How did we go from 294 completed campers to 241 completed? Was there a recall? It was starting to look like my camper completion was in striking distance, but this is weird.
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Probably just some glitch with the google sheet. It’s back up to 294 when I checked just now.
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Yeah, I’ve noticed those glitches intermittently too, especially in the early morning hours.
Of course, it could be from the sizzling forward movement of completions that warped the time-space continuum.
But more likely a technical glitch…
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Looks like this glitch was taken care of. The leaderboard is back to 294 today.
where does one find said leaderboard?
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Hey, GFC, can you give us guidance on timelines for the various statuses on the leaderboard?
Previously, “in production” meant 6-8 weeks to go or “ready for production” was 8-12 weeks…based on the leaderboard activity over the last few months, this is inaccurate.
I’m at 2 months since “in production” and there are around 60 campers still to go ahead of me!
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I emailed back and forth with Torrey about getting better time estimates for each step. Torrey said that they have been able to “scale” to allow for more to be started into production, and their initial 8-10 weeks timeline was too aggressive. Although more than once Torrey told me that I should be grateful that my camper has been placed into production “a full 3 months” before it was supposed to. I don’t feel grateful and I don’t like that they don’t give you an estimate of time for each stage. I am currently in Components Produced but spent nearly 5 weeks In Production. I don’t think the leaderboard is as accurate as it should be and that your final delivery date shouldn’t be based on it. Just plan for a full 12-13 weeks for completion, that’s what I’m doing
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It’s a quality product, from a company that takes pride in building the very best. Yes, it takes a long time, and I remember how hard this advice is… be patient, this thing is worth the wait!
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I hear you, and I do understand patience, the intricacies of a new company and fabrication logistics.
But let’s not forget the customer perspective. Most folks aren’t just going to drop by the shop Tuesday after work to pick up their camper; it requires a fair bit of planning to arrange work/family/life–if you tell me to expect it 6-8 weeks, I shouldn’t feel like an idiot for making plans to get it in 12 weeks. (And how does delivery work–are you just supposed to wait by the phone for them to tell you that you need to be home next Thursday?). Most folks like a little communication about what the heck is going on–hey, we have a new forum, or hey, we got some feedback and are improving the tent material.
Finally, most folks don’t appreciate the fact that they should “feel grateful” for a company delivering what you have paid them to do.
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And to be clear, I’m super excited that there is light at the end of the tunnel!
I ordered mine November 2018. It looks like it won’t be done until November 2019. Full 12 months even though as of right now I’m in the Components Produced stage.
Is everyone else running about this same total time?
I am #361. I went "In production"on June 13th and “components produced” July 2nd. As of today I’m getting really close but from the original timeline my camper should be completed already. I agree that it would be nice if they were able to give a better estimate of when the camper would be completed. However that is out of my control and it seems to be out of theirs. I’m positive that GFC is doing everything they can to make production go faster and on time. It’s still tough though.
Is it just me or does sleeping on the ground in a tent seem lame when you know you have a GFC on the way.
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Omg, yes, I know this exact feeling! Every camping trip after ordering, all I could think about was how my gfc would revolutionize my trips! Haha
I ordered May 2018, and my original date was in October. It finally finished in January, but I couldn’t make the drive until March. I can empathize what you guys are going through!
I ordered Oct 2018 and look to be receiving it mid Oct 2019, soooo glad I decided to just bite the bullet and put down the deposit when I did. In Torrey’s email, they said that they were able to scale up production a full 3 months ahead of schedule. But don’t be fooled by the 8-10 weeks they give you when you go into In Production. Took me close to 5 weeks for it to move into Components Produced. But it sounds like with the robots they are able to smash out parts super easily its just the assembly of the frame, the wait for powdercoat and the final assembly of soft goods that is making the last part seem like it’s taking forever.
What’s your build #?
I also put in Oct 2018. Build # 375. I am hoping I get it before October 2019. Torrey told me mid Sept… will see.
I’m build #399. Got an email today from Torrey saying there was a delay due to getting tent fabric which is why a lot of build stalled but they are starting to catch up. I saw the total completed increase by 20 over the last week. Torrey just gave an updated ETA for the full 12 weeks to be early to mid Oct
also got an email from Torrey this week saying there was a delay due to receiving the tent fabric so that soft goods installation was delayed but they are working on getting caught up. Checked the leaderboard a few times this week and it looks like there is some movement
Hey Guys,
We have been able to improve a lot of our policies and procedures and add some better equipment. This means that we have been able to start some of the production processes more quickly IE, cutting notching tubs, Plascore panel production etc. We are still however, at the mercy of outside forces. IE Powdercoat, material acquisition etc. We have been working pretty tirelessly to figure out the means to expedite just about everything and have been succeeding in most areas. We are working with just about every powder coater in Bozeman/Belgrade and have been steadily employing more and more employees in a way to make that sustainable. We recognize throwing people at a problem isn’t going to solve it. We did have an issue with fabric as well, which is where our bottleneck was but we have been working to push through that and are on schedule or ahead of it in some cases. We are always doing our best to improve lead times and beat our projected build start dates and build completion dates.
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Sorry for the delay here guys, we have been on-boarding a bunch of folks the last couple of weeks.
Backwards production numbers
That is definitely a glitch in our spreadsheet, I will check in on that. Thanks for the heads up.
Time in production
Like Mike said above, we are actively ramping up production. This is great because the estimated start dates are being not only met currently but exceeded.
That said, scaling doesn’t come without cost. We are not just bringing more containers of product in from overseas, we are actively creating more jobs and infrastructure to be able to satisfy the work required.
Every time we increase production volumes, every department is held accountable to that goal. What effectively happens is that we find our bottleneck, and that issue has been fabric the last few months. We have added a few employees to that department and a bunch of equipment as well as multiple process/QC checks that have helped increase those numbers while maintaining quality, but these systems have cost us some time.
Not only are we increasing our internal output and scaling our QC to ensure it is of the quality you guys expect, but we are also working with select outside vendors (i.e. powdercoat, panel latch supplier, fabric source) that are scaling themselves to accommodate the increased order volumes. Some of them lag, and it’s hard to anticipate that until we actually lean on them for those increased numbers.
This creates a lot of new problems for us and them to solve and is effectively taking a bit more time to ensure that we aren’t letting quality slip while we grow. The last thing we want is for you to receive a product that doesn’t align with the expectations that you have for us as a company.
Additionally we are working on making improvements to customer service.
I totally understand that you guys have a lack of communication during the build process, and that is something that we are actively working to solve. As you all know, our goals are sustainable growth and creating lasting jobs for the people at our company. That said, we can often be conservative and err on the side of being too lean. Right now we have Mike and Torrey that are performing all of our customer service and warranty communications, which is a pretty small team for a company nearing in on 1000 customers.
We just brought on Taylor (@GFC_Taylor) here on the forum who is going to be helping spearhead the customer service revamp. Our goal is to increase communication, get more info our to anyone in the queue with questions, and continue to work on our goal of proactive updates with any changes to the schedule.
While we are still stoked to be beating our previously estimated start dates, we know that you guys have made a big investment in us when you buy a camper. We want to make sure that our customer service aligns with the quality of the product that we are sending out, and are really excited about what we are working on in that regard.
If you have any questions at all regarding your order or your camper, we are always available at support@gfcengineering.com. We really appreciate your support as we grow the company and your understanding as we figure out how to better serve you guys. Please know that we continue to grow from your feedback, and appreciate you letting us know if something is confusing or see something that needs improvement.
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