Not a Happy Camper... HG FAIL

[autolox]

I own a service business myself. Reality - HG is a service business.

I wish I could say I got it 110% spot on every single time for every one of my customers. Newflash: I'm human, so, I goof up....and it usually shows up at the WORST times when the last thing I needed was to add to regular demand a problem.

I'm in the middle of a particular circumstance right now where a vendor I've dealt with for YEARS made their first and worst goof ever which has caused issues for me...which are trickling down to customer impression....thankfully the customer knows I'm doing all I can to keep things on track...

Who knows - maybe the fabric you chose was in limited supply or your items used the last bit on hand and new material to begin your replacement may not be available yet...My mom worked sewed professionally for a number of years and had instances where the mill wasn't going to run a particular fabric for a strange period of time some times...could be something like this perhaps? I know when things like that happen to me, I don't care to burden the customer with stuff like that. They hired me to "deliver a baby" not "banter on about labor pains".

I've had two dealings with them. Sometimes email can seem a little slow but at the end of the day, I think their intent is making sure you're going to be uber satisfied. Hang in there.

[SilvrSurfr]

I just recently dealt with Adam and Jenny to get a Burrow 0 and a custom 24" x 24" top quilt for my small dog that I always take out with me.

I would love to see that quilt and the pampered dog too!

I guess I'm a different kind of customer than the OP. I could never say a bad word about Hammock Gear in a public forum because I know and like Adam and his family. I knew Adam the person before I ever even looked at the gear he was selling.

I met Adam, his wife and kids several years ago at a group hang. That was back in my pad and sleeping bag days with a 60 lb. pack. I immediately related to him because our families are a lot alike. Adam has three kids (or is it four?) and I have three kids (two in college, one at private school). Adam has a wife who is (or was) in school, and I have a wife in school. I felt we were fellow soldiers in the struggle to raise a family. At the hang, Adam gave me a lot of advice on the best ways to improve my hammock camping experience. After that hang, I considered him and his family to be my friends. I subsequently called him often (usually late at night) as I strategized my finances and gear purchases and how I could get to where I wanted to be, hammock-wise. I figured out his patterns so I knew when he was most likely to answer the phone (and he switches it up, so you gotta be on your toes).

So I knew the person before I ever looked at the products. And I've bought a lot of HG products: an HG Standard CF tarp, a Winter Palace, three CF stuff sacks, and six quilts. Has he screwed up a few orders? Yeah. Has he come through on several occasions by shipping gear at the last minute for an upcoming trip? Yeah.

Has he given me free stuff like a couple of cuben fiber stuff sacks? Yeah. When I ordered my last quilts, Adam tossed in a couple of the camo CF stuff sacks. I was looking at them, saying to myself, "I didn't order this. Why's it here?" And then I remembered that he had told me six months before that he would send me a couple on the house.

That's the kind of long-term relationship I try to build with cottage vendors - I'm not looking for a quickie. That's also why I would never post anything in a public forum about a vendor based on a single experience.

[SilvrSurfr]

If I were a cottage vendor, I wouldn't do custom work, but Adam does. If somebody came asking me for a Phincubator, I'd say, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!"

[WV]

Let them fix the problem before you grade them next time.

That's a valid point, possibly the best one in this thread, IMO.

[bobwhite]

I had an order filled for a cuben tarp during the time you were waiting for your replacement order to be filled. I know that during this time there were multiple circumstances that caused them to be short handed on a specific day. It was my impression that this affected more than one day. It was beyond their control, and they adjusted shipping methods to get my tarp to me on the agreed upon date.

I think your estimation of how many quilts they make in a day is WAY overstated. Just looking at the order numbers from orders I placed one month apart tells me that. Jenny was making my tarp herself, and struggling to overcome the challenges I mentioned to get it to me on time, but she did.

Yes, communication was spotty. But where it really mattered, they came through.

[Dead Man]

I watched this from yesterday with interest, suspecting this would happen and lo and behold it has.

The OP stated an experience and an opinion on an open forum. Next comes the responses of "I've had the same experience" to "they were great for me" and "maybe you're looking at it wrong". I'm torn on this practice to be honest.

I crafted a longer response, but, alas, it is futile to say more than this - perhaps even useless to say this.

The OP has an opinion and is entitled to state his experience within the confines of the TOS for the forum. I may not agree but my stating otherwise is really useless and IMHO, condescending to the OP. I am a huge and well documented fan of HG, but Adam and crew do not need me to defend them. They are a business, grown folks, and their work will speak for itself in the end. If you have a different experience, start another thread.

Congratulations to the OP on your purchase from HG. I wish you well in resolving your issues and having a positive outcome. Fingers crossed.

[thorwren]

I agree with the folks on here, the OP has a right to his opinion. I understand his frustration that one of the quilts was in the wrong color. I sent him a return label within 48 hours, but I made it clear that I needed to see the quilt being tracked before I could send the new one back. I sent the return label 2 days after we confirmed the wrong color. The quilt was ready that day (October 9th). I could not ship the correct quilt until the original was on its way. This was yesterday. This, unfortunately, had to become a policy. We have, in good faith, sent a correct quilt to customers, with a return label provided, and they would end up keeping both of our quilts, instead of returning the original. We could not absorb the cost of those risks, and had to make it clear we could no longer do that. I did allow them to use the original, wrong quilt on their trip so they would not be without a quilt, and they could return it for even exchange.

He sent me an email yesterday confirming that I had sent it to the different address he requested. I had the wrong address. There is no excuse. We had 3 staff changes in one week, and my normal shipper who would have caught that was not there. Again, no excuses. I do apologize, and I will completely understand if you choose to go with another vendor. On October 14th, you were very pleased with our service and how we handled it. We fell short when the address was confirmed to head to the original address and not the new one. I really do appreciate you working with us. Thanks.

[sargevining]

I agree with the folks on here, the OP has a right to his opinion. I understand his frustration that one of the quilts was in the wrong color. I sent him a return label within 48 hours, but I made it clear that I needed to see the quilt being tracked before I could send the new one back. I sent the return label 2 days after we confirmed the wrong color. The quilt was ready that day (October 9th). I could not ship the correct quilt until the original was on its way. This was yesterday. This, unfortunately, had to become a policy. We have, in good faith, sent a correct quilt to customers, with a return label provided, and they would end up keeping both of our quilts, instead of returning the original. We could not absorb the cost of those risks, and had to make it clear we could no longer do that. I did allow them to use the original, wrong quilt on their trip so they would not be without a quilt, and they could return it for even exchange.

He sent me an email yesterday confirming that I had sent it to the different address he requested. I had the wrong address. There is no excuse. We had 3 staff changes in one week, and my normal shipper who would have caught that was not there. Again, no excuses. I do apologize, and I will completely understand if you choose to go with another vendor. On October 14th, you were very pleased with our service and how we handled it. We fell short when the address was confirmed to head to the original address and not the new one. I really do appreciate you working with us. Thanks.

Thanks for providing additional information not given in the OP.

[Dutch]

Jenny is great

[12trysomething]

"And that's the way it is" - Walter Cronkite