06-07-2021, 05:28 PM
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#16
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Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 830
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YellowSnow
But margins, overheads, they’re just a small fabrication shop (insert eye roll). I remember LFD shipping me brand new crossbars no charge when my roof rack had some rust issues from a bad powder coater. I didn’t file a claim, they didn’t need to see it or shipped back to them. They took care of the customer and made it right. Sounds like SSO needs to have a sales meeting with their own management and come up with a better game plan on taking care of their loyal customer base. Tread lightly SSO, this is not the ideal forum for you to back pedal and piss off thousands of potential customers over one fed ex damage claim.
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I'm sure it's not pleasant for them to eat the cost, but that is the cost of customer service. I've had countless vendors do as you've described, and replace a damaged or defective item at their cost. Some have asked for the original item back, some not, but either way their primary concern was the happiness of the customer. Those are companies that I would seek out to do business with in the future.
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06-07-2021, 05:32 PM
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#17
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Official Vendor
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 861
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Official Vendor
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 861
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YellowSnow
But margins, overheads, they’re just a small fabrication shop (insert eye roll). I remember LFD shipping me brand new crossbars no charge when my roof rack had some rust issues from a bad powder coater. I didn’t file a claim, they didn’t need to see it or shipped back to them. They took care of the customer and made it right. Sounds like SSO needs to have a sales meeting with their own management and come up with a better game plan on taking care of their loyal customer base. Tread lightly SSO, this is not the ideal forum for you to back pedal and piss off thousands of potential customers over one fed ex damage claim.
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You're comparing apples to oranges Yellow. You're talking about 1x crossbar which LFD nor any other shipping company fabricates, Tnutz does worth roughly $30 to a bumper which cost hundreds to make and ship. It cost more to ship a bumper then it does to buy a new crossbar and ship it. Look YellowSnow, I get it, you don't like SSO. I looked at your profile, for some reason you really took a disliking to us it seems when we made Stage 2 bumper attachments. I can't tell you why this tilted you so hard, that you had to post pictures of your "viper cut" multiple times and call the Stage 2 a waste, but hey.. it did. So I get it, SSO bad, Lemonsnow and his company list good. It's noted!
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06-07-2021, 05:44 PM
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#18
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Official Vendor
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 861
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Official Vendor
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 861
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jp.vegas
TOS or not, my girl runs a small business that relies on various shippers (UPS, USPS) to get her goods to the customer. She does most of her business on eBay and Amazon and they're both explicit in that the seller is responsible for the item being successfully delivered to the client, regardless of shipper involvement. They will issue refunds even for packages that have *been signed for* but the customer claims they never received and that comes right out of her pocket. It is, unfortunately, the cost of doing business. You either accept those costs, or you don't. Holding a customer responsible just because you have some TOS doesn't absolve you of responsibility any more than a gravel truck having a "Keep back 200 feet, we're not responsible for damaged windshields" sign absolves them of the responsibility to secure their load.
The damage looks easy enough to fix, but if you don't want to get into that, send it back and get a refund from your CC company. Done.
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We don't sell on Ebay/Amazon. We don't adhere to their rules and profit margins. What is your girl fabricating? What is she selling? Can we see some examples so we can compare apples to apples? If we're talking about reselling some cheap products for minimal margins multiple times a day, that's one thing, but comparing it to a very expensive fabricated product is another.
IE: We sell light switches, they sometimes go out. We send out replacements. You're talking about a couple dollars in a switch, not over a grand in metal. So please post up your girls shop so we can compare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justanothereric
Funny, because my SSO bumper that I ordered back in November arrived about 2 months ago and came damaged in the SAME area. I didn't care because it didn't deform the metal in any way it just merely chipped off some of the powdercoat.
The box and shipping foam were both intact though so it leads me to believe someone just miscarried it trying to box it all up or take it off the truck from powercoating(they send all the bumpers out to a 3rd party)
Lee from SSO has always been pretty helpful throughout my order process but just like you I wasn't informed that the 30" Baja bar was going to be drop shipped to me so I had to push back my install appointment because I assumed the bar would be included in the box w/ the bumper. THAT was frustrating because I only get one Monday off a month due to work. Not only that, Baja was backordered on amber LENSES so it would've been another 3-4 week delay so I said screw it. Got my refund back and found a retailer here in LA 30 mins away that had a 30" Baja with amber lenses.
But hey, I love the way it looks now but it definitely wasn't fun waiting for it all to finally come together..six months after I clicked CONFIRM TO ORDER.
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The idea that we ship out damaged products has always fascinated me. Customers some how get the idea that instead of FIX a problem that we see, we would rather box it off and ship it to the customer. Who will then see the damage and contact us to fix it, or post on forums about it. So instead we're taking up the time to respond to angry customer's emails/forum post. It's much easier to fix it, it's also why we take pictures of our products before we ship them so we can verify this with the customer whenever this accusation happens.
The real answer is this, shipping our products is expensive. If the box is a inch bigger at ALL on any dimension the product would go from roughly $60-90 to ship to roughly $180-220 to ship per a bumper due to the oversize chare from shippers after normal DIM. The damage we see on each bumper is usually consistent due to they're the spots most vulnerable for damage. On the Tacoma this would be the side wings, on the 4runner it would be the mounting feet with occasional wing damage. This is why on high damage areas we usually double foam and insert pool noodle type foam on the edges to prevent this damage to the best of our ability WITHOUT passing on an additional 100-200 in shipping cost off to the customer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jp.vegas
I'm sure it's not pleasant for them to eat the cost, but that is the cost of customer service. I've had countless vendors do as you've described, and replace a damaged or defective item at their cost. Some have asked for the original item back, some not, but either way their primary concern was the happiness of the customer. Those are companies that I would seek out to do business with in the future.
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Once again, each item and each issue is going to have a different scenario. We're not talking about eating damage on the crossbar, or a switch, or some small item. I broke the cost down, you're saying the cost of a customer service is $1000s in damage, and paying a rep to also handle all these complaints, and Fedex claims. This isn't a proper way to do business. Giving away one free bumper, sucks up the profits of multiple bumpers. You would go down fast with this logic.
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06-07-2021, 06:24 PM
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#19
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Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: S Louisiana
Posts: 329
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After seeing the pics, I'd have probably filled a claim with the shipper for damages, asked for a small amount to "make it better", then hit it with some touch up and installed it. I'll beat it up worse than that offroad.
None of this changes my mind about SSO or their products, one way or the other. Sometimes, shit happens and they're trying to work with the buyer and shipper to make it right. Custom parts take time and require patience, especially if you're looking for complete replacement on something that already has a decent lead time.
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06-07-2021, 06:24 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: phoenix
Posts: 2,290
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Join Date: Feb 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthernSS
You're comparing apples to oranges Yellow. You're talking about 1x crossbar which LFD nor any other shipping company fabricates, Tnutz does worth roughly $30 to a bumper which cost hundreds to make and ship. It cost more to ship a bumper then it does to buy a new crossbar and ship it. Look YellowSnow, I get it, you don't like SSO. I looked at your profile, for some reason you really took a disliking to us it seems when we made Stage 2 bumper attachments. I can't tell you why this tilted you so hard, that you had to post pictures of your "viper cut" multiple times and call the Stage 2 a waste, but hey.. it did. So I get it, SSO bad, Lemonsnow and his company list good. It's noted!
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he does this. Heck i do the same thing he does on here too. its fun to troll minivan owners. I digress. IDK why OP even bothered to create a thread much less complain to you guys; rattle can, install, enjoy....
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06-07-2021, 06:30 PM
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#21
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Join Date: May 2018
Location: Castle Rock, CO
Posts: 418
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There are plenty of vendor horror stories out there, but this isn't one of them. Given the pictures of the damage, I personally would have no problem touching up that tiny corner myself. It's trail armor, you're supposed to beat it up. To each their own, but it seems silly to me to whine about it.
Why would SSO take responsibility for damage they didn't cause? Sounds like they are trying to get it resolved without forking over $1K+ for something they didn't do. Any rational business owner would do the same.
Frustrating for sure, but hold the guilty party accountable.
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Last edited by ryguytheman; 06-07-2021 at 06:33 PM.
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06-07-2021, 06:32 PM
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#22
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Merritt Island, Florida
Posts: 1,593
Real Name: Brett
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I would've asked for a $50 store credit, what paint matches best and most likely put my own scratches on it by now. SMH
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06-07-2021, 07:00 PM
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#23
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Member
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 342
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My truck is by no means a show truck, but I keep it pretty clean.
That said, I'd rock that bumper as-is and hit it with some touch up. After all, it is an offroad bumper.
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06-07-2021, 07:44 PM
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#24
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Member
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 344
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YellowSnow
Well, remind me to never purchase anything from SSO. Hay, we’re just fabricators, once it’s shipped you’re essentially on your own. SSO Christmas parties must be fire!
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I've never bought anything from SSO, but I stand with them here. They can't control carrier damage and on a large and costly item sometimes you have to wait for carrier claim. It's the way it is and SSO is right, IMO. Yes, there IS cost of doing business but it has to be moderated case-by-case.
Lastly, looking at the pictures, the damage is minimal. If you're getting a steel bumper to use it as such, just repair and move on rather than stressing yourself out.
My sliders from another company came with a big ding. Meh, they got more than that now and I certainly wasn't going to send them back or even look at it for more than a second.
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06-07-2021, 07:48 PM
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#25
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Join Date: Feb 2019
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What these guys said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by uh0h50
My truck is by no means a show truck, but I keep it pretty clean.
That said, I'd rock that bumper as-is and hit it with some touch up. After all, it is an offroad bumper.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ryguytheman
There are plenty of vendor horror stories out there, but this isn't one of them. Given the pictures of the damage, I personally would have no problem touching up that tiny corner myself. It's trail armor, you're supposed to beat it up.
Why would SSO take responsibility for damage they didn't cause? Sounds like they are trying to get it resolved without forking over $1K+ for something they didn't do. Any rational business owner would do the same.
Frustrating for sure, but hold the guilty party accountable.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by honda250xtitan
I digress. IDK why OP even bothered to create a thread much less complain to you guys; rattle can, install, enjoy....
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunMikeR
After seeing the pics, I'd have probably filled a claim with the shipper for damages, asked for a small amount to "make it better", then hit it with some touch up and installed it. I'll beat it up worse than that offroad.
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06-07-2021, 07:49 PM
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#26
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Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: USA
Posts: 132
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SSO has been a great company to work with. They installed my Stage 2 kit for my slimline. FEDEX is in the wrong here.
Spray the bumper down with paint, bolt it on, and enjoy. You'll need the practice touching it up for when you scrape it up on the trails anyways!
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06-07-2021, 08:13 PM
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#27
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Join Date: Oct 2020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Endle55_5earch
SSO has been a great company to work with. They installed my Stage 2 kit for my slimline. FEDEX is in the wrong here.
Spray the bumper down with paint, bolt it on, and enjoy. You'll need the practice touching it up for when you scrape it up on the trails anyways!
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Agreed.
This is a company that deals with people from all across the country and produces so much different product. They did their part in fabricating a bumper...you can't knock them for it not being delivered in the same state it left their facility in.
When my bumper arrived I saw the damage that was very similar to the damage OP displayed and just said eh, this bumper was made to scrape/grind/smack all kinds of terrain anyway; as long as the bumper bolts on and lines up correctly it's not a big deal.
To me, this is no different that your ubereats or grubhub driver dropping your cheeseburger on the asphalt and still bringing it to you. You wouldn't complain to McDonald's would you? You'd hit the delivery person or the business in charge of facilitating the food delivery..
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06-07-2021, 08:31 PM
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#28
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Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Alabama
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Even as small as that is, it would drive me crazy that I paid that much and it didn’t arrive the way it should. That seems to be a shipper’s issue. I’ve been thinking about a bumper/slider purchase from SSO for awhile. I believe I may drive down there and pick it up, instead of having it shipped when I do.
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06-07-2021, 08:34 PM
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#29
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Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Albuquerque NM
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Does SSO still make the rear bumper for the 5Gen (original design w/o tailgate)? I don't see any rear bumper options on the website.
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06-07-2021, 08:48 PM
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#30
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Banned
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Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 2,247
Real Name: Mark
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Banned
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The company I work for routinely ships expensive electronic gear across country that takes months to design, build, and test. There is no option for shipping damage so a packaging engineer designs a shipping container for each product. They range from a small pelican-style suitcase to a large custom wooden box. Cardboard is used for the smaller lightweight products but is always double-boxed with at least two layers of foam between the outside of the box to the product. Sometimes three layers.
For larger heavier objects a custom wooden box is designed and built in-house. It’s not real complicated, it’s job is to prevent punctures from forklifts or break-throughs of the internal heavy object. Multiple layers of foam and cardboard are inside protecting the product. The case has a hinged lid and is re-usable so it is shipped back after delivery.
This all adds to the cost but after months of hard work it ensures the product is always delivered in good shape and the customer is happy.
Beefier shipping containers may not fit your economic model but it’s something to consider.
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