What would you do? Poor bike shop service
Discussion
Strap in, this is a long one. Had a thread running here "why is my drivetrain so loud?" where the end result was the bike went back to the manufacturer for a separate issue on paint lacquer peel. That was in April!
It's been 10 weeks since I've had my bike! Sent it back to the manufacturer in Belgium through the shop I bought it with.
I was told by their mechanic that the last one they had warranty claim on was back in 10 days. They'd ship it off and I'd be kept up to date every step of the way once it arrived in Belgium.
Well fast forward a week and I had nothing from the shop to even say my bike had arrived, kept trying to contact them on text and Facebook and got limited, delayed replies saying they were trying and would let me know... Apparently the manufacturer was difficult to get hold of?
Took matters into my hands and found contact information through manufacturers website and sent them an email. Low and behold, had a response from the manufacturer within 2 hours!
Since then I've been dealing with the manufacturer directly. Getting updates where I can. The bike was completely resprayed and since it's a custom colourway it's taken a while.
There's nothing the shop could do about the time taken, that's out of their hands.
Manufacturer said bike would be shipped 31st May. I emailed on 30th and 31st to try to confirm if it would be shipped and the manufacturer went quiet which was frustrating! Turns out they were on sales training so delayed replies but I got one this Monday explaining situation. They couldn't confirm if bike had shipped but said shop should have notification of shipment so contact directly. Tried that, no response!
Some follow ups from the manufacturer on Tuesday and today this week saying they still couldn't get confirmation since they're out on sales training. I finally got through to the bike shop on the hoone today to be told my bike is on their workstand ready to be built!!!
TL;DR bike shop has piss poor communication, sends bike to manufacturer and then goes silent.
I feel I want to tell the bike shop they've been a nightmare but not sure it's worth it or what it will achieve.
What would you do? Raise it or leave it?
It's been 10 weeks since I've had my bike! Sent it back to the manufacturer in Belgium through the shop I bought it with.
I was told by their mechanic that the last one they had warranty claim on was back in 10 days. They'd ship it off and I'd be kept up to date every step of the way once it arrived in Belgium.
Well fast forward a week and I had nothing from the shop to even say my bike had arrived, kept trying to contact them on text and Facebook and got limited, delayed replies saying they were trying and would let me know... Apparently the manufacturer was difficult to get hold of?
Took matters into my hands and found contact information through manufacturers website and sent them an email. Low and behold, had a response from the manufacturer within 2 hours!
Since then I've been dealing with the manufacturer directly. Getting updates where I can. The bike was completely resprayed and since it's a custom colourway it's taken a while.
There's nothing the shop could do about the time taken, that's out of their hands.
Manufacturer said bike would be shipped 31st May. I emailed on 30th and 31st to try to confirm if it would be shipped and the manufacturer went quiet which was frustrating! Turns out they were on sales training so delayed replies but I got one this Monday explaining situation. They couldn't confirm if bike had shipped but said shop should have notification of shipment so contact directly. Tried that, no response!
Some follow ups from the manufacturer on Tuesday and today this week saying they still couldn't get confirmation since they're out on sales training. I finally got through to the bike shop on the hoone today to be told my bike is on their workstand ready to be built!!!
TL;DR bike shop has piss poor communication, sends bike to manufacturer and then goes silent.
I feel I want to tell the bike shop they've been a nightmare but not sure it's worth it or what it will achieve.
What would you do? Raise it or leave it?
The_Jackal said:
It wont make any difference, just change where you buy your next bike from.
They say there are some great bike shops out there.
Agree I think. Not likely to make any difference. Certainly not going to buy another bike from them.They say there are some great bike shops out there.
dontfollowme said:
I would get the bike back first then complain.
Not sure about this. When I turn up to collect my bike on Saturday (hopefully) I expect they are probably going to want some money for the new chain and possibly the work to rebuild the bike after respray. It's come back as a box of bits so it's full rebuild with new cables etc. Would you be happy to pay for that, 10 weeks down the line?
Edited by miniwill58 on Thursday 6th June 08:32
miniwill58 said:
Not sure about this. When I turn up to collect my bike on Saturday (hopefully) I expect they are probably going to want some money for the new chain and possibly the work to rebuild the bike after respray.
It's come back as a box of bits so it's full rebuild with new cables etc. Would you be happy to pay for that, 10 weeks down the line?
That is sIt's come back as a box of bits so it's full rebuild with new cables etc. Would you be happy to pay for that, 10 weeks down the line?
t. The shop should take delivery, rebuild it under warranty and hand it over. I took my Giant cx bike back because of a seat tube crack. The frame was replaced without any quibble by my local LBS (same name as a Chelsea shirt wearing former Tory MP). You should not have to re-assemble your own bike - the safety implications for the bike shop are huge if you do.
InitialDave said:
Was the bike bought as a complete bike, or as a frameset which the shop built up for you? If the former, I'd consider the dismantling and reassembly procedures to be part of the warranty repair, so wouldn't expect to pay.
Bought as a complete bike although I have swapped parts in the meantime, crankset, stem etc.keirik said:
Not sure why it's the bike shops problem that it took the manufacturer 10 weeks to sort your bike out?
No, also agree. The 10 week leadtime isn't the bike shops fault. The problem with the bike shop is that I received no communication from them during that 10 weeks, despite being told I would be kept up to date throughout. They didn't contact me to tell me the bike had arrived this week, I had to call them.
My contact with the manufacturer directly is between the manufacturer and me only, the bike shop is not aware.
It seems all very frustrating but........
What was making the noise?!?
Seriously though, it isn't great customer care is it?
I would have thought that warranty work, requiring your bike to be dismantled to end back to the manufacturer should incur a cost for rebuilding the bike. Did you have it booked in for a service before the defect was found? If so then yes you would have to pay for the service but not the reassembly of the bike.
What was making the noise?!?
Seriously though, it isn't great customer care is it?
I would have thought that warranty work, requiring your bike to be dismantled to end back to the manufacturer should incur a cost for rebuilding the bike. Did you have it booked in for a service before the defect was found? If so then yes you would have to pay for the service but not the reassembly of the bike.
Small update...
I was meant to collect the bike on Saturday last week. Got a text on the day to be told that the fork they sent back with the bike doesn't fit!
Bike was sent to be repainted as a full bike (minus cranks and a few other bits of mine that I didn't want sent away). Bike came back with an "upgraded" fork from the manufacturer that doesn't fit this frame... bearing size is apparently completely different.
This was feedback over the weekend and I am told my original fork is being sent back this week, although, the bike shop couldn't actually confirm which fork is coming.
On bike shop front, so far no talk of any payment necessary.
I was meant to collect the bike on Saturday last week. Got a text on the day to be told that the fork they sent back with the bike doesn't fit!
Bike was sent to be repainted as a full bike (minus cranks and a few other bits of mine that I didn't want sent away). Bike came back with an "upgraded" fork from the manufacturer that doesn't fit this frame... bearing size is apparently completely different.
This was feedback over the weekend and I am told my original fork is being sent back this week, although, the bike shop couldn't actually confirm which fork is coming.
On bike shop front, so far no talk of any payment necessary.
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