EMS Powered - Creedmoor (s. of Austin), TX - stay far away from Baktash Taghehchian

[whats77inaname]

Who:
www.emspowered.com, Baktash Taghehchian is the guy that runs/owns it.
Phone: 1 (512) 686-2800
Fax: 1 (512) 236-5168
f/b: http://www.facebook.com/baktasht
shop's f/b: http://www.facebook.com/pages/EMSPow...211222?sk=info


Where:
11400 Old Lockhart Hwy
Building D
Creedmoor, Texas 78610





What:
If you have ever entertained thoughts of taking your car there for *any* work, I'd advise you to stay far, far away. The customer service is horrible, the owner, Baktash, seems to be a chronic liar based on my experience with him.

In the latter part of 2011, I picked up a set of staggered 19" Volk Racing Time Attacks for my E90 M3 . I contacted Baktash about having them powder coated, as he offered the service for a pretty reasonable price. After discussing my wants, I dropped off one wheel to his shop in mid-December. He powdered it w/in about 2 weeks. I had the other 3 wheels prepped for powder and on 1/28/2012, dropped them off. I explained at that time that I would like to change the color choice, requesting one color on the barrel and face, and a separate color on the lip. He advised he would have to order the powder and that once it came in, it would take a couple days to complete the job. Perfect, as TX2K was in March, and I had plenty of time to get the other mods for the car in place.

On 2/2/2012, I texted him, inquiring as to whether the powder arrived. He replied that it had, but that his powder coating gun was broken, and that he sent it off to be repaired. He said it would be a few days, and he'd call me in about a week to pick them up. As my stock wheels are 18" and the Volks are 19", I had to get new tires. I arranged to sell my OEM 219s for $800, which would cover a good portion of my new tire purchase. The buyer agreed to wait a couple weeks while my Volks were being powdered. Over the next month, whenever I tried to call/text/email Baktash, the *only* time he replied was when I indicated that I was on my way to see him, which is no small feat due my not living/working anywhere *near* his shop, which is south of Austin. It takes me damn near an hour or more to make it down there. Twice in that time span, I drove down there and he a) wasn't there or b) told me that he was still waiting for his gun. His delays became my delays, and eventually my buyer couldn't wait any longer, and moved on to another seller. $800 lost b/c this guy couldn't get this resolved. Couple that with the fact that the PS2s currently on the car are so far into the wear indicators, I'm almost running slicks in the back. The M3 is pretty much parked b/c it's not really safe to drive. No sense is shelling out cash to get 18" *and* 19" tires.

On Thursday, 3/15/2012, I got tired of the lack of communication, and made a surprise visit to see him *again*. He had another customer there, and had the nerve to ask me, "Hey, we were waiting on your powder, right?" When I tersely reminded him that we were allegedly waiting for his powder coating gun to be repaired, he replied with, "Oh, yes, I remember now. I'll work on them and they'll be ready for pickup on Saturday." I told him I would be down to pick them up on Tuesday, 3/20/12. No TX2K for the car.

On 3/20, I took 4 hours of vacation time to drive down there and pick them up, and to take them to have the tires mounted afterwards. I called him early that afternoon and since he (surprise, surprise) once again didn't pick up his phone, left him a v/m advising him I was on my way. I followed it up with a text. His response (via text), as I've already left work?

I'll have to drop them off for you tomorrow. They're not finished. I'll deliver them for you myself tomorrow.

WTH??? Another pissed away afternoon dealing with this guy. I explained that I took half a day of vacation based on his word that they'd be finished. His response:

I'm not going to charge you for any of this. It's all free due to our delays. I'm sorry for the way it turned out. I'll be dropping them off for you tomorrow (3/21).

3/21 came and no call, no email, no text. I called him and requested a status via v/m. No response. I texted him asking when he was going to drop them off. No response. Over the next few days, same thing, I'd call/text, and he'd just ignore me. I work long hours, and with traffic, I can't make it down there without going over my lunch hour, nor can I make it down there *after work* without leaving early, so this situation was really causing me some angst.

On 3/29, I had enough. I arranged to take *another* half day of vacation, and drove down there. I walked in and Marc was there, but no Baktash. I went to the front of the shop and there were my wheels, untouched since the last time I saw them over a month ago. I grabbed them and loaded them into my truck. Marc apologized for them not being done, but there isn't anything he could say that would placate me.

All in all, this ordeal cost me:
-$800 in the sale of my other wheels
-A day's worth of vacation
-about $100 in gas driving my truck back and forth down there to find out WTH was going on.
-whatever it costs to remove the powder from the one wheel he did powder before I changed my mind on the color.

In conclusion, Baktash T. is a liar. The treatment I received was inexplicable. He has no *idea* of what customer service is, nor does he seem to care. His work ethic is non-existent, and I would be loathe to take my car there for *anything*, based on this experience. He blatantly lies and makes excuses about not doing the work and why he misses deadlines. His disregard for my time royally pissed me off. Bak, I know you're a (banned) member here (baktasht). You need to get a clue. Marc, you can feel free to point him to this thread, as I'll be copying this over to the FJ/MR2 forums of which I see he is a member. Looking at some of the issues *those* guys were having (orders being placed and having to track down where they're at), I'm sure no one will be surprised. The shop's f/b shows that emspowered was founded in 2005. One would think that they would figure out how to stand behind their word by now.

Oh yeah, I saw a red MKIV in there with the hood up. Hope that car doesn't belong to anyone here.

[AlterEgo]

Wow, just the fact that you waiting so long to take any action surprises me. I dont play when it comes to money/property. We all work very hard for our possesions and for someone to just ignore, lie, cheat, and take advantage of you is completely and utterly unacceptable. I learned my lesson a few years back in a similar situation. Just for future reference...before any cash is exchanged, always always always get all quotes/work to-be-done in writing with price, estimated finish time, signatures, etc...if you had done all that, you could have filed a civil lawsuit. I know it is an ordeal but it is better than running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Best of luck in this shitty situation.

[whats77inaname]

Wow, just the fact that you waiting so long to take any action surprises me. I dont play when it comes to money/property. We all work very hard for our possesions and for someone to just ignore, lie, cheat, and take advantage of you is completely and utterly unacceptable. I learned my lesson a few years back in a similar situation. Just for future reference...before any cash is exchanged, always always always get all quotes/work to-be-done in writing with price, estimated finish time, signatures, etc...if you had done all that, you could have filed a civil lawsuit. I know it is an ordeal but it is better than running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Best of luck in this shitty situation.

I'm generally very patient when having work done, as I know things happen and unplanned situations pop up. I didn't pay upfront for the work. I don't do that anymore. And I did "test the waters" so to speak. I brought 1 wheel, it took two weeks, which was acceptable to me. Based on that, I brought the other 3. I'm not ignorant as to how shops work, I just assumed (incorrectly) that the work would be completed in a timely manner based on the turnaround time of the first wheel.

[HiI'mDustin]

Sorry for your problems man I know it sucks not being able to go to TX2K12....Still working through my car issues.

I have had great experiences with them but sorry yours was lackluster...

Also BMW of Austin has a great powdercoating guy....I think its a 150 a wheel ish for 1 tone

[whats77inaname]

Sorry for your problems man I know it sucks not being able to go to TX2K12....Still working through my car issues.

I have had great experiences with them but sorry yours was lackluster...

Also BMW of Austin has a great powdercoating guy....I think its a 150 a wheel ish for 1 tone

I never said I didn't go to TX2K12, I said I couldn't take my car. I had to take my truck instead, which I did not really want to do.

vxlift4.jpg


Looking through a variety of forums, Baktash has received less than stellar ratings, from a variety of people. He practiced the same M.O.: not responding to repeated contact attempts from his customers. Last year he says it was because his shop moved and that he couldn't see information b/c Time Warner took 4 weeks to setup up internet and he was shipping by tethering off his phone: http://forum.ih8mud.com/vendor-marke...ml#post6243715

Yeah, so who doesn't have Internet @ home nowadays? And that was last year. He may be able to hide under that *last* year, but now? No excuse for crappy service or customer communication. NONE. How do you stay in business by not calling your customers or delivering on time?

When you first meet him, he's very chill, very relaxed, very easy to deal with, and knowledgeable about his craft (although tried to warn me about running an ESS Tuning s/c on my E90 when I mentioned bringing the manifold in to powder when I got around to ordering it. Seriously trying to warn me about putting on an ESS?? Do a little research about that, my man, before you speak to something of which you obviously know nothing about, i.e., the stellar reputation of ESS Tuning in regards to their M3 s/c application). Even under pressure, he seems pretty calm, but that seems to change when he owes you something, in my case, having my wheels powdered, and you're sitting there waiting on him and he's doing his best to act like Muhammad Ali, bobbing and weaving to miss your attempts to contact him. What good is it having v/m if you never *respond* to it?

[DSMTO15]

Sorry that suck

[1A1]

Why would a Supra owner take their car to this shop when you have Boostlogic in ATX?


Steve

[whats77inaname]

Why would a Supra owner take their car to this shop when you have Boostlogic in ATX?

Steve

Marc (formerly of BoostLogic) is there. That's about the only thing I can surmise. EMSpowered (from what I've seen in visiting the shop and digging through Baktash's online tracks) has primarily dealt w/MR2s and, more recently, exhausts for Toyota SUVs.

[Northstar]

sorry to hear but I am with Steve... ^^ sometimes it pays to pay a little more for service.

[whats77inaname]

For car work, I agree, but then again, I work on my own cars. When I can't, I have a BMW guy here who sees it. I wouldn't think that something as simple as powdercoating would be such an ordeal.

[whats77inaname]

I got a laugh today when I saw he posted an ad on Craigslist this week advertising powder coating. Srsly?

http://austin.craigslist.org/aos/2951592374.html

I texted him about it, and his response was:

I know you'd like me to crawl in a hole and die. But life goes on. It didn't work out with your wheels, the timing, and everything going on here @ the shop at the same time. I should have quoted a longer time due to the work load we had here and I didn't and I compromised and couldn't meet the expectation set by me. I'm sorry about that and I wish I could make you happy and make it up to you somehow. But I am not going to shut down and go home because of this. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you let me know. I'd be more than happy to do some free stuff for you to make up for it or to do your wheels free of charge.

My response? I told him I got that, "I'll do it free" line before, and I told him to reimburse me the $1200 he's cost me.

Seems like I'm not the only person having issues with him these past few months.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ci...on=openratings

[BadassSupra61]

Marc (formerly of BoostLogic) is there. That's about the only thing I can surmise. EMSpowered (from what I've seen in visiting the shop and digging through Baktash's online tracks) has primarily dealt w/MR2s and, more recently, exhausts for Toyota SUVs.

I thought Marc opened up his own shop and is no longer working there. ??????

[whats77inaname]

I thought Marc opened up his own shop and is no longer working there. ??????

Given that:
1) I was out there a scant 2 weeks ago, and Marc was working on a car when I got there, and
2) "HiI'mDustin" still has his car out there specifically to have Marc work on it,

unless you can direct me to a post indicating otherwise, I'd have to say Marc is still working out there.

Oh, and on another note, in my response to be reimbursed the $1200 I'm out, I rec'd the following text:

Sir. That is not going to happen. It sounds like you're very angry and need to cool off so that you can think logically and clearly. Until then, this conversation is over.

I simply responded that his actions cause me direct loss, that anger clouds judgment, that I'm quite calm and all my actions regarding this situation have been, and will continue to be executed w/a clear conscience and level head.

Baktash, I know you're reading this. Pretty awesome that you gave your shop 5 out of 5 stars using your own name *lol*.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ci...on=openratings

Just a tad bit of conflicting interest, don't you think?

[Hurrakaine]

EMS powered was huge in the MR2 scene for a bit, and having owned at least 10 MR2's myself, and being on the boards rather frequently, I have seen his reviews go from good, to lukewarm to downright terrible. I think he got banned on both boards for problems with customers. Its a shame when a shop opens up, has great customer service to start, then as business and money rolls in, the customer, who pays the bills becomes forgotten.

[whats77inaname]

Think you're slick, Bak? I see you're posting on Craigslist again:

http://austin.craigslist.org/aos/2951591423.html

http://www.emspowered.com/storefront...roducts_id=536

I see you're using your cell number this time, though.

Don't worry, I'm posting on Craigslist, too

http://austin.craigslist.org/aos/2979547621.html

You'll be hard-pressed to ever use Craigs again as a method to drum up business. I would suggest you think of something else.

[HiI'mDustin]

Think you're slick, Bak? I see you're posting on Craigslist again:

http://austin.craigslist.org/aos/2951591423.html

http://www.emspowered.com/storefront...roducts_id=536

I see you're using your cell number this time, though.

Don't worry, I'm posting on Craigslist, too

http://austin.craigslist.org/aos/2979547621.html

You'll be hard-pressed to ever use Craigs again as a method to drum up business. I would suggest you think of something else.

They did all my powder coating and it looks awesome. I understand that your situation sucks but they still have a business to run....

[whats77inaname]

They did all my powder coating and it looks awesome. I understand that your situation sucks but they still have a business to run....

Rock on, glad everything worked out for you. Looking at his entire scope of work across the multiple sites he is on/was on/has been banned from, it would appear you might be the exception rather than the norm.

When did they do your work, and what did you have done?

[94nasupra]

I understand waiting because of unforseen problems but you should have taken out your wheels a month after this started esp. since 2k12 was rolling around and you wanted the wheels done. Sorry to hear. But excuse after excuse is just stalling.

[whats77inaname]

I understand waiting because of unforseen problems but you should have taken out your wheels a month after this started esp. since 2k12 was rolling around and you wanted the wheels done. Sorry to hear. But excuse after excuse is just stalling.

What's that old saying about hindsight....?

It's done, can't do anything about it, just setting expectations for others if they decide to get work done through EMS powered.

[94nasupra]

What's that old saying about hindsight....?

It's done, can't do anything about it, just setting expectations for others if they decide to get work done through EMS powered.

I understand and its appreciated you are warning people.

[HiI'mDustin]

Rock on, glad everything worked out for you. Looking at his entire scope of work across the multiple sites he is on/was on/has been banned from, it would appear you might be the exception rather than the norm.

When did they do your work, and what did you have done?

They did all the work on my 240sx that can be seen in my Build Thread.

The thing is people dont get on to praise as much as they do complain.(not saying yours isnt justified but in general)

[whats77inaname]

The thing is people dont get on to praise as much as they do complain.(not saying yours isnt justified but in general)

Interesting point.

When my son does what I expect of him, he doesn't get add'l praise b/c it is what is *expected*. Things like picking up his clothes, walking his dog, cleaning up after himself.

When he goes above and beyond (picking up the dog poop in the backyard, clearing the table for *everyone* and not just himself, etc), then he gets extra praise.

When he leaves his clothes all over the place, leaves dirty dishes all over the place, then he gets admonished.

My criteria for how I deal with shops follows much the same pattern. As far as I'm concerned, I shouldn't have to *praise* some place when they're doing what is/was expected. When I've taken my vehicles to shops and had work done, and the service was phenomenal, I lavish praise on them on the forum(s) applicable. And when they screw me, I mention that, too.

With all the work you've had them do, listening to "hey, we didn't have enough time, but I'll do it for you for free" and then no call/no show/no wheels *after* acknowledging f*cking up prior to that?

I think we can all agree I was screwed.

P.S. I think the fact that (judging by your pics on your build thread) you're always down there in their face plays a part in it, too. In hindsight, I guess I should've done that, too, but for something as simple as powder coating, you wouldn't think that was necessary.

[HiI'mDustin]

Interesting point.

When my son does what I expect of him, he doesn't get add'l praise b/c it is what is *expected*. Things like picking up his clothes, walking his dog, cleaning up after himself.

When he goes above and beyond (picking up the dog poop in the backyard, clearing the table for *everyone* and not just himself, etc), then he gets extra praise.

When he leaves his clothes all over the place, leaves dirty dishes all over the place, then he gets admonished.

My criteria for how I deal with shops follows much the same pattern. As far as I'm concerned, I shouldn't have to *praise* some place when they're doing what is/was expected. When I've taken my vehicles to shops and had work done, and the service was phenomenal, I lavish praise on them on the forum(s) applicable. And when they screw me, I mention that, too.

With all the work you've had them do, listening to "hey, we didn't have enough time, but I'll do it for you for free" and then no call/no show/no wheels *after* acknowledging f*cking up prior to that?

I think we can all agree I was screwed.

P.S. I think the fact that (judging by your pics on your build thread) you're always down there in their face plays a part in it, too. In hindsight, I guess I should've done that, too, but for something as simple as powder coating, you wouldn't think that was necessary.

Its rather difficult to compare a engine swap to a powder coating job so I know where u are coming from man, as far as feeling you didnt need to be at the shop a lot. Things could have been handled better, but I would hope they have more positive than negative feedback.

Sucks what happened but they do have something to offer to the ATX community that other shops don't. Affordable and amazing fabrication....Hard to find both

[shiftsk8r]

I have had nothing but good experiences with this EMS Powered.

I ordered a 6766 from them and said that I wanted the exhaust housing ceramic coated. They told me when the turbo will be get there and that the same day it will be coated and ready for me to pick up. I showed up on the day they said it would be ready and it was.

I realized that I needed a elbow welded on the turbo at a awkward angle which I had forgot to inform them about and they took care of it right away as I was standing there. Customer service doesn't get any better then that.



There are only 3 people I completely trust to work on my car and Marc (fabricator) at EMS Powered is one of them.

[whats77inaname]

I have had nothing but good experiences with this EMS Powered.

I realized that I needed a elbow welded on the turbo at a awkward angle which I had forgot to inform them about and they took care of it right away as I was standing there. Customer service doesn't get any better then that.

There are only 3 people I completely trust to work on my car and Marc (fabricator) at EMS Powered is one of them.

Marc is a good guy. He seems genuine, and I have had a couple of good conversations with him. He owes me a favor and has offered his services to me, as well. If I didn't already have a hell of a welder I work with (he's a certified welding instructor), he'd be my first choice.

My guy's work on a bracket I had him weld when I retrofitted a Honda S2K electric steering rack to the Acura Legend I was working on:


and his aluminum welding for a custom mount for a C35A engine swap for the same car:


I got this email today after the latest c/l posting, and I had to laugh. I'll withhold the person's name. I'll point him to this thread, maybe he'll chime in.

There is a place off of south 183 called Metalink that is really cheap and does
powder coating. I know the powder coater, is name is Mike and he does a good job. I
began to become suspicious and did some research after the shadiness, no returned
phone calls, no replies from emails, etc. I read your post on supra forums, and ran
across a few more reviews of people going through the same thing, and pulled my car
out of their shop after 2 weeks going through what seemed to be the same bs you were going through. Funny thing, I seen your wheels on his office floor back in february or early march I believe.

Obviously not much has changed.