I got a bumper from him in the group buy on LRRF. I'm happy with the product, but was also misled as to how long it was going to be. I was originally told a month and it ended up being more than 2 months. Also a few times that it had been shipped when it hadn't. When its time to get sliders, I will probably go a different direction. Just can't spend that kind of money having no idea when the product will actually show up.
Bottorf Fabrication
- Thread starter MATT223081
- Start date
I bought a front bumper, rear bumper, and sliders from Nate through that group buy, as those who read the lrrf thread saw. I finally received my front bumper in july, my sliders in september, and am still waiting on the rear bumper.
All good things come to those who wait. I'll admit, the group buy put us under much further than we could handle. For those of you still waiting, your products are on the way. As for the shackel mounts, a true 3/4 shackel will fit the holes are drilled to 7/8's. Lastly, for those that called and didn't get an answer, we have been out due the death of a close member of Bottorf Fab and family. A great guy who was in my life for over 20 years.
Take Care,
-Nate
Take Care,
-Nate
Nate was more concerned about making a buck than he was about customer service. I went to Nate for two specific reasons: 1) He could delivery the product on time; 2) His price was good.
Well, no amount of cheap was going to do me any good. I needed a part within X number of days to leave on a 4 day trip. But with Justin leaving for MAR, I knew he wouldn't be able to get the part delivered either.
It's now been 6 business days (not including Columbus Day) and I still haven't seen a refund. The parts were not delivered either (Nate recalled the shipment). Now I'm out $190 bucks (not the $145 that was mentioned above; nice bump in price).
Well, no amount of cheap was going to do me any good. I needed a part within X number of days to leave on a 4 day trip. But with Justin leaving for MAR, I knew he wouldn't be able to get the part delivered either.
It's now been 6 business days (not including Columbus Day) and I still haven't seen a refund. The parts were not delivered either (Nate recalled the shipment). Now I'm out $190 bucks (not the $145 that was mentioned above; nice bump in price).
jrose609 said:
Somebody from the Chicago Land Rover Club sent up a spare arm for me. I'll be ordering a set from Justin if/when I get my refund from Nate. Right now, I have bigger fish to fry with my truck. Toasted a wheel bearing and my fuel pump is crapping out.:banghead:
I'm sure somebody will say it's karma for bitching about Nate. But we all know, it's just part of the joy of Rovering:rofl:
running a business is really very simple
say what you're gonna do and then do it
the fastest way to flush your business down the crapper is to promise but not deliver
I know this sounds callous, but do you really think that a customer who has already paid for his product based on your stated delivery schedule really gives a crap if your supply of steel didn't arrive on time, or if your best friend died, or if your sister had her big toe severed in a farm accident, or if your dog got a bad case of fleas, or any other of the millions of immaterial excuses?
"biting off more than he could chew" simply means "he can't run a business"
the only way to salvage a semblance of respectability and the possibility of future business is to immediately refund the money if you can't deliver as promised
if you can't refund the money because you already spent it then that means you can't run a business and you should probably go get a job from someone who can run a business
that's all I have to say about that
say what you're gonna do and then do it
the fastest way to flush your business down the crapper is to promise but not deliver
I know this sounds callous, but do you really think that a customer who has already paid for his product based on your stated delivery schedule really gives a crap if your supply of steel didn't arrive on time, or if your best friend died, or if your sister had her big toe severed in a farm accident, or if your dog got a bad case of fleas, or any other of the millions of immaterial excuses?
"biting off more than he could chew" simply means "he can't run a business"
the only way to salvage a semblance of respectability and the possibility of future business is to immediately refund the money if you can't deliver as promised
if you can't refund the money because you already spent it then that means you can't run a business and you should probably go get a job from someone who can run a business
that's all I have to say about that
For the record (or for what it's worth), I received a nice email from Nate last night. He wanted to appologize for the way he handled the situation.
In addition, he offered to send the trailing arms at no cost.
I'm not looking nor am I expecting to get something for free. I don't operate that way. Especially after 20+ years in the hospitality business. I can't stand people that are looking for a free meal.
I give Nate credit for standing up and admitting his mistake. A lot of guys have been very happy with his products. It's the transaction that is causing friction between the customer and supplier.
Lets hope Nate learns a little something from this whole process. Its the small independant businessman that will continue to make this country great.
Good luck to Nate and Bottorf Fab. Now get out there and return your emails, voicemails and other messages on time!!!
In addition, he offered to send the trailing arms at no cost.
I'm not looking nor am I expecting to get something for free. I don't operate that way. Especially after 20+ years in the hospitality business. I can't stand people that are looking for a free meal.
I give Nate credit for standing up and admitting his mistake. A lot of guys have been very happy with his products. It's the transaction that is causing friction between the customer and supplier.
Lets hope Nate learns a little something from this whole process. Its the small independant businessman that will continue to make this country great.
Good luck to Nate and Bottorf Fab. Now get out there and return your emails, voicemails and other messages on time!!!
It sounds like to me Nate is trying to make things right. Hopefully lessons have been learned and he will make things better.
http://lrrforums.com/showthread.php?t=17833
I would say things really haven't improved. I finally gave up after having nothing to show for the last 9 months of waiting. 36 days later I finally got my refund. The promised radius arms shipped 3 times but never showed up either. The sliders that a couple of guys chipped in to get me for a welcome home gift never showed either.
I've gone to another vendor so I can finally have a rear bumper and sliders...
I would say things really haven't improved. I finally gave up after having nothing to show for the last 9 months of waiting. 36 days later I finally got my refund. The promised radius arms shipped 3 times but never showed up either. The sliders that a couple of guys chipped in to get me for a welcome home gift never showed either.
I've gone to another vendor so I can finally have a rear bumper and sliders...
Funny thing is I bought tons of parts while I was deployed, from forum members, used parts vendors, and one business. Bottorf Fabrication was the one business and the only one that didn't deliver...
ArmyRover said:
There were no donations and no one chipped in for sliders as a welcome home gift. Josh was going to help out and I was going to donate the steel.
I must have misunderstood Josh then, I was told Patrick chipped in some money when he told me he helped build the sliders in June or July. I apologize then for the part about the sliders.
Neither here nor there at this point.
Neither here nor there at this point.
Front bumper I bought used from a fellow dweb member it's a scorpion racing blade bumper. I actually like it a lot.
The rear is being custom made by Brad at www.roxtarfab.com It will be based on his DII style with some plate steel added in the spaces to fill the bumper out a bit. His sliders will also be going on my RRC as well.
The rear is being custom made by Brad at www.roxtarfab.com It will be based on his DII style with some plate steel added in the spaces to fill the bumper out a bit. His sliders will also be going on my RRC as well.
