Gobi rack delays

So I ordered my stealth rack back on 3/31 and I know its going to take some time especially with the COVID stuff going on. Has anyone found a wheel they can grease to get answers/lead time sped up? I'm about to go full KAREN on somebody... I need my rack for a trip at the end of the summer...

 

Did you read about Gobi before ordering? They're notorious for ridiculously long lead times. I don't think that bitching at them will change it.

 

I dunno, I know a guy who got his pretty quick but he's a massive creep and harassed some installer in Arizona who receives 10-ish racks a month from Gobi, that company had Gobi send one of the racks directly to him. So that's a route to take. Not sure of the name of the company but it might be in partnership with Gobi. Sorry for possible unreliability, this is info from like a week ago and I have a teething 10-month old so my brain is a little fried .

 

yeah I understand they have long lead times... the website says 4 months off the cuff...which is crazy anyway... But beyond that is just insane and uncalled for warrants a failure to provide services paid for.

 

Complain as much as you like. It won't change.

Lead times are not guaranteed. With COVID19 on top of their normal wait times, I wouldn't count on seeing that rack until fall or Winter.

This is part of the deal with made-to-order products. If you need the rack right away, cancel your order, pay any applicable cancellation fee, and order an off-the-shelf basket.

 

^^That. With Gobi's history, and the multitude of forum threads concerning the long lead times with buyers receiving their orders, anyone ordering a Gobi rack with a definite install date for a particular trip is simply setting themselves up for disappointment.

Their racks are legendary. So are their long lead times.

 

Failure to provide services paid for? Have you actually paid for it yet?

They estimate 4 months and you're only 3 months in.......and you're already complaining about the wait? They told you plain and simple how long it was going to take.

You are right about the customer service. Definitely needs improvement and they should communicate with customers a lot better during the process.

No offense, but you don't seem like the type of person that should order something like this in the first place.

 

Cancel Gobi, and order a Front Runner. There's other good options as well. Don't sweat the small stuff. Front Runner will send your order out within a week and they shipped steadily during covid. No big deal. Having to kiss someone's xxx to buy something from them never feels good.

 

I understood the 4 months and am prepared for that. However, being told “my order is not in que and they have no idea of a build ETA”, that paired with many other horror stories makes me feel its looking more like 5-9 months... but please.. do tell...why am i not the guy to order one....

 

I had the shop where my 4runner is being built (I am a terrible mechanic and do not enjoy turning a wrench) remove my Gobi, he was able to sell it for me for full price and they are building me a custom rack that I think will exceed the Gobi. It will do everything a Gobi does with custom sized cut outs for my lights. I am the first build so they are using my 4r as a template and will soon be offering it for public sale. When they finish I will post pics.

 

See below...

If you had researched Gobi racks, you would have known and been prepared for the wait. But, you seem to be losing patience already. And, ordering a custom roof rack, especially a Gobi, with a hard deadline of when you need it is a recipe for disappointment.

If you're prepared to improvise for your summer trip and just accept that the Gobi is going to take FOREVER, you'll be fine. But, you already started a thread about it. And, you even started talking about "failure to provide services paid for" which makes it sound like you don't have the patience for this type of purchase.

This is just an observation.

 

Please start a thread about this. I'm looking to replace my Yakima sometime, but I haven't picked one out yet. I like the Bajarack, but I'm still not 100% sold on it.

 

I had my Gobi in 4 months and 10 days. The 10 days accounted for shipping across country and coordinating with the freight company. You'll get your rack and probably in time for your tip, everyone has to wait for their rack and everyone has big plans for once it comes too.

Gobi will not give you an estimate on time. They just won't, because if they do and they're wrong, posts like this will fill the internet.

And they can't be failing to provide a service paid-for if you haven't paid for it yet.....that is likely the reason they don't charge your card until your product is ready to be shipped..

 

The reasons have been highlighted above. It seems a little silly that you're about to go "full Karen" on this already since the estimated finish time is still a month away.

I'll also add that when they gave you that 4 month estimate, remember it was an estimate. It's not set in stone that your order will arrive exactly at the 4 month mark. You might get it sooner (haha!) but there's also a chance it will be late (more likely). This is how estimates and a lot of made to order stuff works. I deal with it all the time in the custom surfboard world.

 

I ordered mine on 10 Mar and still don't have an ETA. That said, I had a Gobi on my Wrangler and absolutely loved it.....so I'm prepared to wait however long it takes. The COVID thing is a massive wrench in the works that nobody could have predicted or imagined, so I'm trying to give them a bit of a break. In the mean time, I added Yakima crossbars to the factory rack so I can at least use my RTT this summer. As I've noted in previous threads, Gobi needs to seriously address their production and supply chain if they want to stay in business. I get that they make a good product and it's in demand, but forcing customers to wait 16 weeks is getting old and not very sustainable.....especially as more (and some would argue better) options are coming to market.

 

I don't know why I'm defending Gobi. I seriously have no dog in this fight, but I guess I understand their predicament from dealing with the made to order world for a long time.

Keep in mind this is a product still made in the USA by actual humans and not machines cutting metal pieces out. It's businesses like these that help keep our population employed when so many things are moving overseas and/or going into automation these days.

If Gobi hires a bunch of people to increase their production time, then once they get all caught up and have additional supply, those workers are no longer needed and they get laid off. Good for the customer, but it sucks for both Gobi and their employees. Their system works well for them because they're able to keep a small group of people employed while trying to meet the market demand. Both Gobi and their employees know they'll have a job tomorrow.

I work in the beer business. For the popular breweries, it's a common saying that we can't make beer fast enough to fill demand, but that's a good problem to have because it means people want your product. If you get to the point where you have filled all that demand and have excess product, now you're just wasting product and resources.

No excuses for their piss poor customer service though. Doing something as simple as adding a spreadsheet to their website that is updated weekly showing where in the queue you are would go a long way. That would probably save them a lot of headaches. They should also hire one person to just focus on answering customer service questions all day.

 

I totally feel you, and agree on all points. I would prefer to buy a product made in Colorado and have put my money where my mouth is (when possible), even at greater cost. But coming from an extensive retail and consumer goods background, I also know that demand is good, but NEVER filling it can be very bad - especially when you have MULTIPLE competitors who are willing and able to do it. I can see a 100% on-demand production schedule if you're building very specific products - but lets' be honest, the 4Runner hasn't changed in a damn decade, and the new one will probably last just as long. Gobi product is relatively standard and has also been the same forever. If they can't find time or materials to build at least a few extra units, a lot of customers will just walk. 16 weeks for a product that hasn't changed in a decade is lunacy.

I would venture to guess that a lot of people on this board (myself included) would pay extra to get a rack in a reasonable amount of time. (Which also begs the question, "Why wouldn't 4Wheel Parts or another retailer like that just order a dozen or so and keep them in the warehouse, to be sold at once for a premium - different conversation for a different day). It wouldn't be hard for Gobi to forecast demand based on history and build to that forecast, adjusting production as needed when actual orders arrive. Happens all the time in a multitude of industries (my company is pushing $50bil and we can do it).

In any case, I enjoy a good conversation.......and will still wait 6 months for my rack.

 

I LOVE my Baja Rack. I went with the full length flat rack, without mesh, and without the sunroof cutout. It's definitely a well made welded rack. No need to worry about rivets or bolts coming loose. The Gobi just didn't make sense for me. My rack is used exclusively to carry longboards unless I have a RTT with boards mounted on top of the RTT. The Gobi rack with the high bar in the front just didn't make sense to me. The need to attach crossbars to a fully built rack and lose clearance was another factor. With a RTT mounted on the crossbars and additional crossbars on top of the tent makes it ridiculously high.

 

Good points. I'm sure they've lost plenty of sales due to the wait and you're right, its the same damn rack (with a few variations) that hasn't changed in years.

There's part of me that wonders if they're playing the scarcity game to try and drum up more demand, or if they just started so small that they don't have the business knowhow or means to scale up.

 

ordered 2/5/2020 recieved 6/24/2020... took forever but it was worth the wait!

 

yeah I understand the game. I work in logistics and I work off of timelines and ETAS.... just hate the uncertainty.. like if they told me hey .. shit hit the fan with COVID and its going to be 6 months now.. fine I get it .. at least just say that.. the customer service is probably what I'm more frustrated with. I like the spreadsheet idea.. I bought full armor from SHROCKWORKS and Mark was saying he stopped dealing their gear for the same reason.

 

I haven't dealt with them personally, but I have never heard anything good about their customer service. I don't blame you for being irritated.

 

One of the moderators on here has a lengthy thread recounting the extreme length of time and service missteps trying to buy a gobi ladder. No thanks. I like American and Canadian made stuff and avoid anything made outside our borders if I can, too. But I really dislike spending big dollars and not getting any consideration as a good customer.

 

I've actually found the people very friendly, but their systems are awful. In a nutshell, they politely tell you that they have no information to share. Maybe I should give them a call - I could bang out a spreadsheet and tracking system for them in 90 minutes or less....I'll move to Denver to be their Ops/Logistics guy!

 

Without any direct knowledge, I'm leaning toward the latter. It seem like they're a small business that hasn't figured out how to scale their production to grow into a large business. I just hope it's not a fatal mistake because their product is GREAT.

 

I've ordered custom surfboards the last 30 years or so. All the same frustrations exist with timelines and customer service.

The last 10 years or so, I've been placing orders with this one company that has a timeline spreadsheet with your name, what you ordered, where they are in the process of the build, and where you are in the queue. Genius! No one up to that point had been doing that in the surf industry (that I know of). I'm sure it reduced so many customer service questions they get daily.

Gobi needs the same thing if they're tired of answering timeline questions all day......which I'm sure they are.

 

Great idea. It doesn't seem, however, that Gobi is interested in improving their process, just plodding forward, building their racks. "Progress be damned, I say!!"

 

This is why they don’t change.

 

@Brother708 Did you receive your rack yet?

 

Why not order a Victory or a Prinsu that is made in the US?