Access to John Luft???

[cobra567]

If Shelby is changing their focus as a company from post title modifications to a parts house/supplier why doesn't the new president ask for input / suggestions? The company won't improve if management is not tuned in.

[robertlane]

If Shelby is changing their focus as a company from post title modifications to a parts house/supplier why doesn't the new president ask for input / suggestions? The company won't improve if management is not tuned in.

 

The answer about post title changing is NO. New products are in development.

 

Shelby collectively as a team reads and reviews this site all the time. Everyone's comments are shared at regular meetings.

[BIKEBOY]

The answer about post title changing is NO. New products are in development.

 

Shelby collectively as a team reads and reviews this site all the time. Everyone's comments are shared at regular meetings.

 

Robert that is something I've often wondered. Thank you for clarifying that.

My wife and I were hoping that was the case...given all of the problems these cars seem to have with them. Currently at least, the SGT and the 500's. We wonder if Carroll is as 'in tune' with the problem solving of his endorsed cars, as he is with the engineering of the product from the get? :unsure:

Bikeboy

[07SGT4578]

Where I hope I am not stepping on John's toes, he is a great guy, and is very approachable. Just because you do not see him on here posting DOES NOT mean that he is not watching and on top of this stuff. John is Very dedicated to everything Shelby, and is very tuned in.

 

Where both John and Amy are great people to deal with, as can be expected, they do not run things the same. John has only been at the helm for almost 6 mos. give him time. Where we may never see him posting here, again he is a great guy, and I have personally spoken with him at length. I can assure you he is a great fit for Shelby American.

 

As an example, my dad ran our company for 20 years his way. I am now at the helm of our business and I run things completely different than he ever did, but we are still a profitable business. Again, give John time to do his job, you will be satisfied with the results. Guaranteed.

 

 

 

Chris

[robertlane]

Robert that is something I've often wondered. Thank you for clarifying that.

My wife and I were hoping that was the case...given all of the problems these cars seem to have with them. Currently at least, the SGT and the 500's. We wonder if Carroll is as 'in tune' with the problem solving of his endorsed cars, as he is with the engineering of the product from the get? :unsure:

Bikeboy

 

Good question.

 

Somewhere in late 2009, SAI started to look at things differently. From products to engineering to customer service, everything was really under review. Up until that time, Shelby's principal focus was on manufacturing - it took a lot of effort to put out as many products as Shelby did with limited space and resources so quickly.

 

Carroll Shelby's involvement has been great because he has swerved many of us from falling into traps. . .it's kind of a "been there + done that" education when he attends product meetings. In fact, a new office was just created for him - right across from John Luft and directly next to production. . .away from accounting

 

One of the positive attributes that Carroll "blessed" was the taking of SPP internally. Not that Scott Drake did a bad job at all. Rather, it was simply that it gave us a great opportunity to explore with parts and their development better. And we get immediate feedback from customers and production- thus, we can react to problems better and correct them faster.

 

No company that wants to live can experience high warranty rates and poor customer satisfaction - it ruins trust, which means that profits dry up.

 

We're pretty transparent about asking customers how their experience with us was. We look for the bad because we want to improve who we are and what we do. Not only are there other options out there for you to purchase from, but we are entrusted with making Shelby a solid name in this market.

 

Our product quality is up remarkably and our warranty rates on new products are virtually null. It's a dramatic turn around.

 

You'll see some really great products in terms of vehicles and parts coming out of Shelby over the next several months. As Carroll, John Luft and the management team have been to Detroit numerous times, yes, he is in tune with what we doing.

 

Long answer for a short question.

[BIKEBOY]

Good question.

 

Somewhere in late 2009, SAI started to look at things differently. From products to engineering to customer service, everything was really under review. Up until that time, Shelby's principal focus was on manufacturing - it took a lot of effort to put out as many products as Shelby did with limited space and resources so quickly.

 

Carroll Shelby's involvement has been great because he has swerved many of us from falling into traps. . .it's kind of a "been there + done that" education when he attends product meetings. In fact, a new office was just created for him - right across from John Luft and directly next to production. . .away from accounting

 

One of the positive attributes that Carroll "blessed" was the taking of SPP internally. Not that Scott Drake did a bad job at all. Rather, it was simply that it gave us a great opportunity to explore with parts and their development better. And we get immediate feedback from customers and production- thus, we can react to problems better and correct them faster.

 

No company that wants to live can experience high warranty rates and poor customer satisfaction - it ruins trust, which means that profits dry up.

 

We're pretty transparent about asking customers how their experience with us was. We look for the bad because we want to improve who we are and what we do. Not only are there other options out there for you to purchase from, but we are entrusted with making Shelby a solid name in this market.

 

Our product quality is up remarkably and our warranty rates on new products are virtually null. It's a dramatic turn around.

 

You'll see some really great products in terms of vehicles and parts coming out of Shelby over the next several months. As Carroll, John Luft and the management team have been to Detroit numerous times, yes, he is in tune with what we doing.

 

Long answer for a short question.

 

Thanks....I'll take it.

[speedyburd33]

I like what I'm hearing...keep up the good work!

[Alexandros]

Thanks for the reply Robert...

Continue on the great customer service and quality products....

[weluv2fish4bass]

Good question.

 

Somewhere in late 2009, SAI started to look at things differently. From products to engineering to customer service, everything was really under review. Up until that time, Shelby's principal focus was on manufacturing - it took a lot of effort to put out as many products as Shelby did with limited space and resources so quickly.

 

Carroll Shelby's involvement has been great because he has swerved many of us from falling into traps. . .it's kind of a "been there + done that" education when he attends product meetings. In fact, a new office was just created for him - right across from John Luft and directly next to production. . .away from accounting

 

One of the positive attributes that Carroll "blessed" was the taking of SPP internally. Not that Scott Drake did a bad job at all. Rather, it was simply that it gave us a great opportunity to explore with parts and their development better. And we get immediate feedback from customers and production- thus, we can react to problems better and correct them faster.

 

No company that wants to live can experience high warranty rates and poor customer satisfaction - it ruins trust, which means that profits dry up.

 

We're pretty transparent about asking customers how their experience with us was. We look for the bad because we want to improve who we are and what we do. Not only are there other options out there for you to purchase from, but we are entrusted with making Shelby a solid name in this market.

 

Our product quality is up remarkably and our warranty rates on new products are virtually null. It's a dramatic turn around.

 

You'll see some really great products in terms of vehicles and parts coming out of Shelby over the next several months. As Carroll, John Luft and the management team have been to Detroit numerous times, yes, he is in tune with what we doing.

 

Long answer for a short question.

 

 

 

Robert, will any of these be pre-title cars..? Even a "smaller runs" as previously mentioned..?

 

thanks, Greg

[DubbsFaris]

I can give you a direct answer that I got straight from John Luft in June. I got the chance to spend about 30 minutes talking with John privately and it was really a great conversation. John and I discussed TeamShelby and the fact that Amy was on here and he wasn't, and his answer to that was that he and Amy had discussed that before she got really active, and he tried to discourage her getting on here personally. That may not be a popular answer from our perspective, but John's approach on that issue is that if you allow yourself to be directly accessible by every Tom Dick and Harry on here, and talk to one, you have to talk to all, and what time does that leave to effectively do your job. If you browse through the questions Amy got in her section, you will see that many questions just werent questions that the head of a corporation should be having to take time to answer. Bless her for trying to do just that, but Robert, Sharon and Roger (and a few others) come on here regularly to advise and give information, and that is part of their job function. We can ask them any question, and they almost always are in a position to get it answered or worked out. What good is having people doing that, if you as the President of Shelby come on here to do that and take time away from other needed duties. I can see his side of that argument, and the logic behind it.

 

Keep in mind that this doesnt mean he doesnt see the value of this forum, or that he lacks any of the spirit Amy had. If you know Gary Patterson or Gary Davis, you know how approachable they are, friendly and passionate about the Shelby brand, but you wont see them on here. It is exactly the same thing. They all want to do their job the best they can, and that means they just cant spend time here answering every little question.

 

I will say this: I walked away from that discussion with John with nothing but positive thoughts, and the guy is just as sharp as they come, and if there was a problem that only he could handle, I would bet the farm that he would do just that.

 

One other thing- if you think Shelby American has run out of ideas for the future of car builds, let me just say that is not at all the case. From what I got from him, we have a lot to be excited about and some really desirable builds are right around the corner!!!

[GT500-07]

Good question.

 

Somewhere in late 2009, SAI started to look at things differently. From products to engineering to customer service, everything was really under review. Up until that time, Shelby's principal focus was on manufacturing - it took a lot of effort to put out as many products as Shelby did with limited space and resources so quickly.

 

Carroll Shelby's involvement has been great because he has swerved many of us from falling into traps. . .it's kind of a "been there + done that" education when he attends product meetings. In fact, a new office was just created for him - right across from John Luft and directly next to production. . .away from accounting

 

One of the positive attributes that Carroll "blessed" was the taking of SPP internally. Not that Scott Drake did a bad job at all. Rather, it was simply that it gave us a great opportunity to explore with parts and their development better. And we get immediate feedback from customers and production- thus, we can react to problems better and correct them faster.

 

No company that wants to live can experience high warranty rates and poor customer satisfaction - it ruins trust, which means that profits dry up.

 

We're pretty transparent about asking customers how their experience with us was. We look for the bad because we want to improve who we are and what we do. Not only are there other options out there for you to purchase from, but we are entrusted with making Shelby a solid name in this market.

 

Our product quality is up remarkably and our warranty rates on new products are virtually null. It's a dramatic turn around.

 

You'll see some really great products in terms of vehicles and parts coming out of Shelby over the next several months. As Carroll, John Luft and the management team have been to Detroit numerous times, yes, he is in tune with what we doing.

 

Long answer for a short question.

 

 

 

Robert, keep up the good work. As for SA management and customer service/relations. I would think twice before buying another Shelby. My experience with one your approved CSX dealer has been horrible to say the least and the lack of help from SA managemnt speaks for it self.

[weluv2fish4bass]

I can give you a direct answer that I got straight from John Luft in June. I got the chance to spend about 30 minutes talking with John privately and it was really a great conversation. John and I discussed TeamShelby and the fact that Amy was on here and he wasn't, and his answer to that was that he and Amy had discussed that before she got really active, and he tried to discourage her getting on here personally. That may not be a popular answer from our perspective, but John's approach on that issue is that if you allow yourself to be directly accessible by every Tom Dick and Harry on here, and talk to one, you have to talk to all, and what time does that leave to effectively do your job. If you browse through the questions Amy got in her section, you will see that many questions just werent questions that the head of a corporation should be having to take time to answer. Bless her for trying to do just that, but Robert, Sharon and Roger (and a few others) come on here regularly to advise and give information, and that is part of their job function. We can ask them any question, and they almost always are in a position to get it answered or worked out. What good is having people doing that, if you as the President of Shelby come on here to do that and take time away from other needed duties. I can see his side of that argument, and the logic behind it.

 

Keep in mind that this doesnt mean he doesnt see the value of this forum, or that he lacks any of the spirit Amy had. If you know Gary Patterson or Gary Davis, you know how approachable they are, friendly and passionate about the Shelby brand, but you wont see them on here. It is exactly the same thing. They all want to do their job the best they can, and that means they just cant spend time here answering every little question.

 

I will say this: I walked away from that discussion with John with nothing but positive thoughts, and the guy is just as sharp as they come, and if there was a problem that only he could handle, I would bet the farm that he would do just that.

 

One other thing- if you think Shelby American has run out of ideas for the future of car builds, let me just say that is not at all the case. From what I got from him, we have a lot to be excited about and some really desirable builds are right around the corner!!!

 

 

I dont want to be a basher but I am trying to voice my opinion without upsetting anyone...I understand that ANY president of ANY company really doesnt have the time, and energy to respond to lots of questions or comments, but if he/she cannot do it, then they should pass down that responsibility on to someone else..And if they cannot do it, then again pass it down to someone else..Alls im saying is that if Amy was sitting in a bathroom stall at 2 in the morning, in some 3rd world country, waiting for a airplane, she would post on here and update us..If she had to climb the highest mountain to get a signal for her blackberry in order for her to log in and update us, she would do it..Bud would get to work at 4am EVERYDAY to log in and update us( not to mention provide us with pictures.) These 2 employees understood what needed to be done in order to support customer relations..period. Im sure all the above mentioned employees are very passionate about there jobs, and the brand, but seems the customer relationship part of the equation has been left out IMHO.

 

The lack of pictures/updates in the 350 section latelly has been basically non existent and I am not the only one over there who feels this way. I understand that Shelby is waiting on parts to build them, but address this and not just ignore it... How in the world do you expect a sell a product, and not provide pics/updates about the product. or even worse, you have paying customers that travel to Shelby to see there cars, and management ask you NOT TO TAKE PICTURES...??..WTH??...even the kid down the street with the lemonade stand is smart enough to paint a picture of lemons on his sign showing his product..If we want to see pictures of 350's being built we need to log onto shelbynation to see them.( kudos to them..)

 

As far as Shelby running out of ideas, I dont think think will happen...There will always be SOME type of aftermarket package they they will dream up, but Im still hoping for some type of pre title program very soon..I read somewhere that they will release another vehicle towards the end of the year and was wondering if this is going to be it..

[weluv2fish4bass]

Robert, keep up the good work. As for SA management and customer service/relations. I would think twice before buying another Shelby. My experience with one your approved CSX dealer has been horrible to say the least and the lack of help from SA managemnt speaks for it self.

 

 

.....see above post.

[DubbsFaris]

I read your first paragraph and I didnt much agree with you, although you are free to have your opinion bash free.

(although I wont disagree that Bud and Amy went out of their way to keep us informed and in the loop - but even then, some were more in the loop than others heheh) But I dont think that posting on a forum is the prerequisite for good service, it is the people you reach when you call SA that make or break customer service.

 

The rest of what you said is pretty hard to disagree with...I was at the front of the line on the GT350 program, and before it was formally announced it was the worst guarded secret in the auto world, and after the announcement it became the best guarded secret in the auto world!

 

I am shocked that a formal pricelist on options or the final buildout is in print or web form somewhere. The website still doesnt reflect the changes made from prototype to production, nor all the options in their final form.

[twobjshelbys]

<general comments about information from SA>

 

I agree with John's position about communication here. My company forbids employees from making statements in public, forums or to the press, about the company, and we are discouraged from mentioning our employer in public internet community. Such statements are issued in the form of press releases.

 

Status of production could be a trade secret and I'm not surprised at all to see very little info about this here or anywhere else.

 

Individual customers may have rights to certain info - there is a fiduciary relationship - but the rest of us observes deserve none. We should be ecstatic we get as much info and insight as we do.

 

By the way, I can personally sate that Bud was not the only one that gets to work at the butt-crack-o-dawn.

[weluv2fish4bass]

I read your first paragraph and I didnt much agree with you, although you are free to have your opinion bash free.

(although I wont disagree that Bud and Amy went out of their way to keep us informed and in the loop - but even then, some were more in the loop than others heheh) But I dont think that posting on a forum is the prerequisite for good service, it is the people you reach when you call SA that make or break customer service.

 

The rest of what you said is pretty hard to disagree with...I was at the front of the line on the GT350 program, and before it was formally announced it was the worst guarded secret in the auto world, and after the announcement it became the best guarded secret in the auto world!

I am shocked that a formal pricelist on options or the final buildout is in print or web form somewhere. The website still doesnt reflect the changes made from prototype to production, nor all the options in their final form.

 

 

..true,.............. very true lol

[BIKEBOY]

I read your first paragraph and I didnt much agree with you, although you are free to have your opinion bash free.

(although I wont disagree that Bud and Amy went out of their way to keep us informed and in the loop - but even then, some were more in the loop than others heheh) But I dont think that posting on a forum is the prerequisite for good service, it is the people you reach when you call SA that make or break customer service.

 

The rest of what you said is pretty hard to disagree with...I was at the front of the line on the GT350 program, and before it was formally announced it was the worst guarded secret in the auto world, and after the announcement it became the best guarded secret in the auto world!

 

I am shocked that a formal pricelist on options or the final buildout is in print or web form somewhere. The website still doesnt reflect the changes made from prototype to production, nor all the options in their final form.

 

I am gonna go out on a limb here.

 

IMHO........maybe, just maybe SAI got a rash of bad feedback on the GT350 with it's 'soft introduction'??? -_-

 

Again IMHO......it seemed to me that the car has "Pontiac" syndrome...too many 'bolt-on' or 'stick-on' plastic pieces that are way too busy! Pontiac did that to all of their models to differentiate them form the rest of the General's offerings. To the guys that are quick to condemn Shelby headquarters for this, and only this, I say maybe re-think your criticism. After all, there is alot at stake on this car. It has to be right this time! We have all been hard on them with the SGT's, and their quality issues. It could be that there is no parts list anywhere, because they have yet to totally re-think this through, after the initial public showing. All I'm saying, is "Give Peace A Chance!" Lol.

[DubbsFaris]

I am gonna go out on a limb here.

 

IMHO........maybe, just maybe SAI got a rash of bad feedback on the GT350 with it's 'soft introduction'??? -_-

 

Again IMHO......it seemed to me that the car has "Pontiac" syndrome...too many 'bolt-on' or 'stick-on' plastic pieces that are way too busy! Pontiac did that to all of their models to differentiate them form the rest of the General's offerings. To the guys that are quick to condemn Shelby headquarters for this, and only this, I say maybe re-think your criticism. After all, there is alot at stake on this car. It has to be right this time! We have all been hard on them with the SGT's, and their quality issues. It could be that there is no parts list anywhere, because they have yet to totally re-think this through, after the initial public showing. All I'm saying, is "Give Peace A Chance!" Lol.

 

 

 

While I think you may be right if you are talking about the period of January to May, I hope you arent right now. They have had many of our cars at the facility since beginning of May, and while I want the car to be solid and done right, I dont want them sitting on my car trying to rethink the whole process. There were tweaks done to it that needed to be done, and if my car gets delivered to me in the same form as the #350 car, I will be ecstatic! Elated! Joyous! The changes they did to the car were the only minor faults I had with it in the prototype form, so talk about having your cake and eating it too, I feel like we got a pretty good say in the final build of this design. You have to love that aspect of it. Further proof that SA does read the comments we make here and takes them very seriously. (Did you like my segue right back into the original topic? Im very proud of that)

[BIKEBOY]

While I think you may be right if you are talking about the period of January to May, I hope you arent right now. They have had many of our cars at the facility since beginning of May, and while I want the car to be solid and done right, I dont want them sitting on my car trying to rethink the whole process. There were tweaks done to it that needed to be done, and if my car gets delivered to me in the same form as the #350 car, I will be ecstatic! Elated! Joyous! The changes they did to the car were the only minor faults I had with it in the prototype form, so talk about having your cake and eating it too, I feel like we got a pretty good say in the final build of this design. You have to love that aspect of it. Further proof that SA does read the comments we make here and takes them very seriously. (Did you like my segue right back into the original topic? Im very proud of that)

 

I did like that. Are you getting a 350? Am I just ignorant, or a little slow?? Haha!

 

My dealer up here in CN. actually sold a guy a 2009 KR a year and a half ago...older gentleman with hip problems. He was going to trade his KR back to them for a 350, pending he could get an Auto/Slushbox...Originally, SAI told them ok...they got his deposit, did the paperwork for the trade, no doubt got his 'pressure' up with excitement, as you have also shown...but then a month into S/O, called and said they wouldn't be doing ANY automatics. Can you imagine the guy's heartbreak??? :o

 

They were of course excited at the dealership, thinking this was their chance to have that thing on the floor for a couple of days, as a bizness card! The sales guy I got all of this from is a great guy, an SVT guy, and was I think as sad as the client.

[robertlane]

When we were in the process of taking over SPP, one key element that Shelby was missing was a true, dedicated customer service center. It's no mystery to people that Shelby hasn't had stellar customer service in the recent past and it's something that we absolutely and genuinely had to address. We want to be transparent with everyone too by using these forums for honest feedback.

 

SPP really gave us the opportunity to make fundamental changes in this regard.

 

In a short time (weeks, really), SPP/TS grew to 11 people and a full phone center was built at SAI. The facility has since expanded three times.

 

To make customer service a top priority, we had to empower our staff with the ability to make decisions without going to management. The goal is to solve problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 

Next, we rolled Shelby post-title and some pre-title warranty into the same center. We're now able to closely monitor where problems occur and solve them.

 

From the parts side, we help suppliers better understand our expectations and improve quality. From a shipping perspective, we want you to get your parts in a timely fashion.

 

My guiding philosophy is that people have more choices than ever before when deciding to purchase a muscle car. I think Shelby offers the best performance vehicles, but backing up what you sell is just as important.

 

The bottom line is that Shelby is rapidly changing to meet your expectations. While senior staff might not post on here they do read these forums and we accurately report the good, bad and ugly posts on a weekly basis during staff meetings.

 

You can't hide what is and be successful.

[SoCalSGT]

I did like that. Are you getting a 350? Am I just ignorant, or a little slow?? Haha!

 

My dealer up here in CN. actually sold a guy a 2009 KR a year and a half ago...older gentleman with hip problems. He was going to trade his KR back to them for a 350, pending he could get an Auto/Slushbox...Originally, SAI told them ok...they got his deposit, did the paperwork for the trade, no doubt got his 'pressure' up with excitement, as you have also shown...but then a month into S/O, called and said they wouldn't be doing ANY automatics. Can you imagine the guy's heartbreak??? :o

 

They were of course excited at the dealership, thinking this was their chance to have that thing on the floor for a couple of days, as a bizness card! The sales guy I got all of this from is a great guy, an SVT guy, and was I think as sad as the client.

 

 

When did that happen? SAI knew in mid-early April that they were going to do automatics.

 

John

[DubbsFaris]

Yeah, they are doing automatics....just not supercharged. Its been that way since the release. He got bad information if he heard otherwise.

[BIKEBOY]

When did that happen? SAI knew in mid-early April that they were going to do automatics.

 

John

 

I'm gonna say.....right around April. Time do fly, so it could have been a tad longer??

And, he never said a word about the car not even being supercharged??? :huh:

 

Bikeboy

[DubbsFaris]

The car has always been available in a manual or automatic. That information got sent out to dealers the day it was announced at Barret-Jackson. The only thing that changed, was that Ford, for whatever reason, would not allow the warranty to stay intact on the automatic if SA supercharged it. The automatic transmission is not rated for that kind of power is my assumption. Now the supercharger not going on automatics is something that came out sometime in April I beleive....so maybe he didnt want the car if it wasnt going to be offered as an automatic with an SC.

[BIKEBOY]

The car has always been available in a manual or automatic. That information got sent out to dealers the day it was announced at Barret-Jackson. The only thing that changed, was that Ford, for whatever reason, would not allow the warranty to stay intact on the automatic if SA supercharged it. The automatic transmission is not rated for that kind of power is my assumption. Now the supercharger not going on automatics is something that came out sometime in April I beleive....so maybe he didnt want the car if it wasnt going to be offered as an automatic with an SC.

 

Awwww...but of course. Makes sense seeing as he was giving up a KR in replacement. However, he is not driving it anymore due to hip issue.

You know the old saying?..."things are never as they seem". Maybe I'm getting hald the story.

Thanks