Gig bag order

[Wally]

Several weeks ago I placed an order for a custom tuba bag with Cronkhite/Torpedo. I have tried to contact them several times since to make sure they got the measurements I sent and to inquire about possibly putting a rush on the order, but have gotten no reply. My phone messages and emails have gone unanswered. I’m starting to worry. Has anybody else had this experience?

[bort]

Send them an email -- I've emailed them several times in the last few weeks, and usually get a reply within a few days.

[Joel Bristor]

I ordered a bag 11/7/2021. It was not custom so I did not need to send measurements. I received an acknowledgement right away. The next day, I received this message:
==
Thanks for placing your Glenn Cronkhite Custom Case order!

Cronkhite Bags are currently backordered by roughly 8 weeks. If you’re reading this email, we have your order. As politely as I can ask, please try to not send an email asking when your case will be done, even at 8 weeks, as this slows down everyone’s case. We make about 250 bags a month — sometimes more, sometimes less. We handle more than 50,000 product variations! Some items are in stock, but most of our orders are quite specific: “British Tan Leather Body with Black Leather Gusset Contrabassoon Bag,” or, “Cinnamon Leather Slide Trumpet Bag.” With 6 leather colors, 8 Cordura options, and hundreds of patterns, this would be impossible to stock! You are in line!

If you have questions along the way, or wish to change a color, please feel free to reach out to us. Once an order is cut, we usually cannot make any changes.
==

My bag was shipped 3/21/2022 so pretty far off from their 8 week backorder estimate. Still, I took to heart their explanation of how disruptive it is for customers to ask for status updates so tried to be a model customer. Per their wording above, they describe re-sequencing orders for most efficient manufacturing. My bag was probably just a size with limited demand so probably got pushed back.

I hope this helps. Unless their backlog went away, I wouldn't hold much hope for putting a rush on your order.

[Wally]

Thanks for the replies! I didn’t want to be a pain, and I understand the issues, but so far I have received no acknowledgment of my order. That makes me nervous. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

[bort]

Sounds like they need a better order tracking system/logistics management. I'm guessing they're probably the size of company that makes these sorts of changes very difficult to implement -- even when the magnitude of orders/sales increases dramatically.

If I were you, I'd cancel the order and buy a new Superfine bag instead -- their bags are just as good (better?) and the wait time is a lot shorter.

A few years ago, I waited a LONG time for a Cronkhite bag ordered through Lee Stofer, and eventually we just cancelled the order. It was an absurd amount of time to wait, especially when there are other options. We all get to make our purchasing choices, and I choose not to join their backlog.

[nerb]

I just got a really nice bag from @greenbean aka superfine bags I will post pics soon.

Also Tom is a super nice guy and me and my wife enjoyed going to his shop.
Ill add pics soon.

As far as "backlog" is concerned assume its lost and pivot. Your time is worth more than theirs.

[Wally]

Good advice. Those Greenbean bags look real nice! Not sure how to cancel order since credit card already posted, but I’ll check into it. The thing that makes me angry is that I have heard NOTHING from them since I placed the order.

[bort]

Hrmm... did you get the order confirmation email, at least?

[nerb]

Several weeks ago?, dude. Refund time.

[Wally]

OK, I went back and checked. I did get an order confirmation but guess I overlooked it. Still, SOME kind of reply to my inquiries would have been nice. Oh well, guess I’ll just shut up and wait. Thanks to all who replied, and sorry for the confusion!

[nerb]

Assume its lost

[barry grrr-ero]

I'll give another vote here for both Superfine (Tom Rice) and Messina gig bags. Both were super responsive.

[Wally]

I will certainly consider both of these next time! Torpedo finally got back to me. I wanted to be sure they had gotten the measurements I sent, and it turns out they hadn’t. I re-sent them, and now I’ll play the waiting game. It’s a relatively small tuba, but this hard case is killing me! Thanks for the response!