eRockets sure ain't Semroc

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Joe_Shockcord

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A month ago I placed my first order with eRockets and unfortunately it did not go well. I received my order quickly and most of the items were there but one item was wrong and the other was less than what I ordered (I had ordered a pack of six 3/16" x 3" launch lugs and only received one lug tossed in the box). I immediately called Randy and he said he would send the correct items right away. After two weeks of nothing I called again and he said he'd check on the tracking number and get back with me. After a reminder e-mail he finally replied on 6/19 with this:

"nope, never found it. We are going to reselect the order again today. Of course we will be out of the Edmonds kit. If the first order does show up please let me know."

That was the last I heard from him and he has not answered any more of my e-mails. And of course, nothing has arrived.

This is very disappointing. I had really hoped that eRockets would at least try to uphold Semroc's reputation of good customer service but apparently that's too much to ask. How difficult is it to stick some launch lugs in the mail? I had also hoped to order more Semroc items in the future but if they can't get a small order right then I'm certainly not going to trust them with a large order. Or any order at this point.
 
Give em time. They're still getting their priorities in order. You can't expect instant gratification this soon. They are still trying to incorporate both companies. This is NOT something that happens overnight.
 
Believe Randy is moving his office and inventory to a different facility as well.
 
Somehow, I don't think waiting a month for the resolution of a transaction is expecting instant gratification.
 
I would agree that the order should have been resolved a bit quicker, but I don't think they should be burned in effigy for it. Sheryl and Bruce had a system and a routine in place and had it tweaked and everything was in place. Now you have two companies merging into one. Mind you one of those companies had nearly sold off their entire inventory. In addition you have to move one of the companies to another state and then right after the move the landlord decides they want the building back so now you have to move again. It will take time to get things running as smoothly as Semroc under Sheryl and Bruce, but it will get there. On another note, I have had an order from Randy with 9 kits, 8 of which were Semroc kits, 4 of which were new Semroc packaging and everything was as good as it has ever been from Semroc. The quality is still there. We should all be thanking Randy for bringing Semroc out of the ashes and making a commitment to continuing making all the kits we have come to love from Semroc.
 
Believe Randy is moving his office and inventory to a different facility as well.

Here's where Randy responded to bradycross about the current situation of erockets/Semroc (as of June 10, 2015)

Hi Everyone,
This is Randy Boadway of Semroc.
I understand that our web page is still not up to snuff. We have been working hard to provide an easy place to find and order your parts. We are first adding pictures to the items, after that we will focus on descriptions. I understand that the old Semroc site has a lot of valuable resources and that is why we have not pulled the plug on it. We have no plans to allow purchasing off of the old site, it is not prudent to integrate it into our eRockets site or systems.

We are also continuing to focus on making parts available. There are currently almost 4000 SKU's of parts and we are down to about 400 not being available. I believe it will take us until the end of July to be back in production on everything.

We currently have 41 kits available and will continue at the pace to have about 84 in stock by the time the Christmas rush begins.

Our landlord in Dayton has decided that he wants to use our space for something else. This is throwing a big monkey wrench into our plan. We are about to move into a larger facility over the next few weeks. Of course we expect part production will be minimal during the move.

If there is a part that you would like to have sooner than later please drop me a note, we are trying to accommodate any request as quickly as possible.

respectfully,

Randy Boadway, Semroc
 
I will add my $.02, because it's teh internetz and I can.


I've ordered multiple times from Randy, and gotten great customer service. Including one instance where USPS decided to fold a box with body tubes in it, just because they could.

I've ordered from the old Semroc, and had bits missing. It was right after they decided to close Semroc. Given everything they were going through, I chose not to contact them about it. Every other order I placed with Semroc was great!


My point is that even the best of folks have off days/weeks/months. I know how frustrating an apparent lack of customer service can be. I also know how it feels when you are absolutely buried by life, and there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to get done. I'm going to continue ordering from Randy, giving him the benefit of the doubt until he consistently proves otherwise.

I hope that the OP get's his issues resolved with eRockets quickly, that Randy gets everything into the new space successfully, and that everything is back up and running smoothly in a relatively short while.
 
I'll give a shout out to Randy for great customer support. He's made every order right, and quickly.

But there's been something to fix on every order I've placed. So his picking system isn't 6 sigma yet.
 
I would agree that the order should have been resolved a bit quicker, but I don't think they should be burned in effigy for it. Sheryl and Bruce had a system and a routine in place and had it tweaked and everything was in place. Now you have two companies merging into one. Mind you one of those companies had nearly sold off their entire inventory. In addition you have to move one of the companies to another state and then right after the move the landlord decides they want the building back so now you have to move again. It will take time to get things running as smoothly as Semroc under Sheryl and Bruce, but it will get there. On another note, I have had an order from Randy with 9 kits, 8 of which were Semroc kits, 4 of which were new Semroc packaging and everything was as good as it has ever been from Semroc. The quality is still there. We should all be thanking Randy for bringing Semroc out of the ashes and making a commitment to continuing making all the kits we have come to love from Semroc.

I am really sorry I didn't see this post earlier. By now, I believe Randy has caught up with the Semroc Parts. I am so thankful he has kept the Semroc site up as Carl worked many hours obtaining the vast information on the site. I do know that in the beginning, Randy seemed to have multiple problems. First one was having to move just after having everything set up to start production. The second was, when we restarted Semroc to the public, Carl and Bruce had been working a year before, finding out what worked the best. Randy had to learn how to be a manufacturer in just a few weeks. He has done a fantastic job and I hope everyone gives him another chance or two. I know that just one bad review can destroy a business.
 
Sheryl,

I wouldn't worry about the OP's Review. Randy has done a Great Job getting Semroc back up and running since he took over. Other than this, I haven't read any other complaints since.
 
Sheryl:

I had long forgotten about this incident, but as the OP I thought it fitting I share with you—and the forum—the rest of the story.

This issue continued unresolved until after a third party closer to Randy became involved and contacted him on my behalf. Two months after the initial purchase, I received a package with the aforementioned launch lugs, a handwritten note from Randy apologizing for the long delay and a bag of kevlar shock cord. He didn't mention it, but I later noticed he credited my PayPal account for the kit I did not receive, making the wrong kit I received free.

Some months later I decided to give eRockets another try and was very pleased to receive my order quickly, accurately and safely packed. Subsequent orders have been equally satisfying. I have no hesitation being a repeat eRockets customer.
 
I've ordered from eRockets before... They have great customer service, and REALLY REALLY FAST SHIPPING!
Thanks,
 
Sheryl:

I had long forgotten about this incident, but as the OP I thought it fitting I share with you—and the forum—the rest of the story.

This issue continued unresolved until after a third party closer to Randy became involved and contacted him on my behalf. Two months after the initial purchase, I received a package with the aforementioned launch lugs, a handwritten note from Randy apologizing for the long delay and a bag of kevlar shock cord. He didn't mention it, but I later noticed he credited my PayPal account for the kit I did not receive, making the wrong kit I received free.

Some months later I decided to give eRockets another try and was very pleased to receive my order quickly, accurately and safely packed. Subsequent orders have been equally satisfying. I have no hesitation being a repeat eRockets customer.

We all appreciate the update. Thanks for posting it.
 
Randy is doing a great job, and I am thrilled to see Semroc introducing new kits again. I received the Blue Jay and Maple Seed last month. They are typical Semroc quality in design. The Blue Jay is built and ready to it's maiden flight next weekend. Semroc seems to be in good hands...

Cheers,
Michael
 
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Randy is doing a great job, and I am thrilled to see Semroc introducing new kits again. I received the Blue Jay and Maple Seed last month. They are typical Semroc quality in design. The Blue Jay is built and ready to it's maiden flight next weekend. Semroc seems to be in good hands...

Cheers,
Michael

Yeah, Semroc kits are really nice! I definitely will order from them again!
Thanks,
 
Wonderful to hear this! Thank you so much for the update. We had a similar incident when Semroc first reopened with the same outcome but we were really worried with our first bad review being public.

Sheryl
 
Was there notification that the Original Semroc site would disappear? I regularly would use the parts comparison pages and the rest of the site for referencing parts and rocket models I want build. Since I no longer can order on the Semroc side I then go over to the E-Rockets site and order the parts. Is E -Rockets going to bring back that information in some form? To me, it was an invaluable historic reference site for parts/kits. I now feel like we have lost something and its personal.
 
At the Tuesday night build session there were a few folks working with Randy on a server issue, my guess is they are still having issues as everything is not a 100% yet.
 
At the Tuesday night build session there were a few folks working with Randy on a server issue, my guess is they are still having issues as everything is not a 100% yet.

Yeah, I take it that it can take up to a few years to get a business smoothly going... speaking of build night, I really need to get up there for Build Night.
I just ordered from Randy less than a week ago, I ordered it on Monday, and it came on Tuesday! That is incredibly fast shipping. My review for them is A+++++
Thanks,
 
Wonderful to hear this! Thank you so much for the update. We had a similar incident when Semroc first reopened with the same outcome but we were really worried with our first bad review being public.

Sheryl

That's hard to believe that Semroc had a bad review!
I do wish Randy stuck with the White Boxes with Semroc in big bold black print on them.
It's always a treat to open the mail box and now where it's from just by the box. A real thrill!
 
That's hard to believe that Semroc had a bad review!
I do wish Randy stuck with the White Boxes with Semroc in big bold black print on them.
It's always a treat to open the mail box and now where it's from just by the box. A real thrill!

I think he switched the boxes for several reasons. First, Semroc is the line of kits and parts that they make in-house. The business that actually sells kits and parts is eRockets; and they sell a lot of stuff that isn't Semroc. Second; they use a lot of USPS boxes for shipping. Why make your own specialty boxes when the carrier makes them?

However, I know what you're saying about those cool Semroc boxes. I still have a few Semroc boxes at home and use them for storing rocket parts.
 
A month ago I placed my first order with eRockets and unfortunately it did not go well. I received my order quickly and most of the items were there but one item was wrong and the other was less than what I ordered (I had ordered a pack of six 3/16" x 3" launch lugs and only received one lug tossed in the box). I immediately called Randy and he said he would send the correct items right away. After two weeks of nothing I called again and he said he'd check on the tracking number and get back with me. After a reminder e-mail he finally replied on 6/19 with this:

"nope, never found it. We are going to reselect the order again today. Of course we will be out of the Edmonds kit. If the first order does show up please let me know."

That was the last I heard from him and he has not answered any more of my e-mails. And of course, nothing has arrived.

This is very disappointing. I had really hoped that eRockets would at least try to uphold Semroc's reputation of good customer service but apparently that's too much to ask. How difficult is it to stick some launch lugs in the mail? I had also hoped to order more Semroc items in the future but if they can't get a small order right then I'm certainly not going to trust them with a large order. Or any order at this point.

I understand your frustration, but for the price of a few launch lugs and their poor service if it really upsets you just wash your hands of them and buy your stuff somewhere else. Lucky you didn't take a much bigger hit.
 
I understand your frustration, but for the price of a few launch lugs and their poor service if it really upsets you just wash your hands of them and buy your stuff somewhere else. Lucky you didn't take a much bigger hit.

Might want to check out the OP's response to this nearly 2 year old thread. Issue resolved long ago. Happy customer like the rest of us!

Sheryl:

I had long forgotten about this incident, but as the OP I thought it fitting I share with you—and the forum—the rest of the story.

This issue continued unresolved until after a third party closer to Randy became involved and contacted him on my behalf. Two months after the initial purchase, I received a package with the aforementioned launch lugs, a handwritten note from Randy apologizing for the long delay and a bag of kevlar shock cord. He didn't mention it, but I later noticed he credited my PayPal account for the kit I did not receive, making the wrong kit I received free.

Some months later I decided to give eRockets another try and was very pleased to receive my order quickly, accurately and safely packed. Subsequent orders have been equally satisfying. I have no hesitation being a repeat eRockets customer.
 
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