At CorkSport we realize the website we have worked so hard on is not always the easiest to view from a mobile device. With that in mind, we recently released a new version of the site for any of the most popular phone and tablet browsers. We started by having access to the most popular categories front and center to get where you need to go with least amount of hassle or overhead to keep your data usage low and your speeds high.
Our new search is indexed with the latest Google algorithm to get the results you want in the shortest amount of time possible. Once you find the part you want, you are able to enjoy all the functionality you would get from the desktop site.
Pictures are easy to see by simply swiping to the left or right, also, the full color instructions that CorkSport is famous for are available for PDF viewing, you can even share your favorite parts on Facebook or Twitter.
Ordering is easy as well, with all the features of the desktop site and full integration you be assured that your order is just as safe as it could be if you were standing in our showroom with cash. So stop by on your iPad, Galaxy, iPhone, Nexus or anything else you’ve got and let us know what you think.
CorkSport Has Gone Mobile August 9th, 2013CorkSport
What makes a customer service experience great? What does it take to make you happy when things have gone sideways?
Every single eCommerce company in the world has customer service issues, it’s what they do about them and how they handle them that makes them different. Are you put on hold for hours at a time? Do you have to get past the first person to have anything resolved? When you get off the phone do you feel better or worse.
At CorkSport, we really try to treat every person who calls as if they were us having issues. I’ll share my latest story as an example.
I ordered a wireless AC router from an un-named company, we’ll call them “Sysknil”. I ordered this item on a Thursday, probably after the shipping cutoff so I didn’t really think about it. I had a busy Friday so I didn’t even check on it or really remember about it. On Monday, I went to check the status of it to see where it might be or when I could expect it. I was met with a message that said it was processing/picking/possible ship. Obviously, I was a little bit confused by that status; which one was it? I decided to call and just ask if it had been shipped or not. I have a bit of experience with shipping so I assumed the item had shipped but the tracking hadn’t been updated. When I called I sat on hold for almost 15 minutes. Then I was finally picked up by a gentleman who after asking nicely said he could not tell me the status of my order but would forward my question to the shipping department and they would call me back in 24-48 hours. I told him that I was without a router and I needed the internet. I would like to know now so that I can either know that this is shipped and wait for it or cancel the order and go out and buy a router in a physical store. He told me that was the only option available. I asked to speak to his supervisor.
At CorkSport, if you are ever put on hold for even 5 minutes, ask for Joel and I will get involved and get you to the people that can best help you.
Enter the supervisor
I sat on hold for another 10 minutes and was passed on to the supervisor of the day. In the beginning he asked all kinds of questions about the order and what I was looking for. I could hear all kinds of typing so I really felt like I was getting somewhere. He kept telling me “don’t worry about that because shipping is going to call you back”, and “you don’t have to worry about that, I will forward your message”. If I wasn’t “worried”, I would not have called. After another 10 or so minutes… I was transferred to the manager.
At CorkSport, everyone here has the power to help you with any issue you are having. If it’s trouble with an install or a part that just isn’t working out for you.
Manager
The Manager quickly took control of the conversation (after a brief 10 minute wait). She quickly ascertained my issue and then was able to calmly tell me that if I could hold on, shipping could be notified and would get back to me… in 24-48 hours! At that point, I was boiling mad, I kept it all inside and mentioned to her in my best Zen-like voice, that I was not able or willing to wait that long and that I was concerned that I might not be available for the phone call (God forbid I go to sleep and have my ringer off). She then asked if I should cancel the order, I tried to remind her that I couldn’t really cancel the order if it had already shipped. She breezily told me if I wanted to cancel she would just have the package turned around. That was one of the final straws for me, I know for us, stopping a package is at LEAST $25.00 or more. The fact that she was willing to light $25.00 on fire, rather than putting me on hold and calling someone in shipping and just asking them about the order told me all I needed to hear. I cancelled the order and let them eat whatever they were willing to eat as well as losing the sale.
Now I realize I am only seeing this from my side, but that’s exactly how every customer sees things. We just want people to help us, and if they can’t help us, at least feel like they did the absolute best that they could have. I didn’t get that feeling from Sysknil. I really felt they did whatever they could to get me off the phone. Being in the industry, I really feel like as long as you are being reasonable, you should be treated well. If I called up and said I wanted free shipping and a 2nd router for free I would assume that I would get none of those things and a “Have a nice day sir”. But no… I just wanted to know the status of my order and they wanted me to wait for up to two days to get that information.
At CorkSport we make it a priority to treat your issues as our issues. We won’t be perfect, but we’re trying every day to make sure you get taken care of the way we would like to so that you don’t have to feel the way I did recently. To us here at CorkSport, our customer service is just as important as our parts and we want to prove it to you. If you ever have an issue that you feel wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, email me at joel@corksport.com and I’ll do whatever I can to make it right. This isn’t just lip service or an empty promise, if we have an issue we want to know about it and we want it to be the last time we ever have to deal with it, for both our sakes.
Cheers,
Joel
What does Customer Service Mean to You? August 8th, 2013CorkSport
If you have a 2014 + Mazda 6 then today is your lucky day! CorkSport is officially releasing the 2014+ Mazda 6 Rear Sway Bar, LED Light Kit, and License Plate Relocation Kit.
Relocate Your Plate
In order to improve airflow, and look better we created the 2014+ Mazda 6 License Plate Relocation Kit. The stock location of the license plate blocks the airflow through the grill of your Mazda 6 which is why we relocated the License Plate to the Tow Hook adapter location. This kit is simple to install and really creates a stunning front view of your Mazda 6.
Allow your new Mazda 6 to shine, literally. Replacing the yellowish lighting inside the cabin of your Mazda 6 is one of the simplest upgrades to your car and makes the cabin more visible, cleaner looking, and feel higher-end. Don’t let the yellow light of the Mazda 6 ruin the atmosphere or limit the clean look of the interior, instead swap out the bulbs for fresh white LED lights.
If you want to handle better, then this is the upgrade for you. Adding the 2014+ Mazda 6 Rear Sway Bar will limit the body roll when cornering by helping transfer some of the inside compression to the outside suspension. The rear sway bar effectively increases the compressed springs rate by helping distribute the load more evenly across the rear suspension. This helps control body roll and ultimately helps you corner flatter, faster and with more predictability.
CorkSport has been hard at work at more than just the parts listed above, soon we will be releasing the CorkSport 2014 Mazda 6 Power Series Short Ram Intake. Just like all our intakes this has been tested in varying conditions for proven power gains and improved sound.
If you can’t wait to improve the sound of your 2014 Mazda 6, we also have an exhaust for the Mazda 6 that will be released soon. It sounds great and looks even better. CorkSport has a great opportunity for one lucky person. If you simply HAVE to HAVE the Mazda 6 Axle Back Exhaust before anyone else then send Spencer an email (Update: we have already filled the beta testing spot.). We are looking for one lucky 2014 Mazda 6 owner to Beta test our CorkSport Axle Back exhaust and give us their thoughts. If chosen you will get to be inside the testing process and work with our engineers to provide feedback about our newest part! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edu2KOE3tOA
Stay tuned for official release dates and more exciting news in the near future!
Also, if you haven’t signed up for our Email Newsletter, now would be a great time. This is where we release coupons, news, release dates, events, and more.
You may remember that we had to get a new shop testing vehicle after our last Mazdaspeed 3’s untimely demise See here; but what you may not know is how much time and effort was put into that car. Building a rolling showcase isn’t easy, cheap or quick. We were sad to see it go but now have a brand new canvas to start over on.
With our new speed we decided to go white, with that pearly white paint job we wanted to go towards a “panda” style going forward, mixing white and black parts in our build. We have started with a few small black and white things (intake, BOV, etc.). We’re really looking for input from you to really make this car unforgettable.
We’re looking at every detail to try to make an overall car that hasn’t been seen before that goes deeper than just bolting things on. We want to try new things, make combinations that have never been seen before and really try to make something that you would want if you never had to make a compromise.
Check us out on Facebook and let us know what you think we should add to this car to make it really unique.
Help Build the Mazdaspeed of Your Dreams July 16th, 2013CorkSport
Welcome back to the Fuel Pump Comparison, Part 3. If you haven’t been following along with us feel free to read Part 1 and Part 2.
Now that we have a good understanding of the basics for these high pressure fuel pumps we can start to really dig deeper into the specifications. One of the items we were really curious about were the materials used in the construction of these pumps. We decided to have the hardness tested and ascertain the materials used. The factory pump internals do not use any coating, the hardness test showed us that the internals went through a hardening process as the core was significantly softer than the surface. Because of these hardness requirements, many other aftermarket internals use a coating of some sort to decrease friction between the piston and the sleeve. As for what the stock internals are made from, we answered that. Except for the hardening procedure, according to their chemical breakdown, they match a common die steel, so nothing too fancy.
We now understand why it is so common to hear that the factory pumps are machined to such tight tolerances. At high rates of speed and pressure with a hardened material, you could easily have failures if tolerances were not correct.
When testing the fuel pumps on the dyno, we chose a Mazdaspeed 3 (2nd gen) with bolt-ons and a stock turbo. The factory boost levels we maintained 1700psi all the way to redline with no issues. As soon as we raised the boost slightly, the fuel pump began to drop pressure. With a Cobb AccessPort and a stage 2 reflash, the pressure of the pump would drop under 1000psi by 5000rpms. If you’re going to turn up the boost or run a reflash, an upgraded fuel pump is a must.
Our dyno is able to adjust load, so in our testing we chose a load value typical of 4th gear on the street and tested all pumps with the same load on the same day, only hours apart from each other. All the pumps tested performed very similar for power but the stock pump actually ran a lower air/fuel ratio. This is because all of the pumps were tested with no tune. When we changed to the Cobb stage 2 map, the power levels increased but we could not complete the test with the stock pump as it just could not keep up with the demand. With the stage 2 tune, we found the air/fuel ratios to be very, very rich and had a very real possibility for causing high load misfires. We actually experienced that several times on colder days. With no tune, this does not happen but the car did still run very rich in boost with all the aftermarket fuel pumps. With a custom tune though, there should be no difference between the pumps and you can raise the boost without worry of running low on pressure.
Now that you have read Part 3, see Part 1 and Part 2.
Stay tuned for part 4 in our fuel pump comparison series, things are about to really heat up!!!
Fuel Pump Comparison Part 3 February 28th, 2018CorkSport
