50 years. That opportunity no longer exists.

Now that I am retired, I still build and work for a few pet customers. I will not be able to do so much longer, plus, most of my relationships are as old as I am, so we are all fading out.

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

I'd like to state that I do not necessarily blame any Comp employees. The reason for this post was to provide information that multiple people asked me for. I feel that the current employees are seriously restricted in what they can do by the new management, which is by nature no longer focused on the individual racer or small engine builder.



I will say that Comp now has pretty much no one who knows Stock And Super Stock well, especially not at the level that Tim Cole and Chris Padgitt know it. Chris is still working, at Bullet. Also, apparently, Comp no longer wishes to keep Billy Godbold on the payroll full time. He's the lobe designer. Or was. Yes, they have him "on retainer", as a "consultant". And to be honest, that gives engine builders the impression that Comp has little desire to actually constantly strive to improve their cams and develop better profiles. Billy was originally very excited to see that there were investments made in new machines and equipment.



I've done business with Comp Cams for decades, I truly appreciate that Tim, Chris, and Billy made certain that a small engine builder such as myself was treated extremely well.




The time I spent at the PRI Show made me extremely concerned for where the automotive aftermarket is going in the next 2-3 years, and beyond.

Alan,
I wish I had known you were at the PRI Show.
I would have looked forward to meeting you.