Zuzzy?

[Glim]

Has anyone received an order from them in the past 6 weeks? I made an order on March 5th and got an email notifying me that it would ship in 2-5 weeks. I have emailed them numerous times and have not had a single response about when (if?) my order will actually ship. I bought ~$200 of stuff from them and I am thinking about just contesting the charge to my credit card. Has anyone run into similar problems with these guys? Is there any other way to actually reach them and figure out what is going on with my order?

Thanks.

[*SQUEE*]

When I bought from Zuzzy a year ago it took a long time to get my order. Think the guy is really busy.

[johnnyspys]

I got mine in about a month or so three months ago...but yeah he is busy and it takes a long time to hear back from him. I think I emailed him a question and he got back to me two months later. I think it is basically him and a gerbil to power the electricity for his Internet service. Not saying it is a valid excuse but I am used to it since it seems on par with many hobby based businesses.

[Poppabear40]

Good product, horrible customer service. I won't order any more from him till he gets it together

[Zargar]

I ordered a mat from him in March and was told 4-7 weeks. I had been reading up about it on various forums before placing my order and saw lots of lament on the inconsistent delivery times and lack of responses to contacts in the past, so i walked into it with that expectation. I'm going to give it another month or so before i start getting worried. It's too bad, for what seems to be a great product... I'd definitely be ordering much more stuff there if this wasn't the case.

[MagnustheJust]

You just need a bit of patience. Zuzzy mats are literally made by one guy in his garage!!

I got to see a few of the mats in person at a tourney two months ago... They are fantastic, and highly worth the wait in my opinion!!

[the_Ravenous]

as many others have mentioned.. just have to be patient if you really want the stuffs, and its worth the wait. When i ordered my mat and terrain peices it took just about 3month to actually receive the order. On the plus side he did include a bonus for the wait.

The mat and terrain get compliments every week its pulled out for play - so its worth the wait, a wee frustrating but worth it for us.

[Alfonso the Traitor]

Glim dont put up with that kind of BS . If you Email a company they should reply in a timely manner . I would cancel the order . I used to work for a internet company and customer service is everything . This is sounding a lot like my experience with Battle Foam .

[MagnustheJust]

Glim dont put up with that kind of BS . If you Email a company they should reply in a timely manner . I would cancel the order . I used to work for a internet company and customer service is everything . This is sounding a lot like my experience with Battle Foam .

Woah there Alfonso... decaf dude, decaf.

Zuzzy is having the same issue that Battlefoam currently is, and that PP is just catching up with - exponential customer base growth that has expanded past their current production capabilities. This, combined with most gamers being accustomed to instant - or near instant in the case of online purchases - has caused a rather large overall gripe about delays with the gaming community as a whole.

[Atlantean]

I find it hilarious that Magnus is telling someone else to try decaf...

Anyway they have contacted Glim and are shipping very soon. If a company is having so much success that they are too busy to send a 1 sentence email reply about status of an order then they should reevaluate their practices, that is just good business.

[MagnustheJust]

I really don't take in that much caffeine in a day. Hell... I'm normally like this, and caffeine actually makes me sleepy if I get too much of it!!

[Seventhprophet]

I like the mat, but mine also took almost 2 months to get here. It took a paypal dispute to get any word from the company. but it got here, and it is a really good product.

[Episkopos]

I really don't take in that much caffeine in a day. Hell... I'm normally like this, and caffeine actually makes me sleepy if I get too much of it!!

That's the result of a caffeine overdose...

[Ghostmaker]

If Zuzzy is struggling to meet the demands of the orders they have then commen sense and good customer service would dictate that they put a hold on sales until they can meet demand. Having worked in retail for over 16 years the good will of the customer is key if you lose it your finished and word of mouth round gamers is highly efficient, my local groups have had a few issues with certain online retailers in the past and no one will order from them now due to the feedback.

[MagnustheJust]

That's the result of a caffeine overdose...

No, just a system that is wired wrong. I had to have my gall bladder removed back in 2005. They gave me enough anesthetic to droop two horses, and I was still conscious for 45 minutes...
Hooray Viking ancestry!!

[Alfonso the Traitor]

If Zuzzy is struggling to meet the demands of the orders they have then commen sense and good customer service would dictate that they put a hold on sales until they can meet demand. Having worked in retail for over 16 years the good will of the customer is key if you lose it your finished and word of mouth round gamers is highly efficient, my local groups have had a few issues with certain online retailers in the past and no one will order from them now due to the feedback.

I totally agree Ghostmaker . We have a saying in the States "Put your money where your mouth is ."

[Charbok]

Yeah, I got a Zuzzy mat two years back, and it took about three months from time of order till hands on mat. It's very much a slow process, and you should be made aware of it going in. They're super nice, if a little on the delicate side. The other issue is painting the thing, which can be a big job if you're not used to painting that much terrain. I like mine, but I don't know how big a hurry I'd be in to ever get another.

It doesn't help the cause that gaming at my house has really tailed off since my kids came around. It's quite challenging to have a four-year old, an 18 month old and a half dozen cats all interrupting your train of thought. Gaming here is nowhere near as fun as it was five years ago, and terrain purchasing/building has really dropped off my radar.

[DonovanJames]

I just ordered a 4 x 4 mat -- I'll update how long it takes from order to front door here so people can get a scope of the time frame still.

What type of glue do you use to adhere the Zuzzy mat down to plywood?

[MagnustheJust]

What type of glue do you use to adhere the Zuzzy mat down to plywood?

Umm... You don't!!

The whole point of the Zuzzy mat is so you can roll it up and stick it in the corner or in the closet...

[Dragonmann]

I ordered Zuzzy back in February. A 4 x 6 mat, and a heap of the terrain elements (trees and hills)

The confirmation email said to allow 2 to 5 weeks for delivery.

I inquired politely at 5

And threatened to cancel my order at 6

On the 7th week exactly, the day I was going to cancel my order, I got the shipping notification. Zuzzy threw some extra pieces in the box, an 11 x 14 mat and the fire pits with a polite note about being late.

Based on their forums they either have severe email issues or they have customer service from hell.

That being said, the product is awesome. Painted the 4x6 mat in about a week of evenings working an hour or two a day. The trees and hills painted a bit slower because they were more detailed in some ways and less in others.

All in all, I would hesitate to order again until the find a way to get in to distribution, but I definitely want more of their terrain.

[PG_snapshot_superhero]

To be fair... The customer service of the company has been called into question for several years at this point. I ordered a mat about 4 years ago and had issues receiving it. The gentleman was nice enough to send me some extra sample pieces to compensate for the delay, but to be honest, this customer service/manpower/production/shipping problem is one that should have been rectified some time ago.

Again, an example of an amazing business idea hampered by poor logistics.

[DonovanJames]

Umm... You don't!!

The whole point of the Zuzzy mat is so you can roll it up and stick it in the corner or in the closet...

I'll be gluing it to the folding table that I made following PoppaBear's pic tutorial -- Then I'll have foam 2x4's of different terrain types that I can switch in and out if I don't want to play on Zuzzy style

[Blue Claw]

To be clear, there is no "they" just "him", it's just something one dude runs out of his garage on his off days as I understand it.

[PG_Morsla]

+1 to all of the above... brilliant products, but terrible customer service.

I ordered four 4x4 mats, and it took eight weeks until the order was packed and sent - without any response to emails in that period. The mats and resin terrain are fantastic, but I wouldn't order from them again unless there's a change.

Limiting orders (only 50 mats for sale each month, etc) or hiring extra people to produce them (or even just a bit of help responding to enquiries) would help.

[Tyras]

It seems like this guy has a good product that has a high demand in the hobby community. I don't know his circumstances, but it is confusing to me that if he has a product that few if anybody else has, and has a demand for that product that he doesn't expand on his production capability with more people, material, space and molds. Who knows, maybe he's a special effects guy that makes a ton of money and does this as a hobby, but it seems like he has a nice little money maker on his hands if he'd expand on it to fill the demand in a more timely manner.

[Poppabear40]

I'll be gluing it to the folding table that I made following PoppaBear's pic tutorial -- Then I'll have foam 2x4's of different terrain types that I can switch in and out if I don't want to play on Zuzzy style

don't forget to leave about a foot on either side of the fold UNGLUED. It needs space to bend when you fold the board. that is super important!

[Buddhanutz]

I agree that this is likely due in part to the increase in the number of customers buying their products. However, Zuzzy has been known for very slow shipping since they started. I'm not so sure about the "bad customer service," though.

[DonovanJames]

I placed an order on May 14th --- It might be time to inquire upon the status of the order

[Po the Barbarian]

My order took well over a month to come in, but it is a very nice product, and he included a free small mat in the package. It seems like he's having trouble keeping up with the growing popularity, but I can see why - the mats are really cool. If they ever make the flag stone one without the squares on it I'm likely to buy 3 more 4x4 mats.

[West996]

Seems like he must spend a significant amount of time just making 'free stuff' in order to compensate for late orders. He really should consider shutting down new orders until he is mostly caught up and then he wouldn't spend even more time making free stuff just to appease people for having to wait so long.

At any rate, it is his business and he can run it how he wants. There is an onus on the consumer to do their research before purchasing a product. Especially from buying from such a small company in a niche market like this.

Just from reading through this thread I know that if I ever do decide to order from him, I'll be expecting an extra long wait, but I'll be expecting a quality product when it comes. I also wouldn't expect any timely answer to e-mail inquires about my order if at all.

At that point if I still order a Zuzzy mat I really have no right to complain about delivery time or e-mail response time. I've chosen to order with this knowledge and anyone that doesn't like it can choose not to.

Now if his business ultimately fails because of these problems that is his loss. Seems to me though what is more likely to happen is this guy is eventually going to get burnt out and stop making them altogether. So order while you can because with this kind of back log it wouldn't surprise me at all if he called it quits for good, that has to be exhausting.

If I were him I'd probably sell the business to someone that that could invest into it and hire employees to keep up with orders. If that did happen though, I would be my last mini that the quality of the product goes down.

[ataraxia]

I placed an order on June 22nd... It's pretty disappointing to hear that there are people waiting on orders placed in May still. I've sent 3 emails, and I haven't gotten a single response, I also tried posting in his forums, and using his contact form. I'm thinking about disputing the charge in paypal in order to get in touch with him and get an estimate of when the order will arrive.

[Snarkie]

My mat came in today and it came with a tiny storage tube. The mat seems to have been rolled around a sheet of foam and I was wondering if that was to keep the mat from sticking to itself. I would love to use the storage tube provided, but it would call for me to really roll the mat up tight and to fogo the sheet of foam that is wrapped with it. Has anyone else had issues with doing this?

[Po the Barbarian]

The plan, as I understand it is to store the mat wrapped around the tube rather than in it. I keep mine just like it was shipped - around the tube, in the long box. I haven't had any trouble having the mat stick to itself (it isn't sticky at all in my experience).

[Snarkie]

The plan, as I understand it is to store the mat wrapped around the tube rather than in it. I keep mine just like it was shipped - around the tube, in the long box. I haven't had any trouble having the mat stick to itself (it isn't sticky at all in my experience).

Ah, okay. I thought you put it into the poster tube. That explanation works for me though. Thanks Po!

[DonovanJames]

I placed an order on May 14th --- It might be time to inquire upon the status of the order

Got my mat about a week ago if that is any indication of shipping speed for anyone

[Richsaint]

I understand the one man operation, it makes communication much more important.

In the time that Ive waited, which is beyond the paypal dispute time (coinscidence?), i've learned how to make latex mats. It's really simplistic.

Search youtube, there are many vids on making silicone cass and molds.

[stuciferthemighty]

i think you should always DIY at first, then call a pro if it doesn't work. sounds like zuzzy needs a secretary.

[Terraformer]

I just finished painting a mat for a client, who said it took a couple extra weeks to receive, and was given the same freebie to compensate.

The product is really very nice. I'm a professional terrain maker and I'm planning on ordering a couple mats for myself because the detail and convenience really sells the product, especially at the price he sells them at.

I have to feel great empathy with this gentleman who is trying to meet demand. Sometimes we end up in situations where it is very hard to keep up with responsibilities when you're just barely getting by. I know how it can be to have very few options and a huge workload. I'm sure there are reasons why he hasn't hired help or closed new orders. (Most likely because new orders are keeping him afloat.) That being said, I do hope he catches up and/or makes his operation run smoother. It's a great product and I plan on writing up a full review over on our site. Which will probably add to his orders, so he better do something soon!