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So, after kicking myself for missing last years Black Friday Battlefoam sale, I finally pulled the trigger this past Black Friday and placed a good sized order which included 17 pieces of assorted foam. No bags. I've now called twice to get status on the order...once at the 3 week mark, once today.

Today I couldn't get any information at all. After being forced to login to the site to get my order # (the rep said that was the ONLY way she could look it up...I've never heard of not being able to look something up by the customers name, but whatever), she put me on hold to go ask someone about the order, then came back saying that she'll have to get back to me on it and took down my email address and phone number. Almost 6 hours later, I finally get a response, but I'm forced again to logon to their site to check the message...which, funny enough, is down and I can't get on it.

So, here I am, 3 days before Xmas, with no idea at all whats going on with my order. Nobody can seem to tell me a thing when I call. I see many positive reviews for their products, so I'm sure their stuff is good quality. Their customer support is severely lacking. Why have a sale that will undoubtedly have many purchases aimed towards Xmas presents, then not be able to fill these orders by Xmas? Perhaps moving the sale a week or two prior, knowing beforehand that the leadtime between Thanksgiving - Christmas just isn't enough?

An additional side note, if a BF rep reads this, please add the phone number to the mobile version of your website. It's just silly to have to go to the site on my phone, let it load, not find the info I'm looking for anywhere, then force it to load the standard site as well just for something as simple as your phone number.

Relax, its coming. According to their website, standard delivery time is 2-3 weeks to get the order shipped, up to 4 weeks if its an order with custom foam.

As this is their undoubtedly busiest time of the year, if they miss that 4 week limit by a few days, I'm not going to complain.

I had a relatively small order myself (6 trays), i was just notified on the 21st that it had shipped out finally.. I had no notifications or anything before that. It takes time.

Horst wrote:Relax, its coming. According to their website, standard delivery time is 2-3 weeks to get the order shipped, up to 4 weeks if its an order with custom foam.

As this is their undoubtedly busiest time of the year, if they miss that 4 week limit by a few days, I'm not going to complain.

I had a relatively small order myself (6 trays), i was just notified on the 21st that it had shipped out finally.. I had no notifications or anything before that. It takes time.

That doesn't excuse the lack of communication Lormax has received from Battlefoam. Horst you mentioned that you didn't receive any notifications of your order shipping until the 21st but did you try contacting BF about your order prior to the 21st? If not, then your experience differed greatly from Lormax's experience. Lormax is actively seeking information on the status of his order and is receiving nothing but silence. That is shoddy customer service. Even if you are told your order is pending you have an answer and can begin to wait patiently but when you hear nothing, well, the mind starts to wonder just what the heck is going on.

Lormax, I'd keep bugging BF. The "squeaky wheel" and all that, but make yourself a nuisance until you get a satisfactory answer regarding the status of your order.

Oh, I'm relaxed Perhaps I wasn't clear on my point though. It's not the fact that it's not making it to me by Xmas. It's the fact that their customer service reps have failed to give me any information on my order...no expected ship date at all. Makes me really wonder how they decide which order gets done next...is it just chosen at random? Do they really not have a system in place to show when order #XXXX is expected to be made? They've been in business for some time now, I'm guessing they have a reasonable idea of just how much foam they can cut in a day and how many orders on average they fill each day as well. From there, it wouldn't be hard to say "Ok Mr. Lormax, you have 287 orders in front of you. Based on that, we expect to be able to complete your order on XXX date. If you don't see an email to indicate shipment the following day, please shoot us a call and we'll go from there".

What I got was nothing, still. I can't access their website to check whatever message they sent. She had my personal email address and my phone number. I took my time to contact them personally, they can't return the favor?

I've worked in the customer service department of a company that does 98% of it's sales on their website (car parts, but the product is irrelevant). It's a thankless job and it sucks. But trying to shove the customer under the rug, so to speak, is just going to make your job harder.

I've been waiting over 2 months for 2 trays. I ordered them through my FLGS. They've been trying to get their entire shipment, which my order is a part of, for that long. Theyhalf of it the other week, which my order was not part of.

-Loki- wrote:I've been waiting over 2 months for 2 trays. I ordered them through my FLGS. They've been trying to get their entire shipment, which my order is a part of, for that long. Theyhalf of it the other week, which my order was not part of.

ouch. I've heard similar horror stories of people waiting to get things through their FLGS... which is why I always order from battlefoam direct.

I don't mind in that I don't need them at the moment. Currently I don't have the right sized trays to put my Tyranid infantry in, so getting the Trygon/Carnifex tray is a bit pointless, as I still can't transport the whole army until I get some 1.5" pluck foam.

I have my Vampire Counts infantry in it at the moment, but I don't need the VC cavalry try yet because I don't use the army yet.

I would still like to get them though, since I did order them.

I put my order in on Black Friday. They just got it into the mail this past friday. Maybe it'll show up tomorrow.

Not particularly bothered, but I didn't order any custom foam either. (4 5 packs of GW case size trooper trays and 3 pre-made Dark Eldar vehicle trays.)

Point of note: my group got a $1k order from Forge World that was put in a couple of days later over a week ago.

Have you tried contacting KyleBattleFoam? http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/user/profile/49732.page
He posts regularly here. Though I think he just went on vacation for the holidays.

When you ordered you should have had an email sent you with the order # on the email.

Yeah, I sent in an email request for information two days ago and heard nothing. I have a league starting in mid-January, I was hoping it would at least be mailed before everyone takes next week off. I just wish they'd post a generic status update on their twitter feed, instead of just pimping the four different contests they're running.

I got my Black Friday order on Wednesday myself, so it sounds like a systemic slowdown.

The lack of communication is troubling, if not uncommon in rapidly growing businesses.

So, in other words, you are freaking out because they are backlogged at the busiest time for retail and shipping?

Wow.
I ordered an IG 720 myself with the IG tray load out (no customs) and I received my order Dec. 9. I placed my order within the the half hour of the official sale kick-off though.
Based on the posts of everyone else, and receiving mine much earlier, I would guess they divide their orders into regular vs custom, and then ship out by when order was received.
I've been very pleased with my BF product thus far, and currently working out the next tray upgrades for my Guard.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:So, in other words, you are freaking out because they are backlogged at the busiest time for retail and shipping?

I was more going for "expressing relief that what I ordered wasn't actually, you know, a gift".

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:So, in other words, you are freaking out because they are backlogged at the busiest time for retail and shipping?

Didn't see anyone saying that they want their item now. Requests for information about the status of an order aren't too much to ask.

You'd think if you're paying a premium price for a "quality" product that some sort of customer service would be involved. I don't get how people on this board are willing to excuse certain companies for things that would have them foaming at the mouth and in screaming fits elsewhere.

I buy my foam from KR, great customer service at a reasonable price. Sure the foam isn't as high a quality as BF but I don't need it to be since it just travels from car to door.

@OP, I hope things work out. I don't think it's an issue of them not making good on your order just poor organization in a company that's growth has outpaced it's infrastructural capabilities.

I ordered my Shield Bag earlier this month and it came in a few days ago.

agnosto wrote:You'd think if you're paying a premium price for a "quality" product that some sort of customer service would be involved. I don't get how people on this board are willing to excuse certain companies for things that would have them foaming at the mouth and in screaming fits elsewhere.

It's superficially inconsistent, but not that messed up.

When a restaurant has the best burger in town, they can have crappier service.

BF products are heads and shoulders the best. Customer service complaints are always new. People are generally willing to wait for what they really, really want. They also are willing to cut slack to genuinely small operations. If two people got seriously ill at BF, that can back everything up for days.

Polonius wrote:

agnosto wrote:You'd think if you're paying a premium price for a "quality" product that some sort of customer service would be involved. I don't get how people on this board are willing to excuse certain companies for things that would have them foaming at the mouth and in screaming fits elsewhere.

It's superficially inconsistent, but not that messed up.

When a restaurant has the best burger in town, they can have crappier service.

BF products are heads and shoulders the best. Customer service complaints are always new. People are generally willing to wait for what they really, really want. They also are willing to cut slack to genuinely small operations. If two people got seriously ill at BF, that can back everything up for days.

Yeah, and if that happens they should post something brief and non-personal about it in their twitter feed, or send out a blast email to all current orders, explaining any potential delay. Barring that, they should be ready for questions on the subject. These are things that a larger company can get away with not doing, because they can just redistribute labor to get the jobs done on time.

I ordered mine black friday they didnt get it shipped till 2 days ago and it won't get here till the 27th. Me thinks they got waaaaayyyy too many orders on black friday.

Ok, so lets bring everyone to speed.

On Black Friday we received well over 1000 orders in less than 24 hours.

Along with those orders we received an additional 175 orders from the UK office alone.

Add on top of it another 300+ retail shops ordering all in the same week before Thanksgiving to get Christmas items ready.

Now that is no excuse for not returning emails or answering the phone. I'm still not sure if that is what happened to you but non the less its not correct.

With well over 1500 orders coming in over a 3 week period our entire staff of 18 dedicated hard working people have not stopped processing.

Everyone from management to small fry in the back packing area have put in overtime to get as many people ready for Christmas as we could.

Orders work like this. This actually is how we deal with all order all year round regardless of sales.

Order comes in. It is issued an order number and that order number is put in line from the time it came in.

Based on that order being stock, custom, or pre-order for future items coming out selects the side of the house it goes in.

That order again gets placed in the specific section by date received. So if called in first on Black Friday with a custom order and another person called in last on Black Friday with a custom order you could end up being 400 to 600 orders behind the first guy.

Its really the only fair way to get people processed. The retailer side of the house is completely independent from the direct sales.

Retailers have their own system and order process. Most customers that place their orders with a retailer will always wait longer. This is mainly because retailers get free shipping once they reach a specific order amount. What this turns into is a waiting game by the retailer to get to that mark and save the money.

If your order is placed early the retailer may wait days or even weeks before actually putting their order with their trade sales rep. That will always result in laters shipments.

This wait can also be avoided by working closer with your LFGS and telling them that you need it by a specific date. They then will contact their rep and the rep will guide them from there.

As for the specific delay and non answers. We really can't comment on what you are describing. Its not the norm and our cutomers service girls pride themselves in returning emails and phone messages within 24 hours.

A specific question on an order can quickly be found by simply calling or emailing in with your 6 digit order number.

Lastly, if you feel you are not being taken care of we have other ways of contacting us outside of simply posting on Dakka.

We don't check forums daily but we always check our Facebook page, Twitter acounts, and PM messages.

Please feel free to PM me or Kyle to find information out that customer service has not supplied.

Again, I'm not sure how you did not get answers to your questions since I see the girls dealing with customer questions for 8 hours each day.

When its all said and done please keep in mind that this is the holiday season and people have vacations and time off to be with their families. This along with a huge order month may have caused you some headaches.

I hope this message can help you and feel free to PM me if you still have questions.

Merry Christmas Guys.

Battle Foam wrote:Retailers have their own system and order process. Most customers that place their orders with a retailer will always wait longer. This is mainly because retailers get free shipping once they reach a specific order amount. What this turns into is a waiting game by the retailer to get to that mark and save the money.

If your order is placed early the retailer may wait days or even weeks before actually putting their order with their trade sales rep. That will always result in laters shipments.

This wait can also be avoided by working closer with your LFGS and telling them that you need it by a specific date. They then will contact their rep and the rep will guide them from there.

100% true. As I said, that's how long the store has been trying to get its stock.

Actually, 2 months isn't right. I told them what trays I wanted in August, and they ordered about a month later. So I've been waiting about 3 - 3 and a half months. They got half of it about a month ago. The other half, with my order, is apparently still sitting in the US.

I ordered a 1520 xl with custom load out on black friday. I spoke with a very helpful young lady there several times ( Wish i could remember her name) about the custom trays and she answered all my ? and put up with my requeast.

I will be ordering alot more and tell everyone about the great service i had with them.

I love everything I have gotten from battlefoam, I think I have about 3 1520 sets a few 420 sets but only a 1520 bag. Their foam is the industry leader. I would try again with contact and see if you can get an answer. They have always been helpful.

I have two emails sitting in the info@battlefoam inbox that have not received replies. I'm sure it's busy, but now that it's Christmas Eve I'm sure I'll just be adding at least a week to my estimated delivery date, and likely more. As of right now I'm bummed because I won't have a safe way to get my army to the league I was planning to join mid-January. So I'm irritated and there's not really any amount of explanation that would fix that. People must have started ordering at midnight, because my order was placed at 8:52 am.

Thanks for the information, but as a first time buyer I'm not yet able to say "well at least the products are great" because I don't know yet.

Actually a lot of people did... I know many UK'ers that started placing order at least 6 hours before most of the US people did.
and on top of that ... Did you have any custom foam?
if you did the minimum is 4 weeks , which is stated multiple times on the custom foam order page.

My average waits on my Bf orders are like 4-6 weeks, when its not the xmas rush time.

I stated with my Pre order Pack go when ordering that if it could not get to me by "X "date I would need to change the order... and i was fully kept in contact the entire 6 weeks it took ( it was a pre order with all custom load out).

I had one pack max that took 6 months.. I had another Max that took 3weeks.

TobyDog wrote:
if you did the minimum is 4 weeks , which is stated multiple times on the custom foam order page.

First off, even if it was we passed the 4 week line on Friday the 23rd.

Secondly, you'd think multiple stated appearances would be enough for you to have read it correctly, as "3-4" weeks. Here, I'll quote straight from the page with the bag I ordered.

"Please allow 3-4 weeks for design and production of custom foam."

... Anyway, I'm not really concerned that I didn't get my bag yet. All I've been saying is that I'd like a response to my emails and an update about when to expect my product. I figure that's reasonable, especially since their customer service is being vouched for by the Battlefoam guy on this very page. Seeing nothing but "awaiting fulfillment" on the order page is irritating, because it doesn't tell me anything. Where I am in the queue, etc. It could mean "we shunted all the 1520s to the back of the line because of a production issue" or "we're up to the people that ordered at 6am EST."

I don't have any BF bags, but I have worked in both small and large companies.
If one of those 18 people took the time out of their work day to input the queue location of all 1500 orders then they would probably have to hire another person just to do that all day long. I doubt Romeo has a fancy enterprise data system in place to continuously track all activity on each work order in real time so that you can look at your order status and eta in detail.
The customer service girl could have told you the information that was posted to this thread, but she didn't. You have a valid complaint there. But now that you know that their whole joint is in absolute chaos from an insane flood of work, you should cut them some slack. They will grind through it.
It sucks that you may not have your bag in time to use it when you need to, and I feel for you there, but dude, its 18 people.

1000 people all order at the same time to get a good deal, during the slowest time of the year for shipping, and lots of the orders are custom foam?
3-4 weeks for custom foam is the normal wait.
+ some time for shipping during the holidays.
+ some more time for BF being snowed under with a huge amount of black friday orders.
+ stores, mine included, dumping in our Christmas orders so we are ahead of the 1000 or so customer orders.
+ more time because people who could be packing orders are trying to keep anxious gamers updated on their orders.

It should be very obvious that orders will take a bit longer. Dissappointing maybe, but not unexpected. When everyone orders all at once, a smaller company can't just hire more people for a couple of weeks, and it's going to be rough on the guys working to fill orders. Battlefoam has always had some pretty good service and has been constantly evolving their business. If there's problems this year, I expect they'll work to fix them next year

mikhaila wrote:1000 people all order at the same time to get a good deal, during the slowest time of the year for shipping, and lots of the orders are custom foam?
3-4 weeks for custom foam is the normal wait.
+ some time for shipping during the holidays.
+ some more time for BF being snowed under with a huge amount of black friday orders.
+ stores, mine included, dumping in our Christmas orders so we are ahead of the 1000 or so customer orders.
+ more time because people who could be packing orders are trying to keep anxious gamers updated on their orders.

It should be very obvious that orders will take a bit longer. Dissappointing maybe, but not unexpected. When everyone orders all at once, a smaller company can't just hire more people for a couple of weeks, and it's going to be rough on the guys working to fill orders. Battlefoam has always had some pretty good service and has been constantly evolving their business. If there's problems this year, I expect they'll work to fix them next year

Eh, and my 280 dollars. That they've been sitting on for over a month now. My store has 14 people in it, if we take a special order we have to deal with it, we can't say "what, there are 14 of us." We put the warning up front, and if we exceed that warning we let the customer know. Again, all I'm saying is that they have a twitter feed, they have blast email capacity, and they have multiple inboxes. Communication is all I'm looking for. They clearly have time for their twitter feed, two weeks ago they posted a tweet that they intended to have all the Black Friday orders out by Saturday the 17th! I guess maybe they realized that twitter is only a good medium for putting out incorrect information? People keep saying "be patient, the bags are coming and they are busy," but I don't specifically want my bag to be here already. My complaint is that my emails weren't answered in a timely manner (or at all). That's my only complaint. Plus it's not like I'm being directly mean to these people. I sent two friendly emails and then I agreed that I was disappointed in their service on a forum. That's fairly light, all things considered.