Thorny

Thanks a lot Yomondo. When you order something that's made specifically for your Jeep, you expect it to fit right out of the box, a small amount of adjusting aside. But, for it to have that many issues is just plain B.S. Your thread was right on, I would have done the same. I don't see how anyone can fault you for not contacting the manufacturer before posting your thread, that's ridiculous. Bottom line is they sold you something that was faulty and didn't fit as advertised and as such you don't owe them squat! I'm talking to you JPop. If they had any integrity they would send you out a new one, especially since they're having you unbolt the dooky you have now. You would think they'd want they faulty one back so they can inspect it and see what went wrong. With as many manufacturers out there making tire carriers for the Jeep, how can they expect to stay in business making people wait that long for a faulty item. I was actually thinking about buying a full set up from Shrockworks, but this thread made my mind up, I'm going with Evo. Sending out a faulty product happens, but the way they handled it is unacceptable.
Thanks again Yomondo. Good luck.

Any Clime

Thank you for the write up. Detailed and well exlained giving credit to the way you likely installed the bumper. Honestly, I skipped to the end after about 4 pages of back and forth.

As a note, this should never be the case. Although I would have contacted them first, I don't judge you. This isn't rocket science, it's metal....should be quality for the time and money you put in. The power of the dollar is all the power a consumer has. I am thankful you wrote this up and "It won't be me" atleast from this outlet as I won't buy from it.

Sorry Jim, you seem like a nice guy.

Mark Doiron

Yomondo, some of the examples you cite are different. There's no error to be corrected in a poor movie. And, if you happened to buy a set of tires and one was defective, yes, it would be silly to post a long complaint without even contacting the vendor and asking for a replacement.

However, some of your criticisms of the bumper are unwarranted. And some of them are warranted. Yes, you have corrected (to a certain extent) that later in the thread. But, the problem is, someone is going to read the first post and may not read what is now eight pages of posts to learn the full story. Instead, they'll read your review in which you did not give the manufacturer of a complex product an opportunity to correct your own mistakes (such as not realizing that the jerry can holders had to be bent slightly by design).

As for what several other folks are saying about JPop and me trying to restrain your "freedom" to post a critical review: That is absolutely NOT the case, and you and they know that damn well. We've only said that on something as complex as a bumper, tire carrier, and jerry can racks, it's better to give the manufacturer an opportunity to correct their and YOUR mistakes before taking to the Internet. Your original post didn't solicit help from forum members because the vendor happened to be closed; had that been the tone of it, it would have been better received. You've now convinced a significant number of people Shrockworks manufactures a lousy product, when the truth is that some of your alleged problems are multiple symptoms of a single problem, and some of them aren't problems at all (you just didn't like that design choice).

Again, it's unfortunate that you had these issues. But, as folks say Shrockworks should increase their production capacity, just remember that no Shrockworks bumper owners that I recall have ever posted such a long laundry list of alleged problems in the past three years when they had their prior production arrangements. Maybe folks should let Jim run his business, and maybe they should let you and him work out the solutions to yours.

Mark Doiron

Three reasons for me:

1. Top-notch quality. I've done a side-by-side with the LOD bumper, and there are distinct differences in the quality. Not that LOD is bad--Shrockworks is just better in a number of little ways. The way the shackles mount (billet through a hole in the bumper rather than just tacked onto the bumper from the front). The quality of the tire carrier latch (sorry, Yomondo, that this is one of your complaints). The fact that the locking pin for the tire carrier has a T-handle to pull it out (again, a problem area for Yomondo), rather than requiring the use of a tool. The locking jerry can racks (an area where Yomondo criticizes the design choice).

2. Features. There are very few bumpers that offer the combination of features that Shrockworks does: Back-up lights, tire carrier, jerry can and trail racks, uses stock tow hitch, etc.

3. Finish. Even fewer companies offer bumpers in semi-black gloss. My front bumper is semi-gloss black, as are my rock rails. My Jeep would have looked silly with a krinkle finish, which is far and away more popular with the bumper vendors (and more susceptible to corrosion than a smooth finish).

I waited ten months for my rear bumper. Yes, it was longer than I wanted, but my goal was to have it before my White Rim Trail trip this past spring, and it made my goal. I'm a patient person and, despite the long wait, am delighted with the product and service. I don't expect everyone else to be so patient--I understand that there are few who would be so and have no criticism for those who want their items in a more timely fashion. But, I do expect in return that they accept that there are those of us for whom patience is a virtue that we're willing to employ. It's great when the patience is rewarded, and it's unfortunate, as in Yomondo's case, when it's not. Fortunately, that's pretty rare with Shrockworks.

Mark Doiron

Yes, as was I. Looking at the lens on the back-up lights, it really looks like you can pull the lens and change the bulb from that side. However, that won't do, both because the lens is sealed in place, and because the bulb must be removed from behind. I did skulk around the Internet and there are some after-market light assemblies that folks have used in place of the ones provided by Shrockworks. They aren't the exact size, but they are close. My only issue is they are LED, and I really find that LED lights make it harder to see: Both the color and the dimmer output (please don't offer me scientific proof that the color is better and the light output is higher--my eyes are the only proof I need). You might try some Google searches (I'd offer up some links, but we're not supposed to do that for other forums).

Mark Doiron

They used to be regulars. In fact, in case you didn't know it, the rear bumper design was liberally shared with the forum members during the concept and design phases and many of the features are at our request. But, there were folks who felt it their duty to tell Jim how to run his business, and one criticism leveled at him (really, his employee Kevin, who spent the most time) was to stop spending time on the forum and spend more time making and shipping bumpers.

JPop

That is disingenuous. I would hope my neighbor knocks on my door asking me to turn the stereo down before he calls the police. I would hope my customers provide me an opportunity to correct an issue before calling the better business bureau. If I bumped a car in a parking lot, I would hope the other party would grant me the opportunity to pay for the damages before employing an attorney.

That's it and nothing else. It's your right to do as you see fit.

For my Jeep I have had what I would consider to be some serious issues with Hypertech, LOD and Bestop. I gave all of them the opportunity to correct things before I went on a rant on this forum or elsewhere. Some performed better than others in terms of customer service. I had a great experience with Bestop, a less than desirable experience with LOD although they did take action and an awful experience with Hypertech. I didn't drag anyone else into the fray until I exhausted my resources and extended the manufacturer the opportunity to remedy my issues.

Lastly, I don't own any Shrockworks parts and this isn't an effort to deflect any criticism from them. Quite simply the criticism is more well founded if you extend them the courtesy of responding to your issues before you post them in public.

JK-Rubi

I wrote a laundry list of alleged Pros and Cons ---> https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...l=1#post922393

My biggest complaint at the time was that I had to go to the forums to find out it was necessary to use a baby sledge hammer to impale the tire carrier onto the hinge pin - nothing like that was stated in their instructions at the time.

Thanks Mark - I found them.

yomondo

Reading only the first post will let them know what another customer's experience was and some things they might expect to possibly have to deal with if they purchased the same product. Satisfaction with a product has a whole lot to do with expectation. Most of the items I listed would not have been an issue if I knew ahead of time that that was the case. Such as their long lead times. Some people hear about their long lead times and decide based on that not to buy their product. I had no problem with their long lead times because I knew ahead of time what to expect and was willing to accept that. People can read only the first post and have a better idea what to expect, then if they buy the product and see some of the same things, those things might not end up being issues for them but instead installation tasks that they're now prepared to deal with.

How is me not knowing this MY mistake? It should be noted in their instructions that this needs to be done. But now everyone knows you need to do this (by reading only my intial post, btw), so it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else.

Unacceptable. Customer relations is an important part of running any business. They have a significant customer base here and should have a presence here.

That doesn't mean the problems never existed, and if they did I wish someone would have posted up about them, so that my expectations would have been adjusted accordingly and I would have been less disappointed with the product I received.

yomondo

First of all, the product was paid for and delivered. That should be the end of the transaction (at least in this case). The customer has no further obligation to the vendor after making payment. It's not the customer's responsibility to contact the manufacturer before publishing their evaluation of the product.

But my examples were in response to JPop's suggestion that reviews aren't worth a damn if the manufacture was not first contacted. So you say it's a complex product. Well it's certainly more complex than their front bumper, but in the grand scheme of things it's really not all that complex, but even if it was it makes no difference. How about a car, or a cell phone for example. These things are way more complex than this bumper. Are all the negative reviews of any car or cell phone not worth a damn to anyone just because the reviewer didn't contact the manufacturer?