BlueScapegoat
Well-Known Member
Yes, I did. And an invoice came along with it. I just never a confirmation or receipt at the time of order.
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AAL (American Adventure Lab) Poor Customer Service
- Thread starter RoamingGladiator
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Hootbro
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Thanks.
FWIW, I did at least get two emails when I placed the order. One for confirmation of the order and second one with a invoice. Just have not seen my item yet but has only been about 2 weeks.
NC_Overland
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A few weeks ago, I ordered a mount from them for the battery cut off switch for my winch. There’s a delay in communication, but they got back to me. I get the feeling they’re a small operation and manufacturer in batches when they have enough orders. Mine is just now about to ship. I’m ok with them so far.
JTdiRtyD
Well-Known Member
Although it doesn't justify lack of communication, I feel like the manufacturing facilities may also be screwing these companies over as well. I'm waiting on parts from Rebel Offroad, Rebel states they were told they would have them in house from powder coating on the 11th, and they would then ship everything on the 14th. Still haven't shipped because they still haven't received them from powder coating. This has happened quite a bit from other companies as well, they are told they will receive their product by "x" date, they don't receive it and get a new date, still don't receive it on time.
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RoamingGladiator
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- #35
Heya folks,
Just came back from a month long vacation so apologies for the delay in response. I received the clear turn signals from AAL without the bracket. I ended up having to completely sand and repaint the bracket as it was completely rusted after 4 months, they dont seem to use anti-sieze as all the screws were completely rusted in place. Rust penetrant didn't work, ended up having to notch slots in the screws to break them loose as the tiny 2.5mm head wasn't doing anything.
Once these die I'll be going with another brand, this experience has completely ruined AAL for me unfortunately. Hope it works out better for everyone else.
Just came back from a month long vacation so apologies for the delay in response. I received the clear turn signals from AAL without the bracket. I ended up having to completely sand and repaint the bracket as it was completely rusted after 4 months, they dont seem to use anti-sieze as all the screws were completely rusted in place. Rust penetrant didn't work, ended up having to notch slots in the screws to break them loose as the tiny 2.5mm head wasn't doing anything.
Once these die I'll be going with another brand, this experience has completely ruined AAL for me unfortunately. Hope it works out better for everyone else.
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NC_Overland
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I can’t believe how long I’m waiting for a simple bracket. It’s been like three weeks now. They finally emailed me back last week and said it’s going to powder coat and then 2-3 weeks. It’s mind blowing. I’m glad it’s not anything sure important. I have my winch battery power disconnect zip tied in.
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NC_Overland
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2-3. lol. Fixed it.
Stormtroopin
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Wish I would’ve seen this thread before making my purchase. I emailed them early in the month with questions regarding the fender chop kit and after about 2 weeks, against my better judgment, I went ahead and ordered the kit because it said Instock on the website. Been a week now and still haven’t received anything other than and email with the order number and no response from the support staff. I’m going to wait till Friday and if I haven’t heard back from the company I’m just gana cancel the order and get a refund. I’ve come across 3 threads now with issues about the customer communication and big delays on orders. Really would like to give the company my support but apparently they have issues.
Hootbro
Well-Known Member
Got an email with tracking info for the switch panel I ordered. That was two days ago with no movement on the tracking. Pushing on 6 weeks.
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Hootbro
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Finally got my switch bracket from them. From time of order to my mailbox was 7 weeks. Silver lining was that they included mount hardware for the switch which I was not expecting.
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RoamingGladiator
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Hootbro
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Yeah, I order my item knowing the risk. Cannot say I would endorse them or my experience is indicative of what others will have.
Stormtroopin
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Soo after about three weeks in total I got my fender chop kit. Install went smooth and the product looks worth the price. They did reach out to me via email with an update on the item coming back from powder coat and would be shipped out the next day. Overall my experience wasn’t bad, just wish they would respond within 24 hours like every other company I’ve dealt with. My recommendation is to call the company line multiple times throughout the day, after my third call on a Thursday I finally got to chat with an actual representative of AAL and he answered all my questions and concerns.
bmzero
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Hey everyone, Brit here from American Adventure Lab. I came across this thread in a random Google search and want to own up to a few things discussed here.
First off, thank you for the honesty in this thread. It’s not easy reading criticism about something you’ve built from scratch, but it matters — and I want you to know we’ve been listening.
What happened:
AAL grew fast — faster than our systems. In the early days, we had one or two people juggling shipping, assembly, and thousands of SKUs. That worked for a time, but as demand and product count exploded, we had to change how we operated.
About a year and a half ago, we moved to a full MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) system. It was the right move long-term, but in the short-term, it created disruption. Unfortunately, some key people didn’t want to work that way and moved on, and knowledge gaps slowed things down. Orders got delayed, communication lagged, and customers got frustrated. That’s on me.
Where we are now:
The Gladiator is still one of the cornerstones of our business — and we have some huge products coming for the bed area soon. Building a good relationship here is important to me personally as I think the JT is the most versatile vehicles on the market, so I’ll be bringing one or two of our CS team members onto this forum to help me stay connected, answer questions, and be a better resource for you
On customer feedback:
We’ve processed nearly 80,000 orders since starting AAL seven years ago. We’ve made mistakes — and we own those — but we’ve also made thousands of customers’ adventures more organized and capable. Bad news spreads fast, good news is harder to collect, but we’re working to change that too.
I care deeply about this community, and I want to make sure every person who buys from us knows they’ll be taken care of.
— Brit Mansell
Owner, American Adventure Lab
First off, thank you for the honesty in this thread. It’s not easy reading criticism about something you’ve built from scratch, but it matters — and I want you to know we’ve been listening.
What happened:
AAL grew fast — faster than our systems. In the early days, we had one or two people juggling shipping, assembly, and thousands of SKUs. That worked for a time, but as demand and product count exploded, we had to change how we operated.
About a year and a half ago, we moved to a full MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) system. It was the right move long-term, but in the short-term, it created disruption. Unfortunately, some key people didn’t want to work that way and moved on, and knowledge gaps slowed things down. Orders got delayed, communication lagged, and customers got frustrated. That’s on me.
Where we are now:
- The MRP system is fully online and working. It’s given us the ability to plan, stock, and build smarter.
- We’ve built a Quick Ship program for our most popular products (like Sleeper Keepers and Propane Mounts) so they’re ready before you even order.
- Our powder coating turnaround is faster thanks to multiple daily runs with our vendor across the street.
- We’re actively hunting for a much bigger facility (we almost landed a 35,000 sq ft space last week) so we can bring even more processes in-house.
- Most importantly, we now have three dedicated Customer Service rock stars. As of this morning, there were zero open tickets waiting for a response.
The Gladiator is still one of the cornerstones of our business — and we have some huge products coming for the bed area soon. Building a good relationship here is important to me personally as I think the JT is the most versatile vehicles on the market, so I’ll be bringing one or two of our CS team members onto this forum to help me stay connected, answer questions, and be a better resource for you
On customer feedback:
We’ve processed nearly 80,000 orders since starting AAL seven years ago. We’ve made mistakes — and we own those — but we’ve also made thousands of customers’ adventures more organized and capable. Bad news spreads fast, good news is harder to collect, but we’re working to change that too.
I care deeply about this community, and I want to make sure every person who buys from us knows they’ll be taken care of.
— Brit Mansell
Owner, American Adventure Lab
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