Southern Style Offroad new management

Makes sense. Thanks!

 

Can you tell me what part of the verbiage you are concerned about?

 

Below is one of the prototype first article bumpers installed and test fitted on the Tacoma we just purchased.

 

Can’t wait to see the full size bumpers.

can you show people the products unpainted?

 

However, the obligation of fulfillment and the debt owed to you is not and will not be the responsibility of Offroad Holdings, LLC.

What is that exactly saying?

 

If you don’t get your order fulfilled, sorry.

it’s their “we will try to honor the previous owners obligations but we don’t HAVE to”

did not like that section, personally. Not sure if there’s other recourse than chargeback and wait to see what happens then later reorder

 

We are fulfilling orders out of goodwill, and we have not assumed the debts or obligations of the previous entity. Our primary intent is to help make things right for the customers, grow a business, and make a return on our investment. However, assuming the liabilities from the prior entity might put us in a position where we'd be required to provide full refunds. Furthermore, this could expose us to potential legal challenges from those with outstanding orders. Embracing such liabilities would severely alter our initial financial projections, increasing our costs by 4-5 times than we had envisioned. This means we are not assuming financial responsibility for your order. We hope for understanding as we navigate these complexities while aiming to do the right thing.

 

I'm a huge fan of the SSO bumper but here is my take. Sorry if I offend the new owner who is trying to do their best.

If someone has a current order with SSO, they have 2 choices as I see it.


1. Try to get a charge back/refund through their CC company. This is the smartest route because if you can get a refund, it guarantees your money is safe.

2. Take a chance on the new owner. Wait 3-6 more months, possibly never see a bumper or your money again. If you choose this route, at the end of 6 months the bankruptcy could be final, your CC will likely say it's too late to charge back. The new company could end up under water and not even survive.

I'd definitely go for a refund and not take any chances. If in a year from now the new company is thriving, great, I'd love it. I have always liked the SSO design over all companies so I truly hope it lives on. Just wouldn't trust my money to a brand new company that's starting under water right off the bat.

 

Just read through the entire thread, and honestly have no dog in the fight (no orders with SSO or any affiliation with old/new company). With that being said, from the outside looking in, it really looks like it would be in the best interest for anyone with an outstanding order to pursue chargeback/refund from their CC company (if possible). This seems to guarantee your money back, and also seems to decrease the $ the new owner will be spending out of pocket to fulfill backorders on good will alone. This kinda seems like a win/win from this unfortunate transition period.

@SouthernStyleOffRoad Although I have nothing ordered, I appreciate your willingness to hold open communication with the community. As you already know, the same scenarios have unfolded with other companies that went under, to the same tune as yours. I'm truly rooting for you, as many others probably are, even though we expect the worst. Would it be more beneficial for you to advise backordered customers to pursue CC chargeback/refund from their CC company (where applicable), and strongly hope that they'll continue their SSO support at (future date when new orders are being taken) to ensure their money/product is secure? Maybe offer to lock in certain pricing/discounts/etc if you fear they may take their money elsewhere in the meantime. While you may lose some sales encouraging people to cancel orders, it further shows this endeavor to revive SSO is with customers in mind, even if you lose them temporarily, and it seems it would relieve you of fulfilling a goodwill order, and potentially gain you a future sale under the new ownership from the same customer. Of course this only applies to certain people and not all, but maybe it should be a preferred option where applicable? Some have already voiced their concerns with your company technically having no obligation to fulfill the order (even though you intend to), rightfully so. Seems that if possible to get a CC chargeback, that relieves the customer of that unknown period between now and then.

 

I appreciate your feedback and no offense taken! Your suggestions make sense, and I suggest that everyone try and get a refund if they are still in the window. However just to clarify, our business is in a strong financial position, and there's no risk of insolvency. Rest assured, we won't be closing our doors. We've already dispatched several bumpers and are still moving fast to get the rest shipped.

 

Thank you for your well-thought-out feedback and for rooting for us! We value the perspectives and suggestions of everyone in the community, whether they have a direct stake or not.

Based on the current situation and aligned with your thoughts, I have been advising customers with outstanding orders to pursue chargebacks/refunds through their credit card companies if they choose. This will guarantee that their money is returned promptly. We have not made this statement directly in our mass communications or website for legal reasons. Still, I offer it to every customer I call and advise them this is the best route for everyone.

While we are going through this transitional phase, we genuinely appreciate the support and patience of the community. We understand the hesitation, as many have seen similar situations transpire with other businesses, and the outcomes have not been positive. We hope to rebuild and regain the community's trust as we fulfill orders and move past the current situation.

 

Guess I should've refreshed before posting. Looks like I said the same thing as you. I agree completely; its a huge risk that ultimately lands on the customer - just unfortunate. Rooting for the new owner, but history tells us to expect the worst. I think the customer has to do everything they can to protect themselves, but I'm more hopeful here than any other sunken company, simply due to the other businesses this guy runs. I'm pretty familiar with both of the others, and they're really highly respected companies to anyone who has ever thought of modifying Hondas. New bumpers weren't really on my list to buy anytime soon, but if this goes as planned, I think he'll be the frontrunner for me personally whenever I do get ready.

 

This makes sense; thanks for the clarification! I've supported both of your other companies in years past when I owned a Honda, so naturally I'm really really hoping for the best for this situation for you. If SSO takes on the persona of your other company products, I can't imagine you failing to achieve your goals. From my entirely outside perspective watching other companies go under, the community overall seemed to root for every single one of them, up until a certain point. That point typically seemed to shift when the owners went silent/things became unknown/rumors began to come true. My completely unsolicited advice is, no matter what it requires from you, send weekly updates to every single person, whether individual or mass email; keep people in the loop, even if nothing new is happening. Its reassuring to know that you're not forgotten as a customer, even if your order hasn't made any progress. Thats obviously easier said than done, but these 400 or so backordered customers will likely be the best or worst asset than any marketing campaign could ever do. Good luck friend

 

Any chance some of us can check where we stand in the queue?

 

Currently, we don't have a streamlined method to offer this information. We'll be dispatching orders based on the date they were placed. As we progress, we'll provide further updates and details.

 

With the aforementioned suggestion of weekly updates it might be nice to have a spreadsheet with like who’s in what order and highlight who’s been fulfilled so people can see how far away until theirs are done. Just throwing that sort of idea.

Obviously you need to protect people’s privacy so it would be like initials only or something like that but I get how that would be a ton of work which detracts from the orders.

 

Thank you for the suggestions! We will do something like this as we get closer my main priority is production and talking to every customer.

 

Interesting reading through the thread here, hope it works out well for all involved.

As a lifelong resident of the salt belt, Ill throw out some unsolicited advice. Knockouts seem like a big headache from a rust prevention / coatings perspective. If a customer leaves the knockouts in place, I dont see paint getting in the cut line and fully sealing the metal without major runs. No first hand experience with powder coat, but I would imagine that would have similar difficulty. We all know how much everyone here on TW hates rust!