Why did Cervelo lie to me? I ordered a R2.5 from them in December. I posted about this before. Well yesterday I finally got the truth from them after 7 months. They had no intention of sending a R2.5 to my local bike shop. This shop sells Cervelo bikes. The shop made its regular weekly call to Dwayne (Cervelo employee) and he basically said that the shop does not sell enough bikes to get one. They are currently only sending bikes to their large volume shops and as warranty replacement frames. So they have lied to me and my local bike shop for the last 7 months. Why in the world would they do this? I will never buy a Cervelo product again and will tell everyone who will listen what I think of Cervelo, which is not much now. With half the summer gone I now have to figure out what bike to buy now. I should not have donated my Fondriest record equipped bike to the local youth racing team so quickly.
Actually, I have heard the same type of story from a semi local bike shop where I bought my P2K from. They told me that because they weren’t a large volume dealer, they weren’t able to get what they needed in the spring when the big bike rush is on, they would have gotten their new shipment of bikes mid to late summer. If this is true, this is an awful thing to do to the small dealer and certainly has made me re-think my loyalty to Cervelo.
Well Cfr200, I do empathize sincerely with your frustration.
I will, with all respect Sir (Ma’am), hold you accountable for your comments since you posted them on a public forum for our review and commentary. I wager, based on my expereince with Cervelo, that they told you what they knew to be true at the time. This means that they did not lie. It does mean things may have changed between the time your bike order was placed and now. And you are right, that is frustrating and disappointing. But I don’t feel that characterizing Cervelo and their employees, who I interact with nearly every day, to be dishonest. The truth (or my truth) is that Cervelo employees as a whole are enormously helpful, honest, very, very hard working and extremely dedicated. I wouldn’t glow about them if they hadn’t confirmed this repeatedly to me under difficult circumstances. “They are currently only sending bikes to their large volume shops and as warranty replacement frames.” Being a master of spin and hype myself- having done some of it in the military and governement service, I acknowledge that there is an element of truth to this *perhaps. *But I think it is a very prejudice and ptentially inaccurate characterization of the truth. This has not been my expereince with Cervelo. I am no where near as large an account as R&A Cycles, Austin Tri Cyclist, Nytro and Mission Bay- but I still get exceptional delivery and service from Cervelo. Do some bikes take longer than others? Certainly. And Cervelo has not mis-represented that to me even once.
Cervelo does, as a company, sometimes get elevated to lofty levels among the posters on this forum. No doubt, I am one of their most vigorous cheerleaders having personally owned, now, 6 Cervelos and now awaiting my 7th. Those are big shoes to fill- but fill them they do almost 100% of the time.
Also- think about this: When people have a gripe about Cervelo, it is almost always the same thing: That they can’t get *the one they want. *That is a strange irony- that their bikes are so good, so desired, that people actually get pissed about it.
In fairness though, Cervelo does a very, very good job u8nder some tough circumstances in a highly competitive market.
I empathize with your furstration, but suggest that while a public forum is certainly a temptimg place to vent one’s frustration, that in this case it is not at all 100% justified.
In any case, I do hope you get your bike from your dealer. I can tell you I ahve one myself and have owned it for more than a year. It is a very nice bike and worth the wait.
Good luck my friend.
Actually, I believe I was asked by my staff about this situation earlier today, and I think it is a bit different than you have been led to believe. Let me look into it and I will get back to you.
They told me that because they weren’t a large volume dealer, they weren’t able to get what they needed in the spring when the big bike rush is on, they would have gotten their new shipment of bikes mid to late summer.
And if you ask the big dealers, they will tell you exactly the same. Not enough bikes, and too late. Most shops, large and small, have had very strong double digit growth with us, but they feel they could have had triple digit growth (and they could have) so it feels they got nearly nothing.
Anyway, the bikes are shipped on a first come, first serve basis. The only way the big shops get their stuff sooner is if they order sooner, not because they are big. But it is probably true that on average the big shops are better organized. They are writing orders at Interbike, whereas a lot of small shops get their orders in two months after the deadline. That’s not our fault, they are welcome and able to put in their orders during Interbike as well, all it takes is to figure out their open to buy before they go to Vegas.
This is why I never order a bike. I only buy them if they are in inventory.
Gerard - Why is it so hard to please all of the people all of the time? Maybe Henry Ford was right.
There is some wisdom to that.
With all due respect. If your shop is on the phone with Cervelo on a weekly basis for seven months, …
Gerard, do the right thing. Zorg ervoor dat die vent zijn fiets krijgt.
That might be my responsibility…
All i can say is this company is top notch…for example: i am unable to purchase a new Cervelo but i am in the process of buying a used one…i had a couple questions regarding the model and being an older one there was not much info available…after an email to there info center i got a reply with all the info i had asked…fantastic!!!
I’m sure they’re building the bikes as fast as they can…remember they are in business to make money and if they had one in stock they would be more than happy to sell it to you!!!
I understand that you don’t have a bike but just remember "good things come to those who wait!!! and you may regret a fast purchase…later, Dean
My question is why don’t you stop taking orders after a certain number? Figure out how many you can build in a quarter, pad the number to cover production problems and warrantys and just not take orders till the next quarter.
Why would you wait 7 months for an off the rack bike anyway.
I just don’t get it. With all of the great bikes out in the wide world you could buy and be sick of a bike by the time the LBS figured out you were not getting your new “summer” ride.
Hope gerard can help you. If he can’t I am sure that
Ben Serotta will make a bike for you and provide great customer service.
I have heard the same as well…from about every brand.
I would suspect the fault, if there is any, lies with the shop and not Cervelo. And, strictly speaking, Cervelo never lied to you, because they never communicated with you. With your shop, yeah, sure … I mean probably, but with you, directly, no.
Your complaints – valid, I think – are with the shop you’ve been dealing with. I worked in a high end road shop thru college and grad school, 8 years all told. And the scenario you describe doesn’t correspond with anything I experienced from any supplier.
I’d take it up with the shop. And point blank call them out. If they can’t get the bike, why have they held onto your deposit for SEVEN months. Better question, why have you allowed them to hold onto YOUR money for seven months?
If it were me (and I’m glad it’s not), I’d go in and say, “Two weeks to get my bike. If you can’t provide it, I want my money back.” No bike is worth waiting for over half a year. The R25 is a fine bike, but it is just a carbon road bike. There are a bunch of carbon bikes just as good (and a few better).
You might be in a pickel. It’s the end of the sellng season. All the good stuff is gone, and next year’s good stuff won’t be out for a while. But, if you look around, I bet you can find a good deal on 05 stuff. So, this might end up being a blessing in disguise. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up on a C50 instead of an R25.
Good luck. It’ll work out in the end. Even if you don’t get a Cervelo.
I do have a Javelin too. It is super good.
Tom, with all due respect, you’re telling a guy, who has been waiting for 7 months that his complaints aren’t justified. sorry, but his complaints are more than 100% justified!!!
i don’t give a crap how good a bike is. if i’m told it will come, wait for 7 months and then find out that it’s not and never will, and oh by the way its because your local bike shop does’t do enough business…sorry, that’s craqp. no way around it. not only have they dumped on me, but they’ve also crapped on my bike shop. not cool.
why does everyone want to suck cervelo’s cock? after all, it’s been public when other companies screw up or exceed customer expectation…cervelo should be no exception in either case.
Sweetie, have you been wine tasting?
His complaints may be justified- according to what we know about this. I am adverse to trial by Internet however.
And, as a heterosexual, I don’t fellate anyone- not that there is anything wrong with that.
why does everyone want to suck cervelo’s cock? after all, it’s been public when other companies screw up or exceed customer expectation…cervelo should be no exception in either case.
(This post was edited by kittycat on Jul 27, 2005, 7:22 PM)
That’s here for good, now darling.
What a shitty situation, for all parties involved.
Seems that Felt and Cervelo, at least those are the two that come to mind having been around this forum for a year or so, have trouble filling the demand.
Makes me feel like the only bike one ought to order is a custom one.
Just wondering…since companies like Guru build custom frames to order, could one simply call them up and tell them to build a “Guru” R2.5?