CBI: Why I wont deal with CBI again ( A Vendor review)

First I want to stress that this is not at all personal! I am just carrying my experience with @CBI Offroad Fab to this forum so that hopefully someone would benefit from it!

I have been a fan of CBI's bumpers for around two and a half years now, I like the way that the bumpers are engineered as they are a great fit and meet some of my requirements that I want on my build. With that being said I want to first jump in to my first contact with CBI and the reasons I went with them in the first place.

I was in the market for a front bumper and CBI was among the three fabricators that I wanted to deal with. I contacted them regarding front bumper (MOAB 2.0) and I was really admired by there keen since of helping and understanding my build. I closed a deal within the same day and felt quite good about my choice. I knew then that I would be taken care of and that I will get my moneys worth. the product was great and stood most of the bashing that I gave it. it was the best investment I put in the Truck.

Months passed and I had the ability to buy the next item on my build list which is a High Clearance rear bumper with a swing out I basically wanted the full package. So with out thinking twice about it I went to CBI right away and paid in full for my order. I was met with the similar professionalism that I was met with the first time. I received my invoice with an estimated shipping date, every was normal as it should be. after 10 days I called back again to add more to the order! I wanted to start with the underarmor, so I ordered a front skid plate to come with the order. everything is good till now. the estimated shipping date was around the 3rd of July.

Fast forward to the 5th of July I received no emails nor a call from CBI, So i decided to call and inquire about my order. and to my surprise, the order was pushed back two weeks, I was fine with that I know stuff happens, however, I wish that I was notified by CBI. what made me call was that I was keeping track of CBI's instagram account, espassicly their story. the story showed that CBI was busy installing bumpers and stuff on a couple of cars as they were preparing for a trip. I dismissed any thought that my order was pushed because of that. this was the first red flag

Two weeks passed by, I call again because CBI sent nothing over the email nor called. I get the news that my order is going to be pushed back by another two weeks! And Again NO one calls nor send an email! I felt belittled by them! again I kept and eye on there instagarm account and in there story they brought in trucks to prepare for the FJ summit. this is the second red flag! I stressed to them that I understand that stuff happens and that they can be overwhelmed by work, and I get the same replay over and over "were sorry will try better next time" out of a good heart I gave them the benefit of the doubt and bit the bullet and hoped that they might get better next time.

Further, another two weeks pass by and the same scenario happens again! I receive nothing from CBI|! by then I had to cancel two trips I planned to leave by the time I got the bumper and installing it! I again call CBI I inquire about my order, and I got the same crap again! my order was pushed back another two weeks! by then my patents was running out quickly. I expressed to them my disappointment in the whole situation, and I kept getting the same replay from them, over and over. I felt that my time and money were a waste honestly! a day or so passes by I get an email from CBI with an empty invoice without a day estimation!

Another week passes by, I email them about the whole thing and how eveytime my order is pushed back they are preparing for an event, and I keep getting the same replay over and over. after around two full months you get sick of hearing the same thing over and over without seeing any progress! my bumper wasn't even in production stage!

I had it by then, I email them asking for a possible cut from the full amount as a compensation for my time being wasted and for poor costumer service. I get an email back with them saying they are willing to refund up to $100 which doesnt even covers the shipping! I felt that I as a costumer was worthless in there eyes.

I call the next day to ask for a full refund, I spoke with Nathan, he seemed to care less about making stuff right the whole conversation didnt even last 3 mins. never have I felt like i was nothing by a vendor. Nathan didnt even ask about my side of the story nor even ask about why I am asking for a full refund! careless and selfish honestly. I used to feel proud that I carry a CBI bumper on my truck. now I am regretting the time I knew and dealt with that company.



If you care about your time and money then go somewhere else because apparently they don't. And you are the one who has to keep track of his investment and beg and please that CBI will do its part of the deal right.

 

That really sucks. Sorry you had to go through that. Did you get your refund?

 

I dont personally own anything from CBI, but I do have a child and I know there's 3 sides to every story...his, theirs and what really happened...curious to see where this goes

 

Thanks for the heads up

 

You can always file a claim with your credit card

 

following this, seems maybe CBI needs to chime in on this?

 

Unfortunately this is pretty common with small fab shops. They loose touch with reality once they get popular. Prinsu comes to mind.

 

People just take money and orders without ever figuring out how to fill them... that being said the few small pieces I've gotten from them have been great.. hopefully this gets resolved for you OP

 

Agreed...I have 3 orders from 3 different vendors (not naming...yet) and all are past the delivery dates at this time. Sh@t happens, but communication makes things better. Just dont make me reach out to you when I'm the one paying.

 

Ordered my Prinsu rack from them roughly a month ago. Still have 2 weeks to go but i have a strange feeling that something similar will happen. Fingers crossed this is a one off.

 

I too had a similar situation with another vendor. It all worked out in the end and I am happy with the final product. The issue I had was that I was constantly being told things will ship tomorrow or in two days or next week and then hear nothing. This happened a LOT. I would much rather be told, "hey, this is going to be ready in 6 months". Straight up lies about shipping, in an attempt to please (silence) the customer is not what I consider good customer service.

 

I want to clear things up! I did get my money back! getting my money back wasnt the issue here, the issue here is the bad customer service!

 

EXACTLY!! THANK YOU! I was willing to wait however, I felt like I was worthless to them even though I am the one who is paying !

 

I hope they do, I seriously doubt that they would even care at this point.

 

I got my money back. my goal from this review wasnt and is not about money at all! my goal is to let people know what they are going to get into if they deal with CBI at the moment.

 

Thankfully I did, however, I wouldnt be able to get back the time I wasted waiting for them to care a little bit and give me a heads up.

 

I like how this thread is about CBI CS but somehow we managed to throw shade at PrInSu all in the span of 1 day. You guys are impressive.

 

I am as curious as you are, however, they had numerous weeks to explain, and by writing this review I hope they really understand my frustration and not just appologize over the phone (which I appreciated) without seeing any results, my goal here is not to bash at them without a reason this is not personal this is merely a report to this forum.