SKYGEAR COMPLAINTS and known waiting list

That is easier said than done...
The best advice:
- Do not take on more work than you can handle.
- Know your limitations and communicate your progress.
- Keep a list of interested parties...

Just my $.3

 

Don't forget the FBI confiscating everything

 

Agreed. It just seems like these guys have a winning lottery ticket. I am a finance Guy so maybe that's why I think what I said in my first post. These guys are living my dream. I would like to see them make the best of it. One day I'll find that thing people are willing to pay me for besides financial statements.

 

FWIW, he isn't making much money on these boxes to begin with, and the demand for them doesn't always mean they can float a family of 6 and pay all the bills for a business and a family at the same time.

Also a shortage of people who pay $700 for a $400 item.

 

Skygear, like so many other users before him, is not running a business but providing a service to a group of people with a common interest. He isn't making nearly the money he should be charging. Yes, he may be a bit naïve and over his head but let's try to be a bit more appreciative. Lots of users will be very upset if he stops making these because a few bad apples had to "stick it to the man."

OP, I completely understand; its your money and you've worked hard to earn it. Like I said, Skygear's character is infallible. You WILL get your money back if not the product you've ordered. I know you don't know him like I do, but if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't lose sleep over +$10k that Skygear owed me.

@skygear, maybe you should manage orders (and expectations) a bit better

 

Nailed it.

 

yea its not like hes got 4 posts and just joined to sell something, receive the money then haul ass. hes has like 8000 posts, like I said, I don't think hes going anywhere. sometimes things come up. we don't have perfect lives.

 

Always use a credit card. if there's a problem let the CC company sort it out. Meanwhile, you get your money back.

 

As others who have met him have stated: Skygear is a solid guy. He installed some stuff on my Tacoma and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Not only was the install perfect, but I learned a ton talking to him while he did it (and another guy's truck on the same day). I can't wait to get him to do some more things as well, but the guy is incredibly busy.

 

He may be a "good guy" to most but in my eyes in MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE he is a crook. Keep in mind he took my money, told me three separate times that he would ship and has not. I understand if your suppliers have come up short and you can't supply. Just tell me that, don't feed me full of shit. I guess i will play his game and be that manure spreader he is filling full of shit. I'll spread his shit out so all can see.

 

Rant over.

 

Friedtaco I was in your shoes before also when he was getting watched by the fbi. And yes I got nervous especially when I couldn't reach him and it had been 2 months after the ship date. I did eventually get mine and it is top notch. I hope everything works out for you whether it be a refund or a finished product. One thing we are also missing is he does not just sell these on tw which could be adding to the back log. But that does not take away from lack of communication or misinformation you have been told.

 

I'm pretty much in agreement with @FreidTaco

Order paid for on 12/27/14. I have been told by skygear at least 3 times that my fuse box was being shipped when it wasn't. I already have an aux fuse box, so I am in no rush to receive it.

I do not appreciate skygear lying to me, let alone 3 times. I would not have considered it lying if he gave me a reasonable explanation on why it was not sent out, but he did not.
I see other orders being completed that were clearly put in after mine. I would have also been fine with him telling me he wanted to get some other orders done before mine since I was not in dire need of it, but he did not.

Skygear's actions show me that he lacks good character, morals, and ethics.

The whole experience dealing with skygear has been off-putting and will make me be more cautious of dealing with other members on this site offering any type of service for others. I just want my money back and was hoping he would refund my money on his own, but will now contact paypal or my cc company.

/mybitchsession

 

I've followed his sale thread right from the beginning. It's unfortunate to see how things have been going the last few months. As far as his workmanship I think it is top notch, I don't think anyone would disagree with that. At the beginning his communication with customers was very good and lead times were being met or if there were delays he would make his customers aware of the situation.

My guess as some have already stated is that he is a family man, this has turned bigger than he expected and he is truly overwhelmed.

With all that said though, I do think it is pretty unacceptable to have people waiting way past their expected ship dates with a mix of either no communication at all or false promises of having the order ready to ship.

I don't want to come off as bashing skygear, because I'm not at all. From what I've read he does sound like a great guy, and the fact he will offer up his own time free of charge to help do installs speaks volumes to his dedication to this project. I just think it would do him well to take a good look at what people are unhappy about and try to address the situation.

A while back I bought a grill insert from homer taco and it was not an instant ship item when I ordered it. I was fine with the delay though because there was a list of people waiting (a posted list) and Craig was knocking them out in batches. I was made aware of the delay upfront and I could watch the list get updated as batches went out to customers and see that my turn was getting closer. I guess the point being that it was another product that had associated delays with people waiting, but I don't recall seeing a single customer complaint. That is likely due to the way Craig had things set up so that people weren't left wondering what is going on.

Anyhow this turned into a longer post than I had planned. I don't believe anyone will be screwed out of their money or orders... I think some better communication would go a long way though.

 

From what I see, @HomerTaco has great business skills and is organized in his "business". That you can see from all of his work.
I think Craig is not the norm, but the exception(al) for vendors here and one that should try to be reached by all vendors.
Just my thoughts.

 

^ See that's everyone's problem here, it's already been stated, but I'll reiterate, Skygear is NOT a vendor here. He is just a member who found a great mod to do to his truck and decided to share it with others. It's popularity blew up bigger than he expected and he's behind in his work. It sounds like he was making promises he couldn't keep because of how busy he was with life, but some people here like to just bash a person down because they have no patience and that is how you ruin a great thing. So thanks to everyone crying about this in here and not waiting for skygear to return from his trip. I've seen it before and I'm sure I'll see it again, it's threads like this that make people like Skygear banned from providing his services to us. So again, congrats and ruining a great thing.

 

I don't think e-public shaming is any sort of solution, catalyst to resolution or effective whatsoever.

I too had major delays in my order being shipped... trust me, your 40 days is nothing in the grand scheme of things and certainly does not warrant this type of overreaction, IMO.

I also had issues with the lack of communication from skygear over the course of the 4 months it took to get my order. But you know what? I didn't publicly shame him, I kept my outbound communication positive, and tested the limits of my patients. You know what? I received positive communication back and eventually got my order in full. Plus he threw in an additional product at no charge.

He does incredible work and will eventually catch up with all the orders. He is a one man show who clearly bit off more than he can chew. He needs systemic changes in the way he operates if he wants to transition from a "hobbyist" to a true vendor/manufacturer, IMO. I tried helping with a few things to make that transition, which he was very receptive of.

I do question why he is taking new orders when he is already overwhelmed with pending ones, while road tripping to do installs. But I cannot make decisions for another grown man.

But the point is, threads like this do absolutely nothing to resolve things. If people are potentially interested in his product(s) they will visit his thread. In that thread they will see plenty of justified gripes and concerns. From that thread said potential buyers can discern whether or not they want to purchase products from skygear.

It's not like he is scamming people out of money and completely disappearing like several others on here have done.

Just my $0.02

 

This, exactly.

And that's what I communicated to skygear.

There are smart ways to grow business without having to take on a lot of overhead.

 

Yeah I just can't see him screwing over TW...... We are the ones who got his $200 swim fin back to him off of eBay a long time ago. It doesn't fit his character.

 

I'll admit I was frustrated waiting months for mine, but it did seem like quality when I got it. My issue was that I had waited so long I decided to go another direction. I had already installed my lights and didn't want to rip stuff out. I sold my box to another TW member. Sky needs to get his business organized so he can run it like a business. I was ready to go sPod, and Sky talked me out of it. He wanted my business. That seems like a guy that wants to be in business. I wouldn't go down this path again right now; however, if he gets the kinks worked out I think there is a place for him.