rhayden wrote:
Kilyay is going to talk to DB and straighten things out. DB acknowledged there was an issue and are fixing it...mistakes happen. people get wound up. reasonable people move on.
I spoke with Steve from Diamondback earlier today and we have reached a detente. Diamondback offered to cover the service costs I incurred, which assuages a lot of the financial pain on my end.
As for the PayPal and refund process, it sounds like there was an internal breakdown in communication where the people with the power to redress weren't aware or made aware of the situation. It's obviously not an excuse, but this kind of thing happens at large companies -- anyone who has worked in a marketing function at a billion dollar company can attest to that -- but of course it's also the kind of thing that direct-to-consumer bike purveyors like Canyon and DB have to master over time if they are going to be successful.
In terms of the product issue, it does sound like this was a new thing for them, and learning of this problem may be a blessing in disguise going forward. Not that it matters, but I still think that a two bolt stem and/or a stem without such heft would have alleviated the problem -- maybe they agree, maybe they don't, but I think there is surely room for improvement in the design of that front end. That bolt occlusion alone...
All things considered, it sounds like there have been relatively few issues with the bike across the population served. The consistent complaint seems to be the PF bottom bracket nightmare, which I experienced and Jeroen experienced. But considering how ambitious this bike is and was, maybe not so bad.
I'm glad I started this thread, and I'm glad we hashed this out. It may be easy to throw a company under the bus undeservedly online, but strict compliance with the code of slowmerta isn't a solution either. Because the reality is it's really tough, as an end consumer buying niche products in a small market, to make purchase decisions without any information, positive or negative, from another end consumer. I had
a good dialogue with rappstar about this topic earlier this year:
kileyay wrote:
Rappstar wrote:
If I try something and I hate it, is the better outcome for all involved not to simply say directly to them, "hey, this didn't work for me for X, Y, and Z reasons. Maybe consider changing those things?" What good comes out of publicly exposing those flaws?
Really? How about the good being that your readers don't go spend money on terrible shit that sucks?
I think you of all people can choose and use your words well enough to separate criticisms that are personal vs. those that are likely applicable to your audience. And we are smart enough to differentiate between the two ourselves. You think we don't understand that saddles are personal?
It really burns me up when I go out and buy something based on a one-sided review or recommendation -- typically from a friend who is so encumbered by post-purchase confirmation bias they are incapable of admitting to a product's flaws -- only to find a failure point that makes the thing a deal breaker for me. And if someone had only mentioned that potential downside...
On a related note...I smashed up my helmet last weekend in an accident and have been shopping for a new one all week. I read your Scott review and it was so incredibly over the top positive I couldn't bring myself to order that helmet. That review was just too gushing. I picked up three others to test out instead. I guess we just have radically different views on what constitutes an effective and credible product review. And your view is wrong.
I stand by that.