Is it me or did I offend anyone?

[shipsgunner]

Just checking to see if I did something wrong or offended the wrong person since I got here a week or so ago.

Everyone in here has been very nice to me and in fact helpful as well. Until you give the "Cottage Vendors" money then nobody wants to talk to you, at least not the vendors.

I'm now about 1200.00 flapping in the breeze between 3 vendors and none of them will return a call or PM or email. Was it something I said? Just wondering. One of them I wanted to change my order and make it larger but cannot get them to answer the phone and I don't want a second order floating out there to confuse the order.

I did buy a GPS off Mrprez this week and he was very helpful and quick to ship, but the actual vendors are either ignoring me or I offended someone and nobody will return the calls or emails or PM's. Shoot, I'm starting to feel like a stalker. Is there a "Big Hang" going on this week?

I really don't want to call them out on this thread but seriously, who has the best customer service? I would like to buy something from them... as it stands now, I'm afraid to go to any of these sites and buy anything. And since I don't have any history I have no background on what to expect other than what I am seeing now.

What gives folks? I promise to shower or brush my teeth or whatever it takes.

Mods, if this is a violation of the board rules please delete but wow, is this biz so lucrative, you don't need the customers?

SG

[camoxjeep]

The cottage vendors here are great. How long has it been? Did you try and post in their section? Give them a chance as I know they get busy and they do hike/camp themselves and have lives. Not trying to be mean just saying give them a chance. If it goes to long maybe post who they are and someone here can probably get a hold of them.

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm sure it's not you, unless you're an extremely impatient person (in which case it might be you).

Some of our vendors are communications-challenged (some more than others). I would expect PM would be the least effective way to reach them with regards to a commercial transaction. Same with posting a thread about it - I'd expect checking HammockForums is the last thing on a vendor's daily to-do list (though some are infinitely more active than others).

One piece of advice I might offer is to make contact before your order and get all questions answered. If you can't get those questions answered, then caveat emptor. I won't purchase a single thing from a cottage vendor till I get my questions answered. Sometimes I wait a day or so for the return call, but I'm not expecting immediate gratification because I don't hold cottage vendors to the same standards I would a larger company.

Some cottage vendors are hikers, bikers, and paddlers just like us and they need to get out in the piney woods too. Some are one or two-person shops and they wear many hats. Wanna talk to the customer service manager or the shipping department? That's the same guy making your gear. My wife's favorite buying tactic is, "Let me speak to your supervisor." Totally ineffective tactic with a cottage vendor - he is his own supervisor.

I'm sure there are plenty that will disagree with me about being patient, but hey, those folks can get immediate gratification by buying from the big-box vendors who more readily meet their standards of customer service (and also happen to sell inferior equipment, in my opinion).

Most of my gear is not from the cottage vendor with the best customer service, but if that's what you want above anything else, then you probably should have researched "Who has the best customer service?" before your purchases.

[fiveonomo]

Yeah, I agree with t he above. I was at the $1200 mark a while ago, it is a lot of money but if you stay in this world you will spend much more. With that said, I have dealt with many of the vendors here and have never had an issue. Good luck.

[12trysomething]

Be patient, the vendors are pro's - 100% professionals. They ALWAYS come through and deliver. Leave an email and a voice mail and remember that there are orders ahead of you in the queue. The businessmen and women you are dealing with always do the right thing thus ensuring longevity in their craft!

[pgibson]

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble. I know many of the other guys and chat with them regularly.

Is there a "Big Hang" going on this week?

Every customer has a big hang this weekend, and next and the next after that. Be aware that this time of year is total chaos as most folks are in a huge rush to get their hands on gear they need for a trip on short notice. We have done more Rush orders and overnight shipping this month than in the last 2 years combine and we are only 2 weeks in. This year has seen a big upswing in the number of folks getting into hammocks and as such the demand on gear and gear quickly is high. We are making and shipping around 100 orders every 1.5 - 2 weeks this year.

Do try and remember that they are trying to keep production moving, cover several forums, social media, manage employes, maintain QC, Ship orders, squeeze in a meal here and there, take care of kids, spend time with family, re-order materials, deal with mistakes from manufactures, cover the phones, reply to emails, do taxes, from time to time bathe, on rare occasion take a few days off to hike or do family stuff...or attend hangs around the country, and so on and so on. Not trying to make an excuse by any means just remember that the vendors may not get back as fast this time of year as expected. Try shooting out an email and a PM again if it has been more than 24 hours....sometimes they just get lost in the sheer volume that come in daily.

[shipsgunner]

Ok. Thanks for all the helpful advice. BTW, I did take a shower and got a few tips via PM and am grateful.

I have read over 1000 posts here since I joined so I understand "they got a life." I have run a few small businesses/startups over the years and sold them off for profit. So I get receiving, shipping, sales, logistics, management, and labor force typically are the same 1-3 folks who wear multiple hats...lol I know that business model well.

I was just asking if the "cold shoulder" was normal and if there was something I should have done.

Thanks for the advice and help.

SG

[mr hvac]

I have also waited a week or two to get any response from certain cottage vendors. But they have ALL come thru & with high quality. I'm very impatient but I'm so glad I waited.

[climbing.kevin]

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble. I know many of the other guys and chat with them regularly.


Every customer has a big hang this weekend, and next and the next after that. Be aware that this time of year is total chaos as most folks are in a huge rush to get their hands on gear they need for a trip on short notice. We have done more Rush orders and overnight shipping this month than in the last 2 years combine and we are only 2 weeks in. This year has seen a big upswing in the number of folks getting into hammocks and as such the demand on gear and gear quickly is high. We are making and shipping around 100 orders every 1.5 - 2 weeks this year.

Do try and remember that they are trying to keep production moving, cover several forums, social media, manage employes, maintain QC, Ship orders, squeeze in a meal here and there, take care of kids, spend time with family, re-order materials, deal with mistakes from manufactures, cover the phones, reply to emails, do taxes, from time to time bathe, on rare occasion take a few days off to hike or do family stuff...or attend hangs around the country, and so on and so on. Not trying to make an excuse by any means just remember that the vendors may not get back as fast this time of year as expected. Try shooting out an email and a PM again if it has been more than 24 hours....sometimes they just get lost in the sheer volume that come in daily.

^very understandable and well said. I certainly wouldn't expect to have the same immediate response as if I were to contact a major manufacturer. That's because the manufacturer has a separate division for production, advertising, sales, and customer support, whereas the cottage vendor is sometime as low at 2 people. The benefit of this is you get to know all the said people, and they can work with your order, though it may take time, because they could be putting their quality time into making other people's products as well. If you sent them an email I would give them about 5 business days to reply (since they are hangers who test their own products, they might be hanging on weekends for R&D).

[DavyRay]

Ok. Thanks for all the helpful advice. BTW, I did take a shower and got a few tips via PM and am grateful.

I have read over 1000 posts here since I joined so I understand "they got a life." I have run a few small businesses/startups over the years and sold them off for profit. So I get receiving, shipping, sales, logistics, management, and labor force typically are the same 1-3 folks who wear multiple hats...lol I know that business model well.

I was just asking if the "cold shoulder" was normal and if there was something I should have done.

Thanks for the advice and?
help.

SG

Cool beans, dude. You are one of us. The cottage vendor guys are pretty cool. I know a few of them to talk to face-to-face. Really nice people. As Pgibson said, it is a really busy time of the year.

Heck, does anyone want to talk to me about my need for a summer UQ?