HeftyFabworks experience

[lipek]

Let me start by saying that this literary masterpiece will be about the master fabricator and his douchebag behavior NOT his product.
Two years ago I purchased a steel version of HeftyFabworks bumper for my 2014 5th gen 4Runner. Product came later than expected and had fitment issues, after quick exchange with Chris (owner/fabricator) we decided he will send me a new bumper this time aluminum version. I was satisfied with the resolution and loved the look of that bumper.
Fast forward to January 2017, I got in to an accident and destroyed my front bumper, I reached out to Chris and sent him pics of the accident and aftermath so he can have a source proof that his product works. He told me that if I ever needed a replacement he would rush my order ahead of everyone else's. After quick search on the net I decided to take him up on that offer.
Mid January he told me I would have my bumper in 4-5 weeks but this timeline kept getting extended. I specifically asked him if it will be be ready and shipped to MY HOUSE (remember that kids) in time for a major Toyota event going on at the end of April. He assured me it will...
I've been waiting on this bumper since the middle of January sold my house since then and asked him to ship it to my NEW HOUSE, again he acknowledged it. Every time I would ask about the bumper timeline kept getting extended blaming the powdercoater...
Finally two days ago I asked where my bumper was and was told that it shipped last week. Today I received a shipping notice saying it shipped Yesterday and it's coming to a FedEx terminal instead of my house. When I asked him about that he gave some BS that they never ship to residential address (not true my first bumper was late as well and he had to ship it to my house instead of commercial address since my wife just gave birth and I was not at work to receive it). Then he told me it would cost $200 extra to ship residential (also fine but he never asked me about it) Now this bumper is being shipped to a FedEx terminal an hour away from where I live and I work 6 days a week 8am-9pm so don't even have time to pick it up.
Now he stopped responding all together.

I'm beyond pissed about this and if I lived closer I'd drop that bumper on his front lawn with a bag of shit on fire attached to it. He bluntly kept jerking me around instead of telling me the truth. That's no way to treat a customer especially not a repeat customer.
Moral of the story is Chris Hefty is an ******* who lies to his customers. Byers be ware!!!

 

[lipek]

 

[HeftyFabworks]

First, I'd like to address the above.
Karol was involved in an accident with one of our bumpers. I reached out to see if he was ok and if there was anything we could do. After some back and forth he decided to order a new bumper. We offered to try and push his bumper ahead in order to get him taken care of. After the bumper was already in production Karol asked for custom modification which required building a new bumper. This pushed the order into a new batch. We did not charge for those changes. Not a big issue but it delayed the build. We have never shipped to residential addresses due to the logistics and added expense of residential freight delivery. We did ship one bumper to his home freight but there were extenuating circumstances (he was on leave from work for the birth of his child and it was a warranty deal) so we chose to cover the entire cost of the shipping. I quit responding because I was under a truck doing an install and was in a time crunch. It was quite frankly just him being upset at me because he has to drive 30 min to pick up the bumper from the freight hub like every other customer does. We're there delays, yes. We do our best as a small company to put out the best possible product but lead times are difficult due to the volume of orders we receive. Karol, I apologize for the delay and I'm sorry you are so disappointed in our company and service. We do value our customers and do our best to meet their expectations. There was obviously a reason you came back to us again and I'm sure when you get the bumper on you won't be dissatisfied.

Let me say this, I will always stand behind my products and we strive to give our customers the best service possible. We have been blessed to see such amazing growth over the last couple years. While growth is good it also presents its challenges. These are challenges that we are still learning to deal with, growing to accommodate and rising to meet every day. We are not a multi million dollar company, we don't treat our customers as an order number. We strive to give our customer the best possible. In the last year we have been in the process of doubling our production facilities in order to increase production capabilities and hopefully reduce lead times. We have been doing this for 10 years but we are still learning. 2016 was an amazing year as we saw a 68% increase in orders. 2017 has continued to see amazing growth. With this growth we have had to change our production methods in order to push more product without losing quality. We do 100% of the manufacturing in house with the exception of powder coating. I started this company in 2009 the midst of the recession in the hope to povide my family with a better life. This is a family run business from my brother who is my business partner, my mother who helps with the accounting and answers the phones (be nice to her) to my wife and kids and the employees who we value as our own family. We will always try to our best ability to provide the best product and service available to our customers. We do fall short on occasion but we always give our best.
Chris Hefty

 

[lipek]

Chris, I would never slam your product as I know it's the real deal. I'm sorry for calling you names my frustration got the better of me. The only real issue I had after the timeline was the shipping. You never told me that's where the bumper was going to be shipped nor asked for upcharge to be shipped residential (I would've paid that)
The issue you left me with is figuring out the logistics of picking that sucker up. Like yourself I work for a living and have no time to pick this thing up during the day. As you can tell this shipping situation came as a surprise and the way it was handled was not great.

 

[gm350reratliff]

This situation stinks for both parties (I've been on both sides myself so I know how it feels) and I hope both side can come to an agreement and/or resolution.

That being said, I'll ask what everyone wants to know, how about posting some pics of how well that HF bumper held up to an accident?

 

[lipek]

 

[Soccer13]

WOW! That's horrible. I had been communicating with Hefty via Instagram on a possible rear swing out bumper, but after seeing this makes me want to look elsewhere...too bad the product really looks good.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Looks like a pretty good hit. Glad you're Ok.

Did it bend the frame on the 4runner or was it just the bumper that bent?

 

[lipek]

Frame was fine, it was just the bumper

 

[BikeDestroyer]

Shipping to home

Why don't you 2 get together and contact the shipping/freight company and have the bumper shipped to your house from the terminal? I've done this before on a shipment that was sent freight for me to pick up and should have been sent to my house because I paid extra freight charge for it.

 

[PWD4R]

After both sides have spoken, I think OP is being a baby. Sorry but damn. Changing crap and expecting super quick shit? Communication could have been better but you're like way over the top mad for not much reason.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[sleevefullofaces]

Frame was fine, it was just the bumper

About how fast were you going and did your airbags deploy?

 

[lipek]

About how fast were you going and did your airbags deploy?

About 25-30mph, she was trying to cut across on an angle, I didn't even have a chance. Bumper held up pretty well and the brackets acted like crumple zone, it really did its job very well.

 

[lipek]

After both sides have spoken, I think OP is being a baby. Sorry but damn. Changing crap and expecting super quick shit? Communication could have been better but you're like way over the top mad for not much reason.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I might have used some harsh words true but when you agree on the timeline and don't tell your customer what it will entail don't throw it in their face and use it as an excuse.

 

[Atomic6]

I might have used some harsh words true but when you agree on the timeline and don't tell your customer what it will entail don't throw it in their face and use it as an excuse.

When you agree on a timeline then ask for something custom, that timeline is pretty much void...

I agree both side could have done better, but what can you expect when its all via text/messenger.

 

[Honorable Sensei]

OP is making this situation bigger than it really is, and could have been more clear from the very beginning that time was of the essence. The purpose of his post seems more aimed at trashing HF and it's owner, and trying to sabotage future business for them in a fit of anger. The communication about timeframe should have been better, but texting isn't the best way to communicate for important matters. Thankfully he posted the text thread so we can see how it really played out.

Because of OP's disproportionate reaction to the situation, I wanted to provide my recent experience with HF. Balancing the forces, so to speak. I needed some rock sliders, so I called them up. Chris himself answered the phone and took the time to answer all my beginner questions about install, options, etc. Chris said there was an estimated 6 week turnaround but it could be longer. He said if it took longer, I could call any time for updates. I had already read their website, and the information about shipping to the local freight hub was stated clearly.

I ordered, paid, and got my confirmation. I provided my residential address as the shipping address, but this was really so they could locate the nearest freight hub. It took 9 weeks for the sliders to ship. 50% longer than the estimate, but by no means the horror story I've seen in other threads about other manufacturers. The build quality is excellent, and they look great.

So there's at least one HF customer who is very satisfied with his experience.

 

[Dark4c]

I purchased HF sliders and also saw the message on the site that said they only deliver to freight hub. Timeline was only a couple days longer that expected. I couldn't be happier with the product and service given by HF.

 

[TE!]

Being a business owner myself I can see the frustration on both sides and think this could have def been handled off the forum with a little better communication.

I am currently having a front and rear bumper being made by Heftyfabs... I have bombarded Chris with multiple questions and he has always taken the time to respond within a couple of hours. Thats all I could ask for from a small business.

 

[Mr.Rick]

I have had personal experience with HF as well, I recently received my sliders. I opted to go and pick them up from the shop in person as it was only a 2 hour drive. I met both Chris and his Brother. Really nice guys, the timeline they gave me was about a week longer than expected but I can tell you in this industry, I have come to expect a little bit longer wait when working with small companies, and the product is worth the wait no question. I have owned Jeeps and Toyotas and can say that no matter what I ordered unless it was prefabbed there was a little bit of a wait. I will tell you after checking out the HEFTYFAB compound, it's exactly what Chris says it is... small, family owned and BUSY. They weren't messing around... they were working hard to fill orders and build products. I couldn't be happier with the product I received and honestly, there will always be issues no matter who you order from. (throw out a major company and I will give you the name of a person that had problems with them and/or their product). It's unfortunate how the situation turned out but I really feel like the name calling is unnecessary and slamming a guy on a nationwide forum like that was uncalled for but that is just my two cents on it.

 

[cbielat]

Listen to all these people saying "OP is being a b***h". Guarantee if they were in the position they'd be singing a different tune. I mean, the texts show it all. Not once did Hefty say they wouldn't ship to the residential address when it was brought up. Previous product was in fact shipped there. There was mention of the event. OP did place order with ample time for the lead time. But you see it all of the time. These small shops only have so many people fabricating and can only get things out so fast. They just tell customers what they want to hear most of the time is what I've learned.