"Expect the worst kind of customer service when there are disagreements with the owner, John Holbrook:

I ordered $32 worth of connectors (weight 6 oz) and accepted the flat shipping of $9.95, but with a request to switch to USPS, if that would be quicker. I did not ask for a refund of overpaid money. John at TAF acknowledged to look into it and he had confirmed that all parts are in stock. The order was placed on 3/19 at 10 am.

Tracking information told me that the shipment was accepted by USPS 36 hours later, so we already lost one day. To add insult to injury, he shipped it 1st class! It took three more days to arrive. I would have expected Priority Mail and shipping same business day for goods that are in stock.

When I asked him why he was shipping it snail mail when I had requested otherwise, and whether I might get a refund as a make-good, I received the rudest and most unethical response:

...that nobody forced me to order from him, and that I agreed to the price when I ordered. No comment on why he chose the cheapest (for him) and slowest shipping method, when I had explicitly requested otherwise.
Then he poked me in the eye saying that I am "responsible for my own actions, something that is completely forgotten about in today's "cradle to grave"[sic] entitlement mentality."

Oh, and also that, for the sake of everyone around me, I should grow up and at least try to act responsible.

Your world view and your business ethics suck, Mr. Holbrook!

PS: On his website he promises: "Enjoy low shipping rates as low as $1 & NEVER pay more than $9.95 shipping no matter how large the order!" Not sure how this works, and certainly not retroactively. Mea culpa."

"I placed an order on Wednesday November 7, 2012 for three Vertex radios, a speaker mic, and programming software/cable. The order shipped the same day and was received on Monday November 12th via UPS. When I received the order everything was as described. I had an excellent experience and will certainly order from The Antenna Farm again. I have already recommended this merchant to several people. "

"I purchased several Icom Business Band radios from The Antenna Farm as well as a programming CD and a programming cable. The software indicated the radios weren't responding to attempted programming to I tried calling The Antenna Farm. I couldn't ever get them to answer so I e-mailed. That began a weeks-long e-mail correspondence that didn't end very nicely and I certainly didn't get anything resolved. John Holbrook, the owner, is who I was talking with in the e-mails. He wouldn't not answer specific, repeated questions. The answers he did give were vague. When pressed to resolve my the problem he became rude. My guess is that he doesn't know how to resolve the problem and instead of admitting that he replies with vague, waste-your-time e-mails hoping the customer will give up and go away. I did check with the Better Business Bureau and The Antenna Farm has the lowest possible rating, F.

I think the Icom radios I bought are fine. The is a compatibility issue with the cable or software he sold me. His customer service/tech support is the worst I've ever encountered."

"I recently purchased an antenna in Ebay but i had a really bad experience with this asshole called John...He did not answer any eamil i sent him .. eventually i ended up buying an antenna from him but this cocksucker sent me the wrong one.. After i opened a dispute with Ebay he started sending me nasty emails .... DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS FUCKER...."

"I was a bit apprehensive about ordering from The Antenna Farm after reading some of the negative reviews around the internet. That said, after having a positive experience, I thought it only fair to add my voice to the positive reviews that are _also_ posted around.

I can't say that I had a 100% positive experience, but I did get exactly what I ordered in a timely manner and the pricing is unbeatable.

I placed my order for a radio and accessories on Tuesday, 3/27/2012 and received it on Thursday 4/5/2012, a bit over a week later. That included a brief backorder for the radio.

After placing the order, I didn't hear anything from The Antenna Farm until I emailed them on Friday, 3/30/2012, to check when it would ship. John responded on Monday, 4/2/2012, that I should have received a backorder notice and that it would ship that week. It shipped Tuesday and arrived Thursday (Bozeman, MT -> Seattle, WA).

Basically, the only problem I have with The Antenna Farm is that I didn't actually receive the backorder notice, so I had to email them and ask about the ship date. Even so, for a small company to get product to me in just over a week is excellent.

I also emailed The Antenna Farm a question about one of the products (radio programming cable at a fraction of the price of the OEM version) and got a helpful response 2 days later. Not the ideal response speed, but it was a personal response from John, the owner.

All-in-all, I'll definitely continue to patronize The Antenna Farm unless something awful happens. I'll take flakey backorder emails for the great prices and selection."

"This place is great, great knowledge of VHF radios and components, great products, and fast shipping. I've read some bad reviews about this site, but after dealing with this guy im convinced those reviews were written by folks pissed of at life and venting thru a blog. keep up the good work antenna farm"

"I sent a quick email to theantennafarm.com the day prior to placing my order to ask if the items I wanted were in stock. I got a very prompt reply from John indicating that they were there and ready to go. My order was a mix of Amateur and Commercial radio accessories (antennas, mounts, programming cables, head separation kits, etc). I submitted my order just before 9am and before the end of the work day my order had been shipped and I had a UPS tracking number in my in-box. I chose the bargain "best way" shipping, which at ten bucks really was a bargain. My order arrived in less than a week... it was well packed and everything was in perfect condition.

I've got to say that I had seen some of the negative comments about theantennafarm.com before I placed my order, but several local hams have described excellent experiences with John's company... and the prices are the lowest I've seen anywhere for stuff I wanted. Communication from John was very good... he answered my questions promptly and accurately.

I will absolutely be giving John Holbrook and theantennafarm.com more of my business in the future and will encourage my friends to do the same.

RWB"

"On Saturday 12/12/09 I placed an order at theatennafarm.com. On Sunday afternoon I wanted to change something on the order since it had not shipped yet. So I go to the contact us part of the website and what follows below is the transcript of the emails. You be the judge of the service you can expect from them. I sent my first email on Sunday and did not get a response till Wendesday.

----- Original Message ----- From: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
To:REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2009 10:12 AM
Subject: Message from The Antenna Farm
From: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Email: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY

------------------------------------------------------

I just placed a order (20930) on 12/12/9. I would like to remove the magnet
mount Maxrad RG from the order and replace it with the Maxrad BMUHF/TGB34 or
similar if item is not in stock.

Thank you very much,
Eric

------------------------------------------------------

Office Use Only:
From: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Email: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Login Name: Not logged in
Login Email: Not logged in
IP Address: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Host Address: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Date and Time: Sun Dec 13 2009 11:12:18 CST

The Antenna Farm wrote:

woops, your order already went


The Antenna Farm
John W Holbrook, Pres.
1-800-832-4654
1-406-225-5043
10am to 4pm Mon-Thus MST
www.theantennafarm.com

Thank you

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
- Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

----- Original Message ----- From: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
To: "The Antenna Farm"REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 5:16 PM
Subject: Re: Message from The Antenna Farm



Wow thanks for the great customer service. I was going to order a VHF antenna from you but I think I have changed my mind.
I run my own ecommerce site and ebay auctions and I would never respond to one of my customers in that manner

The Antenna Farm wrote:

huh? Are you having a bad day? woops is a form of apology....

Also, we have a toll free phone #....you could have called. Email is not like a phone call.

Explain how this is our fault?


The Antenna Farm
John W Holbrook, Pres.
1-800-832-4654
1-406-225-5043
10am to 4pm Mon-Thus MST
www.theantennafarm.com

----- Original Message ----- From: REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
To: "The Antenna Farm"REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 11:42 AM
Subject: Re: Message from The Antenna Farm



A apology does not fix the problem. Why would I call a place that is closed? The order was placed on a weekend. I'm not going to interrupt  my work day to call you. Why would you have a email us option if your not going to check it for 3 days?

FYI I'm not having a bad day I am just experiencing horrible customer service. I will definitely be  sharing my experience with many forums and web sites.
Have a great day,
Eric

Waaaaa, waaaaaa, waaaaaa

Typical crybaby immature America attitude....No wonder taxpayers have to bail out banks...it's the same irresponsible attitude....feel America falling down? Look in the mirror.

Grow up and accept responsibilty for your OWN actions.



In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
- Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

End of emails.
Now if I never changed my mind on one of the items I ordered I would have never had this issue.
However I do think sending a email the next morning before the item has been shipped or before they where even open should have solved the problem. My issue is that I didn’t even get a response to my email till 5:01 pm on 12/16/9 that’s Wednesday. 3 business days after I sent in my order change request.
You be the judge."