I know it’s become commonplace around here to say it but, I have to, Emilio and his products are simply incredibly good.
During a recent thread I noticed that he mentioned that they can do some custom orders for people and I PM’ed to see if there was a chance of me getting a number of low cut power shorts made with pockets. Sure enough Emilio said it could be done if I was happy with the quote, I sure was. Today I went to the collection depot, paid the duty and came back with a UPS packet of shorts.
I don’t remember sending him my measurements but I must have as these feel bespoke! What an excellent job They have done both designing the Forza and in preparing this order for me. As a customer of DeSoto products since 1995 I didn’t think that they could have improved on the original powershort and, unlike most companies seasonal updates, they manage to raise the bar by bettering the product by only making changes that actually improve the product!
If it were 9 month back I would have started a De Soto Mafia but that wouldn’t work as there would be more in the brotherhood than out! Well done Emilio and well done De Soto.
Same here. I use the 400 mile shorts and have a Firstwave top and bib. My bib was ripped at IMLP and I sent it from LP as I have a race next weekend. DeSoto is making the repair at no cost and will have it back to me by Thursday. It is companies like this that earn customers for life. The next time I need running shorts or a shirt for training, I will not go to Dick’s or another store for Nike, Adidas, etc., but will order from DeSoto. You have to support a company that supports the athletes the way they do.
Bingo! It is rare that I actually enjoy spending my hard earned money with DeSoto. Just one of those companies that gives you exactly what you want in product, service, price, you name it.
I’ve only had one DeSoto tri short and they were nice. I like to hear things like this about products and I’ve looked into their gear but I just can’t get past how friggin hard it is to get around the website. If I want to look at shorts I have to guess what product is what and by trial and error find the damn things.
I can honestly say that the only reason I haven’t purchased anything else is becasue of the website. I don’t even look! I look at the Pearl Izumi site once a week just because I’m bored. I know right where to go if I need a run top or gloves or tri shorts or bibs.
Emilio, PLEASE hire someone to make a better site for you. If you do, I’ll buy ALL my new training gear from you. Seeing as I have a lot to buy as I drop weight again, the amount that I am going to buy in the next year will pay for the site itself. Hell, I was wandering around Tribe Multisport in Scottsdale this morning at 6am with 10 grand in my pocket. I only left with 165 worth of stuff and got a free pair of glasses out of it, all because thay didn’t put in any effort to sell me something. They could have EASILY sold me a mountain bike today… OT, I know, but not really! What are you doing to keep people from spending $ with your business? How much business are you leaving on the table all becasue of something that could be fixed with a very small investment?
I was wandering around Tribe Multisport in Scottsdale this morning at 6am with 10 grand in my pocket. I only left with 165 worth of stuff and got a free pair of glasses out of it, all because thay didn’t put in any effort to sell me something. They could have EASILY sold me a mountain bike today…
DeSoto is an outstanding company in many respects. As it relates to customer service Emilio and his staff have made it real simple: (from website) If you are not satisfied with one of our products at the time you receive it, or if one of our products does not perform to your satisfaction within 90 days of the purchase date, return it for repair, a replacement, or a refund.
When you really sit down and ponder it how many vendors of ANY product that we use in triathlon racing and/or training offer up anything close to this? DeSoto is a sufficiently large enough company to offer a full array of products for it’s target customer and yet small enough so that the same customer is able to speak to a real person when you call the 800 number. There’s another thread on the front page right now about a disgruntled customer who purchased a bike thru an online vendor and is unable to contact that vendor or receive a response to his e-mails. I know I’ll never have that kind of issue with DeSoto and that is worth much in today’s landscape of online commerce.
Absolutely right, Mike. You know that you will never be disappointed by a service that you receive from De Soto even if you think your request is border unreasonable. They go that extra mile as standard.
A little tale of customer service (having nothing to to with Emilio or deSoto Sport)
Sometime back in 2005, Jen wanted an HRM. I took her to Mountain Equipment Co-op (Canada’s version of REI). There she picked out a Timex ladies’ model, and used it happily for around 2 years. Recently the rubber faceplate protector started to peel off, and it has come off to the point where I feared water damage. I figured the thing had a 1yr warranty max, and who knows if this type of thing would be covered? Rather than contacting Timex ourselves, I figured we’d just take it back to MEC as they have outstanding customer service, and I hoped, more clout with Ploar than just a lowly customer. I spoke with the lady at the customer service counter and she agreed that it would be out of warranty with Timex and likely not worth the repair bill plus shipping. The she proceeded to process a refund/replacement ticket, and gave me a slip for the full purchase price, including taxes! She said that we could go and get another identical one, change it up for a different watch, or just get our money back. We looked at all the HRMs they had and decided to just get the same watch.
When I took it up to the counter, the guy processed everything and then, looking kind of sideways at his screen, asked when we’d purchased the watch. “Oh, it was a good while ago - at least a year, maybe two”. “Ah - that makes sense then. I owe you 95 cents.” The rate of “Goods and Services Tax” went down by a percentage point in the last year!
Wow, that’s pretty impressive. Ties in with my experiences of MEC too, staff in both the Broadway and Deep Cove stores have been very helpful when I have been there. I bet they are a pretty good company to work for though I would think the wages would be pretty in line with most retail positions.
I can see myself spending more money there in the future. I am a little surprised that they send me a catalogue each season as I thought their eco policy would be better served with an email advising to check the new range on site. Their technical garments are very good too, I picked up a new Goretex XCR which retails for $300 for $150 on ebay last month. If my collarbone starts to heal and I get over this year I’ll be in there for some new trail shoes (as well as some bits and bobs).
Hello, I appreciate the input and would appreciate more if you can tell me what it is you don’t like about it. So far it appears to be mostly the drop down boxes. We have just made them a bit slower and if you dboule click on them they stick so hopefully that will fix things a little.
In the mean time, we are redesigning it so that it is more functional. I will let you know when it becomes live.
Emilio, i would like to give some feedback since you are interested.
i was on the site not long ago and what i found frustrating was having to go through all the possibilities to see what they were like. they are listed by catagory and name, but i had no idea what the differences were between the forza and the vuelta or the essentials v the solto. or in the wetsuits a black perl vs a first wave.
i think it would be helpful to have a thumbnail gallery of the catagory so one can see them all at once (a catagory, not all products) and then click in on what they want more detail on. also, maybe some side by side comparisons of the different offernings. ‘this short is made of this… which is good for … and cut like this and has these pockets - but the … is made of this here which is better for … and doesn’t have pockets…’ or 'we took the same pattern for the … and made it out of … because that material does… and added a pocket here… ’ stuff like that.
thanks
ps. please feel free to email me any time you need testing done on a new product, i would be gald to offer my services. (like ya never heard that before).
I just ordered a pair of the 400 mile shorts from your website. I hope they’re as good as everyone says . . .
Anyway, the website is not the best or the worst out there in terms of ease of use. On the positive side, ordering was fast and easy. On the negative side, navigation/browsing/shopping was kind of murky. The biggest problem, as someone has already noted, is that I don’t have any idea what the differences between the various product lines are- what’s “forza,” etc?
Thanks for the input. First of all, we have a, as you call it thumbnail gallery. Just click on DESOTO PRODUCTS and choose SEARCH BY STYLES then SEE ALL STYLES.
I will work on getting side by side comparisons of some sort, but I pretty much feel that the descriptions are very complete. Also there are links on every product page to our fabrics called FABRIC FACTS.
Thats the point though! Its not easy to find the places you might want to go.
just found the page that lists the different lines here http://desotosports.com/products/index.asp under itroduction. You can see the quick version of what the Forza, Veulo etc lines mean.
Emilio sent me a pm asking what I thought and for ideas. Thats great! Really taking the time to speak with the customer is a sure way to improve.