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DirtBound Offroad lead time

GoSlowGetStuck

GoSlowGetStuck

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Lafayette, IN
I contacted DirtBound Offroad (WebDog) via PM about a Mojave Cut & Fold Rear Bumper on on January 24th. I asked about lead time and was told "It would ship in 2-3 weeks, probably a little less as I am not super busy at the moment." I specifically asked "So even assuming a week for shipping from there to here (Indiana), I could easily have it within a month from today, correct?" and I was told "Yes, UPS says 4 days to IN."

Lead time was important to me, because I wanted to have it painted and installed before the event I was attending on March 2nd (Winterfest). I placed the order on January 24th, within a few minutes of receiving a response back about the lead time.

After exactly 4 weeks (February 21st) I asked about the status and reminded DirtBound that I would be on the trails in roughly 8 days and needed it before then. I was told "Should ship out in a day or two and get to you tuesday - wed", meaning I would have it by Feburary 28th or 29th, giving me a few days to paint and install the bumper. Winterfest came and went and I had no bumper.

I sent a PM about the status of the bumper on March 9th (6.5 weeks after I placed my order). I sent another PM the same day about a calculation error with the 15% discount that was available when I placed my order. I received 15% off of $475, the base price of the bumper, not $500 as I had ordered it with D-ring tabs. However I'm always grateful for any discount offered by a vendor, so I have no issue with the miscalculation; I just wanted to make DirtBound aware of the issue. I received a response about the discount miscalculation stating that it would be looked into, but I never received a response to my inquiry about the progress on the bumper.

On March 16th (Friday), I received a tracking number via e-mail from Dirtbound Offroad, which I frequently checked the status of. On March 19th (Monday), UPS stated "Order Processed," but it did not appear the bumper had been shipped as there was no origin scan. On March 22nd (Thursday), the origin scan was completed in Los Angeles and the bumper was on its way.

I received the bumper yesterday, March 28th, two months and 4 days after I ordered it. I have no problem with a bumper taking 2 months to build and ship; lots of off-road parts companies have a long lead time. But I inquired about the lead time before I ordered to make sure that I would have it when I needed it. I was assured on several occasions that it would arrive in time, and it did not. Never did I receive any indication that it would take longer than expected, and I had to initiate all communication regarding its status, which did not always yield a response.

I have to admit that for the past few weeks I wondered if I would be receiving a bumper at all. The bumper itself looks to be very nice. But I feel that a) lead time estimates (especially when offered and committed to by the vendor and not arbitrarily demanded by the customer) should be adhered to, and b) if lead time estimates prove to be wrong and the product cannot be delivered in time, that should be communicated to the customer.

I'm sure the experience has varied for other customers, but I thought I would share mine.
 
I am very sorry for how long your order took, I always do try to accommodate delivery requests. Unfortunately I had multiple people ask for special dates some via PM and some via email, and I thought I got them all marked on the build sheets but apparently I missed yours and I apologize for that.
Again I am very sorry and I completely understand your frustration.



I am not trying to make excuses but I would like to explain what has been going on behind the scenes the last 6 months:

The last few months has seen a sales growth but along with that is some growing pains, I have had to re arrange the shop many times as new equipment is purchased and that all takes time. I am now at the point where the space is comfortable but tight for just one person to be working in.
As of right now I am a one man shop, I design and build the products, I pick up and order supplies, I answer emails (in a average day I get over 200 emails) and return voicemails, I spend most my time in the shop building bumpers and shipping orders. It gets pretty hectic sometimes and I see the need for more help.

So I have been searching for nearby commercial space to expand to, as soon as this happens I plan to hire a fabricator to lessen the load on me and to help speed up product delivery.

This will allow for quicker delivery of not only bumpers but smaller orders like fan kits, because right now I can't be doing both at once.

I hope to be able to spend more time developing new products, finishing half done prototypes and refining our current ones, and one of my biggest goals is to be able to answer the phones instead of having them go to voicemail.

I am 110% devoted to DirtBound and have poured every cent earned back into it, I always strive to deliver a quality product even if it sometimes takes a bit longer.

Trust me I hate how long some orders have taken, and I am trying very hard to speedup order fulfillment.
 
WebDog said:
I am very sorry for how long your order took, I always do try to accommodate delivery requests. Unfortunately I had multiple people ask for special dates some via PM and some via email, and I thought I got them all marked on the build sheets but apparently I missed yours and I apologize for that.
Again I am very sorry and I completely understand your frustration.



I am not trying to make excuses but I would like to explain what has been going on behind the scenes the last 6 months:

The last few months has seen a sales growth but along with that is some growing pains, I have had to re arrange the shop many times as new equipment is purchased and that all takes time. I am now at the point where the space is comfortable but tight for just one person to be working in.
As of right now I am a one man shop, I design and build the products, I pick up and order supplies, I answer emails (in a average day I get over 200 emails) and return voicemails, I spend most my time in the shop building bumpers and shipping orders. It gets pretty hectic sometimes and I see the need for more help.

So I have been searching for nearby commercial space to expand to, as soon as this happens I plan to hire a fabricator to lessen the load on me and to help speed up product delivery.

This will allow for quicker delivery of not only bumpers but smaller orders like fan kits, because right now I can't be doing both at once.

I hope to be able to spend more time developing new products, finishing half done prototypes and refining our current ones, and one of my biggest goals is to be able to answer the phones instead of having them go to voicemail.

I am 110% devoted to DirtBound and have poured every cent earned back into it, I always strive to deliver a quality product even if it sometimes takes a bit longer.

Trust me I hate how long some orders have taken, and I am trying very hard to speedup order fulfillment.
Click to expand...

First off, thank you for replying. I understand that many people may have specific lead times that they request. In my first PM I did not ask for a specific date, I just wanted to know the lead time if I ordered that day. You supplied that number on your own. You indicated to me that if I ordered a bumper I would have it shipped within 2-3 weeks. In the 2 months I was waiting on my bumper, were other customers receiving their orders in 2-3 weeks? I understand that mix-ups happen. But I checked in with you after 4 weeks, and you assured me it would go out in a day or two. Was it missed a second time? And then I asked a third time, and received no response. I know you receive a LOT of communication from customers, but I think that communication is just as important as the product itself. If you need to slow down production and increase your lead time in order to improve communication and let customers know what the reality of their order status is, I think that's a change that any reasonable person would respect. I know that I would.

You're a one man operation and things are growing and it's hard to handle both sales and production. I'm sympathetic to that. If sales took off during your January promotion and you received so many orders that your lead time increased, then that's great! We all like to see an off-road parts vendor who is growing. But when you responded to my second message on February 21st, you assured me it would go out in a day or two. If it was pretty clear that you weren't going to get it out in time, I just needed to know that. I'd much rather hear "sorry, I'm very busy because of X, I know I said 2-3 weeks but I don't think that's going to happen now" than a promise that isn't fulfilled. Had I known in advance that I wouldn't receive it in time, I wouldn't have canceled my order, I would have found another temporary solution. Otherwise I'm watching the days go by and assuming you are going to follow through, and then scrambling to find an alternative at the last minute.

Best of luck to you and your business, I hope you continue to grow and you can expand your facility and product line as well. Just make sure that when things get busy, your customers aren't left scratching their heads wondering what happened to their orders. Hopefully you see this as an opportunity to improve and things will be even better for you in the future.
 
A long lead time seems to be the norm for DB OR. It took a ridiculously long time for me to get my winch bumper as well. Hopefully we are isolated cases, but I fear not.
 
It is a one man shop, he does good work, and stands behind his products. Can you really fault someone for doing their best?
 
JCR went through this exact same problem a couple years ago and look at them now ;) Max busts his butt and is a very busy guy, I'm sure if he is able to get into a bigger shop space and take on an extra employee things will speed up immediately.
 
I had almost exactly the same situation, 15% off the cut-n-fold mojave bumper ordered late on 1/22, and got it this past week, impressed with the quality, and to me at least definitely worth the wait/good price.

Side note: included in the box with frame tie ins and wings was a CD for Shakra dance, which is some of the weirdest music I've ever heard, and google doesnt seem to believe they exist
 
cnjcherokee said:
Side note: included in the box with frame tie ins and wings was a CD for Shakra dance, which is some of the weirdest music I've ever heard, and google doesnt seem to believe they exist
Click to expand...
I have about 150 of those CD's from my dads old band from 10+ years ago. I figured I would start throwing them in with orders, I figure someone might like it haha...

The rear bumpers are defiantly taking a bit longer to produce than the front ones do, mainly due to having to bend them and that they are still relatively new product so I am still refining the build process. The front winch bumpers I have done so many of that I no longer have to worry that they are going together correctly.
 
I ordered a DIY Cut and Fold rear and received it in the time I was told (about 2 weeks). The package was missing a few small pieces and I sent an email along with a few questions on a Sunday. I was surprised to receive a response back in about an hour with answers and a reply that the missing parts would be sent out the next day. As mentioned, it sounds like growing pains are an issue, but I am very happy with the service and quality of the parts so far.

Edit: Bummed I didn't get a CD ;)
 
Last edited:
I just wanted to give a quick update on issues I have addressed this past week.

One complaint I was hearing a lot was "did my order go though" even though they received a order confirmation email. I now have an email sent that confirms the order has been received and it is now being processed, hopefully this extra email will help with initial communication.

I ditched my standard email contact us page and replaced it with a full on ticket system, this allows me to separate business contact requests from the mass amount of emails I get daily. With one central spot to view, and reply. This will greatly help with getting emails returned in a timely fashion, and prevent ones from slipping though the cracks.

I have narrowed down the general area of where a new shop will be, I am searching in the Pomona, San Dimas, Covina area and hope to have more information soon!

I hope you can tell that I am actively trying to improve the customer experience.
 
I also am dealing with a very long lead time. I ordered my front bumper. I ordered it on 3/9/12 with the tax sale discount. I under stand Max is Swamped but at the same time, I thought I would be rolling around with a bumper and winch by now. I just want to go out and have fun with it already and I really hope Im not going to have to wait another month....
 
Kudos to you Max for doing your best in all these situations.

Keep up the good work! OH and thanks for fixing my bumper. I Maybe we can add to it now that the cut and fold's been done.
 
I ordered the knock down kits front and rear and it will be a month this week. It wouldn't be so bad waiting but I sold my old front bumper .

Come on Max you don't need to sleep or eat ! Just think of the production numbers and all that profit !

Good luck with the new building.
 
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