E-Commerce Development
$200,000 to $999,999
July - Sep. 2020

3.0

Quality: 2.0

Schedule: 3.0

Cost: 1.0

Willing to Refer: 1.0

"The team had decent developers, but their structure and process were chaotic and poorly executed."

Feb 3, 2022

Director of Ecommerce, Footwear Manufacturer

Asia Lal

Manufacturing
Los Angeles, California
51-200 Employees
Phone Interview
Verified

The Gorilla Agency was hired by a footwear and accessories manufacturer to spearhead their Magento development and design project. 5–6 people collaborated with the company.

The client was dissatisfied with the e-commerce website that The Gorilla Agency produced. Ultimately, the company's decrease in revenue, low traffic, and low conversation rates led to the contract's termination. The client was also displeased with the team's high number of protocols and procedures.
This review includes the vendor’s response.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there?

I’m the director of e-commerce, and we’re a midsize company with over 100 employees, and we manufacture footwear and accessories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gorilla Agency?

We needed web development done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided Magento development and design services.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with 5–6 people, including project managers, developers, designers, and an account manager.

How did you come to work with The Gorilla Agency?

They were already working with the company when I onboarded. They were a top-rated company for Magento, which was the reason why we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $400,000

What is the status of this engagement?

For this project, we worked together from July–September 2020, but they were already working with the company since 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

It was a nightmare of an engagement. There was a decrease in revenue, low traffic, and low conversion rates. In addition, our website’s look and feel weren’t what we expected it to be. As a result, our company had to fire several employees due to financial stress. We negotiated an early end to the contract due to how unhappy we were with them.

How did The Gorilla Agency perform from a project management perspective?

Their project management was terrible and was full of bureaucracy. Moreover, they had a stiff corporate environment. The number of protocols, specifications, and procedures took away any pleasure from the engagement. They used Jira, which seemed like too much for the size of our company and project.

Furthermore, they were sluggish regarding fixing issues that arose, and they only did what was financially beneficial to them rather than trying to help us be successful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team had decent developers, but their structure and process were chaotic and poorly executed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to improve their communication skills and in making their clients their priority. On top of that, they should improve their project structure and show the value of their cost.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Speak to your potential vendor’s clients and listen to their feedback before hiring any company.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on July 25, 2024.

This is a fake review. I found this person, they're Russian and not real. Also, we have never done this job nor a job of that sales value EVER. Please remove this, we take pride in our work and the reviews we have generated organically.

RATINGS

3.0

The Gorilla Agency