No contact Big Sky International

[Casper v]

Dear Backpacking Light,
I am Casper (50) and I live in the Netherlands and recently joined this very good forum.

Now my question:
I ordered a tent from Big Sky International on March 14 and have been trying to get in touch ever since.

Contact ?
So no contact :-(
Not via the info @, not via the customer service, not via the chat on the website.
Even text to their phone number in the USA and Asia, nothing!
Finally an email to Bob himself, but no response there either.

So I thought doing business is still a matter of communication or am I wrong?

Money has been debited from my bank account, received an order confirmation and that’s where the story ends.

So my question is what now?

[bradmacmt]

Hello Casper, I’m sorry to hear of your trouble.

Try addressing your request to Tim here:

[email protected]

 

[Casper v]

Thanks bradmacmt,

used this adress several times, but no reaction.

does Tim have a personal e-mail adress by Big Sky International ?

[Daryl and Daryl]

Bummer,

Poor customer service was their problem in the past.  Hate to see it return.  This is my favorite tent maker otherwise.

[Casper v]

Yeah, that’s why i bought a tent from them.

i orderd the Revolution 2p.

Hope there is some one here who can help me further.

[Casper v]

The website states that the tent is also in stock.

so that can’t be the problem.

 

[Scott Smith]

Bummer

 

I ordered a set of tent stakes, also in early March , and has been crickets ever since 😞

[Nathan F]

Only the bigskyinternational.com website accurately depicts what is in stock. Bigskyproducts.com lists items as in stock that actually aren’t available for purchase. I’ve ordered from there and paid only to have my money returned a few days later. Great products but actually obtaining them is often super frustrating.

[Sam Farrington]

My general understanding is that merchants have 30 days from payment to ship.  The credit card billing or bank statement will show the date the purchase price was charged to your account, and that would be the best guide to determine date of payment.

I wait until after the 30th day after payment before requesting the status of the order, and I think merchants appreciate that.  If no prompt reply, and no other reason for delay has been communicated by the merchant, I would have no qualms about a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission.   Also, the Attorney General of the merchant’s home state may have a consumer protection bureau which would be of assistance.   State attorney general information is available online.

Although some states have consumer protection laws that include provisions for treble damages for unfair and deceptive acts and practices in trade or commerce, your residence outside the USA would probably make a small claims action pointless, unless you travel regularly to the USA.

In my experience, products are delivered here within or close to the above described 30 day period; however there a few that have not been.  But I’ve always received responses to inquiries for status after the 30 days, and have never had to take legal action as described above.

Also, most online merchants warn customers up front of delays due to the pandemic.  But I have no knowledge of the legal effect of these warnings on the above 30 day rule.  If you were to contact a state’s consumer protection bureau, though; you would probably find out more about this.

I agree that stonewalling your inquiries is rude in the extreme, even though the merchant may be within the shipping period.  I inquired about an order from another merchant well known to BPL members because I did not receive even an order confirmation by email as you did, although the charge was made to my credit card.  Finally got someone on the phone who claimed that not only was an order confirmation emailed, but responses to my inquiries were emailed as well.  Like your inquiries, my emails were earlier than the 30 days, in my case because I did not receive even an order confirmation.  In any event, I was assured the order would be filled promptly, and it was.

If you want the tent, as opposed to a refund, then suggest waiting until 30 days from the charge before taking further action; but note that some credit cards require notice to the issuer within a specified time from the charge should you be seeking a refund.  If the transaction was through PayPal, there are additional remedies that I understand are consumer friendly.

With the pandemic, I’ve experienced these kinds of difficulties even more than before.  I think your post will be appreciated if for no other reason than alerting us to the perils of overseas ordering during the pandemic.  Thank you for reminding us how important trust and responsiveness are to consumers.

Please also note that I am not a merchant, nor affiliated with one.

[BPLwiia]

There are many companies out there that work hard to earn their customers’ business and offer excellent customer service. Seek Outside is one excellent example.

I try hard to research companies before buying from them to find feedback about service after the sale. I also never buy from a company that doesn’t post a telephone number that’s easy to find on their website.

 

 

[Link .]

Casper,

I made an order with them several weeks ago and when I received my order I noticed an item not included. I tried getting in contact with them several ways but was not hearing back from them, so I hit reply on my original Confirmation email from them and heard back right away

I apologize, I am just reading your email…

 

I am not sure why you did not receive the………..

We will send you another one right away.

Again, we apologize for the short shipment, delay responding, etc. and thank you for your patience,
Bob

[J-L]

I had been having good customer service from Big Sky over the past several years. Good response to emails. An order last September was shipped the next day. But something has happened within the past several months. I ordered some stakes and tent poles this year and it took 4 weeks for them to ship. I had to send several emails before I even got a response.

I was told they are extremely busy. I’m not sure if Tim still works there. Maybe they are having huge order volumes and supply chain issues, all complicated by COVID, and are just overwhelmed. I don’t know. It’s a shame to see though as they make great products. Instead of silence, a little communication would help a lot here.

[BPLwiia]

Being busy is no excuse.  Think of getting a table at a restaurant,  sitting there, and not having been served in two hours. Would you find “We’re busy” a satifactory answer?

Treat your customers as you would expect to be treated.

 

 

[Casper v]

Today i called from Holland to Honkong China .

The woman said she was in the car and she would contact Big Sky International and solve the problem.

I ask her iff she needed my ordernumber but she allready new that.

5 min. later i reseaved this e-mail :

i pushed the view order button and i came on this website where i can’t see anything or do anything :

I replied ond the e-mail iff they can send me a Track and Trace code so i can follow my package.

Hope i get a reaction.

To be continued…..

[Garrett]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I just placed an order for a Revolution. I’ll be curious Casper to hear your final (hopefully positive!) report.</p>

[Casper v]

Hi Garret, I have received the tent.

no further response to emails about track & trace, but the tent is there 👍🏻 …

also useful to know, I have paid the Tax for the Netherlands (21%) to them, is also on the bill, but now I have to pay this Tax again in the Netherlands because they have put this on the package.

So I will call Hong Kong again because mailing is useless at this Chinese company ..

[Garrett]

I have received the tent

That’s great news!

It sounds like phone calls is the best approach for follow-up.

I sent a very polite email to them yesterday asking if they had some idea of ship dates. I did receive an auto reply indicating that they were very busy and could not respond to order status queries.

At the end of the day, it’s reassuring that they actually make and ship tents at all, as with some earlier complaints you’d wonder lol!

I hope you’re able to resolve the duplicate billing problem quickly!

I’m very much looking forward to hearing your field report!

Garrett

[Scott Smith]

Tent stakes showed up in yesterday’s mail…again, crickets since I placed the order, in early March, however, they r here now.

The good news is that it appears that u will get your order….the bad news is that you will not know when it will show up

[Casper v]

I will 😉…

[Garrett]

Just a quick followup here for the record. As Big Sky has gotten some rough press regarding their online communication I wanted to provide some positive comments. Both Tim and Bob got back to me via email regarding product status and were very accommodating of my requests. Due to trip changes I ended up canceling the order for the Revolution 1P before it shipped but I look forward to doing business with this company again based on my experience.

[bradmacmt]

I ordered a Revolution 1P last spring. Communication was fine. The finished product was  por. The interior tent cut was saggy on one end (too much fabric), the rain fly vent was badly cut (and the velcro attachment was off wouldn’t stay fastened) and the pole shock cord was so old and worn out the poles wouldn’t snap together (getting the poles assembled took time!). All in all a total disaster of QC.

Having said that, it’s a great design and Bob took it back no questions asked after I sent him the photos. He would gladly have replaced it too. I still may order another as I think it’s a fantastic tent (if constructed properly). I’m not sure what happened, but felt like I got the bottom of the barrel of factory seconds…

[Denis Hazlewood]

About 2003 I ordered a Big Sky Evolution 2P2D clip version, with Marigold fly, and it took 373 days to finally get it.  At that time there were probably twenty people posting here about this guy’s lies, and deception. If you want great tents, and unbelievably fantastic service, try Henry Shires at TarpTent.com.

[Author]

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