Hammock Gear Customer Service

[SoundWitness]

Raos, I understand your concern and do suggest you vote on your favorite vendors with your wallet. The problem, from my perspective, with your logic is that you are assuming that your post will flush out accurate information on what experiences others have had with the vendor.

Most of us are more quickly to respond to negative rather than positive experiences. It would seem to me that once you have expressed your concern, it is noted. Others may chime in as well, but that in no way reflects the experience all customers have had with the vendor. In fact, it is very skewed information. So the notion of continuing because you flushed out some other negative experiences in order to be a "watch dog" of sorts for the rest of us just doesn't hold water. The reality of experience can only be ascertained through careful market research, which is simply not feasible nor appropriate on this forum.

Welcome and I hope you find someone you feel comfortable purchasing from.

Hear...Hear!!

To the OP, I'd say move on to another vendor and everyone is likely to be happier.

A most appropriate comment....and the soundest.........

[stormcrow]

I wanted to take a few minutes to respond.

I would like to apologize to the OP and anyone else that has felt a bit of neglect these days. Hammock Gear is chugging along, but things have been shaken up a bit around here lately. I am losing two of my most valuable people.

Thorwren is stepping down from her role at hammock gear. As my wife and mother to my 4 kids first, and business partner second, Hammock Gear would not be what it is today without her. Period. She is moving on to pursue a career path more associated with her new degree. She is an excellent teacher! To say she will be missed is an understatement.

I am also losing Elizabeth. She has been with me since the Hammock Gear shop was the room upstairs room I kicked my daughter out of. She knows 90% of how to do everything! She has been an amazing employee and again, she will be greatly missed!

So, I want thank everyone that has chimed in on this thread. You have no idea how much I appreciate what everyone has said and the different perspectives that have been brought up. Having said that.....

...It comes down to this. As a small business owner and lover of all things hammock camping, it is my duty to treat everyone, the way that I would want to be treated, not just my customers. This standard is one that I hold in both my personal as well as my professional life.

SO, in this case, I would be inclined to side with the OP (Raos). It is my opinion that he makes some valid points. I dropped the ball on this one, plain and simple. And to be honest with you, this is not the first time I have done so. I try to get it right most of the time, but I makes mistakes, and I will do so again. My goal everyday to minimize as many mistakes as possible. Most of the time, I would say I am pretty successful. Hammock Gear would not be what it is now if I did not pay close attention to the details.

Had I been treated similarly, I would have more than likely found someone else, too. With so many great vendors on here, many whom I call "friends", excellence in customer service has to be an absolute priority. If it isn't, the price is paid with the loss of a customer as well as any referrals.

Thanks everyone! I have some more emails waiting....

~Stormcrow (Adam)

[12trysomething]

I wanted to take a few minutes to respond.



I would like to apologize to the OP and anyone else that has felt a bit of neglect these days. Hammock Gear is chugging along, but things have been shaken up a bit around here lately. I am losing two of my most valuable people.



Thorwren is stepping down from her role at hammock gear. As my wife and mother to my 4 kids first, and business partner second, Hammock Gear would not be what it is today without her. Period. She is moving on to pursue a career path more associated with her new degree. She is an excellent teacher! To say she will be missed is an understatement.



I am also losing Elizabeth. She has been with me since the Hammock Gear shop was the room upstairs room I kicked my daughter out of. She knows 90% of how to do everything! She has been an amazing employee and again, she will be greatly missed!



So, I want thank everyone that has chimed in on this thread. You have no idea how much I appreciate what everyone has said and the different perspectives that have been brought up. Having said that.....



...It comes down to this. As a small business owner and lover of all things hammock camping, it is my duty to treat everyone, the way that I would want to be treated, not just my customers. This standard is one that I hold in both my personal as well as my professional life.



SO, in this case, I would be inclined to side with the OP (Raos). It is my opinion that he makes some valid points. I dropped the ball on this one, plain and simple. And to be honest with you, this is not the first time I have done so. I try to get it right most of the time, but I makes mistakes, and I will do so again. My goal everyday to minimize as many mistakes as possible. Most of the time, I would say I am pretty successful. Hammock Gear would not be what it is now if I did not pay close attention to the details.



Had I been treated similarly, I would have more than likely found someone else, too. With so many great vendors on here, many whom I call "friends", excellence in customer service has to be an absolute priority. If it isn't, the price is paid with the loss of a customer as well as any referrals.



Thanks everyone! I have some more emails waiting....



~Stormcrow (Adam)

Brand Excellence!

[hangnout]

The cottage vendor dilemma

If I am on the sewing machine I am producing the product, If I am answering emails I may be promising something I can't deliver unless I get back on the sewing machine.....

I could hire someone to answer email and phones but I would have to charge more for my product just to break even. The new vendor is already undercutting my price because he is working out of his garage or this is a secondary business for him.....

I will get to those emails in a little while......

It is now 6am and I have worked through the night. I think I can do a few more quilts this morning.....

While I was working through the night I received a hundred more emails just asking about when their quilt would be shipped.......

Do I have enough supplies to complete the quilts already ordered? My down order is running behind and I will be out by the end of the week. My supplier is not answering my email or calls.....

Did I eat lunch? Oh well I can make it to supper.... I will get to see the family then but I will be thinking about all those emails I need to read....

I spent some time after supper trying to scan thru the emails and prioritize...

I am back on the sewing machine....Is it really 6am already....


I watched my daughter go thru this and could hear the sewing machines going all night. Sometimes I could not take it any more and would get up to help sew a few to relieve the stress for her during the holidays. I can't imagine the number of emails a cottage vendor like HG must receive this time of year.

I am not making excuses for the cottage vendors but I guarantee you the "lack" of customer service is not due to neglect or an "I don't care" attitude. This time of year they have to prioritize and make tough decisions. Only time will tell if they made the right ones ..... In the spring they may need that order just to keep someone employed another month before sales slow down for the summer .

I can say my first choice for a quilt would be Hammock Gear if I were in the market for one. I would not get too upset this time of year if my inquiry about a summer quilt did not get answered till after the holidays. Afterall it is a cottage vendor and I have not ordered anything yet.

[TonyYarusso]

I wanted to take a few minutes to respond.

Glad to hear the struggles are both temporary and for positive reasons - best of luck to them both in their new endeavors! And to you, in figuring out how to operate without them. Remember: problems are to be expected - it's how you recover from them that matters.

[g2outdoors]

The good folks at HG hooked me up with a 4 day turn around when the stated wait time was 1-2 weeks. I'm a customer for life!

[dakotaross]

Your the type of consumer that every business owner dreads

Well, that certainly doesn't help. Sort of hard to criticize the OP for being defensive now, as if he was born this way and there wasn't anything causing the complaint.

...I dropped the ball on this one, plain and simple. And to be honest with you, this is not the first time I have done so... ~Stormcrow (Adam)

Standup guy, great product, pretty darn good price for the product, too, if you really think about it (though it makes my wallet shudder). History of giving good service and being accessible here on HF. Has helped make hanging what it is today.

@Raos - these are all reasons why a lot of us thought the "discussion" had made its point and needed to not go into further negative territory. I can see from your post count that you're probably not aware of how defensive others here get with regard to folks that make up the hammock cottage industry. Many of us know them personally. Many of us know first hand of the time spent with us in emails, phone, etc. to get our stuff just right. I feel your frustration with not being able to do what you wanted to do with HG and appreciate you bringing up the subject. I hope you can take the defensiveness experienced here with some perspective regarding who these cottage folks are, and who they are not.

[Raos]

To Adam, Thank you very much for your response and understanding. The fact that you publicly recognize that there is an issue speaks volumes, and as I said to you privately, I will still be considering HG for future purchases. Your post here solidified that even further.

I am not an unreasonable person, but I feel I have been unfairly attacked in this thread. I was even warned privately before this thread hit more than 3 posts that this would happen. There were people who pm'd me saying they feel the same as I, but would never say it publicly because the fanboys would jump down my throat. I am sorry to see those people were right.

For those that feel I was unreasonable, hopefully we can agree to disagree and leave it at that. Whatever you think of me, I honestly hope you all have a great holiday and a happy new year and I hope to some day meet you in person so that you can see I am a real person and happen to be a pretty decent person to know as well. My olive branch is extended. Do with it what you choose.

[OldRagFreeze]

What a great forum. This is the closest I've seen a thread come to the kind of stuff that is typical of other forums... And we're ending on a well resolved situation and a 'Merry Christmas!'

Merry Christmas Raos, no hard feelings.

[Raos]

Likewise OldRagFreeze.