How good are Ironman Bullbars

[BJJ84]

i agree that this is a great outcome for the customer, however, I do have to question whether he'd have received the same outcome had the issue not been broadcast the way it was. While I do believe Ironman would've helped and replaced the parts, I believe it is damage control and a PR stunt that sent them to do everything at his house at his convenience.

Still well done, but I don't think he'd have received the same efforts if he'd rang Ironman and not made it public.

Just my 2c...

 

[Ironman 4x4]

Hey BJJ84,

You are correct in that normally we wouldn't go out to their house and fix it there, but due to the poor experience that the customer had with the distributor, we wanted to provide him with a positive resolution, especially as he lives on the opposite side of town to the distributor he purchased everything from. This was a decision made by our 4x4 products director after he met with the customer and inspected the bar, with no intention towards PR value.

Cheers!

 

[nathand22]

Great outcome for the poor bugger that got crappy products to begin with, and great spin on drawing our attention to the outcome.

I really love the part where you say how the DIRECTOR made the decision after MEETING with him and there was no intention toward PR value, cracks me up.

I hate when people treat others like they are fools.

As if the director would meet with everybody that has a problem.

BJJ84 is spot on

 

[Ironman 4x4]

nathan22, keep trolling mate, it seems that all you ever want to do with us.

Believe what you want, but I'm only stating the facts. Our director of 4x4 products is very involved with our customer service and support and takes these issues quite personally, thus why he likes to deal with it himself when he can.

 

[nathand22]

nathan22, keep trolling mate, it seems that all you ever want to do with us.

Believe what you want, but I'm only stating the facts. Our director of 4x4 products is very involved with our customer service and support and takes these issues quite personally, thus why he likes to deal with it himself when he can.

like i said its a great outcome,
i just find it hard to believe there was no pr value in going about it the way you have and are very much entitled to do.
I aslo find it hard to believe that the customer only contacted the place of purchase and then decided to put it on YouTube.
My guess is that when he called Ironman he was referred back to the place of purchase, (i mean thats what you yourself told us is the normal procedure) and its only now that he posted that video that he got the outcome he no doubt would of been happy with well before he posted his experience all over the net.

If there was NO PR value in fixing the situation they way it was, why come on here and tell everyone about it??
Of course its PR spin and like i said so it should be, of course you guys want every one to know that you fix customers problems,,, JUST dont try and tell people you are not trying to do that, it just makes it look like you think we are all silly

 

[steve1961]

Probably a bit harsh Nathan , give credit where credits due , makes no difference what spin is on it , the guy got a result , and of course there's pr involved , if there's wasn't these guys wouldn't be on the forum in the first place , unless your ARB and your only posts on the site threaten legal action , and no iam not pro Iornman , everything on my truck so far is ARB , but I wouldn't piss on them for customer service

 

[nathand22]

Probably a bit harsh Nathan , give credit where credits due , makes no difference what spin is on it , the guy got a result , and of course there's pr involved , if there's wasn't these guys wouldn't be on the forum in the first place , unless your ARB and your only posts on the site threaten legal action , and no iam not pro Iornman , everything on my truck so far is ARB , but I wouldn't piss on them for customer service

Best go back and read my posts again Steve.

 

[Adam Ironman 4x4]

like i said its a great outcome,
i just find it hard to believe there was no pr value in going about it the way you have and are very much entitled to do.
I aslo find it hard to believe that the customer only contacted the place of purchase and then decided to put it on YouTube.
My guess is that when he called Ironman he was referred back to the place of purchase, (i mean thats what you yourself told us is the normal procedure) and its only now that he posted that video that he got the outcome he no doubt would of been happy with well before he posted his experience all over the net.

If there was NO PR value in fixing the situation they way it was, why come on here and tell everyone about it??
Of course its PR spin and like i said so it should be, of course you guys want every one to know that you fix customers problems,,, JUST dont try and tell people you are not trying to do that, it just makes it look like you think we are all silly

Dear NathanD22,

I am Adam craze the director of Ironman 4x4, please feel free call us on 03 9532 1111 to verify. Both I and my national operations manger went and visited Mr Coker, not as a PR stunt like you claim but to get to the bottom of the issue he was having.

After receiving poor service from one of our distributors on more than one occasion, he decided he had had enough with us and went on to post the video. Why post a video and not contact us? he said because the bar issue was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He experienced a few issues and breakages on his trip, including almost losing a rear axle due to rear wheel bearings failing. This led to his family being stranded in the outback near Kununurra for about a week. Noticing the bar on his arrival at home was just the last thing to go wrong.

Never did he contact Ironman or our distributor so you are completely wrong in your assumptions. Contact Mr Coker if you do not believe me
Mr Coker raised an issue that he believed was a safety issue and I totally agreed, so i made contact via a letter asking him to contact me. Leaving the ball in Mr Cokers hands to contact, which he did immediately upon receiving my letter. We take the build, use and safety very seriously, whether you want to believe it or not.

Matt put up the outcome as we felt the issue was outstanding to all on this forum. I am not sure why you would find it hard to believe that closure on the topic from our side would not be required. I am sure there are others out there wanting to know the outcome.

Why at his house - because I decided to offer that service as he was mucked around previously and not by us.

Now it would have been easier to ignore the issue, but we decided not to, not because it was on a forum, but because it was the right thing to do.
Please feel free to pop into Ironman 4x4 anytime if you would like to continue this discussion

From my perspective
Adam Craze

 

[Eug]

I agree, a bit of a harsh call there. From what I gather from the initial post all they were offering was another avenue if attempts to find a resolution with a distributor failed.

Sure there might have been a bit of PR thrown in, why not? In doing so they're just publicly stated that they stand behind their product. We often hear about poor customer service at various retailers and it's refreshing to see the good news for once.

 

[navarian]

A good outcome is what it's all about.The rest is obvious. Nathan is well entitled to his opinion.
Well done chaps.

 

[nathand22]

Probably a bit harsh Nathan , give credit where credits due , makes no difference what spin is on it , the guy got a result , and in the first place , unless your ARB and your only posts on the site threaten legal action , and no iam not pro Iornman , everything on my truck so far is ARB , but I wouldn't piss on them for customer service

I agree, a bit of a harsh call there. From what I gather from the initial post all they were offering was another avenue if attempts to find a resolution with a distributor failed.

Sure there might have been a bit of PR thrown in, why not? In doing so they're just publicly stated that they stand behind their product. We often hear about poor customer service at various retailers and it's refreshing to see the good news for once.

Im not sure why you guys think it was a bit harsh, If you read my original posts i said its a GREAT OUTCOME what i also say is that ironman are fully entitled to put a PR spin on it and quite rightly so

(meaning they dealt with the problem well and why wouldnt you want the buying public to know about it)

AS you both said "Sure there might have been a bit of PR thrown in, why not?"
and "of course there's pr involved , if there's wasn't these guys wouldn't be on the forum"

if you read my posts thats all im saying BUT Matt and Adam like to treat us as fools and say the opposite, THATS ALL I WAS SAYING.

So why is that so harsh??

ADAM then come on saying i am "HIDING behind my screen name" (he has now deleted that part) which i actually have taken as a threat and sent him my mobile number and full name so he can contact me if he really wants to and so he knows i dont hide and have no reason to

I have never once said that i dont like Ironman as a company or its products, BUT i will always call a spade a spade, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck you can bet it is a duck.

I also noticed that the YouTube video that started the thread has now been removed,, nothing to do with PR there either i bet

I also believe, I (like all others on here) am entitled to say what ever i like and think what ever i like.








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[OneMofo]

A good outcome is what it's all about.The rest is obvious. Nathan is well entitled to his opinion.
Well done chaps.

Agreed

 

[Eug]

mate i just think it was a little harsh because realistically we all know what it is. they are simply walking that corporate line. i don't know what company wouldn't want to put a positive spin on any 'good deed' done. same goes for those billionaires who want to reduce their taxable income but 'generously' decides to make a very public 'donation' to a charity.

it's just a matter of perspective and you've taken some offense because you think they are taking the piss out of us. i see your take on it and while i partially agree i just choose to ignore it because i cbf'd getting strung up about small stuff like that. it's also turned a positive turn of events pretty sour. you're most certainly welcome to your opinion and i while i enjoy a healthy debate you've gotten your point across.

i think it's good that a manufacturer is actively engaging with their customer base, it's not often this occurs so i would like to think that we would want to encourage further interaction not try to keep them on the back foot by nit picking these smaller issues.

 

[nathand22]

mate i just think it was a little harsh because realistically we all know what it is. they are simply walking that corporate line. i don't know what company wouldn't want to put a positive spin on any 'good deed' done. same goes for those billionaires who want to reduce their taxable income but 'generously' decides to make a very public 'donation' to a charity.

it's just a matter of perspective and you've taken some offense because you think they are taking the piss out of us. i see your take on it and while i partially agree i just choose to ignore it because i cbf'd getting strung up about small stuff like that. it's also turned a positive turn of events pretty sour. you're most certainly welcome to your opinion and i while i enjoy a healthy debate you've gotten your point across.

i think it's good that a manufacturer is actively engaging with their customer base, it's not often this occurs so i would like to think that we would want to encourage further interaction not try to keep them on the back foot by nit picking these smaller issues.

Im not in any way saying that they should not put a spin on it, in fact i said the exact opposite, BUTplease just dont tell us your not,, then tell me that im trolling just to pick on Ironman pppfffttt no way can IBF doing that.
I jut said what two others before me had said and actually openly agreed with a previous post.
Matt has a problem with me because in another thread i said Ironman bars look like a replica of ARB ones and he wanted to prove they dont, thats why he went at me and not at the others.

 

[Adam Ironman 4x4]

Nathan

I did write "hiding behind your screen name" as I take it personally and I work very hard to ensure Ironman 4x4 is doing the right thing. I deleted with in seconds of posting as I saw the error of my way and took it too much to heart. This is why we employ Matt to ensure Ironman is represented and best not by myself as I have proven by that comment

At no stage were any threats made, if you took it like that I apologies

It was said "as if" the director went out there, so I felt the need to reply as I personally contacted Mr Coker and then went to his house

If the video us been removed it was done by Mr coker with no influence from Ironman (believe it or not)

No one is making you or anyone look like a fool and no one is treating you or anyone as such. We shared the the sequence of events and were challenged on our honesty, this maybe just how I took it.

I will now let Matt field and further questions.

Adam

 

[nathand22]

Great outcome for the poor bugger that got crappy products to begin with, and great spin on drawing our attention to the outcome.

I really love the part where you say how the DIRECTOR made the decision after MEETING with him and there was no intention toward PR value, cracks me up.

I hate when people treat others like they are fools.

As if the director would meet with everybody that has a problem.

BJJ84 is spot on

Nathan

I did write "hiding behind your screen name" as I take it personally and I work very hard to ensure Ironman 4x4 is doing the right thing. I deleted with in seconds of posting as I saw the error of my way and took it too much to heart. This is why we employ Matt to ensure Ironman is represented and best not by myself as I have proven by that comment

At no stage were any threats made, if you took it like that I apologies

It was said "as if" the director went out there, so I felt the need to reply as I personally contacted Mr Coker and then went to his house

If the video us been removed it was done by Mr coker with no influence from Ironman (believe it or not)

No one is making you or anyone look like a fool and no one is treating you or anyone as such. We shared the the sequence of events and were challenged on our honesty, this maybe just how I took it.

I will now let Matt field and further questions.

Adam

read the above QUOTE from myself and you will see that i actually wrote

"As if the director would meet with everybody that has a problem." and not as you say "as if the director went out there"

I NEVER said or doubted you did actually contact him at all.

Also if you deleted the comment about me hiding behind my screen name seconds after, why does it show your edit was done over an HOUR later??










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[Adam Ironman 4x4]

The edit a hour later was fixing 2 spelling mistakes, I had the word "is" instead of an "in", I also had "strained" instead of "stranded".

 

[BigTrev]

Adam I been using iornman gear for 10 years now not your suspension because I have personal preference on that. But as for everything else my d40 should be an iornman promo vehicle haha, keep producing good gear mate you got my vote here...

 

[Old.Tony]

I have to admit I'm always divided in these situations. I do find myself being skeptical of the underlying reasons for any company doing something like this because you just expect it to be a stunt more than an honest attempt to resolve the problem. It's unfortunate that corporations more often choose the stunt path making us think that every similar situation is also a stunt - so whether or not this WAS a stunt, it's going to smell like one because of what every other company has done.

To be perfectly honest, in this situation I don't care. A guy had a bad item and a bad run of events, he posted something online to warn others of the problem, and the company responsible for the item (not just a local distributor) did what a lot of companies wouldn't do.

If it were another company doing this you might expect them to send a new item out in the mail, and sure the guy would be grateful for that, he'd be happy, problem solved.

Ironman went a whole step further. Stunt or not, they didn't have to do that. They could have just delivered a new bar, wearing the cost of the bar + freight and we would have all said "gee what a great bunch of guys". That they organised to fix it at his house is well above and beyond expectations.

I don't expect that they'd do that for everyone - they'd lose money hand over fist, but they did get some bad PR and they stepped in quickly and resolved it and obtained some good PR while they were at it.

In my books I'd call it "scales balanced". My personal impression of the Ironman brand just improved - my only impression in the past was formed by a pair of Load Plus Helper Springs which were ok when new but became decidedly lacklustre in performance quite rapidly, replaced by OME Dakar dual rate springs.

Seeing this sort of episode has done something in my mind-set. Whereas a week ago I counted "Rays ... SCA ... ARB ..." amongst my shops that I would consider buying stuff from and TJM/Ironman specifically excluded, this is now changing. I might not buy a lot from them (and would be careful to check longevity etc based on my previous experience) but now I don't think I'll purposefully avoid the brand.

I say "good on ya" to the team at Ironman. Sure, people are going to be skeptical and you can count me in on that group, but it's damn good to see a company try to resolve a problem rather than ignore it, or attempt to sweep it under the carpet.

 

[Ben54b]

I agree completly with everything you said old tony. i have been thinking about how to comment on
this thread for days. i can see both sides of the story as a service provider and consumer myself.
As a company you have two choices do the minimum and people will bag you. go over and above and
people will bag you. it a lose lose. i comend ironman for there handling of this situation however i
also commend nathan22 for pointing out that no matter what the intention they will still reap a reward
as stated by old tony in people changing ther opinions. just my two cents. ben