So long story short, I ordered and received a tube bumper for my '84 pickup 2-3 years ago. Quality of the build was great and I loved it. When looking for a donor truck to finish the build I cam across an '88 and stripped everything I wanted off my '84 and sold the rest. I just needed to order a new reinforcement plate for '88 now since the other was welded solid onto the '84. So January 4th I try to order it on their website but there was no way to order just the plate by itself. I messaged them on Facebook and asked how to order it. They asked for my email, sent me a PayPal invoice and I was on my way. About a week pass and I didnt receive a shipment notification, I wasnt sure how backed up they were so I emailed them (per their request about order status) to find out if the 12+ week lead time still applied. I didnt receive an answer so I sent a follow up email. January 27th Scotty finally answers back "I will look into this and get back to you. I may have to cut some tomorrow and get one out. Sorry for the delay." I have no recieved a single form of communication back from them since. 7 emails sent unanswered since then, multiple phone calls and voicemails left unreturned, messages on social media left on read. I was becoming a little disgruntled to say the least, so started making disgruntled yet professional remarks on some of their social media posts. I soon realized they just deleted all my negative comments. However the final thing that set me off was they actually blocked me on Instagram. After that I didnt care, screen recording of all unanswered emails I messaged to them asking how they have time to delete comments and block customers on social media but not answer a single phone call or email. A simple "Oh were really busy sorry for the delay just be patient" or "Your order slipped between the cracks" would have been fine and I wouldnt have worried about my $70 order that can be cut on their new plasma table in 30 minutes. I made a post on Facebook, tagged them in it, and explained it all, as well as left the screen recorded email chain as a comment on one of their recent posts. At 10pm EST they refunded me my money with no communication. Just a fair warning, quality product but absolute ˟˟˟˟ customer service.

 

I hate that companies form an us against them posture. Most of us fully understand this is a niche market and that products may not be stocked like mass consumed items. Your story had been one of many many I’ve heard. Being as most are shopping with these manufacturers for either quality, brand loyalty, or for made in USA. You’d think that they’d focus on realistic communication and expectation management to realistic production times.

 

It also doesn't help that large corporations have caused the general public to form a "k, i ordered it and i want it now" mindset.

Scotty is a good guy and does a lot for the Toyota 4x4 community. Being that it's a privately owned small business, blasting him on social media prompted the customer service and verdict that you received. Put yourself in his shoes. Do you really think that he can respond to every email and social media post in a day's worth of work? Hell, I type ~120 words a minute and if every email/bid invite I received prompted a response, I'd never get anything done.

 

I ordered my bumper and kept my mouth shut and waited, it was expected. Curiosity got the better of me because there is minimal fab work for what I ordered so I asked and eventually Scotty responded saying no worries it will get put out. Nearly two months later it wasnt done after he said it was getting done so what other conclusion can I draw from that? If he simply said there was no line cutting in his orders than I would have quietly and patiently waited. How is sifting through all your social media comments to delete negative comments less time consuming than just responding (which he said he would get back to me) an email back saying "Sorry, just be patient". Im fully aware at the end I was just being petty but they wanted to turn it into a game so I played along.

 

Think I covered most of this in 1st post. After all the same brace is available from LROR or TG (same company). Most of us would prefer to support the small businesses and US made.

I never said he wasn’t a good guy. Years back he spent quite awhile on the phone with me. And furthermore his work is top quality.

The simple fact is communication works both ways. Production delays happen. But..... there comes a point that IMHO small business could benefit from not dropping customer care. To give the customer a decision to stick with order or a refund. Seems such a strategy would have prevented this from turning negative and bitter.

 

Bumping my old thread, they are listed as “Temporarily Closed” on Facebook now, can’t check Instagram I’m blocked, I’d call to find out more info but...

 

What's your goal? You already pissed Scotty off to the point where he refunded you with no contact. What else are you looking for?

 

Just curious if something happened.

 

Who knows. He's probably on spring break.