How much business is Shrockworks losing?

[Derek G]

First off, I want it to be clear that this is not an indictment of the company, I think they make a great product. Lets be real though, how much business are they losing because of their turn around time? I personally wanted a Shrockworks bumper but opted for the ARB strictly because of the wait time. I run my own business, and I know that I would soon be out of business if I was giving so much away to the competition. Just food for thought.

 

[having fun]

I completely agree, as a buisness man also, you would think having so much orders being requested. You would think you could go to a bank showing this info and get a loan to purchase in a large amounts of material, and hire man power to produce with a quality bumper, no denieing on that.

Myself did a purchase of one and is ready to ship according to the email I have recieved, but, I had time for the wait before havinfun time period.

As above stated by op, not putting the company down, just a buisness outlook perspective.

 

[absolute yota]

I was considering shrockworks, but liked the demello style better. When shrockworks said 8 weeks or more and demello said 2 weeks my decision was all that much easier. Also, i have been in close contact with the people at demello since before i ordered, they answer the phone and email and are very patient and helpful.

Shrockworks has a large demand and small production. I get that as i run my company the same way. I do loose a lot of little jobs to take the ones i feel are important or profitable. Eventually they will make the jump and expand the company, just remember that is when quality tends to go down. Not saying it will, but someones bumper will have to be the new guys first or second one, and may not be top notch. Thats why i hate hiring people, its hard to find someone as good as me at what we do.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I have often wondered this myself, I purchased a SW bumper in '11 and it took something like 4 months to receive. I was in close contact with SW and they were very helpful and apologetic in the matter (even threw in a ARB snatch strap as a consolation for wait time.)

From what I gathered from our interactions back and forth, their larger items, like bumpers are actually made in batch orders. They wait until they have 10 Orders before they make a batch of bumpers (this is possibly a large factor in wait times) and sometimes people get bumped to the next batch. This happened with my order as I missed the production batch for that Summer by 1 order and did not receive my bumper until the next batch production in the fall.

I don't know how well that business plan works for them, I assume they do this because they have a large amount of orders to fill on other vehicles and local work to do and this was decided to be the most efficient way to produce a product.

This is all speculation based on my experience and interaction with SW and a representative of the company is more than welcome to tell me I am full of horseshit.

Post Note- Demello released their 4th gen front bumper a couple months after I ordered my SW and while their product looks good, I preferred the SW's "bulkier, heavy duty" look vs. the Demello's very slim design.

 

[CXS]

I cringe when hearing a successful small company is expanding mainly for the reason absolute yota mentioned. Quality tends to drop, costs to build increase and far too often the small company ends up closing. It looks like SW weathered the economy the last year or so which is good. I know too many good fabricators that closed due to trying to grow and would rather see people ***** about delivery time than ***** about a lack of choices.

 

[bensanders]

I can't speak about lead times or bumpers or anything but I do know this:

Shrockworks wanted $120 to ship a set of sliders from Houston to Austin (140 miles). For the record, CBI wanted something like $150. Effing Ridiculous.

Stubbs charged $50 to ship a set from California.

I'm also not so sure about Shrockworks pricing. Some of their stuff seems insanely overpriced.

 

[04rnr]

I agree with all that was already said, BUT, when a company is known, to lie, to its customers and potentional customers, thats just bad business, and thats why, I will never trust them, they are know liars.

I was considering shrockworks, but liked the demello style better. When shrockworks said 8 weeks or more and demello said 2 weeks my decision was all that much easier. Also, i have been in close contact with the people at demello since before i ordered, they answer the phone and email and are very patient and helpful.

The "key" words there is OR MORE
I went with Demello, and pretty happy.

 

[wadle5]

I dont think they "miss" some buys from people, because in the end the product sells itslef. If you dont need the bumper immediately it makes perfect sense to go with SW. The extra price goes to show the thiker material used and also what no other company does include a front skidplate/bashplate.

 

[absolute yota]

Id have to disagree with the product selling itself. There is competion in this small market, and the competion is also very good. Some people like myself see the lighter bumper as having advantages. In the end I could have gone either way but lead time and negative reveiws on lying about wait times and customer service sent me to a competior. I loose customers to the comp all the time because we are so busy that we have a long wait time. The difference is I tell people straight out that they need to wait 6 weeks for me to actually schedule their job. They can choose to wait or call someone else. Small biz is like that, you are either balls to the wall or slow as hell. It seems like if it is always a long wait then they should step up production. They seem to have a decent following and if people found out they could get one in 2 weeks they would probably have to triple production.

Honestly I have heard of 8 week wait times for demello bumpers too, I think I just ordered mine as a batch came in, so I lucked out. Bottom line is people hate waiting, I know I do, even waiting 2 weeks sucks since I thrive on instant gratification just like most of us do.

 

[Desert Fox]

Itneresting post. I have felt the same way, that their lead time is way to long. Their product is stable so lead time is not design dependant and I cant see having delays from raw material.

The company I work for has a 90 day lead time on most of our products and that is based on raw material and options they want. Our ejection seats can take over a year to make because of lead time on some parts.

We have a very strong CI culture and it has helped us improve lead time and improvement in quality.

Wile I can understand the long lead time I would not buy from them because of it.

 

[LTDSC]

i like Demello better anyway but if i called both and whoever wait time was less i would definitely choose them.

Just like my office, if we forget and push off bid dates and install dates, the customer would be come more and more irate. Just like here.

 

[TxBxSx]

While most companies might cringe at a thread like this I think it acctually helps us out. Its always nice to be able to see what our shop looks like through the customers eyes.

I more than anyone am the worst when it comes to waiting. I even have a hard time waiting on an item that ships next day that takes 5 days UPS ground! For this reason I can truly appreciate the patience our customers offer us. Some have less than others and those names we certainly remember, but 99% of the time when the wait is over we have a return customer once they actually get a chance to put their hands on one of our products.

Im sure that everyone knows it does not take us 4 months to build a single bumper. The problem is that on this day today, our order list is literally 10 pages long, and we have take care of everyone on a first come first serve basis. Our quoted lead times are based on what those products shipping times have been on average in recent history. We never intend to be deceiving, but some times our quotes can be a bit off and sometimes material back orders can happen periodically come time for that particular order to hit the build tables. I cant tell you how many calls I take a day that I loose when we relay our lead times. Its certainly an issue we are aware of and would no doubt benenfit us to resolve.

We have made many attempts at catching up on it. It seems like everytime we do, more business comes. We have hired more people, moved shops, hired even more people, and invested massive amounts of $$$ in our on cnc equipment to bring almost all of our production processes in house. If business were coming in at the same rate it was when we first opened this place, we would be absolutly KILLING it. Story is though, that our shop is constantly growing. When I first came in back in 2006 our we used to order 30 pallets every couple of months, now we are ordering the same order of pallets almost every week.

Long story short, we are always glad to have your feedback and unless the doors shut on this place(which is far from likely at this point) we will always be pushing to bring down our lead times and improve our customer satisfaction.

 

[bensanders]

I think most everybody here appreciates professional, level-headed, and most importantly honest responses like this from vendors.

Well said.

 

[teampwr2]

They Didnt get my bus. when I built my 4 runner up ...Soley based on lead times ..
These are 4 runners they can only do so much ... I wanted more clearance than stock and approach and departure were a small issue with out bumper replacement... I looked at shrockworks first and then down the list...I dont care about weight or 1/2 " clearance more, its a 4 runner and if your putting it in situations where 1/2" matters your prob not in a good spot.
Loved their sliders and bumpers but could not understand the lead times ....
I bought ARB front had it in 3 days ...Ordered A Loaded Rear Bumper from CBI they told me 8 weeks had it in 6.
No issues .....
I hope they ( shrockworks) can tighten it up a bit ....When other 4 runner owners ask Where did I get my Stuff I tell them What I Wanted V.s. What I bought and Why.

 

[bwake21]

+1 for me, I am only 2 hours up the road in San Antonio and could avoid shipping cost but will be going CBI or Demello soley based on bad lead times.

 

[mikebontoft]

Just blame it all on the Jeeps

 

[tollboothwilley]

I find this interesting. From a customer stand-point I am unwilling to wait 4-6 months for a product when they receive money up front. I expect to pay a deposit ONLY when work is started, and then 1-2 weeks from that point til completion. The only person I let string my money along like that is the government, and that is not by choice!

From a business stand-point I would think there are ways to make things more efficient. Instead of making 1 bumper at a time, do the same bumper 3 times, or 5 times. So much more efficient to make multiples of the same item. Yes, the first come first serve is important but if you have 3,5 or 10 of the same item in queue, bust them all out. No need to wait for down time on the CNC or Laser cutter. Its the only way to start making headway and catch up on a long list of work to be done.

 

[Nathana92]

I dont think they "miss" some buys from people, because in the end the product sells itslef. If you dont need the bumper immediately it makes perfect sense to go with SW. The extra price goes to show the thiker material used and also what no other company does include a front skidplate/bashplate.

The price of 3/16'' steel to 1/8'' steel is negligible. Also the ARB comes with a skid plate that covers the base of the bumper to the stock skid plate.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I think most everybody here appreciates professional, level-headed, and most importantly honest responses like this from vendors.

Well said.

Yeah, if only they were that honest when dealing with actual customers who had paid money, they wouldn't have the reputationt they do.

As I said in the other thread, the delay may be excusable but the multiple lies and broken promises are not.

There is no "outside factor" that makes a person lie, that is a choice that the person makes.

If the builder says "we're working on it now, it will be done by the end of the week" and that's not true, the fact that they didn't get the material, have too many other orders, had a family emergency, etc, is irrelevant: The point is not that they delayed, the point is that they lied.

That's the issue.

I guess SW is doing great business, so obviously somebody must be happy with their products and services. Good on 'em, I guess, but they'll never see a penny from me. Ditto for Kennesaw Mountain or TAG or whatever they're calling themselves these days. You get a rep like they do, I don't care how good or cheap the product is, I'm not going to waste my time and money on it when there are other options available.

Saving money is nice but my time has value, too.

 

[Nathana92]

They charge a high price because they can and need to. Charging a premium does two things, it can place a product into a higher product level in the minds of the consumer. Customer thinks oh this is more expensive, surely it must be better. Secondly it gives them buffer room to still make a profit while having enough funds to satisfy disgruntled customers. All the additional discounts and "free ARB snatch straps" are not free to them. There is also a theory in which customer perceive higher quality from a wait time, it reaffirms the purchase decision because if all are sold this must be a good product to buy. However this is a double edged sword where if the wait time becomes too long, is extended, or no longer has a finite end in sight the customers begin to question their decision.

Myself, I purchased an ARB, it was less than $1000 and I got it in two days. It meets all the requirements of why I wanted a steel bumper and the immediate gratification was excellent. Shrockworks is a cool company and I like the look of some of their stuff. If it was my business I would do things much differently, but it's not.