The perception you’ve provided to us is one of you sounding like an impatient person, who still got what they paid for, and in even less time than quite a few other people KNOWING there would be delays. If you’ve had only communication issues with the company, then just say that. Otherwise, this is not a company review.
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This is a fair take on it. It seems often the major GFC complaints are around communication. Hopefully with some new customer service folks this will improve.
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I definitely think there could be better communication around build date estimates. Those of us who have been following GFC for a while know that they are a small operation still growing to meet demand. However, their campers are reaching more and more people who may not be familiar with the growing pains of this business. My build has been delayed but I find comfort in the fact that this delay is due to re-tooing and finding efficiencies of scale to support all consumers. In short, I think GFC should communicate more clearly all build estimates are subject to change. Especially because their brand is reaching more consumers than ever.
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Thank you for saying this. This hive-mind mentality that everyone HAS to agree that GFC is the end-all-be-all, holier than thou option is getting ridiculous. People can disagree, that’s ok! I have also had good and not so good CS experiences but I like the product so I continue to buy into the the GFC ecosystem. If I didn’t, I’d move on and look for another product that better served my needs AND THATS OK TOO! I appreciate OP for going against the grain because I think it needed to be said but dumping on them for having a different opinion is just juvenile.
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The positive part of the original post is evidently he is happy with the product, just not happy with the experience he went through to get it. He said nothing negative about the camper itself.
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Running a small business is tough–and 2020, sheesh–I get it, but keeping in touch and managing expectations helps soothe chapped rears. It would seem Camper1088 is venting about this, not the product, as the title of the thread would suggest.
Here is what I posted back in 2019. Check out the first reply, historically pretty interesting.
I DID receive an email about hinge repair if it was broken (mine isn’t–yet) but haven’t heard anything since. There is a V1 upgrade package which I read about on this forum from another user, not GFC. I’ve commented extensively in other threads about communication or other ideas like a “proactive” repair kit (as opposed to winging it on the road). Crickets.
Anyway…just got back from a long road trip with a couple nights camping in the snowy desert and a couple nights banging around the city. I still like my GFC.
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I’ve been happy with my camper. It’s great. I didn’t love the wait for my V1, but meh… Sometimes bank lines are long too. I think they did a good job managing the V1 campers. Picked up my GFC in Bozeman in May 2020.
Things seem a little off kilter with the V2, but heck, give them a chance to evolve. I got my proactive hinge upgrade February in Bozeman. New hinges seem good. I have the hatch latches which work great. I will be installing my rear tent lock as well. It took some driving on my part, but I’m happy. I now have a V1.75 camper.
Peace.
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OP, I can appreciate your concerns. $8k is a lot of money and I can see why you’re unhappy with the lack of customer service and missed timelines.
I’ve stated this in other posts, but communication issues and missed timelines exist with other wedge camper companies such as Super Pacific and Vagabond. I’m not trying to dog these companies, but rather provide perspective.
Having done business with GFC before as well as Super Pacific, I’ve learned that you have to be persistent in your communications to get answers. I always tell business owners to under promise and over deliver. Never the other way around.
In any case, thank you for sharing your feedback and I hope you can enjoy your camper.
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Did you get your tent locks and hatch locks from Josh?
Out of curiosity, how long has it been since you paid in full?
I agree with the original poster about the terrible communication from GFC. I bought a RTT in 2020. They missed the delivery date deadline they promised when I ordered. Based on the company history and COVID being COVID I half expected they would not meet the deadline so I wasn’t that upset and I was willing to cut them a lot of slack, but I was still disappointed they missed a deadline they promised which meant I couldn’t use it on a long planned trip. It was more annoying they didn’t contact me to say they were missing the deadline once they knew or give me a new time frame for delivery.
What was really frustrating was the terrible communication and lack of customer support I experienced. They upgraded the design of the tent after I placed my order which was a good thing, but I wasn’t notified with an email or anything. I just happened to learn about it on this forum. Once I learned of the update from the forum I contacted them and couldn’t get an answer back whether my tent would be the new version or old. The change with doors being added to both sides was great, but it affected my awning selection among other things.
Finally, if you have a question once they have your money good luck getting anyone to respond to your email or call you back in a timely fashion. They are fairly responsive to questions prior to ordering to get you hooked but once they have your money you can send them an email with a question and they may or may not respond for several days or week.
You have a question during your install? There is no phone number provided. You just have to stop your installation and send them an email. You then wait a few days for them to respond. I had a quick question about the mounts that took 2 minutes for them to answer after they finally responded 3 days later.
I like my tent and it is well built. However, the poor communication and customer service experience has left a sour taste in my mouth. I doubt I will buy from them again if I’m in the market in the future. Like the OP said, perception is reality and mine is mine.
Long days and pleasant nights,
P
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The fact that this company pays for this forum where you can share your negative opinion should tell you all you need to know about them. I applaud all their efforts to make a tremendous product. Try to find another camper that you can sell used for almost what you originally paid. You could probably make someone else very happy by selling yours. It may make you happier as well.
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@Sunsetsearider I’ve been paid in full since 11/03/2020 and my build isn’t “planned” until late May/early June. it was originally planned for February build
I do agree 100% with @Camper1088. I have called many times and all I ever get is a voice mail and nobody has ever returned my calls. E-mails have taken from 3 days to still waiting for reply
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Yes. Josh seems like a great human with good products and an easy to navigate website…
Peace.
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GFC does an Instagram live stream where they actually talk to people and connect to people via video. that would be the best place I would recommend getting physical contact from GFC.
That is not where I want to have a customer service interaction with a company that has yet to deliver a product. I first sent GFC money 2 years ago and they’ve been promising a newsletter and other customer service focused products since before that but still nothing. They are big enough now that they should step back from the hype machine on instagram and focus on the customers just a little bit more.
Consistent customer service is one of the best ways to get people to feel good about your business. Bad things happen, deadlines get missed, warranty issues occur, but the communication determines how those things are perceived. When there’s an issue and emails go unanswered but there are 37 stories on instagram it’s hard to feel like they care about people who have already bought in.
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I know a few months ago they were doing a video chat with someone on Instagram live. The person kinda of had the same issues with no information being given to him after he paid in full.
A week or two after the person did the live video chat He came back and said they the problems were solved. I really don’t believe that they are paying attention to these forms. I know back in December they lost a few guys and they were the ones were really active here. I’m not condoning anything that is going on at all. I’m just saying try to get some information out of them live on the Instagram live stream they do it every Tuesday 7 PM MST.
My issues with the GFC pre-order is they make it seem that the only thing holding up your build start is the payment. When actually they don’t even have anything planned.
They were pushing me to pay and confirm my build in November (#1200’s). This was prior to V2 but they would have definitely known my build would be a V2 so all the options would be voided by the pending V2 release.
Upon the release of V2 they again send out emails making it seem like my pending options and final payment are what’s holding things up. “Don’t loose your place in line…” kinda feeling. No time for a welcome kit! When in reality they have no real idea when your build will start. So I chose a color from my computer and paid up with a “March” build but have since not gotten any updates and see build numbers past mine being delivered.
I totally understood my camper would take 1 year to get. But all the talk of improvement to timelines seems more of a tactic to get early full payments. Seems like their attempts to accelerate the delivery’s worked against them. Anyways, can’t wait for my unit one day.
You also must remember the dates are “build start”. Does that mean cutting metal and turning wrenches or does that mean typing some information into a spreadsheet? Definitely open to interpretation, so a build complete date would be better.
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so 1 person got help out of how many of us wanting help and trying to get help but there is no help coming. also some of us don’t use instatwit or douch-a-gram
and I second @Chuck.D’s entire post
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I’m not arguing that it doesn’t work but do you feel that is acceptable customer service? I don’t feel like I should have to blast a company on social media to get a simple response.
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