Shrockworks

This review, as of posting it right now, is still an ongoing saga. When everything is finally resolved I will edit this to reflect the entire process.

Almost everything I am claiming is in e-mails I exchanged with them, I have no problem forwarding them to anyone that wants to see them so they dont think I am lieing.

I ordered a bumper from http://shrockworks.com/, they quoted me a 12 week lead time and confirmed that the custom work I wanted done would be no problem.

They moved the lead time 5 seperate occasions, and missed the original 12 weeks by an additional 2 months. (and counting) At first they said the delay was due to their equipment, and then later claimed it was due to the custom design i wanted, (which it turns out, they didn't use my custom design) then blamed the powder coating company, and later yet claimed they did not recieve my payment.

After they missed the lead time by over a month and a half I demanded my money back, and they countered to give me free shipping (Which, had they met their deadlines, I would have been in houston and I would not had to pay shipping) and not charge for the custom work I ordered. I agreed. Then sent them the remainder of money i owed them. I then sent an e-mail asking about how the bumper looked, they e-mailed me back saying that they didn't put some of my custom modifications on because 'they look funny'. They never called me to ask my opinion or let me know they changed my design, just asked for the final payment. Then after I did not recieve my bumper I called and asked what the delay ways, they said they did not recieve my final payment. I gave them the tracking number to the certified letter and then they told me that I used the wrong address. (I specifically e-mailed them asking what address to use, and I used they one they gave me) Then they also told me that the owner, Jim, had actually recieved the attempted delivery notice from my letter and didn't know what it was for so they never bothered to pick it up.

I looked on this forum and other 4x4 forums to find that this business practice is typical for them. As a matter of fact if you google 'shorckworks lead times' you get pages and pages of similar complaints. The reviews for their equipment is outstanding, but they literally try this crap on almost everyone that orders from them. (from what I read at least)

I've now filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau hoping that they get this resolved. I seriosuly doubt it helps, there is one other previous complaint filed and they never bothered to respond to the BBB. I hope that I save others from the hassle I have had to go through, 5 months later and still haven't recieved a 'custom' bumper that I have no idea what it looks like.

Here is their BBB rating:
http://www.bbb.org/houston/business...heelsrims/shrockworks-in-houston-tx-90012324/

 

dayum! does 4wp's own shrockworks too! lol i feel for you brother..

 

I feel your pain bro. I ordered my sliders from them they told me 2 months and were right on time so I ordered the front bumper. Thats where everything went wrong for me also it took them 7months to get my bumper to me. I wanted it for the summer and I put it on the week before christmas. I to spoke with the owner and went nuts on the phone and all i got was free shipping. The bumper is great but there customer service SUCKS.

 

I ordered a bumper and received it after a lot of back and forth. It was late.

When it finally did arrive, there were a few pieces missing. I emailed them and to my surprise, they were very good about getting things sorted out quickly.

The vast majority of problems seem to be fabrication related. Trouble getting parts cut, etc.

About a month ago, I received email that directly addressed the slowness and problems with things like laser cutting and overall fabrication by suggesting they've brought the cutting operation in house and were addressing the backlog by staying late.

Would I order from them again? I don't know. I will say the bumper is all everyone said it was and I am very happy. It was frustrating to say the least but worth it.

If it's truly the case there problems are mostly behind them, that's great. Only time will tell.

 

I know the last post was months ago but thought I'd throw in my perspective. Considering these parts are hand crafted upon order and not mass produced like some shops is why you're going to see a difference in times. For those of you who have never own, ran, or managed a business you obviously don't know the man-power, time, and frustration involved in meeting deadlines.

I ordered a bumper before I deployed and they told me it would arrive in September, a month before my deployment. It instead arrived in late October when I was in the glorious country of Afghanaland. I called them from Afghanistan and they were able to assist me in every way possible to ensure my bumper did not arrive on the front lawn of an empty house or into the wrong hands.

I'm satisfied with Shrockworks. Though they were a month late with my product, I understood the time scale and what is put into making the bumper.

 

I never got back around to updating but i saw this thread pop up and it jogged my memory.

Since knowing what it's like to own and run your own business seems to somehow qualify your opinion I'll also note that i have owned and operated my own business for several years now. I can say with no uncertainty that i would go out of business if i ran mine like shrockworks runs theirs. It must be nice to operate in a market that is not very competitive.

I did end up getting my bumper... Just shy of 6 months late. There were several shipping issues. Mainly because they did not pass on my correct information to their shipping service. I ended up having to call that company myself because shrockworks would not get the info straight. Once i tracked down the shippers and was able to touch base i was finally able to get it delivered.

When I went to install it it turned out they had manufactured the bumper incorrectly. I called them about it and they had no idea what i was talking about. Then i ended up having to take video of how the bumper would not fit my truck and send it to them. They then informed me that they had infact assembled my bumper incorrectly, by quickly pointing this out i actually helped them out because there were two additional bumpers with bad parts. Speaks mountains about their quality control...

At this point they are 6 months late, can't call people back, can't properly assemble their bumpers, and couldn't properly ship. So the last thing i wanted was to deal with this problem through them. I ended up using a reciprocating saw and grinder and personally modifying their bumper to fix it.

I will never, ever, recommend them to anyone. Their product seems to stand up well, but such a shoddy shady company that obviously dislikes their customers is not worth dealing with.
I am certainly glad i did not have to deal with these morons when i spent my tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Im glad it went better for others.

 

Someone from Shrockworks posted a pretty cool looking rear bumper design they were working on over on ttora's forum. I noticed that back in Feb and wanted to know if the hitch was similar in design to the stock hitch since I do tow and some aftermarket bumpers have hitches good only for a bike carrier or very light trailer.

That was back in February and there's still no answer.

As much as I like the quality and design of my front bumper, I'm not thinking about buying anything more from them.

 

I'm sorry but this is Excuse Making 101 in my opinion. I can appreciate parts that are fabricated by hand and most people buying a plate bumper from a shop like that understands wait times (at least they should). The issue I have is, if you tell someone their product will be done by a certain date, they should have the product done by that date. Even though it is hand crafted, this is what they do for a living and they ought to be able to accurately predict wait times.

I do not work for a fabricator, I work for a construction company and if I miss deadlines on the project schedule, there can be huge financial reprecautions. If you give someone a date, you'd better be able to meet it. That's just good business, regardless of what you're producing.

 

Didn't mean to piss anyone off with the last post. I just understand the constraints with meeting a deadline, especially with "made-to-order" things of metal (i.e. bumper...I put "made-to-order" in quotes concerning it wasn't exactly made to your order, Simone).

I'm putting the finishing touches on my bumper (leveling, skid, etc.) but noticed I have two extra holes in my mount but not in my bumper. To anyone who runs a Shrockworks front bumper, did you have to drill holes into your bumper? I called Shrockworks and they told me the bumper is only held on by four bolts total but I noticed in some pictures, people have anywhere from three to four on each side...just unsure if this is just an old design or what.

Anyway, does this look right as far as mounting?

 

Yes.

 

I'm just about to buy a front bumper from Shrockworks, and figured I would check the trusty TW and see what the boys had to say. Sorta glad I found this thread, and disappointed at the same time.
What are some other competitive front bumpers to Shrockworks? Looks and quality wise.
I found ARB, CBI, AllProOffRoad.....what do people say on a comparison level?
Thanks,

 

I have nothing to compare it to. Mine looks great, I'm glad I have it.

 

IMO Arb is good, but uglier than a 7 eyed dildo monkey. Why don't you look into Relentless fab, or elite offroad. I like my all pro bumper, its good enough for me. CBI is extremely well built as well.

 

CBI is awesome from my experience.

 

Glad I'm not the only one that feels this way...

I have a Elite Front and a CBI custom Rear hybrid - Can't go wrong with either.

 

I recommend Shrockworks. Their lead time has greatly improved since the original posting here. I am very satisfied with my front bumper. I currently have on order a rear bumper and sliders to complete the protection of my 1999 tacoma TRD.

The best things in life are always worth the wait!

 

Anyone have good luck with there sliders?