Am I a freak?

So I ordered some bumpers from Pelfreybilt back in mid-March for my 2nd Gen Taco. I ordered a single-hoop front and a rear with the swingout. At the time I placed the order I believe the website said 14-weeks out. 3 weeks ago I messaged them if there were any update and the woman I spoke with said I should see an email with tracking info within 2 weeks. Cool. No worries. 3 weeks later (today) I still haven't seen such email. Next week we'll pass the 5 month mark from when I ordered them. I've already cancelled a couple outtings because I'm waiting for these bumpers to mount a winch, a spare, my highlift, etc that would be a good peace of mind on these otherwise difficult trails.

So my question is, Am I a freak? I have heard many many good things about Pelfrey. What I've read about the business and customer support is what initially made me order their products. I currently have their sliders and fuse block panel on my truck and I love them. I've watched a couple of their youtube videos and I enjoy the vibe the owner gives out, just seems like a really standup dude/company. I want to believe their business is a good business, but my personal experience has proven otherwise.

So sit down, shut up, and wait? Or be concerned that I haven't received the product yet?

 

That seems pretty much standard for every armor company on Tacoma World. They give rough timeline estimates, frequently exceed them, have generally poor customer communication and deliver a great product in the end.

 

Hard to know how hard to push vs give things time to resolve. If they quoted 14 weeks then I don't think it's unreasonable to expect after about 18 weeks to get an update. But OTOH, you have to allow that they did quote a long lead time on an item that isn't stocked, so you have to be reasonably flexible.

But on the freak part, yeah, kind of. There's no reason to cancel trips over what might be. I mean, what's the worst that gonna happen? You tear up a bumper? So what, you've got at least a 14 week jumpstart on a replacement Pelfreybilt.

 

Main reasons i cancelled is because im open diff and the winch on my living room floor would be a great peace of mind. I've already gotten into trouble a couple times with the diff. And i don't really have room for the spare the way my truck is currently set up.

 

https://youtu.be/QYHxGBH6o4M

 

Not saying it would be the most desirable thing, but if we worry about what might happen we'll paralyze ourselves into never doing anything. I've driven completely open diff trucks up to doubled case, double locked trucks and honestly the most fun is somewhere in the middle. Point I'm making is, sure, there might be a trail where it's irresponsible going without lockers or winch. But those are such a small number of trails and you already have a lift and decent tires, so short of the *really* hard trails you'll be fine. If not and you're solo, you don't have to be a hero and can turn around when no one's watching.

 

I'm not saying i haven't been wheeling, because i have. Just not the trails i planned on going to. I took that picture on Black Bear Pass above. Didn't go much futher than that because i was solo and open.

 

im the same way im never late always show up early if they give a time length they should stick by it , just good business

 

All the hard stuff on Black Bear is going downhill. I guess you might need a locker in theory to back for a multi-point turn but I've done the trail open in my old FJ40, open in my 1991 and more recently in my 2008. People do it all the time in stock rental Jeeps. But I do definitely understand your point about comfort level and confidence in your gear.

 

Yes, cause you didn't order Mobtown stuff. Other than that, sounds like you are pretty normal.

 

Yea....it's a lot more complicated than that. It's more like forecasting the weather than it is like leaving on time for an appointment.

 

So stick the winch in your tow hitch, or just bring a strap to get pulled out.
Just wheel it dood! As others said, worst that can happen you tear a bumper that you've already got the replacement headed your way.

 

i know at our plant if we dont deliver product when the customer needs it we usually lose that customer or want sum recoop cost

 

pretty much what i deal with everyday where i work

 

That's always the risk every company faces. And it's different in all industries. At some of my jobs, the completion date was part of the contract and missing the date had penalties. At least in our case, a lead time is not contractual. We do not promise it by the stated lead time. It's a best guess given the knowledge we have at the time. There are a lot of things that can change in 6-12 weeks that affect the lead time.

There are so many moving pieces and parts involved that even a small hold on in one process can delay an order (or all orders) for weeks. One of the biggest things we are battling right now is steel availability. Finding tubing has been very difficult and wasn't something on our radar a couple months ago when we stated lead times for many customers. Things like this can really screw stuff up.

We had an issue some time back where it rained everyday for 2 weeks. That doesn't seem like a big issue, but turns out our powder coated can't sand blast inside. That two weeks a rain meant they got really far behind and it added about 4 weeks to all our orders that needed powder coat.

Shit like this happens all the time.

 

Seems like you're getting to be the exception. Seems like fewer people and companies care about being on time and doing a good job, sometimes it's neither.

 

Eh, I refuse to believe that companies just don't care. I think it's getting harder and more expensive to maintain capacity and stock to deal with the fluctuations that all businesses deal with.

 

A lot of these companies are still fairly small and their supply chain is an issue. They are struggling with order volume, but need more money to hire more people and get more supplies. It's a vicious cycle.

That doesn't excuse a lack of customer support though. I prefer to just be updated. I think they are afraid that they will upset the customer, but honestly, it's more upsetting to not know what is going on.

It's not about being a freak, it is about whether or not you want to wait for the products or find a new place to spend your money (and potentially wait again).

 

Sometimes unavoidable things happen, I don't think @clcurtis42 expects anything more than honesty. Perhaps that's what I think is being lost in this world. If you quote a 14 lead time just keep me up to date and tell me if you're not going to make that date and maybe why if that's appropriate. I guess it goes both ways, if you tell someone you're gonna miss a date it could cause them to go ballistic.

It's a give and take here. If you're quoting and building rockets for NASA they expect firm dates and to meet them you have to carry stock on hand to complete the job. But you also charge more for the overhead. OTOH building sliders for trucks, the margin just isn't there to cover it so just in time leaves you guys squeezed more often.

That's the reasoning behind trying in a round-a-bout way to say what I am. Shit happens, give the vendor the benefit to make it right, at least up to some point. Have a plan 'B', too.

 

I always take lead time for anything and multiply it by 1.5.

Delays are not always a bad thing. I once ordered some sliders from a different fab shop. Things got delayed and come to find out they had to redesign the part to address a noise issue. They halted production until they had it fixed.