Disappointed in Vega Fence - Anyone ever return to them?

[Dave Sabo]

My main issue is they were able to respond lickity split when the possibility of taking new money was on the horizon - but all of a sudden the pandemic is responsible when it's time to service an existing customer ? This simply doesn't wash with me. Either you're impacted or you're not. You can't have it both ways. By all means, shut down if you need/have to.

Everything pretty much starts out as a mom and pop. I know of none that would deliberately send out inferior product like this seems to be. If they did, this is very telling about who you're dealing with. Mom & pop or BORG supplier; doesn't matter.

Beating up , no. When you get ignored you avail yourself of any remedy at your disposal. Even the sole proprietors I know that were shuttered recently had signs, voicemails, websites and email responses that got the word out that business was impacted and you would not get immediate response.

[Gabriel Marusic]

Pretty rough that you guys are beating up on a small business in the middle of a pandemic. How do you know a 1/3 of them aren't sick? Vega is a really small business, just a few people working in a small Mom and Pop factory in the middle of some corn fields near Decatur, IL. Actually started by a father and son. And now with people begging for American made product, here we have a forum where people come on and bash them. And to the point that they have to eat the product and shipping. Couldn't there have been some compromise even though they offered to eat it? Wonder why American businesses are in trouble?

My intent here wasn't to beat up a small company but rather see if anyone had gotten their attention over a similar issue. Before posting I did some research on the forums and saw that other people had trouble getting follow up customer support after purchase as well. I am completely aware they are a small American business and one of the tipping points for me in choosing them was that they started in Wisconsin. My mom was born in Surgeon Bay, WI., my parents met in Milwaukee and I used to go there as a kid so I really liked the story.

I realize we're in uncharted territory as far as the pandemic is concerned and if that was the cause of a non-reply, I'd certainly be understanding. However, being able to get an email reply within an hour from an alternate email address after I've been frustratingly emailing and calling for over a week proved that false.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I feel guilty about how this has panned out and I'm still giving it further thought as to what I should do. I haven't installed the fence yet because I wasn't sure what the outcome of this whole ordeal will be. I'm also leery of a used fence because that makes me question why it was returned in the first place, and whether or not there is an issue with it that my newbie self won't see.

At this point I'd prefer if this post was deleted; though, I think a mod would need to do that. What I'd hoped to get from it was an alternate way of getting through to them, and while that has happened, it has turned into far more than I had intended.

[ray grundhoefer]

Pretty rough that you guys are beating up on a small business in the middle of a pandemic. How do you know a 1/3 of them aren't sick? Vega is a really small business, just a few people working in a small Mom and Pop factory in the middle of some corn fields near Decatur, IL. Actually started by a father and son. And now with people begging for American made product, here we have a forum where people come on and bash them. And to the point that they have to eat the product and shipping. Couldn't there have been some compromise even though they offered to eat it? Wonder why American businesses are in trouble?

Does it seem odd to anyone else that they did not bother to respond until after they found out it might be impacting future sales. Then they responded with an offer.
While these are trying times there are people all over the world working from home using a laptop just like I am now.The fact that they did nothing until they found out about this post speaks volumes about their nonexistent customer, at least thats how I see it

[Jebediah Eckert]

There has to be a better way?

[Frederick Skelly]

My intent here wasn't to beat up a small company but rather see if anyone had gotten their attention over a similar issue. Before posting I did some research on the forums and saw that other people had trouble getting follow up customer support after purchase as well. I am completely aware they are a small American business and one of the tipping points for me in choosing them was that they started in Wisconsin. My mom was born in Surgeon Bay, WI., my parents met in Milwaukee and I used to go there as a kid so I really liked the story.

I realize we're in uncharted territory as far as the pandemic is concerned and if that was the cause of a non-reply, I'd certainly be understanding. However, being able to get an email reply within an hour from an alternate email address after I've been frustratingly emailing and calling for over a week proved that false.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I feel guilty about how this has panned out and I'm still giving it further thought as to what I should do. I haven't installed the fence yet because I wasn't sure what the outcome of this whole ordeal will be. I'm also leery of a used fence because that makes me question why it was returned in the first place, and whether or not there is an issue with it that my newbie self won't see.

At this point I'd prefer if this post was deleted; though, I think a mod would need to do that. What I'd hoped to get from it was an alternate way of getting through to them, and while that has happened, it has turned into far more than I had intended.

Gabriel,
One man's opinion, FWIW. I'm usually pretty vocal if I think someone is using the internet as a weapon against a business. It can be vengeful and do real damage (which is often the intent, IMO). But when I read your post, I thought you'd done things fairly and reasonably. You didnt do anything I felt was harsh. And I really liked the way you came back and told us how it was resolved - you didnt leave any doubt that the company took care of things. IMO, you shouldn't feel a bit bad Sir - you played this reasonably.

Fred

[glenn bradley]

I'm guessing that had some influence. They finally replied to me today and said they're refunding me... and to keep the fence. I feel a bit guilty now.

We can speculate till the cows come home. I would not feel guilty; they are resolving the issue in the way they have available to them under the given circumstances of which we are ignorant. Kudos to Vega. Obviously something is out of their control in our current dilemma. Being a small company maybe their "I.T. Guy" (and I know of larger companies that have only one) is unavailable. Whatever the situation, the word got through and they tried to make you happy at through their own sacrifice. I say again, kudos to them and may we all come out the other end OK and get to re-establish relationships.

[Ty wayne]

Don't feel bad, it's on them for sending that fence in the first place and then failing to respond. As said, even in these times it would only take someone a few seconds to ask you for patience in resolving the matter. I always try to give a company the benefit of the doubt but if you burn me, it will be a long time before I buy your product again.

I had a recent experience with some highly recommended lump charcoal for my smoker that had a satisfaction guarantee. I was thoroughly disappointed in the product. I emailed the manufacturer just to get their opinions on the issue I was having to see if it was normal. They immediately responded and assured me it was not and my product was defective. They asked for my address and stated they're sending a check for refund. I would have been fine without a refund and even said I would give them another chance in the future as long as the bag I got appeared to be an anomaly. They still said they'd send me a refund. Customer service is key.

Glad it all worked out for you.