Hi y'all,

I see constantly on here everyone seems to rave about Clay's company and customer service, and i was wondering what the trick is ? i can't seem to get him to ever answer the phone and when he calls back he can't seem to get off the phone fast enough, and parts that needed to be at the shop today that were ordered on monday haven't even shipped yet, is there some sort of special line that you call of a secret code that you give or something to get some good customer service. Any advice or tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated. Hope y'all are having a great Thursday.

cheers,
-will

 

I have NEVER read or heard anyone complain about his customer service or products. I think I would address these issues directly with him before writing anything negative.

Good luck!

 

+1 ^what he said...he is a member of this board so PM him!

PS he has had some family issues with a newborn and such per what I have seen posted so far.

 

From the little bit I know they had their son a month early about 2 weeks ago, his grandma just passed away and his mom has terminal cancer and I think only had a week or two left.

He has always given me great customer service, and has gone above and beyond for a lot of us.

I know the phones have been crazy the last month or so, but you might try emailing. I got a response right back yesterday.

 

It's all about perspective.

Real life sometimes creates some severe interferences with business, and it is unfortunate for those on the receiving end of the "wait", but if the shoe was on the other foot...

When my 22yo son was being interviewed for a high end waiter position at a local restaurant, he was asked how he would handle being there on a really busy night with three orders stacked up for three different tables who were being impatient. His reply, "Look, I volunteer at a local fire department, and just had two different people die on me today in two different situations... I think I can handle it!"

 

I've ordered a bunch of stuff from Clay as well and NEVER had those kinds of issues. I ordered a 6.0 cooler from him and he called me and left a message. I assumed it was someone else and he called me again when I didn't return his call. The reason is that he wanted to know if I would take a slightly damaged cooler (no leaks) for a discount. The damage was entirely cosmetic.

 

He did say on Facebook that they were dealing with a ton of calls due it being tax season. So it sounds like he's just "taxed" at the moment.........I'll show my self out.

 

So wait, let me get this straight. You are complaining on one hand that you have a hard time getting ahold of him, and yet are also whining that he seems hurried when you call. Lets think about this for a second, maybe he is in a bit of a hurry because he has another customer like you calling on the other line with questions, and if he doesn't get to them in time they might also write a useless thread like this to complain.

Over the last 7 years or so I have been using Riffraff they have excelled at the best vendor by far in many categories, paramount would be honestly and integrity. If you have an issue and can't get ahold of them on the phone why not email before coming on here? The only person you are making look bad is yourself

 

Will, shoot us an email or a call, we can take a look and see where the issue is with your order. We are happy to help and appreciate the opportunity.

 

"There's Your Sign"......

 

I'm not taking sides at all here, but there is no need to start bashing or belittling for either side. Honest questions have been asked, and I believe that both Stewart and JuanHevos have provided the context which explains the potential difficulty Will is experiencing. No harm, no foul.

Will's initial post was not a bash against against Clay as much as a plea for insights, tips, and suggestions for working through the difficulty he's in. Most of us already know that Will should have emailed Clay before posting here, but isn't that the kind of insight he was asking for? There's no need to belittle him for seeking a little guidance.

I've personally been in a similar situation as Clay seems to be in right now, and it does create real business challenges on both sides of the order process, and the people placing orders are typically ignorant of (or sometimes don't even care) that Life is caving in around you while you're doing the best you can to meet ALL obligations.

Clay is obviously under a huge load at the moment, and it would be most prudent for Will to see this as an exception to the rule in terms of dealing with Clay. As unfortunate as it might be for Will's plans and schedule goals, this kind of stuff happens.

 

Thanks for saying what I was thinking...(was searching for the wording)

 

Thank you to everyone for your help. We have found the issue, UPS lost the shipment. We are working to get another out today so the customer can still make his deadline for install.

 

See, there you go, not even the fault of Clay. Maybe little for using UPS but then again those of us in the know, know why he can't use DHL.

 

This whole business of jumping down someone's throat for a perceived "vendor-bashing" is ridiculous. Vendors aren't immune from criticism, and I'm not even so sure the OP was all that critical. He was frustrated, and understandably so. EVERY business has these issues. It's how they're handled that matters, and it seems Clay has handled it well and taken care of the customer to the best of his ability, and it seems the solution is acceptable to both parties.