Ordered in June. Still no shipment. Requesting refund.

As already stated, one of the problems we have as customers is the lack of communication initiated by @Mobtown Offroad.

Many people can be understanding when unexpected snags pop-up during the fabrication process, you just need to tell them about it and give visibility to when the problem might be solved. Example: Look at how frustrating it was for you to have an order since August, have bad communication with the manufacturer, and in the end having to cancel the order come December.

However, be fair to the OP, giving people a 4-6 week lead time on a product and still not delivering after 25 weeks falls outside most people's tolerance for "understanding".

Publishing longer-than-industry-standard lead times might dissuade consumers and cause you to some lose business in the short-term, but your choice not to clarify lead times at the point of purchase or after the quoted time has elapsed sets you up for more posts such as this and erodes the goodwill you enjoy on TW. Your strategy of addressing customers' concerns with reactive communication reinforces trepidations that Mobtown is another Pelfreybilt in action. -something I'm positive is not the case because I've seen your other posts on this topic.

Instead of taking the fatalistic view of "It is what it is", get in front of customer concerns by letting us know what's going on. You don't need to create a fabrication timeline in the image of @SouthernStyleOffRoad, just proactively send out an email saying: "Due to A, B, and C there has been a delay, but we expect to resolve the issue by X."


You make excellent, innovative, and well-built products. 2020 has been an awful year for most, so take what you can from the experience, integrate the lessons, and move forward onto a more prosperous 2021.

 

It doesn’t seem like this is true? I’ve seen several complaints about lack of communication. Once the order hits they 5 week or whatever was shown during an order an email being sent out saying “hey, we apologize for the inconvenience however we are running behind. We are having issues with our material suppliers and we do not have an accurate lead time on your product. We can issue a refund or you can continue waiting. We apologize once again”

rather than not saying anything. Yes you can’t predict at time of order your suppliers gonna drop the ball but once the lead time has been hit an the item still hasn’t been manufactured you’re aware of that.

a little communication goes along way, most people are understanding and most people would probably wait for a vendor being honest with them and keeping them in the loop.

just my two cents from the customers perspective.

 

Not related to Mobtown, but similar frustrating situation.......

Ordered a Wilco Hitchgate solo along with license plate relocation bracket and separate light kit on October 19th from JEGS Offroad.

The light kit came within a few days.

Shipping dates for the Hitchdate: 11/3 then 11/23 then 12/15 NOW 12/28

Shipping dates for the bracket: 11/9 then 11/30/ then 12/16 NOW 1/4


The have NOT charged my credit card yet and emailed me these updates a day after the expected ship dates, which is fine. I get 2 or more advertising emails every day from JEGS, many offering the Hitchgate Solo with a shipping date of 12/28 which is what my "current" ship date is. 9 week delay for shipping mine, but advertising/promising 2 day shipping for new orders?????

If they don't ship it this week I will be cancelling it, even though it is a GREAT deal (less than $625 shipped to me) and cancelling the bracket and asking for a return shipping label for the light kit - don't need that if I don't have the other parts.

A BULLSHIT way of doing business if you ask me - offering 2 day shipping when they are at least 9 weeks backed up on shipping already ordered ones!!!!

 

first thing I’ll say is at least mobtown immediately refunded the purchase. The whole pelfreybilt scandal made me really hesitant to purchase anything especially from vendors with threads that pop up like this but at least in this case it turned out fine. I know a few vendors which this has never happened too and they will see my money first if I do buy items like this.

I wonder why it wasn’t easier for people to claim credit card protections, maybe it was because of PayPal during the pelfreybilt drama? Oh I do remember Pelfreybilt insisted on cash payments. They had such good customer service for years people fell into that trap.

Due to COVID I had to use the credit card chargeback feature for a visa CC. I purchased a trip 1.5 year in advance, they couldn’t perform the trip. The CC states if you purchase something you have until the delivered promise date to file a claim plus 120 days. Yes the pushing back of delivery dates is difficult with the vendor but I’d be surprised if the CC companies wouldn’t take the evidence into account.
This company kept even saying I cancelled the trip, lying right through their teeth. In the end I got the refund, which was around 10k. (Oh and point out the customer service side, other similar companies where offering full credit for the following year, which this one didn’t. Some reasons came to different bailouts and being a really small vs a medium size business. Amazing what customer service can actually do for a company though)

Sure seems like these type of purchases can fall into that category. So note to self after promised delivery date if nothings been resolved initiate a chargeback within 120 days if no refund. Also I’m going to check PayPals policies on that and if visa has any clout if using PayPal.

 

Well said and agree.

 

Just came to say I feel your pain op, as a customer, and I also understand this year has been a monumental clusterf()ck for manufacturing across the spectrum.

Anybody reading this who is also into shooting, understands what the combination of increased demand and strained supply chains has caused... turbulence.

that said, the model of taking money upfront to produce a product, only works if you’re keeping up relative with lead times. You get 6 months behind AND continue to quote 2 month lead times, you’re going to get some unhappy people.
There are only a few solutions that I see. Stop taking orders, quote realistic lead times, or hire someone to deal with your angry customers quietly offline.

carry on.

 

May be an unpopular opinion but I'd cut these people some slack. They aren't doing things on purpose to piss anyone off. No one ever knows what's going on in other's lives and businesses.
I'd have left my order with them. Because now.you have to start over elsewhere, and most likely, it will be months before you get what you order.

 

I didn't post this thread lightly. These guys are a small American business and I want them to succeed almost as much as they do. My own work depends on a lot of small companies and I know what the current pain is like in these corners. I also know that the companies I work with go out of their way to keep me in the loop on issues because they know I have people depending on me as much as they depend on their suppliers.

Yes, I have watched other vendors on this forum take money and fold up shop with that money in their pockets. I have no reason to think that MobTown is anything like that but I also have no reason not to think that could possibly happen. Small businesses are very vulnerable to cash issues and can have sudden changes.

I posted my experience here because this forum has done good by me and I wanted to inform others. This is more accurate than anything on the company website or their emails so at least now people will know and can make their own decision. This all sucks for me because the transfer case skid they make is the best fit for my situation but I won't shop with folks who take their customers for granted.

I would have left my money with them and waited for my product IF they had been honest and upfront. Hopefully they consider how they operate and this improves the customer service for others. I wish MobTown all the best in the future but they won't be getting my money for anything upfront in the future.

Edit 12/28: As promised MobTown has issued a full refund as of this morning.

 

This opinion is not that unpopular. I have seen it before on threads about other vendors before they disappeared.

In the end, its your money. If you want to give it to someone you have no real relationship with to hold for some unknown length of time while they basically ignore your order, feel free.

 

It is what it is, as any business it's really impossible to let customers know cause they will just cancel and you lose out on a lot of revenue. I've been in same boat before, and unfortunately customers most of the time just have to decide if they want to wait after a point they decide themselves.
Northern side is right, neither side is wrong. Just way if the world, is what it is.
I've had vendors just lie before, that's just fun and I understand very well, that definitely the only real line to draw. Don't think mobtown did that. Definitely won't be buying anything unnecessary till this crazy time ends

 

Followup on my JEGS Offroad order for the Wilco Hitchgate solo......got another email today stating it is still on backorder with an UNKNOWN ship date now!!!! Called and cancelled my order for the Hitchgate and license relocation bracket and asked for return shipping for the light kit I had already received. JEGS is still selling the hitchgate (just got another email - sales flyer a while ago) even though they have no idea when they will be shipping backordered ones from over 10 weeks ago!!!! That is TOTAL BULLSHIT -selling an item that you have no idea when you can even ship it!!!

Beware of JEGS Offroad!!!!! Yeah, it is all blamed on the Covid according to them....THEN DON'T TRY TO SELL ANYMORE till you can catch up on your backlog!!!!!!!

 

26 weeks since I placed my order for front, transfer case and fuel tank skids ordered. I recieved the front and transfer case Dec 24th. I did get a hold of a representative on the phone in November who told me it was on the way but the fuel tank skid was going to be late and they were working on it. Since then I've tried emailing them a few times over with no response and my last attempt of contacting them is today. Ill wait a response as I completely forgot to get a transmission skid. I would like to get that before mounting the other skids. I would be willing to wait if they are working on getting these to me ASAP. Again about 26 weeks since ordered with hit or miss customer service. Just a simple, we are still working on your order" would speak volumes.

 

Let me get this straight, you waited for 26 weeks to ask for a refund, which you received promptly, yet you're still unhappy?
Edit: The op received the refund, this guy is not the op.My bad.
Why did you wait so long for a refund?
Yes, communication was a problem, but you were not swindled.
Edit: Once again, my error, this refund has not yet been verified.
Apparently, you have far more experience as a consumer than as a producer.
As an OEM in the logistics industry, I can tell you from first hand experience, seeing deliveries go from 6 weeks to 26 weeks this past year have not been uncommon.
Can you change things outside of your control?
Hell, even Amazon can't deliver products that they offer as a subscription product.
As an OEM, there is nothing more painful that severing ties with long term suppliers, which is exactly what Mobtown has done, not just due to your order, but many orders.
The truly sad part of this, is that after waiting 26 weeks, your items may have been delivered in 30 weeks, no one will know for sure.
From my wheeling experience, I can tell you that the @Mobtown Offroad products are above average in quality and durability, but that may not be an issue to you.
Even the guys that went with the aluminum skids trashed the plates but saved their pans and trans.

Edit: OK, so I'm an idiot and confused the OP with this post. My most sincere apologies. But honestly, wait 26 weeks for a refund? You've already invested this much time, what's a few more weeks in the middle of winter?

 

If I read his post right. He didn’t ask for a refund. And didn’t get one.
And he doesn’t say if he ever got the fuel tank skid?
What he wants is, a Transmission Skid if they can get one to him ASAP. (?)
And apparently he can not get ahold of anyone to inquire?

Maybe I read it wrong?

FWIW, I don’t have anything’s against Mobtown. (I’d buy their stuff if I need it)
I have heard nothing but good things about their products.
If you want their stuff, it sounds like you are going to have to wait a bit longer until they get their new equipment up and going. And find a reliable supplier.
Which, unfortunately is all part of doing business. It sucks, but it happens.

 

First post has an edit dated 12/28, where a refund was issued.

 

You're confusing two people. The guy you quoted is not the OP who got the refund.

 

Ohh youre talking about the first post lol I thought you were talking about the most recent post which was this morning

 

You're absolutely right, and I'm so sorry @toyoblueboys, and @TnShooter.
Thanks for pointing this out, hopefully I won't make this mistake twice.

 

All good man.

 

I realized the confusion between the two posts. I want to take a moment to straten out what happened to me because I wasn't entirely clear. I purchased a front skid, a transfer skid and a fuel tank skid and forgot to get a transmission skid thinking the front skid would go all the way back to the transfer case skid. After some waiting I wanted to make sure the transfer skid was with the exhaust rerout and figured I'd ask about where my order was progress wise. It was late November and I was able to get a hold of a customer service rep who was outstanding and she made sure the note was on the invoice, which it was. After she confirmed this she said my order was coming but that the fuel tank skid was going to come in later. I was entirely ok with this and thanked her for her time. December 24, wonderful gift arrived. My front and transfer skid arrived but to my dismay I now realized it didn't cover the transmission. Nobodies fault but my own. After Christmas I waited a couple days and tried to call back to see if I could put in another order for the transmission skid but nobody picked up. I tried again the next week but no answer. Checked the web page and saw the out of stocks and not taking orders then kinda got worried as I still hadn't recieved my fuel tank skid and needed a transmission skid. Checked Facebook and saw their message about catching up and so forth. This was good news to me by the way as I dont mind waiting. And I've tried a few times through their email and not recieved a response. Like I said I'm willing to wait for their quality work under the worst of circumstances and I hope they get things sorted out. It would just be nice to get a mass update if they are late on orders. God bless American made business owners, I'm rooting for you, please don't keep us in the dark.