darenwelsh
New member
I'd like to share the details of my experience so far with trying to order a roof top tent from GEO Adventure Gear and ask for input on what you think I should do.
TL;DR:
I ordered a roof top tent via the web site and got no feedback about the shipment. I finally got a call from the delivery service truck driver saying the item was damaged and he recommended I return it as damaged. I agreed. Now the shipping company says they can't find the tent and the GEO guy is holding my money and not shipping a replacement tent.
Details:
Prior to ordering a roof top tent, I tried asking some questions using their "Contact Us" form on their web site. I got no response from the company, but Ruston Smith (Overlanding USA) emailed me independently offering to answer my questions. He was very responsive and helpful. He said it should take around 4 days to ship the tent from their warehouse to me. So I was pretty excited that it wouldn't take long.
On the morning of October 9th, I ordered the tent via their web site and paid via PayPal.
Within the hour, I received an automated email response confirming my order and payment. But I never saw an email with tracking info or even a basic acknowledgement that the tent was shipped.
On October 11th, I emailed Ruston back (since I got no response from the company web site) asking when to expect my tent shipment. I explained that I have a gated property and needed to coordinate to be there for delivery.
On October 16th, I emailed Ruston again asking for details about my tent shipment. He said he would forward the email to his warehouse manager.
On October 18th, I emailed Ruston again explaining that I still have not heard anything from the warehouse. He responded saying the tent shipped "last Friday" (the 13th) and that he would get me a tracking number.
Later in the day October 18th, I got a phone call from Pilot Freight saying the shipment was in their warehouse and that I should call back to schedule delivery. I called back and asked for delivery on Friday the 20th.
On October 20th, I received a phone call from the driver delivering the tent that he noticed it was damaged. I asked how bad it was, whether I should inspect it myself. He said it was so bad that he suggested just returning it as damaged. So I took his word and said that was fine. Note that the delivery truck never arrived at my house and I signed nothing.
On October 21st, I emailed Ruston explaining what happened with the delivery guy.
On October 25th, I got a voicemail from Alfredo, the GEO warehouse manager. He wanted more info because the shipping company told him I signed something and reported the damage at my house. He mentioned an email address in his voicemail that I could use to get in touch with him. I tried calling him back but got a recording in Spanish (that I couldn't understand). I tried sending an email to the address he mentioned, but that was returned un-deliverable. I forwarded my returned email to Ruston in hopes he would respond. He suggested I try calling Alfredo again.
On October 26th, I called and actually talked to Alfredo. I answered his questions and explained that I never saw the tent. I explained how the shipping delivery driver told me over the phone that they would return the damaged tent. Alfredo said he would contact the shipping company and get back to me that day.
On October 31st, I tried calling Alfredo and got the voice message again. I tried leaving a message after the beep. I have no idea if my message went to the right person.
On November 2nd, I tried calling Alfredo 3 times. No answer. So I emailed Ruston asking for answers. At this point, I'm tired of waiting. I understand they have an issue with their shipping company, but that shouldn't hold up resolving my order. He says he'll pass on the info to Alfredo.
On November 3rd, Alfredo forwarded me an email conversation between the shipping company rep and Alfredo. He didn't include any words to me. The discussion was more of the same disagreement as to whether the driver actually went to my house or not. So I responded asking what I was supposed to do with this email and I asked for a status of whether he was going to send me a tent or if he was going to return my money.
On November 6th, I emailed Alfredo again (now that I have what seems to be his real address since it is what he used to forward that email chain to me). I asked if he is sending me a tent or returning my money. I received a phone call and couldn't answer since it was during a meeting. Alfredo left a message saying the shipping company can't find the tent. He says he will be calling them back, but that he believes me more than them. I tried calling back 3 times over the course of 30 minutes and got a generic voicemail with no custom message indicating I got the right number.
At first, I was happy to help Alfredo with details of this shady shipping company issue. But now I just don't care. This isn't my problem. The shipping company admitted that they declared the hardware damaged and were going to return it. So there's no reason to hold my money hostage here. I think they should either ship me a tent now or refund my money. What do you guys think?
TL;DR:
I ordered a roof top tent via the web site and got no feedback about the shipment. I finally got a call from the delivery service truck driver saying the item was damaged and he recommended I return it as damaged. I agreed. Now the shipping company says they can't find the tent and the GEO guy is holding my money and not shipping a replacement tent.
Details:
Prior to ordering a roof top tent, I tried asking some questions using their "Contact Us" form on their web site. I got no response from the company, but Ruston Smith (Overlanding USA) emailed me independently offering to answer my questions. He was very responsive and helpful. He said it should take around 4 days to ship the tent from their warehouse to me. So I was pretty excited that it wouldn't take long.
On the morning of October 9th, I ordered the tent via their web site and paid via PayPal.
Within the hour, I received an automated email response confirming my order and payment. But I never saw an email with tracking info or even a basic acknowledgement that the tent was shipped.
On October 11th, I emailed Ruston back (since I got no response from the company web site) asking when to expect my tent shipment. I explained that I have a gated property and needed to coordinate to be there for delivery.
On October 16th, I emailed Ruston again asking for details about my tent shipment. He said he would forward the email to his warehouse manager.
On October 18th, I emailed Ruston again explaining that I still have not heard anything from the warehouse. He responded saying the tent shipped "last Friday" (the 13th) and that he would get me a tracking number.
Later in the day October 18th, I got a phone call from Pilot Freight saying the shipment was in their warehouse and that I should call back to schedule delivery. I called back and asked for delivery on Friday the 20th.
On October 20th, I received a phone call from the driver delivering the tent that he noticed it was damaged. I asked how bad it was, whether I should inspect it myself. He said it was so bad that he suggested just returning it as damaged. So I took his word and said that was fine. Note that the delivery truck never arrived at my house and I signed nothing.
On October 21st, I emailed Ruston explaining what happened with the delivery guy.
On October 25th, I got a voicemail from Alfredo, the GEO warehouse manager. He wanted more info because the shipping company told him I signed something and reported the damage at my house. He mentioned an email address in his voicemail that I could use to get in touch with him. I tried calling him back but got a recording in Spanish (that I couldn't understand). I tried sending an email to the address he mentioned, but that was returned un-deliverable. I forwarded my returned email to Ruston in hopes he would respond. He suggested I try calling Alfredo again.
On October 26th, I called and actually talked to Alfredo. I answered his questions and explained that I never saw the tent. I explained how the shipping delivery driver told me over the phone that they would return the damaged tent. Alfredo said he would contact the shipping company and get back to me that day.
On October 31st, I tried calling Alfredo and got the voice message again. I tried leaving a message after the beep. I have no idea if my message went to the right person.
On November 2nd, I tried calling Alfredo 3 times. No answer. So I emailed Ruston asking for answers. At this point, I'm tired of waiting. I understand they have an issue with their shipping company, but that shouldn't hold up resolving my order. He says he'll pass on the info to Alfredo.
On November 3rd, Alfredo forwarded me an email conversation between the shipping company rep and Alfredo. He didn't include any words to me. The discussion was more of the same disagreement as to whether the driver actually went to my house or not. So I responded asking what I was supposed to do with this email and I asked for a status of whether he was going to send me a tent or if he was going to return my money.
On November 6th, I emailed Alfredo again (now that I have what seems to be his real address since it is what he used to forward that email chain to me). I asked if he is sending me a tent or returning my money. I received a phone call and couldn't answer since it was during a meeting. Alfredo left a message saying the shipping company can't find the tent. He says he will be calling them back, but that he believes me more than them. I tried calling back 3 times over the course of 30 minutes and got a generic voicemail with no custom message indicating I got the right number.
At first, I was happy to help Alfredo with details of this shady shipping company issue. But now I just don't care. This isn't my problem. The shipping company admitted that they declared the hardware damaged and were going to return it. So there's no reason to hold my money hostage here. I think they should either ship me a tent now or refund my money. What do you guys think?
