Dog crap service from Skymaster
 

7 weeks ago I ordered a new stab for my SM F-4. After 3 emails from my dealer to John he said no word from SM OEM. The last time I owned a SM I had the same non existent level of service. Guess I was nuts from getting another. It will be my last if I dont get my stab. Read the SM threads, everyone is waiting for kits, parts etc. The only thing they do with any urgency is take your money! Come on Anton and John, it's just a plain white 1/1.75 stab.

In addition to my order thru A&E Jets. Eric has another customer waiting over 6 months for F16 wings and one over 4 months for an A4 kit that was stated to be in stock. Neither Anton or John will answer emails. Whats up? Why would anyone in their right mind order another Skymaster product? SEND MY PARTS....you got your $$ as soon as I ordered!

Just to present the other side of the coin, I order my Skymaster product directly from Skymaster and have receive nothing short of outstanding service. I get the impression that if a dealer orders the kit, they expect the dealer to handle the customers issues and answer their questions. If that's the case, it doesn't sound like all that unreasonable an expectation to me.

I also recall hearing a similar discussion a while back where the customer was complaining he had ordered an airplane, paid in full and it was taking forever to show up. It turned out that while the dealer had collected all the funds, they never actually fully paid Skymaster for the airplane and that was the reason it wasn't being shipped. Probably not the cause of your problems but when there is a 3rd party involved I always find it difficult to understand the real source of any problems that arise.

On the same line, a friend ordered his Skymaster through BVM. He'd called BVM and they weren't able to fully answer his questions because they had never built that particular model before and when he called Skymaster they didn't respond, presumable because they expected BVM to handle these types of issues.

As for parts, I damaged the canopy glass on my Skymaster / XtremeJets Dragon. I sent John an email and asked him about availability of a new canopy glass and mentioned that I would like to get it ASAP so I could fly my Jet at an upcoming Jet rally. It took him several days to get back to me but when he did, he let me know that the new canopy had been shipped, provided tracking information and then asked me to pay for the canopy via PayPal after it had already shipped. The price including DHL shipping was very reasonable and I think it took about 10 days from the time I first contacted him until I received my new canpoy. I've contacted John with questions and when I needed needed parts a number of times over the past several years and John has stepped up and provide fantastic service in every single case. I think the difference is that I ordered directly from Skymaster vs a 3rd party.

Just to be clear, I'm not implying that your dealer did anything wrong, just that when there is a 3rd party involved, communications get more complicated and it's difficult to tell where the real problem lies.

Wfield and Mikey. SM has my $ which was sent immediately when I got the quote.. It shouldnt matter whether it is a direct order or through a dealer...they owe me my parts in a reasonable amount of time or provide a explanation of why not.

I am on the other side of that wall, I have ordered directly thru John at Skymaster, Never any issues, good communication, usually takes a day or so,but considering where they are that's to be expected. I have ordered numerous parts and never had an issue getting them. Hope you get it worked out

Me to I ad to order some part to fix a Hawk ...the service was great , answer all my email ..John was ver helpful , no problem for sure

I am also a very happy Skymaster customer. I have always dealt directly with John and Anton and their service has been 5 STAR. Since 2005 I have bought many kits and had various issues sorted out by them. Their outstanding service is the very reason why I believe Skymaster is the single best hobby company I deal with.

JanR

Yes, both John and Anton were at JetPower 2018.

Sorry you're having trouble Tom, but have to say I have always gotten parts and had reasonably prompt email replies from John. As most of the above, I have always dealt with them directly.
No excuse for them not getting you your stab, though.'
-Mike O.

Just got word. A new stab will be shipped tomorrow. Hate I had to pull out the nukes but I was pissed!

I have purchased 12 Skymaster Jets over a 11 year period. I have always found John and Anton very responsive to replacement parts.....especially if the model was damaged in shippment for any reason. New orders usually arrived within a couple of weeks of promised delivery date. I have always ordered directly from Skymaster. The dealers in the USA maybe are not always as responsive to solving your problem, particulary if they selling competeing products!!!

David "Two Dogs " Carter Satisfied Skymaster Customer

Tom, good to hear you're getting a new stab sent out soon. Mine arrived with a delaminated trailing edge....easy fix with some hysol but I asked them to send me a new one, which they promptly did for me, matching paint and all. If I may ask, what did they charge for the replacement stab?

Dont. Remember exactly but it was in the 350 range.

Then why buy from a dealer? For that matter, why have dealers?

And.....there it is.

Stab released from customs at JFK. With a little luck my Phantom will be ready for the Flying Tigers in 2 weeks

Yeehaw! Got my stab today. Now...off to the shop!

When you get a new one make a mold out of it and sell them yourself.