Big Sky shelters — who has ordered? who got their’s?

[dennis hoff]

Bob is more than happy to quickly respond to inquiries about product and new orders. The issue is people that have ordered nearly a year ago and have been told numerous dates that the tent will ship and never did do not get any response when they inquire about their order.

Order one of those tents and see how quickly you get a response. Many people had 20+ emails inquiring about their order status that went unanswered.

[Jon Priest]

"He's sure saying the right stuff."

That's the operative phrase, Chuck. I took him at his word in early June (despite all of the bad feedback) and ordered a 1P1D1V. My tent promptly fell into the swirling vortex of promised dates and trips to Asia. I actually feel kind of stupid for not heeding everyone else's advice and leaving well enough alone.

His product really does look fantastic. It's just a shame nobody is able to find out for themselves by actually having one.

I began trying to cancel my order in the beginning of Nov. and just now received even an acknowledgement of this cancellation, and that was only after threatening legal action through my Attorney General Office's Consumer Protection Division. Yeah, yeah. I know…he's been in Asia. *rolling eyes*

Anyways, I hope it isn't another six months for me to get my money back.

[Chuck Shugart]

Dennis, I'mm anxiously waiting to hear that you have received a tracking number, or even better, a tent in the mail. It seems you're pretty high up on his priority list. I'm judging my wait tolerance in great measure to your experience. Bob has been very good about answering my e-mails over the last couple of days, but still balks at coming up with a shipping date for my tent. Just when I think that I may see some product soon, those doubts start cropping up again that it's just a run around. So hard to judge sincerity or intent on line. Keep us posted Dennis.
Chuck

[Daniel Zimmerman]

Count me as yet another purchaser who hasn't received his tent. I ordered in August, and received replies to my emails for a couple of weeks, as we went through the "do you want pole clips", etc, stage, but since then nothing. Not a single response or returned phone call since mid-September. I can't believe that Backpacker (and Outside Magazine, too) would actually put a product from a company like this in their gear guide. I wish I had seen this forum first…

How hard would it be for this company to hire one person at minimum wage to at least respond to communication, even if there's nothing new to say?

[Denis Hazlewood]

Chuck et al,
At 5:04 Pacific time I received an email on my Treo as follows: From: Tracking update from FedEx.com, Subj: FedEx Shipment Notification.

The Treo is tied to my office email and there was no message attached. I just tried to get into my office email using Internet Explorer to no avail. I have been away from my office and probably won't be there until Wednesday. This may be from Bob or not. I don't know.

I tried to call Bob twice today and only got his usual "not able to take my call" message. The last time I gave him my cell number and asked him to call and let me know if we should proceed with cancelling my order. It was a short time later that my Treo buzzed. Questions. More questions.

I'd be alot happier if he'd just call and take the heat. If he's having troubles I'm willing to listen. Locking himself in the proverbial "bathroom" doesn't cut it.

[Brett .]

I really like the Evolution 2P, it is by far the lightest tent whic meets all the criteria I mentioned in an earlier post. I sent a trial email to Bob and got an immediate reply.
"Brett,
We are currently filling Evolution 2P backorders, but we telling customers not to expect any new orders to be shipped until spring.
Thanks for your interest,
Bob"

So I will order after his backlog clears, if it ever does!
Meanwhile I will watch this thread with purient interest. :)

[Denis Hazlewood]

But I don't hear hooves on the roof top quite yet.
I called and emailed Bob yesterday (12/11) at 12:15 pm pacific time:
"Bob: You're not answering your phone again/still. What's up? Do I get a refund, or are you sending me my tent? Please reply to me at

---

. I must hear from you tomorrow, at the latest. Thanks, Denis"
At 8:50 pm I recieved this reply. "Denis, Sorry for delayed response, we were busy getting your Evolution 2P shipped today… we thought that was more important than answering emails and phone calls. Best regards, Bob

I still hope to get a tracking number.

[Chuck Shugart]

Dennis,
I'm rooting for you. If you are successful in recieving a tent before Christmas, then I'll know there really is a Santa Clause. Hope he can find me too. Is Bob sending these tents out one at a time? Sounds like he is working on it. Guess we'll see.
Chuck

[Glenn Roberts]

"We were busy getting your tent shipped today."

1) How many people does it take to ship a tent? ("we"??)

2) It takes all day?

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I have no dog in this fight, but I've been reading this thread with interest – and utter disbelief – for months. With companies like TarpTent, Six Moon Designs, Mountain Laurel Designs, and Gossamer Gear out there, I'm amazed that anyone is continuing to waste time with this guy.

Good luck getting your tent. As for anyone still considering placing an order, you've certainly gotten a complete and thorough dose of Caveat Emptor.

[Drew Davis]

"We were busy getting your tent shipped today."

1) How many people does it take to ship a tent? ("we"??)

2) It takes all day?

---

Both good questions…

I can't answer number one, but the answer to number two must be "Yes." Perhaps that's the reason for all of the delayed shipments….

This guy is unbelievable. Aside from never shipping a tent for which payment has been made, it is not good business to reply with sarcasm to paying customers' inquiries.

[Denis Hazlewood]

I thought it was a bit smarmy myself.

[Jordan Calicott]

Denis, I have been reading all of these complaits & I cannot believe that this guy just won't admit that he is having problems with his company. If he said that he "shipped" your tent several days ago, & that he shipped it using FedEx, there might be a way to call the FedEx corporate office & ask if "Bob" has truely shipped your package…I'm sure they have a way to tell you. Also, this guy is obviously just taking the money for himself…maybe his "factory visits to Asia" are really vacations that he pays for using all yalls money…just a thought. I'll hand it to him, he wins my award for the most excuses to "get out" of situations, but it seems in his case, they are just digging him a deeper hole!

[Denis Hazlewood]

Jordan,
I agree that Bob needs to work as hard to improve his communication skills as he does to improve his product.

I understand how difficult is must be to be a "one man show". For all we know there is no one keeping the light on when Bob's "traveling to Asia", or anywhere else. But we don't know that.

I don't know if it would be appropriate to post a thread here, Doc J's rules and all that… But he could certainly run one on his own website. Keep us all informed… blow-by-blow, so to speak.

It might very well quiet the natives. Bob has alot of fence mending to do. Now is not too soon to start.

By the way, he is supposed to have shipped the tent yesterday 12/11. I'll post tracking information as soon as I get it.

[Denis Hazlewood]

I can hardly believe it. I just checked FedEx tracking. It appears that my Evolution 2P was picked up in Billings,MT 12/11 at 5:34pm – Arrived Salt Lake City, UT 12/12 at 4:59pm – Arrived Sacramento, CA 12/13 at 6:32pm. It should be delivered to my office tomorrow. The FedEx truck usually arrives by 2:00pm. As soon as it arrives I'll post a photo of the tent.

Tent ordered December 6, 2005 – Delivered December 14, 2006 = 373 days. About $1.43 per day.

[Chuck Shugart]

Yahoo! That is certainly cause for hope for the rest of us still waiting out here. If he can get one tent out, surely he can start getting a volume of them out. I hope he doesn't let up on his push to meet exsisting orders. Nothing will serve the future success of his business than to start getting some positive feedback from customers not only about a quality product, but also the ability to back it up with good customer service. Let's hope it happens.

[paul johnson]

Congrats, Denis. Hope it "finishes" as well as it seems to now be progressing.

---

At some point, i would hope Big Sky would either…

a) include the patient and faithful among you in some type of profit sharing or…

b) provide y'all with several "At Cost" purchases for helping to launch the company, or…

c) give y'all credit in the form of a reasonable interest on your money equivalent to what Big Sky saved by NOT having to obtain business financing from a finacial institution.

IMHO, an honorable businessman, trying to redeem himself from mistakes (even if through no fault of his own – best intentions and all that…; they certainly weren't the customers mistakes!) would seriously consider one or more of the above suggestions. IMHO, Big Sky OWES y'all who were patient and faithful that much (if not more).

You listening there BIG SKY?

[Note: I'm not one of the patient and faithful. I haven't placed any orders at any time with Big Sky – not yet, at least. First i'll see how Big Sky continues to improve customer service and whether they choose to try to redeem their honor, which, IMHO, has been lost based upon reading others first hand experiences. If not, i'll just assume (it's my opinion only and i certainly could be wrong) that no true change has taken place and if things ever get tough again, similar character and behavior will once again surface. It's easy to shine when your life is sunny. The true test is when the going gets tough. No one should construe these as statements of fact. They are clearly my personal opinions only on proper behavior and have as much chance of being inaccurate as being accurate.]

I truly wish those who have ordered from Big Sky, and Big Sky itself, all the best for much success.

[Denis Hazlewood]

Well I always hoped that one day I'd own an Evolution 2P. At 12:27pm on December 14, 2006, the FedEx delivery man walked into my office with a box from Big Sky International. And what do you know… My dreams were answered. It took 373 days and I won't say it was worth the wait but… the tent is beautiful. I examined the finish and all of the features and it appears to be perfect. I had been using a prototype loaner that Bob sent me last June. It was crude and leaked. The new tent, by comparison, is a real piece of work. The photos are a bit fuzzy due to a faulty flash and the fact that my hands were shaking. After the first of the year I'll try to do a review.

Now… if only Bob can get his act together and get everyone else their tents.

Whew… I'm sure glad that's over!

[EndoftheTrail]

Hey, Denis, congratulations on your new tent! Sweet!

Imagine how many more of us would jump on the bandwagon
and get one of Bob's tents — if he had gotten his
acts together from the get go. Bob had sent me a loaner
once, but as much as I like his tents (and I really do) —
there's no way I would pay upfront under a promise of
2-month delivery time — but then made to wait for more
than a year!

I hope those who have paid will get theirs eventually.
But for the rest, I would highly recommend that you hold
your horses and not pay anything yet!

My take: Bob has been excoriated both here and on most all
other forums! If he truly has enough tents finally to fill
all his orders, wouldn't he come in with a formal post
letting everyone know — something like "sorry guys
but we've now gotten all the bugs worked out and will
be filling all outstanding orders and truly ready
to take new orders…" instead of just
replying to people one at a time? This leads me to suspect
that Bob is most likely still struggling… Buyers beware.

[Chuck Shugart]

Congratulations Dennis! You fought a good fight and won. Now I have a serious case of tent envy. It's going to make it harder in some ways to wait for mine. I am on day 257 since I made my order. I hope I don't have to wait another 116 days. Don't know if I'd have enough patience to make it to 373 like you. As it is I'm pretty ripped. But I appreciate your efforts at keeping us all right up to date on your experience with Big Sky and completing the story today. It does serve a couple of positive purposes:
1) It dispells the theory that these tents are "vaporware" and don't really exist.
2) It lets us know that Big Sky is still in business, (for now) contrary to some suggestions that this was a bankrupcy in progress. (Could still happen I guess)
3) It justifies my hope that I might still get my hands on one of these good tents,
4) It sure looks like Bob is making an effort to do what he should at this point. However I agree that he could cut us some slack on other purchases or something. I hear he's got a spinnaker fly option that is nearly 4 ounces lighter. Pretty pricey but is interesting. A "patient customer discount" might make that an atractive addition. Also, some official announcement from him would go a long ways towards soothing the savage beasts, still waiting.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the day when I too can say, "Whew, I'm glad that's over."

[Chuck Shugart]

I checked my e-mail at 9:00 PM CST and I had a tracking number from Fed Ex for a package from Big Sky! Ye Haw! Said it was in Billings and the expected delivery date to my son in Belgrade, Mt. is tomorrow. Can you believe it?! I'll confirm tomorrow if it arrives. Holding my breath.

[Denis Hazlewood]

Chuck, (PJ, Ben, et al),
Thanks for your comments and moral support. I hope your son gets his tent tomorrow. It would be great if my tent was the "plug" that was just pulled. Imagine a flood of Big Sky Tents. Smiling faces all over the Ultra-Lite world. Post photos when you're able.

A few members of my backpacking group, CARRYING A GOOD THING TOO FAR, are getting together in January for one of our "Food Fests". The bubbly always flows and I thought I'd have a contest to name the tent. How about "Bob". That reminds me of a friend's dog. His name was Bob and he never came when you called either. Maybe I'll lock the cats in the bathroom and camp on the living room floor tonight.

Happy Trails,

Denis "redleader"

[EndoftheTrail]

Denis – Nice avatar!
Chuck – Good luck!

[Chuck Shugart]

My son in Belgrade just phoned me and informed me that a package from Big Sky International arrived at his place about 20 minutes ago containing my Evolution 2P2D2V, and that he was well into setting it up. A line from the song, "I Just Can't Wait Till Christmas," comes to mind. "I've waited all year and it's almost here." He will be sending it up here with my other son who will be coming home for Christmas from BYU next week.
Thanks Denis, for making my wait more bearable. It seemed easier to suffer with someone else in the same predicament. I was wondering if I had been unwise not to end it sooner. Now I'm glad I didn't.
And to Bob Molen, thanks for not giving up, and following through on this. Good luck getting the business rolling along smoothly. I hope you prosper and will soon be able to stock lots of tents for immediate delivery.
Thanks to Backpacking Light for providing this forum to discuss this stuff. I think it helped.
I don't know how to do the picture thing, but if I can figure it out, I'll get one on when the tent finally makes it to Canada.
Chuck

[dennis hoff]

316 days and still counting for myself.

[dennis hoff]

Sheesh, either Bob is checking this thread or working late.

I just received my Fed Ex tracking email.

Maybe I'll have a Merry Christmas after all.

[Author]

Posts