Moutain Mods...

[Quels]

Whew, OK now that I've had a little time to calm down and think about this. I'll give them a call on Monday, I called today but as I already knew they are closed on the weekend. I decided to go back in the package just to see if maybe its all the big panels that were bent and scratched. I was thinking, "maybe I'll do the RMA if they can get them all out right away being I do like the size and upgrade ability of this case". I then noticed some things that made me change my mind again.

This ripped cardboard isn't from me, it was used as packing and if you look closely you can see its filthy and has FOOT PRINTS! on it. I at that


I then put all the packing back as I remembered pulling it out, and noticed this in the plastic wrap they stuffed on the top of the components.

Thats frickin paper towels used as packing, I even harder at that.

I'm trying to bash MM as a whole but my experience is just horrid.

As for the outside of the box it was pretty much pristine.


arrrg now im pissed again

[Quels]

I just got my new case from MM today, and I had a similar disappointing experience with their packing as the Quels'. The outside box was in great condition, but it looked like they threw in whatever was lying on the ground for packing (paper, a handful of packing peanuts, and some plastic bags). Everything was bundled in so much cling-wrap, you'd think they owned stock in the cling-wrap company. There were some bent parts, too - not from outside damage, but clearly from being jammed into the box (everything was in there so tight, I had to pull apart the box to get it out. One of the acrylic bay covers was wrapped so tightly, the joints were broken. (Sorry, I don't have a camera, so no pics.)

I have been pleased with their products in the past, but it has been several years since I have ordered anything. My experience today was less then stellar. I couldn't help but keep thinking that the attention to detail that I found in their products in the past just wasn't there this time. (Some assembly instructions for the case would have been nice, too.)

I've got the case assembled and the glue is drying on the bay cover, so we'll see. I've got very mixed feelings about it right now.

wow just as I was posting you were writing that. I even asked the wife, "did you put paper towels in there for any reason"? I even matched the pattern to ours.

[BDW88]

I got a Ex. Ascension and a pedestal from them some panels were bent on the ped and one panel was missing from the Ascension, wasn't anything really major that a rubber mallet couldn't fix and an email to Ben for the missing panel. They need to do something about the packaging that clingy wrap crap isn't cutting it for the amount of money you spend but I forgot about all that though after I assembled it. Man it's a sight to behold!.

[barfastic]

i recently got my case aswell (ordered in january :S ) and my packaging was destroyed... i mean it looked like it was dragged behind a truck from usa to UK. inside, most of the parts were ok, but i had some problems too.

the front panel had a bent edge (for those who know, the edge that gets screwed into the bottom segment... the joint?) but i fixed that by hand, wasnt too ahrd, and my side panels were slightly warped, but nothing a few uni books stacked onto them over a period of 2 weeks couldnt fix.

but yeah, i was sortof let down too, cause i did run into some manufacturing errors aswell, but the cost and time of sending the items back wasnt worth it. so i fixed everything myself... shame urs were bent so bad

[Alchemy1]

Wow, this thread makes me further dislike MM. I had the same issue when I picked up my case on Thursday. I called and the guy kind of gave me this pissy attitude. He also said that they recently moved and hadn't had ANY damages before that and now they have only had TWO cases. Well, after reading this thread there are WAY more than that. Personally I'm done with MM. My Extended Ascension is a POS in my opinion compared to my old U2-UFO. The gauge of the aluminum is thinner so it flexes really easily, the mobo brace isn't tacked at the corners so it wobbles like crazy, and since they have made every single component modular they are all unstable.

Here is a link to my issues in detail.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604868
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=100636735

[Alphamale]

well I hate that this has happened to anyone, but does explain the issues I have had getting some answers from MM on a custom build. Going to move on as it appears MM customer service and their controls have fallen like the economy...

I know I appreciate the info

[Eddie3dfx]

I was on another site and someone posted similar experiences.. From the looks of their facility and the quality of their work, you would think these things would come in shipping crates, especially given their very high shipping prices.

I like mountain mods cases, but this makes me question whether I'd buy one in the future.

[Wolf132]

My H2go was shipped pre-built inside the shipping box, so I'm guessing it would take a lot of dropping to mess it up.

[Arkangyl]

Hmm, my U2-UFO came in the same cling-wrap + cardboard box. I can't really remember what else it had for packing material, I know there wasn't any torn & dirty cardboard though.

I recall CS being pretty good too, I know I had quite a few questions and (I think it was Ben?) was quick to respond to my emails and sort things out with me.

I'd be curious to hear if MM has new management / employees or something.

[JackOfAll]

My recent experience with MM has not been good. I'd expect better for the $$$'s. I had to bend a couple of panels back into shape. Fine, the panels are cling wrapped, but a few packing peanuts doesn't stop parts from moving around inside the box. I emailed them the day it arrived. I ordered an extended CYO U2-UFO, with 3x 24x18 big window panels. I received 2x 24x18 panels and a 18x18 panel. Also, the castor pack, mounting screws, HDD brackets, LED's, switches, etc. etc. were not included. I received a reply to my email on 17/04 to the effect that "our eye in the sky shows that these were included in your package, it must have been opened in transit". Nope, there is no way the box had been opened in transit! They said they'd get the missing parts out to me. I emailed them 11 days later to get an ETA. The reply was that the parts hadn't shipped, but would ship that day. So basically, they had forgotten about shipping the parts for 11 days until I sent a reminder email asking for an update on the ETA. When I spend more than $700 with a company I expect better!

[Halciet]

It took them forever to ship out mine (about three weeks or so), and when I received it I also had some slight bending of the connecting panels. They were easy enough to bend out, but yeah...the MM packaging is pretty crappy.

They also suck about responding to emails, queries, or concerns.

I dunno. I like the case a lot and all, but didn't really like the purchase experience, or any of my experiences with the personnel. Some elements of the design really suck as well - for example, the motherboard tray is nice and all, but the placement of the bolt-screws that hold it to the case get in the way of some of the PCI slots, making it extremely difficult to screw in the thumb screws to hold cards in. They're also lacking portholes on the side to get a screwdriver in there to tighten things as well - something I had gotten used to on my Silverstone cases.

[LOUISSSSS]

thumbs down for MM after reading all these reviews. i'm sure all the people with good experiences will chime in their comments, but to me that won't matter. with so many concentrated negative experiences (in this forum alone) i dont think i will be looking into MM cases. theres just too much risk factor for a case that isn't as high quality as the thick aluminum panels of LL and silverstone. their poor packaging for fragile acrylic panels is unacceptable and their extremely long shipping times creates months of downtime that i wouldn't want.

[DarthBeavis]

I am sure Ben will read this thread

[sirheck]

Ive about changed my mind on ordering the Pinnacle 18.
If i spend 375 bucks for a case (especially one i have to build and add the standard accessories) and have to wait
more than two weeks or have to straighten any panel at all, well there are plenty a more options out there.

[veedubfreak]

I am sure Ben will read this thread

And when he does, i forsee some people getting fired.

[Alchemy1]

TBH, I think I was speaking with Ben on the phone the other day. I was NOT impressed at all.

[_Slim_Shady_]

It only takes a few disatisfied customers to ruin your business. Hopefully Ben will come in here and do some damage control.

I waited several months for my case to arrive. I had a custom front panel, and I missed the cutoff date for orders by a few days so mine didn't get made until the next batch. I was a little disappointed that Ben didn't let me know that it would take over 3 months to get my case. I do understand his point of view. He has to wait until he has enough orders to manufacture a new batch of panels. I also had one tab bent on a panel, but I was able to bend it back no problem. However when you spend $700 you don't expect that.

Overall, MM cases are unique and well-built. However, for the price, I would expect MurderMod quality. Maybe Charles is spoiling us with his supermodel photoshoots?

[MountainMods]

I can certainly empathize with the frustration of the OP. It's never fun to receive a damaged part. It happens to all of us if we order enough online. However he can rest assure that we will help him out. Whether if he wants a replacement or a refund we'll do whatever he wants on the matter. It's obvious to my self given the extent of damage to the corner that no amount of packaging would have helped on this one.

As for our packaging - for those that chimed in - thanks. We will certainly watch the matter. It's interesting that this comes up now as of just a few days ago I was discussing our impressively low rate of damage claims with our fedex rep. We shipped nearly 5000 packages in 2008 with only 2 damage claims for the entire year. This was very pleasing to fedex. It's also pleasing to us, and hopefully to the several thousands of other customers that have not responded to this thread.

As for the type of packaging in the box. I can state that we are big on environmental conservation. We do re-use a lot of packaging. We've found that in shipping the most important thing is to have a tight interior so that things do not shift around. We do use plastic scraps from inbound shipments, backing from acrylic, even as the OP noted perhaps some paper towels that came inbound from the anodizing shop (which uses paper towels for wrapping anodized parts). This packaging is used as fill in conjunction with cardboard spacers and stretch wrap. We use cardboard cut from other inbound boxes to help secure the corners around the panels. We give our acrylic scraps to local schools for machining. Our re-use of packaging is so high that we produce merely 1 garbage can of waste and 1 can of recycling every week. While our main goal is to produce high quality product to the end user, we pride ourselves in doing so with a low footprint to the environment. Pretty packaging would mean more to the total cost of product as well as negative consequence to the environment. So by our re-use we are keeping costs down to the consumer while promoting sustainability.

[Movieman]

TBH, I think I was speaking with Ben on the phone the other day. I was NOT impressed at all.

Would you care to elaborate?
I've spoken with Ben a couple times.
I found him to be articulate and a decent person to speak with.
It looks to me like he's probably got a new guy packaging the cases and like all new people needs to learn.
I look at this and think back to others I've seen and it has to be that scenario as in the past their packaging was excellent.

[Sly Fox]

I for one just hope that these are isolated instances and don't reflect the overall quality of Mountain Mods.

Still think I might just order one this summer, but this thread has filled me with some serious doubt.

If it's a new employee then good, they can be fired and we'll move on. I was just so looking forward to a nice easy case for once, no modding required.

[Movieman]

I for one just hope that these are isolated instances and don't reflect the overall quality of Mountain Mods.

Still think I might just order one this summer, but this thread has filled me with some serious doubt.

If it's a new employee then good, they can be fired and we'll move on. I was just so looking forward to a nice easy case for once, no modding required.

We agree. I almost bought a MM case a week ago that Hardass was selling down in Florida but it was a short week for money.
Still kicking myself for not grabbing it!

[exemay]

I for one just hope that these are isolated instances and don't reflect the overall quality of Mountain Mods.

Still think I might just order one this summer, but this thread has filled me with some serious doubt.

If it's a new employee then good, they can be fired and we'll move on. I was just so looking forward to a nice easy case for once, no modding required.

personally, id not even consider ordering until they get some decent packaging, like polystyrene blocks or something similar, i dont think i could take waiting that long for a case, recieveing it and then finding it was unusable

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

My most recent Lian-Li Case came all the way from taiwan in 3 days - the box was beat and a bit tattered but the case was spotless wrapped in heavy gauge plastic and secured by styrofoam caps at each end.

you get what you pay for with mountainmods? I think not.

I ve been on these forums for over 2 years now and in my memory MM has had a terrible QC history - scratched powdercoat to bent parts....

[Alchemy1]

Would you care to elaborate?
I've spoken with Ben a couple times.
I found him to be articulate and a decent person to speak with.
It looks to me like he's probably got a new guy packaging the cases and like all new people needs to learn.
I look at this and think back to others I've seen and it has to be that scenario as in the past their packaging was excellent.

-He was slightly condecending

-He hadn't checked the voicemail or the email from the previous day and when I told him I had tried to contact them he checked and was like oh yeah I see it, in kind of a "yeah, so, and..." manner.

-I spoke with him for about a half an hour on the phone and all of a sudden when I call RIGHT (3-5 minutes) back with my damage claim number the phone, "lost it's charge". Not once did the phone malfunction while we were on it or did he say oh the phone is beeping I might loose you. Seems kind of fishy.

-Since the phone was "dead" I had to communicate with him through email. He sends me an in-house "claim" number, but doesn't tell me when or if FedEx will be contacting me to pick up the damaged goods.

-Finally, the thing that sealed the deal for me. They didn't pack the extra standoffs I ordered in the box. He doesn't mention them at all so I email him about them and he says, "they will be shipped out with your replacement panels". WTF?!?!?! If there was no damage you would have had to send them out. Not to mention we are talking about something that could go in a padded envelope and be MAILED USPS for around a dollar. THIS is the customer service they are raving about...PLEASE!

[Sly Fox]

We agree. I almost bought a MM case a week ago that Hardass was selling down in Florida but it was a short week for money.
Still kicking myself for not grabbing it!

Short on money, that's a feeling I know all too well.

I love these MM cases for their simple efficiency and ease of installation, but they do take a solid chunk of money for a housing to your "real" parts.

personally, id not even consider ordering until they get some decent packaging, like polystyrene blocks or something similar, i dont think i could take waiting that long for a case, recieveing it and then finding it was unusable

Yup, I think if I do end up ordering I'm going to need someone's assurance I won't have these shipping/quality issues. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect safe shipping given the cost and wait-time.