Torpedo Bags totally MIA????

[intrepidpooch]

Just wondering if anybody has any advice how to get in touch with anyone at Torpedo Bags. I spoke to Lindsay Deming about 4 months ago about a minor repair to my leather Loredo bag and when she replied she said to send it in. I shipped my case to them and that was literally the last communication I received from them, even though I’ve called and emailed countless times. At this point I didn’t know what else to do other than reach out on TH with the hope that one of you kind folks knows Steve, Lindsay, or anyone else at Torpedo Bags and how best to get a hold of them. I totally understand that things are absolutely nuts with the pandemic raging so all I’m asking for is a simple confirmation that they received my case and will get to it in the future. Appreciate your help everyone!!!!
_________________
Ray Callender
http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/raycallender
http://www.myspace.com/raycallender

[Dayton]

Here is an excerpt from a longer June 23, 2020 e-mail from Steve Kriesel, which may partly answer your question:

[Begin quote.]

I know some people are upset at our lack of communication and order delays — this is certainly understandable. Lindsey put herself on furlough in March, and she had fielded all the emails. We couldn’t work on Cronkhite and Torpedo due to the equipment demands and the stay at home order. Meanwhile, I couldn’t step up to the emails because I just couldn’t — literally. I was trying to juggle how to purchase and hire and retain and cut and distribute and pay and pack and ship an entirely new ballgame, and I knew if I did it right we’d be in a position to survive the downturn. I did do that part right, but I did it at the expense of our regular customers, and I am sorry for that. It’s been a helluva spring, and all I can do is beg forgiveness.

We’re back in, as of last week, masks on, and cutting Cronkhite and Torpedo. New recent orders have been slow, and we will catch up to those soon. I’m not sure I will solve the email/phone issue quickly, so hang in there — we’ll get your order out the door in the coming days and weeks. We’re rotating days on the heavy equipment to keep my crew safe, so each bag will be partially made in homes.

[End quote.]

[James Becker]

I get it, some of our regular suppliers of tools and supplies are much slower in delivering product. Until things return to normal, this is likely going to take some time to ramp back up. Understanding and patience are greatly appreciated by those in our very specialized industry. On behalf of all the small businesses, thank you for your continued support.
_________________
James Becker
Brass Repair Specialist Since 1977
Osmun Music Inc.
77 Powdermill Road Rt.62
Acton, MA 01720
www.osmun.com

Our workshop is as close as your nearest UPS store https://www.ups.com/dropoff?loc=en_US

[Brad361]

Not wishing in any way to speak for Steve, but in addition to everything else going on, I believe their business is located very near the site of the George Floyd incident and subsequent rioting.

It’s been, and continues to be, a very difficult 2020 for everyone thus far.

Brad
_________________
When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

[trumpetangel]

I am still waiting for a Torpedo Velox case that I ordered in April 2017....!!! Last March I lost my hopes that I would ever receive this product and asked them for a refund. After several unsuccessful e-mail inquiries Lindsey Deming finally got back to me: they were unable to immediately refund almost anyone because of the economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, they simply don't have the money. I then suggested to change my order, I wanted a different case that was available right away, in the same price range : no reply from them whatsoever. I don't live in the U.S but I am aware how difficult the situation is right now. I still find it unacceptable how this company deals with their customers. Even before the pandemic all I ever heard from them was excuses why they could not deliver their product!!!

[Dayton]

[Steve A]

They've been struggling pretty badly with any kind of reliable correspondence for much longer than the pandemic has been going on. Lindsey generally seems to be pretty good at answering emails within a reasonable timeline, but she only handles certain things, and in my dealings with them, anything she's said she needs to go to Steve for has pretty much been a dead end.

I preordered the Velox and updated Coyote cases in 2016 and finally gave up waiting for them and asked for them to be refunded for both more than a year ago. Lindsey said Steve was away at ITG when I asked for the refund, and said it'd probably take another two weeks or so after he got back. I checked in every few months to ask what was going on, and she was very apologetic before I eventually got refunded for less than half of the total amount (the Velox, but not the Coyote) six months after I asked for the refund. I've been emailing them regularly since December trying to get them to confirm that they're aware that they refunded less than half of my money, but haven't gotten either a refund or an explanation.

They make great cases, and seem like decent people who made promises they couldn't deliver on, and don't know how to manage now. If they'd told me a year ago, "look, we'd like to refund you as soon as possible, but we just don't have the cash on hand, and don't know when we will. We'll do everything we can, but it might take a while", I would have understood that. Not liked it, mind you, but understood it. I'm at a loss for why they would have said "usually two weeks" when it's now been 53 weeks, and from what I can see, my experience is fairly typical. At a minimum, a straight answer would be refreshing.

[Jberg]

Same story with me, unfortunately. And this also goes back way before the pandemic. I ordered a single gig bag for rotary in August 2018 and paid in full. I received the bag very quickly and it did not even remotely fit any of my three rotary trumpets (2 Weimanns and a Ganter). They asked for measurements of the horn, which I sent them, and said that they’d do another one so I sent the original bag back.

Months pass with no update. Finally asked for a refund as I was changing jobs and needed the money. Again, a number of emails sent (probably a dozen) with no response at all. Phone calls with no response. Finally got a response and then lots of excuses and more follow up emails to ask about the status of my refund. I must have sent dozens of emails over six months and finally got the refund in February 2019.

Like almost everyone else, I really like their product, but that’s no way to run a business. I haven’t bought from them since and probably won’t ever buy from them again.

[LittleRusty]

This is such a shame. Torpedo has always had such a good reputation when it comes to their products. So many owners recommend them to people looking for a case.

But at the end of the day being open and up front with customers is necessary. Especially when dealing with online purchases where it isn't possible to drop by and have a face to face conversation.

Much of this seems to date back to the fiasco with the Velox and Coyote updates. I am sure that in addition to Steve not being a natural communicator that there is a little embarrassment and frustration with the development money spent and the lack of success in getting the new cases to market.

If the cases were crap and the company was substandard then perhaps this might be righteous. But potentially losing a manufacturer of good, if not great, products is a real shame.

[intrepidpooch]

Thanks so much for your replies everyone, it’s comforting to know at least I’m not the only one, lol! Trumpetangel, I can’t believe you’re still waiting for something you paid for going on 3 years ago! So sorry to hear that, definitely very disappointing customer service from a company that makes such great products. Hopefully Steve, Lindsay, or someone else at the company sees this thread and decides to contact each of us. Best of luck to you all that are still waiting on a reply and stay safe out there!
_________________
Ray Callender
http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/raycallender
http://www.myspace.com/raycallender

[Brad361]

[Shawnino]

Just to add to LR and Brad's posts: something I'm seeing everywhere in these times (whether you're selling trumpet accessories, shoes, cars...) is that the customers "get it" that this is a time of upheaval--and most customers are eager to cut businesses some slack if the businesses are doing their level best at providing what customer service they can.

This is the absolute worst time, as a business, to abdicate efforts at customer service.

If it's ben going on awhile, though, I'm rather less surprised that it's bad now.

[time_is_mula]

I have had nothing but good experiences with their products, but not so much from their customer service (pre-COVID-19). Fortunately, I was always lucky with the relatively short wait time (2-3 weeks) and ordered their black classic bag. I realized if you ordered from one of their official dealers you'll get the bag much faster and the communication is 100% better. Perhaps Torpedo is more inclined to provide customer service to their dealers than individual customers online. Who knows? AWESOME cases though!

[Brad361]

Maybe it would be best to just keep my mouth shut, but I’m hoping this is taken as a positive.

I have purchased, and currently use, many Torpedo cases, and have had absolutely nothing but great customer service from Torpedo, and I believe their cases are among the best available anywhere. That being said, I have seen the accounts of people who have ordered and very patiently waited for products which are still not delivered, and this situation began way before the current pandemic and social unrest. I believe that the good folks at Torpedo simply encountered unforeseen problems in getting new products to market, and the problem has been exacerbated by current political and public health conditions.

Solution? I have no idea, but I hope that the guys at Torpedo find a way to get things back on track.....soon. I don’t believe they have a lot of time left to fix things, and this is an American company building fine products in America, we can’t afford to lose another company like Torpedo.

Brad
_________________
When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

[jazzvuu]

The few times I had interactions with Torpedo Bags was fine and their products are really great (all way before covid).

I order a new Coyote lid which require shipping in the case and it was done in the expect time. I inquired later about adding wheels and handle and was communicated quickly that they no longer have parts to do that modification.

Now I do know this is still a small business with a bulk of the communication on Lindsey with the occasionally blog email from Steve now. Covid, protesting/riots in his neighborhood, and the fact that he change gears to produce mask for that need have all delay things but many things are running out of pace now.

As for the Velox and such, that is definitely a problem they need to address with those waiting clients and provide requested refunds promptly if funds are there.

[spitvalve]

I ran a small mail-order sales/manufacturing business many years ago--mostly a one-man operation with occasional part-time help, usually my kids. Some of the products I shipped were pretty big so I used UPS. I had a product line of storage boxes for architects and engineers to put their plans in. At the time (ca1992) the compression technology did not exist for large architectural/engineering drawings so they had to store hard copies of their plans.

Things went along swimmingly until the UPS strike of 1998. Suddenly I couldn't ship most of my products. FedEx was too busy taking up the slack for UPS to take on any new accounts, and I almost went belly-up before the strike ended. Even then, I had to bring on an investor/partner/former boss to get things going again (the partner was a jerk and I ended up going deep in debt to buy him out).

I understand the difficulty in having a business with a niche market like I did--a crisis can really throw a monkey wrench into things. Suppliers have to be paid to keep the business going, and sometimes the need to maintain relationships with suppliers requires a lot of working capital--there were many times I could only bring home one or two hundred bucks a week. With a wife and five kids in the house that was good for groceries and not much else. More than once we had our power shut off (In Texas. In the summertime). I managed to get the company going again for awhile, but compression technology improvements reduced my sales and I didn't have the means to diversify and compete with other products. Eventually I had to shut it down and my credit was demolished and it took me almost twenty years to get my scores back up to the "good" category.

Again, as a casual observer, it seems to me that Torpedo Bags has had these supply and cash flow issues long before the pandemic hit. I understand backorders and the difficulty in putting out a quality product in a timely manner as well as trying to keep customers happy and maintain a reserve for refunds if they aren't willing to wait for the product.

I don't know much about Torpedo Bags other than the ads I've seen and the chatter here on TH, so I'm not being judgmental; because I've had a similar experience, I can only offer sympathy and hope they can find a way to turn it around, because I know how bad it sucks when things don't go right.
_________________
Bryan Fields
----------------
1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1979 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
Eastlake Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[intrepidpooch]

Just a quick update, I just got a very nice reply from Lindsey explaining that many of them were furloughed during the pandemic and that they’ll be repairing my case in the next week or so. I know they’re literally in walking distance from where George Floyd was murdered so I can only imagine how crazy it’s been for them trying to keep the business afloat amidst such unprecedented chaos. I absolutely love my Torpedo bag and am really glad to finally reach a resolution to this situation. Thanks everyone!
_________________
Ray Callender
http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/raycallender
http://www.myspace.com/raycallender

[oregoncoast]

Dear all

The Torpedo Bags folks posted on Facebook earlier today. They mentioned that:

“Catching up...between the shut down, the fires, and then all 3 of our in-house sewers getting Covid...it’s been real. It also killed 4 to 5 months of production and I personally feel like I’m doing the job of 8 people at the same time. Lindsey is back to about 10 hours a week, so email communication is back on board. Thank you, everyone, for extending us your patience and understanding. Stay safe!“

Take care everybody!

[Musicman]

Anybody know if they are doing ok? Closed maybe? Bought a case directly from them on August 10th. Have written to three different email addresses, a Facebook message, countless phone calls and I haven’t been able to reach anyone. I’m traveling to the states and if it can be delivered in the window where I’ll be there, great. Otherwise I would rather a refund and buy the bag from Amazon or the likes. Getting frustrated not being able to make contact with anyone over almost 2 weeks.

[Brad361]

I emailed them with a question a few weeks ago, no response.
I did buy Cronkhite triple about six months ago from Amazon, shipped by Torpedo, it arrived in about a week. Assuming they’re still in business, I THINK that’s the best way to buy anything from them currently. Doesn’t help anyone who is waiting for an order placed directly with Torpedo of course.

Steve Kreisel is a member here, maybe he’ll see some of this and respond?

Brad
_________________
When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval