SUMO turnaround/customer service question

[Fuzzie]

Hey guys,

I've been lurking here for a while and finally had a question I felt necessary to ask:

I ordered the Sumo 2" lift kit and trailing arm spacers a little over 2 weeks ago. Immediately after placing my order, I sent an e-mail asking about the typical turnaround time on these orders (I've been super impatient to get my new tires and lift on). The response from Joe (I think?) was initially very quick and fairly detailed. He said the parts should be fabricated, powdercoated, and shipped by the end of the following week (now last week). I said that sounded great and planned my other part orders accordingly. Being my impatient self, I e-mailed Joe again on Monday (May 2) just to check in on the status of the order and possibly receive a tracking number for my package. No response. After two more days, I used the contact phone number on Sumo's website to send a text requesting the same information. Again, nothing. Thursday morning I sent the same message again to the company's Facebook page (which has been active and posting within the last 24hrs). Nothing.

I have been really excited about getting these parts and am 100% confident that they will be every bit as quality as I expect them to be. It's just disappointing that I can't seem to get a response from anyone. Has anyone had similar experiences? Or maybe know a better method of communicating with the company?

 

[Kevin]

Welcome Fuzzie - sorry you're having these problems and I do know that Joe is slow to respond sometimes!

 

[Fuzzie]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give an update on this issue.

After still not hearing a word of response from SUMO, I re-texted Joe today around 9:45 this morning as I was clocking in to work. I didn't receive word from him until about 11:00 PM, at which point I received a text saying simply:

"This order is still at powdercoat. I am putting pressure on the coater in an effort to get them done."

I feel so conflicted about this whole process. I really appreciate the service the SUMO guys are offering and I want nothing more than to support a small American business. On the other hand, it took over a week to receive ANY correspondence from Joe or anyone associated with SUMO on a simple part inquiry. I know that at least someone saw my messages, because the Facebook message I sent (5 days ago) flipped almost immediately to "seen." I understand that a growing business can be a handful, but from what I have been able to find through the online forums, this kind of poor communication has been a problem for at least several years now. If Joe can't have these parts made up and ready to ship, it would at least be cool to have some better feedback channels when orders go long, or throw a few bucks at a secretary.

I know these aren't "need to have" parts, per se, but I paid almost $500 for the set and even more than that for new tires and control arms (which all came within a week) and I am already taking the Foz on a trip that I won't be able to romp around on because of the delay. Again, not horribly put-out, but I guess just disappointed. Sorry if this all seems very first-world whiny, I just needed to vent. For the record, I am sure when the parts DO arrive, they will still be perfectly awesome and ready to go. I just think some more communication would go a long way to ease the waiting process.

 

[Kevin]

I agree! Nachaluva gives better service!

 

[Ratbag]

^ yup, I agree ... and local here. But not in the States ... .

 

[Kevin]

^ doesn't matter - the world is getting smaller and shipping is very effective these days

 

[Ratbag]

^ true. Last s/h lens I bought came from north eastern USA.