CBi Offroad... customer battles for product

I ordered rock sliders for my tacoma using a third party vendor. Received them within the quoted time frame however was sent the wrong product. My receipt from when I purchased them clearly stated they were for a DC LONG BED. However I was sent sliders for a DC SHORT BED. The third party vendor has been in contact with me and CBI management, but its been a week and no answer on how this will be corrected by CBI.. I wasn't at work when these were delivered and honestly they were wrapped up so well I couldn't tell they were the wrong ones when I got them home. Hopefully I wont have to wait another 8 weeks for my sliders I ordered..

 

Time to give CBI a call yourself. Credit chargeback might be in order. Let them deal with the credit card company. I've written before that I have not been happy with CBI. I don't really want to flame them on the internet but I do hope others will share their experiences, not with the hope of hurting CBI, but rather encouraging them to improve their customer service.

I really haven't read any complaints about their products; they seem to have a fantastic eye for design. I knew going in to my order that it was going to be a long wait, but I didn't mind, I was willing to be patient. When the expected ship date had lapsed, I called, received a pleasant update. Then that next ship date passed, so I called again, and was told it would ship on a future date. Then that date came and went so I contacted them and was informed that the dates I was given were inaccurate and that my item wasn't even close to shipping, it was still being fabricated. Long story short, after receiving conflicting information multiple times, I didn't feel I could trust them anymore and asked for a refund, which they did provide.

It's too bad because even now, I still look at their products and want to purchase them, but I have certainly learned my lesson, at least until things change.

 

I only purchased from CBI once and it was like 10 years ago but the experience was good, they took a normally stocked product and changed it to meet my needs. Product was perfect, delivery was decent as well. Sorry to hear the current horror stories

 

I've been in contact with CBI and everything is looking good. Process is a little slow, weird but hey it's being handled.. I am glad too as like you say they do have a fantastic eye for design.

 

Things may be looking up!

I started this thread over a general issue I had a few years back with CBi, but as there are only so many companies out there putting out the quality and design that they are I decided that I would like to give them a second chance to see if things have improved. I am very pleased to find many changes that they have made to their system that really changed my mind as far as making them a possible contributor to my future builds and recommendations.

First off, they sent a return invoice within 2-days of purchase that detailed not only items ordered, but projected completion date, and contact information for any questions or concerns with that specific order. So no more calling their general line and hunting down one of the two guys that used to know what was going on.

Second, they notified me immediately when the item was going into production. I imagine that this would extend to the moment they had any issues, but I fortunately didn't have to test the theory.

And Lastly, not only did they meet their projected lead times, but actually cut the time in half and received my order a full two weeks ahead of schedule!!!

I'm glad to see what I I foresee as a great and positive change in the company!

 

I hope they are getting better with lead times. Man oh man!

Here is my bitterness rant.

I just got word from my dealer yesterday here in Canada, Overland Outfitters, finally my rear bumper has shipped......
Wait I didn't order a REAR bumper, it's suppose to be a FRONT bumper in Aluminum, Moab 2.0 Baja for my 2007.
Wow, if a rear is coming I may loose it. This thing was paid in full at time of order.

I don't know if we get screwed over more because it's coming to Canada, but I placed my order thru the dealer Jan 18/2021.
As of today typing this, it's been 37 weeks 5 day and I still don't have a thing.

Has me thinking who's to blame on this one?? Who dropped the ball?? At the time of purchase, it was 12+ weeks.
I guess the + part is right
Was CBI just unable to fill order, short material, not enough skilled fabricators???? or did the order get placed from the dealer to begin with in a timely fashion????

I'm a bit patient, but this has take the cake for me.

I wanted the CBI aluminum skids and a set of rock sliders. Guess not from them.
Unless there is some major freebies that spices this deal up....Not going be ordering from either CBI or the dealer for goods next time.

Rant end.

 

ouch.... it appears their larger sized items are still being an issue. I hope you get the right bumper and it's just a misprint on the service order.... I would be beyond upset

 

FWIW - I ordered a baja front bumper and front skid plate direct from CBI, both aluminum, on July 7th. I had heard horror stories about issues with lead times, misinformation, etc... so i've been anxiously waiting and on Monday of this week I got a phone call saying they're both ready for pick up. CBI originally said to expect them in October.

So, yes - an insanely long lead time, but they weren't far off what they originally said. I called multiple times to check on the order and they're reps were super nice and maintained the items should be ready around the end of October. No complaints from me on the process.

 

Glad you had a good experiance.

I did not.

 

To share experience, I ordered front/rear bumpers and full skids last February. They are well behind the anticipated delivery date, but have kept me informed. My install date is scheduled for December 13, I will update this post when we return.

 

Ordered HC rear bumper with double swingouts back in February through a local shop here in Canada. The shop was quoted 12 to 16 weeks at the time. No real clear communication from CBI since then... the shop was passed around through several CBI account reps over the course of this past year and could never get a straight answer as to where the order was. My shop had quite a larger order from them (several other customer's products in addition to mine) and has been historically a higher volume CBI dealer around where I live... so they were just as frustrated as I was. The shop has been fantastic through it all and has been bending over backward to keep me in the loop and providing whatever else they can to keep me as a customer.

The bumper finally arrived in November (that is over 10 months or 40 weeks after they got the order and received my $$). I sent out all the pieces for local powder coating and got them all back last week ready for assembly and installation. The shop went to install this week and it turns out that both of the swing outs are incorrect. The bumper itself is right and fits perfectly on my truck, however, the swingouts were either manufactured wrong or were from a different model bumper... they were definitely not made for the Tacoma bumper that sits perfectly now on my truck. When the swingouts were installed, the latch points just wouldn't meet in the middle (they are several inches too short to meet up). Also, the tabs at the bottom of the swingouts were in the wrong spot. They are supposed to stop the swingout from swinging into the tailgate and sit snug on the bumper itself for support, but they were mounted way too far inboard and sit over the license plate area swinging in the breeze.

So far the response from CBI has been lacking (that is an understatement). They basically blamed the shop for "ordering incorrectly". We will see how this goes. I don't feel like waiting another 40 weeks for the right pieces to arrive (and pay more to get them properly powder coated). My shop has assured me they will make it right. As a last resort my shop said they could likely re-fabricate the incorrect swingouts properly and get them powder coated (again) and would eat that cost/effort if it comes to that. I really don't want my shop to have to eat that shit sandwich. I feel CBI needs to step up here and take care of this and quickly. The shop has already said they are steering all their customers away from CBI products. Stuff like this hurts the shop's reputation too.

Anyway... that is my story. If I get this resolved, I will update as to how it worked out.

 

Dropped off for install today. Ordered in February, long lead time, but was kept up on delays and install date. I will update post when install completed. So far no concerns other than the extraordinary wait…still no where near the delays with the camper build at Vagabond; 17 months in and expect another year (being optimistic).

 

Quick update... Not much resolved. CBI wants more proof that the wrong swing-out parts were sent with my bumper. Here are the pictures as sent.


CBI wants me to send the bumper back so they could "confirm" any errors as they don't trust the photos. Hey CBI... go pound sand! One quick look at these and you should know you messed something up. The bumper is on and fits perfectly. I am not taking it off and packing this whole thing up to send back to you (several hundred pounds of freight to a different country) so you can verify! Send me the proper swingouts and cover my cost to get them powerdcoated.... and hurry up about it.

 

It’s clear one or both are short…seems like a photo with a measuring tape would suffice vs. sending back if these photos weren’t convincing enough.

 

Its funny how quickly they pop up in the forums to drag their customers across the coals when it's about missing lead time estimates by a mile, but haven't made a peep on this. I've seen others have it out in other threads with them and they continued to lie, lie, lie, but then the CBI mouth breather fan boys show up and sh*t on the customer for rightfully voicing their complaints.
Then the mods lock it down and the problems for CBI are silenced. Its almost like the mods have a some sort of inside track or kick back with CBI. I'm amazed that this one has stayed up as long as it has.


Let this be a lesson as to why you always use PayPal or a bank that will issue a charge back for you. Crappy way to learn it but not much else you can do if they're just going to ignore you. Maybe add to their dumpster fire of Yelp and BBB reviews? Those are hilarious to read.

 

You know, I am not even that upset about the whole thing really. The world supply chain is messed. I get CBI has expanded quickly and is having some growing pains. I waited this long already (40 weeks +) so that part is what it is. They obviously made a mistake and it would be really easy to rectify it and keep me and the shop happy enough. A quick response back and a couple of swingouts on a truck up to Canada ASAP and this would be resolved. The dragging it further by obligating myself and my shop to bend over on proving it is incorrect and making us push them for this to be rectified is what bugs me most (My shop has been a CBI dealer for a long time and installed many of these. They know when its not right. You would think CBI would just trust their dealer and work with them quickly to fix it). My shop has my back, hoping CBI sees the light here and steps up. I think they will make it all right in the end.

 

Wow!

You would think during fabrication, the length of one of the sides would have been noticed. How many more have been fabricated incorrectly? Was this a "one-off" and employee terminated?

Looks like the right side (wheel-side) is supposed to be the longer length.

Man, that's a good chunk of change being spent on this rear bumper. You've been at this 40+ weeks too? Dang, you have more patience than I do.

Can they just send the wheel side on its own? Can they at least tell you what the measurements are supposed to be and you make the comparison?

Or better yet...do you have the install instructions + your own notes on the products installed by your shop?

I know this is after the fact but moving forward it would benefit for instances like this...

E
****

 

I don't know for sure, but I wonder if they sent the swingouts for a 4Runner with a Tacoma bumper. The 4Runner is narrower. Again... as you mentioned a quick email with the relevant dimensions from CBI to my shop so they can do a quick check and then a swap for the correct ones with CBI and hopefully I can be up and running ASAP.

It is a fairly straightforward solution to make everyone happy, just needs some quick action on CBI's part to make it happen.

 

Follow-up, all went well with the install…appreciate Justin’s efforts with the job. Only issue was a change to the front lower control arm skids; will have to do that myself when they are available. I did mention Kingby’s issues and to see these posts.

the job included:
Aluminum front bumper
Winch
Fogs
Bumper light bar
Sliders
Full aluminum skids
Rear bumper
Dual swings with tables

 

Looks great.

CBI did get back to the shop. They want to ship out a whole new bumper assembly. They are letting me keep the one I've got on it now until it arrives so I am not running around bumperless. The shop is really pushing for a fast turnaround. Hoping they can jump on this right away. I am not prepared for another 40+week wait.