Bad Cat Paw

[Jakeboy]

I agree.The older I get the more important customer service is to me.

[cynic]

Loosely related story: I had considered buying an Ooni pizza oven as a "house" Christmas present.  The models I looked at were "pre-order" for a Feb/Mar delivery.  Their definition of pre-order is essentially what anyone else calls out of stock except they charge you right away.  With the success of kickstarter and their ilk, fewer small, online businesses are seeing a need to put their own money towards inventory.  It may just be a thing we need to get used to.

[tweed]

I got a story for you. I ordered a Victory "Countess" preamp pedal back in March. According to the dealer, Covid screwed up shipping orders to the U. S. After things cleared up a little, he tells me Victory has back orders. Then he tells me he dropped Victory altogether, asked if there's something else I'd like, so I went for the Synergy 1 unit. Of course they've been backed up too (so he says). Had 2 different delivery dates that didn't happen. Then tells me a couple Synergy employees caught the virus so they had to shut down for a while. Then another possible shipment comin' in and he'll deliver to me ASAP. Then tells me he's gonna complain to the Synergy company president. Last weekend I asked how that went and so far, no reply.  Lately I've been like " I've got more time than money " but this is really startin' to wear on me. Should have gotten a refund after the Victory fiasco !!!!  

[Jakeboy]

Watching this intently cause I wanted a Paw...but am feeling gunshy with my bucks right now...

[The Shark]

Sounds like my experience with guitar builder extraordinaire and crook Ian Anderson.  Almost five years to the day to get my Ian Anderson Flying V.  Twenty six different completion dates.  California Assistant States Attorney (not as high on the food chain as you might think) told me that it was "White Collar" and I'd need an attorney in California.  Guess how much that would cost?  More than the $3,600 I paid up front.  

If I had the opportunity to kill the deal and demand a refund, I would have.  It is one of the best guitars I own, but the journey was less than savory to say the least.  

I was lucky with Spark.  They shipped right away.  If it would have come up "Back Ordered", I would have bailed because of the problems others had encountered here and on TGP.

[ptm1diver]

Everyone needs to relax.  Building a Bad Kitty Paw is like waiting for a custom Shishkov, except you get good communication from Mike.
 

😏

Glad I pawsed on ordering one.  

[0054]

On 12/11/2020 at 10:16 PM, cynic said:

Loosely related story: I had considered buying an Ooni pizza oven as a "house" Christmas present.  The models I looked at were "pre-order" for a Feb/Mar delivery.  Their definition of pre-order is essentially what anyone else calls out of stock except they charge you right away.  With the success of kickstarter and their ilk, fewer small, online businesses are seeing a need to put their own money towards inventory.  It may just be a thing we need to get used to.

Do you like the ooni?

[cynic]

21 minutes ago, 0054 said:

Do you like the ooni?

I'm intrigued but in the end I passed.  The whole pay now - get later crap feels a little too fly by night.  It's like a reverse layaway.

[0054]

9 hours ago, cynic said:

I'm intrigued but in the end I passed.  The whole pay now - get later crap feels a little too fly by night.  It's like a reverse layaway.

I"ve been looking at their Koda, 16" pizza model and would only buy if it is in stock. Often times the first crowd funded items are not quite right and people end up buying beta versions...I stay away!

 

[currypowder]

I guess Bad Cat just wasn't too interested in even responding. In the end, PayPal stepped in and refunded me. Oh well.

[velorush]

That is absolutely unbelievable!

To allow your company to be placed in the same context as eBay scam artists and without a bit of communication to the contrary?

That’s an unrecoverable error! 
 

ETA: I am really sorry for my part in all of this. I really had no idea this was even the slightest possibility. 

[currypowder]

Ahh, Jeff. You don't have anything to be sorry for. It's a cool little amp. I thought Bad Cat had at least a decent reputation, but was wrong. Funds are back where they belong. No harm, no foul.

[Jakeboy]

Still, it sucks. I really wanted one of these. Not so much now. It think I’ll wait for the Quilter version that has Fender, plexi, Dumble and Vox channels to come out.

[currypowder]

I guess when you take your money back, you'll get a response.

"Hi Greg, 

We noticed the PayPal payment for your order has been disputed. Did you want us to cancel your order or notify you when the Paws are in stock?"

 

I'm really trying to resist the urge to reply.

[velorush]

2 hours ago, currypowder said:

I'm really trying to resist the urge to reply.

If you can resist that tee-up, you have way more self-control than I.  And I wouldn't be nasty at all (my motto is "always be nice!"), but I would not be able to resist the opportunity to provide them with the constructive criticism the occasion affords.  It is obvious they have some sort of managerial disconnect with their target market.  I, too, had a much higher perception of Bad Cat as compared to the Positive Grid (ptoo [/spitting]) people.  Boggles the mind. 

In the end, however, the tell was, "or notify you when the Paws are in stock?"  How about you not charge me until the Paws are in stock?!  All things considered, I would consider that ample notification.

[currypowder]

I did e-mail the guy back, similar to what you suggested. Nice, but definitely conveyed my annoyance and disappointment. In his defense, he did write back and apologize. Said they were short staffed, but that was no excuse for not responding.

I'm putting this chapter behind me and moving on. I doubt there will be any Bad Cats in my future, as great as they may be.

[dboy66]

Yikes!

So sorry to hear of all the trouble, and I have to say that I concur based on your experience. I'll find another burn out for my dollars. Sad to see another company hit the skids like this.