(((HEADS UP))) Not sure what is going on at ARIZONA ROCK & MINERAL BALLAST. I placed an order for badly needed (and wanted) ballast back in November of 2022 and still have not seen it. I had been in contact with "Jane", a co-owner / cust service rep as best I can figure, and she acknowledged the order, but did not have an estimated shipping date. Needless to say, about the end of February, they pretty much dropped of the radar. Now, oddly enough they still send out their newsletter, which I did receive on March 22. And there seems to be some minor FAKEBOOK activity on their part. But zero communication coming from them otherwise --- no phones answered, no Emails responded too, plus they have a "blurb" on their website to text a certain number if you want something and you don't see it on the website. I even used that number to inquire about my order, but no response. Oddly enough, their website has a section titled "Where's My Order", which airs some rather interesting "personal" information as to why they are behind on orders during 2022. This info provided is concerning as it indicates yet another "supplier/manufacturer" on the ropes. Not good, and I really liked their product. And here I was thinking I was making -- Robert "If you see it buy it" Ray -- proud by placing a sizeable enough order of ballast to support my entire layout, but now only to possibly end up with no eggs in my Easter Basket..... I know there was some flooding in that area a week or two ago, as I lived in AZ for 30-years and still keep tabs on the state. But nothing that I could see affected the businesses location. Interestingly, I have a friend that litterally lives in Paulden, AZ. I may have him swing by and do a wellness --- errrr, ummm inventory check. Luckily I paid via PayPal and just got a refund this morning, 10 mins after submitted for it. At least I'm covered there. About the only good thing I can say about PayPal...
I made a sizable order too, back in the day. I called the order in, and when the gentleman heard me say 30 bags of N Scale Green Granite, he about had a heart attack. I could hear him flopping around like beached steelhead still on the hook, but hey, if it's too hard to provide, then just remove it from your product list. The gentleman complained that the Green Granite is too hard to crush to get enough N Scale sized material, and I countered I am a Z Scaler and was going to ask for Z Scale sized material, but decided not to ask for a special order. He said it would take a while, and it took a couple months but I got it. I also scoured the inventory of every hobby shop I could find that carried it, so I eventually got 50 bags of it. I am down to my last 30 bags so I have to conserve it if I want it to last the rest of my life.
I was not aware that the Z-scale “ballast” industry was controlled by cartels. Jeez!!! Yeah, oddly enough I had green granite on order plus yard mix. Their yard mix is really nice. Well, all I can say is I hope this is just a temporary hiccup in their operation while they re-organize. With the information I gleaned off of their website though, it seemed to be far more telling.
I remember waiting what seemed like a LONG time for my order, and it was only three bags of NS/CSX gray. If you placed an order for 10 or more bags, I would expect to wait a minimum of six months. They crush by hand as enough orders come in, so far as I remember.
I’m not opposed to waiting for the right product. But what bothers me is when all of the sudden over about the past three weeks to a month, they’ve gone AWOL. Also, if you look at their website under the section, “where’s is my order”, there’s some interesting, dirty, laundry, aired on there about their personal lives, and why they are having problems delivering. Granted all valid and acceptable reasons for a small business, but not a good idea to advertise the problems. That speaks volumes.
OK, this is interesting. They have an online "EVENT" notice posted on their website for this Saturday. I pulled this off their website - see below. I will certainly be on this call and will report back to the team what I discover. Funny, but George's number provided on this notice is the same one on the website that they recommend you text for products you do not see, but would like to suggest. I used that number to reach out to them for some level of communication, and no-one responded ---- sigh.......
That is a lot of hours! I wonder if their "event" could be something as drastic as selling off of inventory, and closing down?
I suspect he meant 11:00AM - 11:30AM -- 30 mins. I missed that....LOL Good catch. But even 30 mins is not much time if you have alot of interested folks on the call. Granted, he's not bound by any time frame, so the meeting (if even held) can run as long as necessary.
OK good news. George, who is one of the co-owners of ARM BALLAST, did at least text me back just a few minutes ago and said that the meeting for this Saturday is legit. He said he was crushing material while he was trying to do the meeting notice so it sounds like they are completely underwater with business. Which is a double edge sword I guess in this day and age. So yours truly will attend the online meeting this Saturday and report back.
They are a small operation and they are crushing real rock. It takes time to crush it down to scale size and they can only do one type of rock at a time. For example I ordered N scale cinders. It took 6 months to get to cinders. My hobby shop ordered HO cinders and they got those cinders first, then a month or two later they shipped the N scale cinders.
Quite few years ago, George had announced, no more. Too much work getting all (and storing) the way too many varieties, grinding-stone costs and age. I think he asked about closing down. Something like that. But orders came in and sure enough we had a failry smooth years. I, like Rob, ordered ‘future’ modules worth the -1 suffix (N scale) are a step finer than all others (Woodland Scenics, Highball, etc). Do NOT ration that -0 is for Z!!! It’s close to powder.
UPDATE - ALL GOOD OK I just got off the ZOOM call with George at ARM BALLAST. There was only about four of us on the call. George said that they have been getting hammered hard with weather in Arizona. Literally rain every week and three bouts of snow. Which is pretty unprecedented for that area. This has perpetuated flooding and other concerns. Needless to say, they are back in action and are continuing to crush. George did say that they are focusing exclusively on Northern Pacific Gray and one other gray (name eludes me at the moment), plus Yard Mix at the present time. He noted that all grays literally make up 80% of their customer demand. He also stated they are working the oldest orders first to get them out the door. I believe he said they are 80 orders down. Or basically trying to catch up on 80 orders. He did state that the average time frame for colors that were not currently being crushed, and some backorders could take up to 4 to 6 months. But they seem very engaged in making sure all orders are filled. I did inform them their communication level was lacking, and another caller on the line also lamented this issue as well. George acknowledged that fact, and said that was something they definitely needed to work on. As for being in business and remaining in business, George gave me confidence that they had no plans on going anywhere, and we’re simply trying to catch their breath. Again, it sounds like the weather really set them back on their heels there in Arizona. So at present, I guess we can say this ends on a happy note, and hopefully they will get caught up sooner than later.
Following - I ordered 10 bags of the ATSF mauve February 2nd so I guess I’m one of the 80 backorders! Glad to hear they are just behind and not gone all together because they’re very difficult to get a hold of but they do have a great product line. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Agreed in regards to them being difficult to get a hold of. Yet they still find time to send out a monthly newsletter with a various building or layout tip on it. My last conversation with them seemed in indicate that they were rounding the curve on getting caught up, and YES they seem to be serious about business, but just behind. Demand seems to keep overwhelming them. I’ll reach out to them this week and see if I can get an update of some sort, and report back to the forum.
well it seems to be a good sign then that people are making orders if there behind in the process. so that good right.
George at ARM BALLAST just sent this response to my test message: "Yes, we are slowly catching up. We should be completely caught up within the next month or two." Lance