There have been some lively posts over the past two days about bicycle company customer service, delivery times what expectations customers should reasonably maintain. I jumped in to defend Felt's customer service in particular- becasue I believe in them as a company, along with several others.
A few points I want to make, for your review and commentary, are listed below:
1. Manufacturers and wholesale distirbutors are not retailers. As such, they require retailers to sign documents called "Dealer Agreements" that stipulate clearly and in writing the roles each party will play. In these agreements (most of them) it is stipulated that interaction with the customer is largely the commensurate responsibility of the Dealer (retailer), not the manufacturer or distributor.
2. Some dealers do a good job, or at least the best they can, of maintaining communication with their retail customers with information about lead times and delivery times. Others, less so. It is often a frustrating job since there is frequently little or no information to convey until delivery is complete.
3. At our store we are very assertive and honest about the vague and uncontrollable nature of lead times. We do not make promises for other companies we may not be able to keep, and we put as much information in writing as possible to avoid confusion. We also ask customers to sign a "lead time waiver" which acknowledges the facts of lead time problems that sometimes exist. Even with this, we still make mistakes and disappoint people. We're not perfect, we're only human, our intentions are good and we almost always, with very few exceptions, deliver within lead time estimates or less.
4. It has been my experience that customers hear what they want to hear. They frequently contort, either willfully or unknowingly, dialogue about lead times. A statement by a shop employee such as "It will probably take 3 or 4 weeks" is restated by the customer as "They promised the bike in four weeks". There is an enormous difference between those two representations. Customers tend to modify the interpretation to their favor, rather than to the realities (however unfortunate they may be) that exist.
5. Bicycle lead times for high end bicycles have been traditionally problematic and show little sign of changing.
This isn;t anything new. The volume of "Where's my....." posts on this forum over th last two years proves that. Why is anyone surprised?
Those are some semi-random thoughts. What are your reactions? This has been an intersting lesson set for me and us. And by the way, we only have a couple (literally, about three or four) bikes chronically late for delivery to customers right now out of over a hundred sold units.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
A few points I want to make, for your review and commentary, are listed below:
1. Manufacturers and wholesale distirbutors are not retailers. As such, they require retailers to sign documents called "Dealer Agreements" that stipulate clearly and in writing the roles each party will play. In these agreements (most of them) it is stipulated that interaction with the customer is largely the commensurate responsibility of the Dealer (retailer), not the manufacturer or distributor.
2. Some dealers do a good job, or at least the best they can, of maintaining communication with their retail customers with information about lead times and delivery times. Others, less so. It is often a frustrating job since there is frequently little or no information to convey until delivery is complete.
3. At our store we are very assertive and honest about the vague and uncontrollable nature of lead times. We do not make promises for other companies we may not be able to keep, and we put as much information in writing as possible to avoid confusion. We also ask customers to sign a "lead time waiver" which acknowledges the facts of lead time problems that sometimes exist. Even with this, we still make mistakes and disappoint people. We're not perfect, we're only human, our intentions are good and we almost always, with very few exceptions, deliver within lead time estimates or less.
4. It has been my experience that customers hear what they want to hear. They frequently contort, either willfully or unknowingly, dialogue about lead times. A statement by a shop employee such as "It will probably take 3 or 4 weeks" is restated by the customer as "They promised the bike in four weeks". There is an enormous difference between those two representations. Customers tend to modify the interpretation to their favor, rather than to the realities (however unfortunate they may be) that exist.
5. Bicycle lead times for high end bicycles have been traditionally problematic and show little sign of changing.
This isn;t anything new. The volume of "Where's my....." posts on this forum over th last two years proves that. Why is anyone surprised?
Those are some semi-random thoughts. What are your reactions? This has been an intersting lesson set for me and us. And by the way, we only have a couple (literally, about three or four) bikes chronically late for delivery to customers right now out of over a hundred sold units.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com