Nightmare: An impossible customer? Or is it the LBS's fault?

Discussion in 'Bike Shop Reviews' started by calzone, Oct 27, 2009.

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  1. hunterp101

    hunterp101 Member

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    I can't believe this is still going. If you're paying the money you are in charge. I put this on the customer. You didn't (and sounds like you still haven't)stand up for yourself so you got treated how you allowed them to treat you. I don't know anyone who would put up with that. If you go to buy a car would you be okay with it being the wrong color and when it's time to pick it up? How about not having AC even though that's what you ordered? Maybe they could give you a 2009 instead of a 2010 since they are exactly the same. Oh but you will still be paying the same amount.

    This seriously makes no sense at all.
     
  2. calzone

    calzone Banned

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    lol.

    If I could take pics of it, right?

    Hey, I appreciate everyone's support. I did make the decision to stick with this LBS to give them the chance to make things right, and they have largely responded well. So we'll see where we stand when I get the bike back this week.

    Hopefully then I can take pics at that point and share on here :)
     
  3. Santiago

    Santiago New Member

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    I just spent a good hour reading this whole thread. As I neared the end of page four, I was hoping for an end, a decent end. Kinda like a good book. Apparently not so. This situation sucks. You seem to be pretty anal, and probably not the easiest customer to work with. With that being said, I can't find a thing that you've been really out of line with. Your patience is killing me and I commend you for that. If it were me, my main concern would be that I bought this fvking bike for a good amount of money, and since I bought it, it's spent most of it's time in the shop. That shouldn't be. If you spend $3000 on anything, if it needs repair and is not going to be available for the consumers use, who by the way, already paid and some bank is already making interest on thier money, then they should get a demo of some sort, or some kind of discount, upgrade, or credit for thier inconvenience. You have been seriously inconvenienced. Whether they are nice or not. It's the cost of doing business, whether they keystone, or have a very slim profit margin. It's called Customer Fvking Service.
     
  4. ka0t1c07

    ka0t1c07 Full Travel

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    It seems like from your side of the story, you do entitle to a refund or what ever you purchase, eg. model year parts. It also seems like the shop is spending a large amount of time tring to make the wrong to right. Its just that they dont have a slick business mouthing to deal with the customers. About the customer service issue like you mention about the restaurant, its hard to compare between food and a bicycle. There is little money in the food and lots in the bike. Good thing you gave them another chance to make things right. If things go well, you wont be dissapointed. It does suck knowing you have a new bike but cant ride it. I feel your pain and tiredness, but also feel the shops pain in the amount of time they are putting in to make it right. Like you said, they are not blowing you off. Lets see how the out come is going to be. Till then, we are just going to have to hold up in our opinions. Wish you luck this time.
     
  5. SAR_boats

    SAR_boats Booze Bikes n Boomsticks

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    I heard from somewhere that he got a refund
     
  6. Dan

    Dan New Member

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    I think this thread has to be the most epic fail I've ever seen in a bike forum. I understand the whole "not getting exactly what you ordered". But complaining about the color of your top caps....and scratches??!?!?!?! That's a first. Maybe if it were some cruiser/road bike, but jesus man, (granted you don't sound like much of a man) top cap color? It's a MOUNTAIN bike, if it doesn't look beat up, then you're not riding it properly. /end rant
     
  7. ka0t1c07

    ka0t1c07 Full Travel

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    I would complain if it's not the correct headset or cap color. That's what different colored parts are for. I have a stumpjumper carbon (3 years)and a ibis mojo sl (1.5 years) and both are ridden all the time. Not a scratch on it from trail riding.
     
  8. Waldo

    Waldo Lebowski Urban Achiever

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    I might agree with that if he was buying a demo bike or something off Craigslist, but not a brand-new, expensive, built-to-order bike. He should get exactly what he specified, in a hassle-free way that makes him excited about his purchase. That is the shop's job #1.
     
  9. Lancero

    Lancero New Member

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    LBS Nightmare...

    Seriously, whatever you decide will satisfy you as the customer, is up to you. But what is clear, is that you have received less than the promised deal, in several areas. I might even make it clear to them, if nothing else works, that you are plugged into a large community of online bikers, all clamoring to know the name of this shop (so they can avoid doing business with them). And feel free to print out a few responses from here, to show the shop manager, if he doesn't believe you.

    I, like others on here, would go out of my way to not frequent this shop. I've been fortunate enough to have been doing business with the same shop (Hawley's Bicycle World, Fort Bragg, NC) since September 1987.

    Not everyone gets that lucky; they're family owned, and some of the same folks still work there, that were there in 1987.

    Sorry for rambling, but please let us all know how this turns out, and if this shop does you justice.

    Incidentally, I'm a new member, and new to the west coast. I'm down in San Clemente, with LOTS of free time to go ride, if anyone's up for it. I'd also be glad to drive up north, or down to San Diego, if necessary.
     
  10. dirtvert

    dirtvert Whine on!

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    ^^^ lancero- you should also say howdy on the "introduce yourself" forum. i'm free after 12 today if you (or anybody else) feels like hitting up laguna coast/el moro. lemme know/pm me if you're interested.

    calzone- i feel your pain. it sounds like you've been more than reasonable--and patient.

    doug
     
  11. calzone

    calzone Banned

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    I've been appreciative of all replies, both those who agree with me to any extent, and those who don't. I love constructive criticism, and I always specifically wanted to know how reasonable or unreasonable I might seem to others to help me decide.

    But this smells like trolling. 1) You come out of nowhere to make this post. It's your only post ever on here and you've never thanked anyone or gotten thanks (until now). And for your introductory post to STR you choose to call what is FAIL or not? Lol. 2) You use an ad-hominem attack, questioning my masculinity. What if I'm a girl? How would you know? 3) The thread had already fallen off the front page... if you had this opinion that could have helped with the 'reasonable/unreasonable' question, then where were you for the past month when it was an active topic?

    Hm... wild theory number 2 is this is someone seeking to discredit me on the shop's behalf.

    Meh.

    I would like to ask though, if you buy a new car, would you accept a single scratch or blemish anywhere? Would you accept not being able to drive it because it keeps having to go back in the shop? Would you accept finding that certain parts had been substituted?

    [ note: yes, I am a man, actually. I tend to find the fact that Dan ran with this means either Dan knows this for a fact or was jumping to conclusions ]

    [ note #2: Fearless Fly, who thanked Dan above is friends on here with SAR Boats, who "heard through the grapevine" that I ("he" again) got my money back -- not saying that means anything, but maybe it does suggest inside knowledge somewhere ]
     
  12. TMS

    TMS New Member

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    So what is the actual resolution?
     
  13. vonvon

    vonvon New Member

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    The Witness

    Calzone is my riding buddy and I was with him through the ordeal, as a witness I can say he was not being unreasonable. They just got caught by a customer who cares and checks the work very carefully.
    I never would have thought it was this difficult to buy a custom bike from a LBS. So far it has been about 4 months since Calzone decided he wanted a custom bike.
    The LBS claims his post cost them over $10,000 in business and in 15 years they have only had 2 customers like him( I was confused by this statement because Calzone never mentioned the name of the LBS). So it seems after all of this hoopla they are still refusing to accept responsibility and place blame on the customer.
    In the meantime I have been riding the trails alone and Calzone has been missing all of the awesome biking weather.
    I hope you get back on the dirt road soon buddy!
     
  14. SAR_boats

    SAR_boats Booze Bikes n Boomsticks

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    And? So Gabe is my friend. We both have ties to the bike industry and word gets around pretty quick.


    I just think it is funny that when Calzone had a problem he was the Leo Tolstoy of STR but now that the problem has been allegedly resolved he is Marcel Marceau.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau
     
  15. calzone

    calzone Banned

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    Ok, let's put a rest to this then.

    You and obviously many others on here know a whole lot more about this situation than any of you cared to talk about until now. I have been trying to be fair and not drag a local bike shop through the mud without being sure whether it was right or not to do so. Maybe I'm an unusually demanding customer, maybe mistakes happened that normally never happen and things were going to be made right. Whatever. I wanted to not sully a shop's reputation over just my single experience and viewpoint.

    The resolution, as you well know, is that I did return the bike, and I did get my money back. Is that what I wanted? Hell no. Let me say that again: Hell No! I wanted to be happy with my newfound shop and brand new bike.

    Sadly, instead, now all I want is my last 4 months back.

    What I originally wanted is a local shop I could believe in as my "old reliable." One I could come back to STR and shout from the rooftops: "Hey everyone, go check out ______, they rule, they took great care of me, they are A+..." I wanted a shop I would put stickers from on my car.

    Meanwhile, why don't you answer my PM? And we both know that you are fully aware of everything so you are free to report that here as well. Marcel Marceau, indeed. I practically begged for anyone with a point of view for the LBS to post here. I wanted the LBS to stand up for themselves in this thread and say what was up and show the world how they fix a bad situation. I gave them every benefit of the doubt. And I respected their decision to keep quiet.

    I kept my mouth shut out of decency. Believe me, it was hard not to come running back here and spout off my mouth about what happened. I figured I'd shut up and just let the thread die.

    I ultimately severed the relationship with them, not because of the gouges on the chainstays or any specific little detail. I did it because

    1. No one believed me when I said the drive was clunking, they said it was cable stretch. Then they spent a week or two trying to fix it.
    2. No one believed me when I said the fork was acting up, they said it needed to be broken in. Then over two weeks went by trying to get that fixed too.
    3. No one ever consulted me on any proposed changes. They simply made the changes and didn't tell me, or told me after the fact: "this is what you're getting and that's the way it is."
    4. No one ever cared that I was out of a bike for most of the past 4 months. There was no priority put on taking care of my situation except when I would call repeatedly and ask what was going on. The bike literally spent more time at the shop than it spent being usable.
    And (2) + (3) + (4) recurred again and again, and finally together, when the fork could not be repaired for some mysterious reason that no one ever explained to me, which led to a new fork being ordered of a different color than I originally had, --without ever calling me to tell me what was going on, or to ask me what I would like to do about a presumably unfixable fork or what options for replacement there might be. The pattern through to the very end was that decisions were made without consulting me or telling me why.

    One week ago, just as I thought everything was going to be brought to a happy close, instead I learned that nothing had changed with LBS's MO.

    When I asked to see the old fork, to be educated about what was wrong with it, and to see some kind of proof that the new fork I was _assigned_ was indeed a 2009 fork, I was told none of this was necessary. I can't imagine any business where someone can get away with telling a customer that.

    And when I was told about the new fork, it was only after I pleaded to know what was going on because of the inordinate delay. And even then, I was simply told: "you're getting a new fork in black." End of story.

    Under other circumstances, I might have been more understanding. But in this case, the stubborn refusal to acknowledge my role as a decision maker proved it was a pattern for which there was no hope for change. The inability to communicate was a pattern for which there was no hope for change. The arrogance in attitude toward what I needed, deserved, what was comparable or not, or was entitled to or not, was a pattern for which there was no hope for change.

    It dawned on me that my high hopes for a happy ending had just been snuffed and it was hard to see how things would ever get better.

    So I followed the advice of the vast majority of respondents on here and asked for my money back. My aim was to quietly let this thread die and leave bygones as bygones. If you call that being Marcel Marceau, maybe you should think about which is ultimately better for people "in the industry", because I can be as loud as you want. I find it bizarre that you and your buddies would come and bump a dead thread.

    I was trying to be nice. Guess that's not going to work.

    But then again, I need not say anything more about this because all has been said now.
     
  16. vonvon

    vonvon New Member

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    Why are you calling Calzone a mime when you seem to have the same silence when it comes to your role in the whole process?
     
  17. dirtvert

    dirtvert Whine on!

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    okay, boys. everybody go to a neutral corner. if you wanna fight go to the pub!

    :beers:
     
  18. SAR_boats

    SAR_boats Booze Bikes n Boomsticks

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    Because I am not the one who started this thread complaining about how the LBS did me wrong. He started it, he can at least have the courtesy to provide closure to the issue.

    Additionally, he was the one who set the tone of the discussion. Re: Not naming the shop involved, so that kind of precludes anyone who has relations to that shop posting until the matter is settled, especially considering that quite a few people here know who works at that shop and what their screen names are, doesn't it?



    Just an observation. I wasn't the only one who wanted to see something from you stating a conclusion on the subject, and now that you have provided that I am just as happy as you are with the situation :)

    You mentioned you wanted your four months back, proof positive that no matter what the outcome was, you would never be satisfied. I am sure that is why you got your refund. "The Shop" has probably washed its hands of you as much as you have of them.

    And finally, I didn't answer your PM because there really was no motivation for me to do so. As you said, you have severed ties with the shop, so why do I have any reason to help you, or inform you, about anything? I highly doubt that "The Shop" will get anymore of your business, and I could care less about your acquaintance. When we spoke face to face I was being cordial for the sake of professionalism, not because I like, agree or want to associate with you.
     
  19. schleppp

    schleppp Active Member

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    So is anyone going to name the shop? It is killing me to know!
     
  20. mrs_boats

    mrs_boats hospital squatter

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    I am actually very tired of this thread.....the shop was Adrenaline...if you didn't know that, you haven't been paying attention. ;)

    I agree with SAR_Boats that if all you want is your 4 months back you would never have been happy no matter what.

    As for the work on the fork, I know SAR_Boats spent many, many hours UNPAID to try and fix it for you. As for the rest of the mess, I have never seen Adrenaline work as hard for a customer as they did for you, I am sure that many people on STR will agree with that assessment.

    I think it was pretty crappy of you to complain so much and then just try to have it fade into oblivion when the shop worked so hard for you and then gave you your money back. The point is that you could have at least posted to say that the situation had been resolved. Maybe it was not resolved the way that you would have liked but at least you have your money back and you can go get a new bike from some other bike shop.
     
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