Gobi Roof Ladder 5th Gen 4Runner - Help!

Mark-00255

Rank III
Launch Member

Contributor III

797
Olympia, Washington
Member #

13258

My wife tells me she and my son have been trying for two months to order a Gobi roof ladder for my 2018 4Runner for Christmas, but have had a hard time getting response from Gobi. Apparently my son got put on a backorder list in early October and someone called him several weeks later. But my son asked for a callback the next day - he wasn’t in a position to talk at that moment. Unfortunately that callback didn’t happen. And since then, nothing from Gobi. No response to emails and there is no number to call. Any ideas on how to contact Gobi, or other sources?

Thanks!
Mark
 
Hi Mark,
Gobi is known for not having customer service. Gobi has the worst customer service period. It took over 22 weeks for my order to ship and their secretary either don't relay messages or is in on it....i had radio silence leading up to 22 weeks..
 
Yeah. To me if you are always running 6 months behind on production, that clearly means you don’t have enough employees and are very likely losing business. I just don’t understand this approach to supporting small businesses when they can’t provide any customer support or keep up with demand. My daughter bought one of these racks and was getting really close to cancelling (good luck with that!) when she got a shipping notification out of the blue. My thinking is if you haven’t paid a deposit, you are probably still at the end of the line.
 
...if you are always running 6 months behind on production, that clearly means you don’t have enough employees and are very likely losing business...

Not always a bad thing, though. Small companies can implement the specific vision of the owners and their team. Expanding too quickly can outstrip their financial reserves, their management capacity, their quality control, etc. Outside capital can bring in venture capitalists who don't share the owner's vision. The problem is with the internet, everyone wants the "best" from the hot new company they just heard about, and they want it now.
 
Gobi does make a nice product. That being said it took I think 7 months to get mine which I suppose is ok respecting their business growth/ profit goals etc. the part I am positively not ok with on Gobi is their follow up. I’ve tried to order accesories from them and never even heard back and ended up fabricating them. They seem to run their business like a Hawaiian surfer... when the surfs up good luck.. I did have one time with a fit issue and my dealer gave me the owners email.. he was Johnny on the spot. Timing is another thing now with go fast campers for my Tacoma. 8 months out. These business are small and we all need to respect that, but how about some follow up Gobi ?