"Consumer Alert - Hotz Mats" Topic

Ordered a mat last August.

After 4 emails at various times, no mat and no reply.

The least he can do is admit he can't deliver the product and offer a refund. Instead, cowardly silence.

A crook not to be trusted.

Very, very old news on this board. Sorry for your loss

Unfortunately Hotz and Zuzzy both seem to be in the business of taking money and delivering nothing. A shame since they both make good products. I have read numerous posts on several different websites about people waiting for months, and in the case of Zuzzy sometimes over a year, with no response to repeated emails and phone calls. Zuzzy has even had their PayPal account suspended at least once over refund requests. There is always one or two people in those threads talking about how they got their product in a timely manner and how you should just wait and you will eventually get your mat. Frankly these two are crooks and should be arrested for theft. They are the main reason I decided to make my own terrain mat. I would have rather spent the money to buy a quality product, but I just can't trust that I will GET the product.

You said it whitphoto. I've ordered from Eric before and was very satisfied.

The silly thing is, if he just kept me informed I would have waited as long as he needed me to – I don't plan on going anywhere.

But, not replying to my emails is a deal breaker for me.

I had to wait 4 or 5 months but I finally got mine. But that was a couple years ago when I ordered mine.

Zuzzy too eh? Good grief …

That's too bad. I have a Hotz Marat from several years ago but I guess things change.

I think we've heard this a lot – seems Eric Hotz is a wonderfully gifted and creative artist, who always seems to deliver in the end, but he does it in his own sweet time and is a poor communicator. Shame. If you look him up on the web you'll see what else he does and learn that the Mats are just a sideline for him.

Well, Eric responded and said the mat will be shipped today. We shall see….

Still, there is no excuse for not replying to my last 3 emails. This is the last time I order from him, and that's a shame.

Hi all I would suggest Mat-O-War great service

And extremely durable.

link

Take care

Andy

Hmm, I have ordered several mats over the last few years and recently small vegetation terrain mats and have had no problem.

As the site states you may have to wait at least five weeks for shipping, which is about the time it took for most of my orders. I think that if one uses the site and avoids any email queries his system eventually gets the product to the customer.

Like many miniatures-related companies, Eric has a real job that pays the bills and does this on the side. My understanding is that his real job is very demanding and gets in the way ALOT! Couple that with family and other real life circumstances and it does slow him down a lot. I have never had a problem getting product from him, even when others are complaining vociferously.

I have a real job too that gets in the way of a lot of things. But I also don't run a side business that claims a 5-10 week turn around that turns into a 5-10 MONTH turn around. I do have a side business, I tell my clients that my product takes 4-6 weeks to mail. I mail them within four weeks in almost all cases and reply to my customers email's. If he has too many mats on order he needs to either A:Tell people that their product could take up to six months to be delivered, B: stop taking orders when he can't fill them or C: raise his prices until the demand drops to something he can handle. He seems to be taking route D: off enough customers and get a bad enough reputation that so few people will eventually order from him that he can handle their orders.

Having a real job is no excuse to take money from people and ignore them until they believe they stole your money and only respond to them once they start a conversation on a popular website trash-talking you.

Granted I don't have an MBA so I could be wrong.

I understand Sundance, but let me ask – how long does one have to wait? Even considering the patience I've had with Eric, what would explain NOT answering emails?

Sorry, but my sympathy only goes so far before I feel like I've been taken. Eric's problems, while regrettable, are not MY problem.

If it's that bad, then don't have a side business and focus on your day job.

None of my customers will ever wait more than a couple of days for an email from me. I have a very demanding real job and I travel extensively, often overseas for my work. However, I will never use that as an excuse to ignore communication from my customers. If I mess up, I admit it immediately and correct the situation. I think most customers know the miniatures are a side business for most manufacturers, but they should also expect to be treated with respect. If you do that, they will come back to your site or booth and buy again.

Bill

I can certainly understand your frustration, but there are a number of good people on TMP who run miniatures-related side businesses who are less perfect than you all are at getting product out and staying in contact with customers. On a similar thread a few years ago, one very popular fellow/gamer/businessman made the observation: 'With the limited time I have to work on/catch up on orders, would you rather I spent my time filling orders or answering emails?' I think his point is well-taken. I've had to wait longer for fellow members to send items I've purchased on the Marketplace than from ANY gamer/businessman that I could ID from TMP. Let's just say I've learned to be patient because neither fellow gamer nor businessman had nefarious designs on the pittance they were getting out of my wallet. Just my 2 cents.

So, for all of my patience here is what I get (remember, I ordered this mat 8 MONTHS AGO):

Hello Greg,

I will have your orders hipped tomorrow. You should receive a FedEX tracking number later in the day, Thursday.

E.Hotz

…and what do I get today – NOTHING, zip, nada. Again, I exercised patience and waited until Friday morning for the tracking number.

So, Sundance, how's that patience working out for me? Pathetic.

Sundance, Only excuse for this vendors behavior is he's either dead or incapacitated. I know you mean well but there are just too many unhappy people….

This is sad because Hotz mats are a great product. My ordering experiences have been good. I also have his game Roman Seas, which is a pdf available through Game Vault so no issues there. Having said that he is not very supportive of the rules or responsive to questions. He has noted family and other work related issues keep him away from this part of his business.

While I would not go so far as to say he is a "crook" lack of communication is a big issue. This is what gets lawyers sent to their disciplinary boards!

When you can send an e-mail from your phone there really is no excuse for not answering your customer's questions. Especially if you are a professional artist, I mean what are you in meetings with clients all day!?!

If your work/life/family/health is interfering so much maybe it is time to shut down?

So, only two days later I finally got a tracking number.

Glad to actually get the mat, but it's my last one from Hotz….

I ordered several mats from Eric Hotz paid extra for them to be shipped in a tube, he gave me assurances that they'd be shipped in 6 weeks (I paid via Paypal, and they have a 45-day refund policy, which I'm sure Eric is aware of). After this period, I contacted him and got assurances that he would send my mats "tomorrow" -got nothing of course.

After about 6 months and several more emailed assurances that he'd ship my order "tomorrow", he simply stopped responding to my emails. Been almost 3 years. Never got the mats.

Don't care if others received their orders, or he was a nice guy when you met him at a Con. To me, he committed fraud, lied repeatedly and stole my money with no intention of sending my order.

In comparison, I organized a Club purchase of 13 gaming mats from Cigar Box Mats last December, 2014 and they shipped my order in 10 days. Great mats, great (honest) communication and great service.