Relentless fab review

Seems like the customer service is lacking due to a lack of communication between the person you spoke to and the person doing the work in addition to a lack of people skills on the behalf of the owner/fabricator . Would you say that's accurate @Specalt ?

I'm in no way trying to minimize anything about your review, I just want to accurately understand it from your viewpoint. As a small fabrication startup myself, I'd like to avoid these pitfalls myself. Learn from other people's mistakes as it were.

-Tony

 

The emails are just there to show the level of communication, email was by far the most effective way to get a hold of them. I could post the full emails but it's dry suff.

The 4 second phone calls were all calls that no one answered the phone. I get it is a shop there making parts.

 

Hey Tony.

You are dead on accurate. In my mind when I placed my order just be strait with me. If a part is 8 weeks to 10 months out just tell me.

If I knew they all ready had a 6 month back order I might have looked else where. But don't take my $$ and lead me with an exspectaion that's way off base.

And if you mess up fess up. I get that small companies don't want to be walked on by there customers and they should not have to be. But at the same time make it right when do wrong. In my case he sent me the larger item I was missing, but in the case of the missing bolts.... don't call me out say your right then do nothing about it.
(With that said. Don't be 4 months past the promised time and be wrong, you had 4 extra months to prepare.)

 

From what I can tell, they shouldn’t have guaranteed your order by April if they were so backed up. Mistake on their part.

 

I would have been happy if I would have gotten an email saying they were behind. Just the smallest bit of communication on there part would have gone along way.

Some thing like ( it's been 2 months since you have heard from us... I just want you to know we have not forgotten about your order... this is what we are working on....)

You get the idea.

 

I completely agree. Unfortunately, that’s how companies lose customers. Customer service is key to a successful and profitable business.

 

Lets see the parts installed

 

I ordered my rear bumper on that Nov Thanks giving sale and got it in mid May.
At least your stuff showed up in a crate, mine came in a destroyed card board box. Lol

Az

 

My WIY bumper also came in a cardboard box with the pieces sticking out of it

 

My experience thus far with the custom aftermarket for Tacomas has been this: Guys who build shit are usually not good communicators. They're not salesman. They are mechanic types - they are blunt, unpoetic, etc. If you find a business who can built solid shit AND communicate well with you then you've found a diamond in the rough.

Lead times for this kind of stuff is almost always long in my experience. And sometimes you don't even get shipping notices - shit just shows up.

I ordered every single skid plate RCI Off-Road makes for the Tacoma. Communicating with the owner there wasn't easy - but their product has been solid. I was missing bolts too as I recall (and had install questions). Getting him on the phone wasn't easy but in the end he did help me.

All that said - I'm a @Pelfreybilt enthusiast. I bought a front bumper, rear bumper, sliders, and BajaDesigns lights from them (plus some swag and stickers). The lead times were long. The product was expensive. And they even goofed on my preferences on my sliders when I initially ordered them (which delayed shipping). However, Satin was a fantastic communicator. SHE called ME when she realized there was an error. She gave me options. She's been incredibly gracious ever since. And all of that was before I met Satin and Tyler in Moab June of 2016 at Rock Therapy. AND, to top it off, all this while very serious personal life issues were absorbing lots of Satin's time (I won't go into detail but she shouldn't have even been working!) These are tremendous people.

My point is this: All of these companies are "Mom & Pop" shops that make incredible products. But they don't have huge staffs. And they do get a lot of business. It would behoove them to find people who can communicate FOR THEM though. Not everyone who fabricates is a public speaker. And not everyone who understands social interactions and sales can fabricate. Pelfreybilt does really well (in sales & reputation) I believe cause Tyler makes seriously kick ass shit and Satin can talk to people. And after already building a solid rep for service they went and hired a Sales Manager to top it off.

What I hear from this review is: A) Lead times are fucking long with custom fabrication. B) Companies aren't always very good at estimating lead times. C) Not everyone on their staff is on the same page with lead times. D) The fabricator doesn't communicate well under pressure (at the EXPO). E) The OP ultimately got what he paid for and Relentless Fab ultimately got him the parts he needed. F) OP missed his scheduled paint shop time because lead times were twice what he was quoted (which was a long fucking time).

 

My phone will record a 4 second call before it even rings.... how can anyone on the other end "not answer" in 4 seconds?

 

Phones right. I'm mot sure why the times are so short. All these call were through call that there answering machine picked up.

 

Your phone connects way faster than mine. And their answering machine picks up way too quickly. LOL

 

I don't want to piss on any body.... I'm mot R Kelly.. But I wanted to make this more of a vender review and not a product review.

I will provide a link to my build.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ugly-betty.476583/

I do need to update it.

 

Wow

 

^^THIS.

OP's front bumper looks awesome. I dunno, I have very mixed feelings about these review threads.

 

I am waiting on pelfrey to do the gen 1 stuff

 

That's the redeeming quality, the products are amazing. Hopefully the reviews are seen by Relentless and they take it as constructive criticism on the other points.

 

A lot of companies don't understand customer service and how the little things they do or don't do determine if an individual buying from them will return later on as a repeat customer, along with a quality product you have to have quality service or customers will go someplace else. If I would have been in the same situation as OP and the company had done something simple as throwing in some free swag (T-Shirt, Hat, etc.) for my troubles that probably would have went a long way in making things right by me. Not because of the free swag but because they took the time to understand that this purchase was important to me and that they wanted to make things right. I understand the small fabricator aspect of it, but good customer service is not that difficult.

 

^
Agree

But people keep giving them business

So they never improve

One has to vote with their wallet