Hammock Gear – WORST customer service!

Tim Marshall (owner of Enlightened Equipment) is a real top notch guy. Even though I've never purchased a quilt from him, he has been more than happy to answer all my detailed DIY quilt question. If and when I do buy a commercial quilt, it will almost undoubtedly be from Tim at EE.

His good reputation in the BPL community is well deserved.

I have no experience with Hammock Gear, but your experience sure sounds like a cautionary tale.

I just got a Burrow 20 from HG, it came in yesterday. The width is fine on mine, exactly 55". I have found it tough to get hold of them, but when I have they've been very helpful. I think your best bet is to call early in the morning, around 9 AM Ohio time. Their communication certainly isn't ideal, but I'm sure once you talk to Adam he'll make it right.

Adam went out of his way to be helpful when I was ordering a custom cuben tarp from him. Works great for me, and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with Hammock Gear.

Why not contact them first? Why whine on this forum?

Because he doesn't answer?! It was stated in the first post.

-Tim

I would say 5 unreturned calls and and an unanswered email would constitute trying to contact them first.

I just want to point out that the quality of the quilt was excellent. The customer service on the other hand was terrible. I am not here to cry or whine. I just thought this information was important to hear, especially for people looking to buy a new quilt. And yes five messages and two emails is more than enough when I already paid them over two hundred dollars.

Marcelo, I think the context and intent of your post is clear, and is appreciated.

I have no experience with HG but I have heard of this issue with them before.

Thanks for posting this. It is vital that we all, as a community, point out when manufacturers (be they cottage gear makers or not) are lax in their ability to provide basic customer service. Others come to my mind as well.

Enlightened Equipment are fantastic, by the way. Tim designs a great product and his entire 'crew' are stellar.

Adam just called me and said he's going to make this right and will send me a new quilt. Keep you guys posted.

Good for you Adam. Often posting this information at BPL gets a response. Whether the manufacturer likes it or not.

Props to Adam for being a stand up guy in the end!

Hi Marcelo,

As I do not have as much time to get on forums as I used to, I received a heads up email from another customer this morning about this post over here at BPL.

After reviewing your situation I have to agree that I did in fact drop the ball on this one. I just want to publicly apologize to you for my lack of customer service in your situation as well as for what appears to be a QC issue. I take both subjects VERY seriously and I promise to make things right with you.

Regarding the handful of recent customer service issues that have popped up…

This year Hammock Gear has experienced a little growth spurt. Yes, that it is a good thing, but my past life as an environmental consultant has left be a bit behind the curve regarding some of the complexities of being a small business owner. I am doing my best to get all of my systems in place to maximize efficiency but there are times I feel like I am taking two steps forward and THREE steps back. Progress IS being made but unfortunately every once in a while someone like Marcelo slips though a crack…Nope, that is not acceptable.

I would also like to apologize to anyone else that has has feel a lack of customer service from us lately. If you have, please shoot me an email or phone call. I am bound to answer one or the other. I know it should not be so hard to get a hold of my but right now I mostly an army of one when it comes to correspondence.

~Adam Hurst
Hammock Gear

I think I need a new quilt and Hammock Gear is now on the list. Once again, nice job Adam.

One could not ask for a better reply from HG.
Mistakes happen and how one deals with that- is where the rubber meets the road.

It's a small team. Most of these cottage industry manufacturers are super small. Like 2-10 guys.

If you understand this you can usually get BETTER service. Just understand that they might not get back right away. Once you reach them you're usually more than taken care of.

They live and die by their reputation.

I bought a Hammock Gear quilt and was having some customer service issues. Turns out they had a website configuration error… Once I got in touch with them they were awesome.

I love my incubator 20 btw… IT's freaking great!

So Adam said he'll have my new quilt by the weekend! I can't wait!! Well actually I can.. Mothers day this Sunday. Still, big turn around on the customer service. It's seems like he really does want to fix the problem and I'm confident he would. Still, I'll keep you guys updated.

"Just received my quilt…"

…hasn't responded instantly to my e-mail…

Therefore… "THE WORST"

How many other customer service issues will be resolved today with 100% customer satisfaction and a personal apology from the owner?

Anyone familiar with Hammock Gear or Adam Hurst knew that this would be made right. Anyone with some life behind them knows, there are many worse companies with which to deal.

The post I have never read: "I contacted Hammock Gear several days ago and my issue is not resolved to my satisfaction".

Lets have More hiking, less drama

+1

My sentiments exactly … they may not respond at lightning speed but given a day or two Im sure Adam or Jenny would have responded.

Ive had numerous dealings with HG both personal purchases (for myself and son) as well as for family members getting into backpacking (7 quilts total) and have always had positive interactions with them. And they do build a high quality product comparable to others like EE which I own one quilt also (Tim also rocks!).

Adam and Jenny are top notch and will go out of their way for the customer. And yes, they do accassionally drop the ball. In my case a quilt was not to spec and they rebuild it and shipped it FedEx. I had it at my door in just a few days with a complementary pillow for my troubles.

I can't say enough positive things about them.

I purchased an underquilt from Hammock Gear last year and have nothing but good things to say about the service and the construction quality. Seems like Adam has dealt with this matter in a commendable fashion.

I just got a cuben hex tarp from them and it's great. I will agree that I didn't hear anything from them after I placed my order until I got the notification that it had shipped, but I'm okay with that. I'd rather them spend time making my gear than sending emails. I didn't really have anything to talk to them about.

The service I received when purchasing my 40 degree Burrow- and the quilt itself- was top notch.

I get that some of you people had great experiences with HG. I simply did not until now. I understand 1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks maybe .. but it took over 1 month until I heard from HG. And I made this thread at midnight last night and I now hear from them this morning. It simply had to be done for the good of the consumer and the greater good of the company. I maybe over exaggerated to your guys's point of view.. But to me, when I spend this much hard earned money on a product I expect great service. Great! Some of you people know HG and are previous buyers and know what to expect from them. I simply was a first time buyer and I told Adam that the first time we spoke, therefore I did not know what to expect. When I made this thread as titling it "Worst Service!" I meant it. I have dealt with many cottage shops before, and what was expected was delivered. This time it was not, I simply fell through the crack as Adam has stated in his thread. In conclusion , everything will be fixed and I'll just be another happy customer to buy from HG. Adam is a swell guy with a great company that I will now stand buy, I simply was just left in the dark for to long and did not know what to expect, and I was left to my own conclusions. sorry if I offended anyone, especially Adam. Oh and sorry I cant change the name of the title on this thread.