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Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth
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In as much respect that I have for this website; reading and replying to web forums is not a part of my usual working day. However, as Sales Manager of Felt Bicycles, and at the end of a very long working day; it is pretty apparent that I need to try and make it into something of a habit following the disappointing feedback that our company has been handed in the last 24 hours.

Firstly, I take full responsibility for any customer who has an unexpected experience with this company and would like to publicly extend my sincere apologies to the purchaser of the Tk2 track bike. She is absolutely correct in her statement that she did not receive the information she wanted when she called our offices at 5.15pm last night and she was indeed politely advised by our controller that she needed to speak to a salesperson because he, as a financial controller, was unable to give her the answers to her questions. In the same vein, the staff at the shop from which the bike was purchased was absolutely correct in advising her that there was a delay in the ETA that she had been promised when the transaction was carried out. Hers is an extremely professional and reputable shop and they were quite right to point her in our direction for further clarification. After all, our dealers can only confirm information they are given. I would like to close this particular topic of conversation by indicating that I called the store manager this afternoon and asked him to pass on the same apology with an assurance that her bike will arrive here in our CA warehouse on the 10th February, and will be shipped within 24 hours of it’s appearance. She should, by now, have my contact information so she can confirm this personally.

On the same note, I can completely understand consumers’ frustrations in finding out that their new bicycle is not yet available, only to be told by their shop that there are further delays as the original ETA draws nearer. As a consumer myself, it would be ridiculous of me to close my eyes (and ears) and pretend these situations don’t exist. It is unfortunate that, on very few occasions, these issues are exacerbated by a perceived lack of communication somewhere between the supplier, the retailer and the consumer. Everyone within the industry has access to information regarding definitive and delayed supply times from vendors, together with a host of other information to help us assess whether or not we are going to meet our delivery deadlines. Unless this information is passed on to the consumer, and unless all of the intricacies of designing, spec’ing, building and delivering the end product is addressed and embraced by them; then it is highly unlikely that we are going to be excused for such times as there are such discrepancies - and nor do we expect to be.

Yes, Felt is a smaller company with an equally small staff, but we are absolutely committed to providing the same – if not better - professional service to our customers than that of our larger competitors. If you have a personal interest in Felt bicycles, then I invite you to contact me directly on 866-4FELTUSA, extension 227 and I will be glad to offer you the very same courtesy that is extended to all of our dealers.

Sincerely,

Beverly Lucas
Western Division Sales Manager
Felt Bicycles, LLC
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Re: Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth [FeltBeverly] [ In reply to ]
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I want to thank Beverly for responding to me both publicly and privately (which she did). And while I find the content of this public response unresponsive to many of the issues raised in the thread, I'm happy the bike is coming.
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Re: Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth [FeltBeverly] [ In reply to ]
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Beverly Lucas not only has an amazing accent - she's a pretty amazing person.

I called Felt last week at 7.30pm and she picked up the phone on her way out of the building. I figured I'd be getting an answering service as most bike companies close before 5. Anyways, I figured she wouldn't be able to answer my questions on sizing their S22's (there aren't too many females in bike shops let alone companies, let's be honest). Not only did she spend a good twenty minutes on the phone with me - with a four month old an hour down the freeway waiting for Mommy for Chrissakes - but this chick (sorry!) knows more about bikes than the average bike shop wrench.

I'm now the proud owner of an S22, it fits like a glove and it toally rocks!!!

Jim Felt, she is a credit to your company. Beverly, you do a killer job - don't be put out by the naysayers who, incidentally, should call this british bombshell. She's a total pro.
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Re: Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Cyborg42...you should be glad. Remember why you looked forward to Christmas for months when you were a kid?

Because the wait was always worth it.

Now get over your bad self and respect those who fight their own battles and don't get involved in other people's.
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Re: Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth [FeltBeverly] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Beverly.

"Thanks Beverly" is a phrase I use daily. I call on Bev to solve problems and answer questions for me as an outside sales rep for Felt Bicycles. There are now a dozen or so folks out there, perhaps more, that because of this thread, or the one that sparked this thread think that Felt's customer service is poor, that the people answering the phones could care less about the consumer, and that the company is simply bullshitting its dealers and customers.

I've had Felt's staff contact consumers directly to address some of these issues. Felt does this to take some of the heat off of the dealers. If there is ill-will generated, they'd rather take the heat than have the dealer do so. As an outside sales rep, I have been given a list of consumers that have contacted Felt looking for a bike, a dealer, have a warranty issue, a fit question, any number of issues that I deal with.

My job is to sell Felt bikes to bike shops. Pretty simple on paper, but I acknowledge the need to reach out and create an accessible source for consumers as well as dealers.

Enjoy your track bike, I'm waiting for mine to arrive as well and certainly look forward to the punishment the fixed gear delivers.

-Dave Koesel
Outside/Dealer Sales
Felt Bicycles IN, KY, MI, OH
734-788-1918

https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era
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Re: Felt Customer Service from the horse's mouth [FeltBeverly] [ In reply to ]
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Well, there you have it.

Again. My experience with Felt as a Felt owner (2 DA 650s and buying another new road bike from them soon) and as a dealer is their products and customer service are exceptional. That's always been my experience too.

Also, Dave Koesel (SuperDave on this forum) has been a stand-out rep. who has consistently gone above and beyond the normal expectations of an outside sales reps duties to fill orders, communicate with customers and spread the good word about Felt.

Yesterday Koesel spent an hour of his own time in our store working with a Felt customer. That isn;t even part of his job, but he did it anyway. He has also volunteered to phone our customers who have Felt bikes incoming and has done an excellent job keeping us informed as to inventory status and incoming orders.

In general, if there is ever a problem with Felt (or any other) customer service here at our store it is probably my fault. If something goes well it is probably because Dave or one of the other good guys here has done what do: Work tirelessly toward a good customer experience.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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