General Cycling Discussion - Colorado Cyclist - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE

Ok so I purchased a build kit from Colorado Cyclist to build my Salsa La Raza. Seemed to be a great deal when I purchased but after I got the kit things started going down hill. Turns out they will only delete one item from a build kit...seems reasonable enough but they didn't bother to tell me this policy when I tried to delete two itmes and rather than telling me this they sent me one of the two parts. Well that sucked so I wound up selling it on eBay to recoup what I could (didn't do too bad so I am all good with that). Further adding to my frustration at the time was that they sent me the wrong front derailluer, 1 1/4" clamp rather than 1 1/8" clamp, and when I called they didn't have the right part in stock. The only place that had it was Excel and they wanted $36 plus shipping which is a bit high but since no one else had it in stock (checked everywhere I knew) I went with them. My call to Colorado Cyclist had me returning the derailluer they sent and I was told I would get a credit of $28.98, fine I loose a couple more bucks but at this point I just wanted my project to be done, my other option was to wait until mid Jan for the part to get to Colorado Cyclist and I didn't want to wait. So today I get an email from CC letting me know that they have credited my card for the return, $14.49. WTF?!?!? So I call and the answer was that they can only delete one item and at half price. So I told the girl the whole story and she wouldn't do anything and said they shouldn't have even credited me what they did since they deleted the other item and I should have gotten store credit. I again make the arguement that this was their fault and that they told me that I would get $28.98 credit when I called. She isn't budging and goes on to say that they DO have the right part in stock and have had them in stock for weeks. WTF again. So she says my choices are keep the $14.98 credit or get the right derailluer. So I have a Ultegra Triple front derailluer coming in 28.6mm and no use for it. This sucks and I am NEVER using them again and certaily will never tell anyone esle to. I got jerked around and am stuck with selling this thing too now. :mad:

Anyone need a new in box Ultegra 6503 Triple front derailluer? $27 shipped and it is yours.

You know that thought crossed my mind but why should they pay for Colorado Cyclists lack of service?

Yea actually it is still sitting in my office. Excel did only right things though and should be rewarded not made to deal with Colorado Cyclists issues. They got a sale because CC supposedly didn't have the item, they shipped promptly and accuratly. If there is someone I want to have my money in this exchange it is Excel.

Well I can certainly understand & appreciate your frustration with such an expensive venture but I'd like to offer a different view of Colorado Cyclist. I recently purchased a new repair stand from them (Ultimate Consumer) & when I called them & inquired if the stand was in stock, the salesperson was very helpful & sincere. He told me that not only was the stand in stock, he would pull it & set it aside until my [U]Personal Check
arrived. Now I honestly believe he did that. Am I naive? Perhaps...but I've never had service like that from any mail-order co. cycling /otherwise. By the way...I'm sure we've all had bad experiences with just about every cycling outfit. I'm a Performance
team member & have had items flat out omitted from orders upon arrival with absolutley [B]NO explanation. Then I would have to make the call to find out what/where the problem lies. Just another thing on my stand...it arrived exactly the day when the CC salesperson said. Again, sorry for what happened but I wouldn't totally write CC off.

I think their policy of changing out parts from build kits is spelled out pretty well in the catalog. Its too bad though they cant help you out.

I think their policy of changing out parts from build kits is spelled out pretty well in the catalog. Its too bad though they cant help you out.

That it may be but I don't have the catalog and was ordering over the phone form the net. I didn't see anything about it in the custom build kit section of the web site (may have missed it) and my salesman (Mark Hess) didn't say anything about it.

Yeah.. That sucks. Too bad they don't mention that on the phone. I guess they assume you saw the catalog.

FWIW- Ive ordered a couple build kits from them.. they seem to be OK. Helpful on the phone.. Never had to return anything however.

cheers-
Jim

One solution to many internet ordering problems is to pay by credit card. If you return an item, virtually all credit card companies will refund you the money you paid for it. The credit card company then recoups the cost from the merchant.

One solution to many internet ordering problems is to pay by credit card. If you return an item, virtually all credit card companies will refund you the money you paid for it. The credit card company then recoups the cost from the merchant.

I worked for a music mail order for 10 years. This is an FTC mail order rule that credit card companies follow. Return an item with proof of return (Fedex, UPS, postal w/ return receipt) and if the item is still sealed/not used/etc., the mail order must process a refund within 30 days. If you don't get a refund within 30 days, you can file a "chargeback" with the credit card company, and if you have that proof of return, item unused, you get your money back.

Caveats:

Foreign-based mail orders/internet stores do not have to follow FTC US guidelines.
Shipping charges (both ways) are not covered normally. Speaking to a manager and having a good reason for why you should get shipping charges refunded, and being polite, will sometimes get shipping charges refunded, but not typically.
Debit cards followed different rules when I last worked in mail order (three years ago). Not sure, but I believe that they are now covered like credit cards.
If an item is part of a package and not individually priced, like the situation above, you might be stuck with less money or no return, since the merchant may require the complete item returned unused.

In my experience, if you mention the word "chargeback" in your conversation with an experienced mail order/internet retailer, you'll get your refund.

Wow, sounds like my experience with Performance.

Grasschopper, sorry to hear of your problems, but I am impressed that your doing the right thing by Excell, I agree with your reasoning that if someone should have to pay it should be CC.
I know its to late now, but the person that suggested dealing with the manager/owner is on the right track, I have had great success doing this in the past when I been mucked around by sales staff.
Hope it all works out for you.

On the other hand, I ordered a bike from them about a year and a half ago which came as promised. A couple weeks later, I was on their site and noticed they had lowered the price of the same bike by $100, so I called them to ask about it. The guy said he wasn't aware of it, but would check and if it wasn't a typo or anything, they would credit me the $100. I figured that would be the end of that. Several days later, a credit slip came in the mail for the $100 refund to my charge card.

I thought that was pretty good customer service.

Contact them and send them the link to this thread.

Yeah, I worked there (CC) for 6 months.
That's why I stay pretty local for my needs, occasionally hitting eBay for a rarity. I gave up on Colorado Cyclist and the others (Excel, Cambria, etc) when I realized that the larger companies ultimately do not care unless you spend a boatload of money there. Stay local when you can, if you can.
Yes, I know the larger companies arae business and they may not have time for each customer the way a good LBS does. So I go elsewhere. In doing so, my passion stays more...um, passionate? :D

Do outfits like CC pay their phone people commissions? Commissions only? Seems like they might vary their behavior depending on the time/day of the call or their individual experience.

The local shop is dealing with you face to face and probably on a more personal basis. Even local folks on commission know that they are far more likely to be the one personally affected by driving your patronage elsewhere should they mistreat you.

Telephone guys are one among many and may even be a call center with no stake in the sale at all. To them "name" i what they use to fill in a blank on a shipping label. To the LBS "name" is what they greet you with when you walk in the door.

My LBS guy will actually say something like, "Excuse me, but this guy is going to spend a heck of a lot more than you will today. Catch you next time your in." I like that.

It is very sad, companies have no idea what good customer service is these days. I love to order stuff on the web and the site says the parts in stock and i order it. Then 2 weeks later the freakn' part still hasn't come yet. When i goe to check on it they say its on back order thanks for lettting me know guys. :mad:

Ok so I purchased a build kit from Colorado Cyclist to build my Salsa La Raza. Seemed to be a great deal when I purchased but after I got the kit things started going down hill. Turns out they will only delete one item from a build kit...seems reasonable enough but they didn't bother to tell me this policy when I tried to delete two itmes and rather than telling me this they sent me one of the two parts. Well that sucked so I wound up selling it on eBay to recoup what I could (didn't do too bad so I am all good with that). Further adding to my frustration at the time was that they sent me the wrong front derailluer, 1 1/4" clamp rather than 1 1/8" clamp, and when I called they didn't have the right part in stock. The only place that had it was Excel and they wanted $36 plus shipping which is a bit high but since no one else had it in stock (checked everywhere I knew) I went with them. My call to Colorado Cyclist had me returning the derailluer they sent and I was told I would get a credit of $28.98, fine I loose a couple more bucks but at this point I just wanted my project to be done, my other option was to wait until mid Jan for the part to get to Colorado Cyclist and I didn't want to wait. So today I get an email from CC letting me know that they have credited my card for the return, $14.49. WTF?!?!? So I call and the answer was that they can only delete one item and at half price. So I told the girl the whole story and she wouldn't do anything and said they shouldn't have even credited me what they did since they deleted the other item and I should have gotten store credit. I again make the arguement that this was their fault and that they told me that I would get $28.98 credit when I called. She isn't budging and goes on to say that they DO have the right part in stock and have had them in stock for weeks. WTF again. So she says my choices are keep the $14.98 credit or get the right derailluer. So I have a Ultegra Triple front derailluer coming in 28.6mm and no use for it. This sucks and I am NEVER using them again and certaily will never tell anyone esle to. I got jerked around and am stuck with selling this thing too now. :mad:

Anyone need a new in box Ultegra 6503 Triple front derailluer? $27 shipped and it is yours.

The idiots at Colorado Cyclist totally mishandled my order made on December 14th for a xmas present. I called them an hour after I placed it, and they indicated that they had already shipped it. When it did not arrive for xmas, I called them, and they said that the order was never processed. Needless to say, they have recieved my last order.

Everyone in the serving area of this store (and elsewhere, as well) should send them an e-mail claiming they were about to visit to purchase bicycles for the whole family until they read this story in bikeforums and are now taking their business to their competitors. Even if the claim is untrue, they won't know that and the illusion of losing so much business will likely get the message across to them that they need to regard people with respect and fairness.

On the other hand, I ordered a bike from them about a year and a half ago which came as promised. A couple weeks later, I was on their site and noticed they had lowered the price of the same bike by $100, so I called them to ask about it. The guy said he wasn't aware of it, but would check and if it wasn't a typo or anything, they would credit me the $100. I figured that would be the end of that. Several days later, a credit slip came in the mail for the $100 refund to my charge card.

I thought that was pretty good customer service.

I've only used them twice and each time has been good.

First order was for a Vitus 979 frame and Durace headset installed with the Vitus fork, that was back in 1987 when you could only order via mail, fax or phone. That order worked out fine and i still ride this bike.

The last order was last year Dec 04', when I ordered an entire bike, 04' Litespeed Classic Ultegra, online. This bike arrived a week earlier than expected and in good working order after minor assembly, no derailluer adjustment was needed. The bike was packed nicely and filled completely with packing peanuts (what the hell am I going to do with all the peanuts :eek: ). I'm a happy customer, granted I didn't have to deal with customer service for problems this go around. :)

Contact them and send them the link to this thread.
ditto

I won't buy from 'em until they settle up with you. And I was thinking about buying FSA carbon cranks. Jumping on my motorcycle and cruising down there on a nice day to buy stuff is common.

Everyone in the serving area of this store (and elsewhere, as well) should send them an e-mail claiming they were about to visit to purchase bicycles for the whole family until they read this story in bikeforums and are now taking their business to their competitors. Even if the claim is untrue, they won't know that and the illusion of losing so much business will likely get the message across to them that they need to regard people with respect and fairness.

It's unlikely that people dealing fairly and trying to take the morally right decision will do this. It also appears from follow-ups on this thread that it's unnecessary - they will really lose business due to this decision, there's no need to make this fact up. I buy mail order from the US and won't be considering CC for my business without seeing a positive outcome to this thread.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP!!!! HOW MANY EVENTS HAS EXCELL AND COLORADO CYCLIST SPONSORED IN YOUR TOWN????!!!!

Without the lbs this will start to dry up.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP!!!! HOW MANY EVENTS HAS EXCELL AND COLORADO CYCLIST SPONSORED IN YOUR TOWN????!!!!

Without the lbs this will start to dry up.
I'd rather support my local school. Reading comprehension is such an unappreciated skill.

I've only ordered twice from CC and both times were favorable. I've had some bad experiences with Performance though. The best one by me by far is Nashbar...(funny they're owned by Performance...go figure).

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP!!!! HOW MANY EVENTS HAS EXCELL AND COLORADO CYCLIST SPONSORED IN YOUR TOWN????!!!!

Without the lbs this will start to dry up.
While I agree with the message; the method of delivery blows. YELLING gets you no respect here.

That sucks to hear. They have some pretty cool stuff every once in a while.

I can understand your frustration. I never found CC to be all that helpful with a problem. No problems they are wonderful.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP!!!! HOW MANY EVENTS HAS EXCELL AND COLORADO CYCLIST SPONSORED IN YOUR TOWN????!!!!


Just as many as my LBS

why is excel being bundled into this badmouthing? excel is an awesome mail-order shop.

sd

Who's badmouthing Excel?

why is excel being bundled into this badmouthing? excel is an awesome mail-order shop.

sd

No Excel had the part I needed. They knew they had the part I needed and I ordered it from them. I arrived quickly and well packaged. Someone suggested I return the CC derailuer to Excel and get a refund from them but I was unwilling to do that as Excel did nothing wrong here and deserves my buisness. I have since purchased other things from them (Excel) in fact. CC is the only company I have an issue with here.

I work next to an old established Bike shop, The only difference I pay with them and online is sales tax, but they know my name, they know my face, they do alot of things for me that no online service can do. I have no problem telling them if I can find a better deal online, they will always get close enought to make me happy. I can walk in and carry out my item-get it exchanged if it is not right, be shown how it works, and what to expect. They are happy to donate to various causes and support local events. I am an ebay power seller(non bike stuff) so I am not an anti-ecommerce person, but my bike stuff is my passion and I won't go cheep. I really need my local bike shop.

I'd rather support my local school. Reading comprehension is such an unappreciated skill.

I just gotta say............ OUCH.

Performance is my LBS, and I usually go when they aren't that busy so it has been okay for me. They are about the only place around that has a nice selection of parts and extras.

Edited to say that there might be a store in chapel hill that I don't know about.

Lesson learned for you . . . buy from your LBS!

Ok this isn't a online vs LBS issue. Buy this same kit from my LBS and it costs $400-$600 MORE than Colorado Cyclist. It was a great deal that wasn't going to be beat or even gotten close to by my LBS. I know the GM personally at my LBS and HE said get it. Can we drop the LBS discussion now?

The issue is that CC had the item in stock and 2X told me they didn't, then wouldn't make their mistake right.

I wish there was a performance around here. There prices seem great.

The prices at the local store are sometimes a little more, but I called and they said they would honor web prices. I think I paid $3 more for a rear rack than on the website, but I wasn't going to cause a fuss when I came in on a Saturday and it was still cheaper than buying online and paying shipping.

Oh, I went to get some cover for my front brake cable and they cut it to size and charged less than a dollar (it was less than a foot). My brother had some, but I didn't have anything to cut it with so I was really happy. They are nice to a newbie, but they will be paid for it if I end up buying the used road bike I am looking at and fixing it up (when stuff is cheaper I buy more, guess it is the OCD in me).

On the issue of websites/companies doing the right thing. Wheel World, California, took my order for Sidi Dominators 04 model. Thereafter they advised they were out of it--they were (and still are on sale at $169/pair).
To accommodate me, they offered to, and did, send me the 05 model for the same price!
Service like that should be rewarded.
I admit though that I felt guilty, and then did go to my local bike shop to buy new Speedplay Frogs. Local shops are there when you need them--and we want them to stay!

one name that reipped Me off was "Cyclinggoods.com" About apparrel that I purchased; but He never sent it to Me. So I had to end up canceling My visa payment on Him. And He had the aggressive attitude Knowing that that He was in the wrong. Knowing that He could not dispute Me/transaction.