Bike Shop Disillusionment - Seattle
Wow, I don't like to rant on bike shops. I really don't. I don't think I ever have. And I have had some really great experiences lately with some shops, but I can't not post this...
Turn back the clock to 2003. After a spell of unemployment, I get lucky and snag a job that is, among other things, a job I can bike to. I am living on my boat, though, to save $$$. I don't have a bike, but decide it would be good idea, if I am going to get a bike, to get a folder of some sort. Years ago, I had a Montague folding bike. 'Twas great. I could take it on the boat and cruise around to do grocery shopping in places like Victoria, BC. Sadly, I look at the Montague lineup online and the more nicely equipped bikes are the "Hummer" model and the camo-painted "Paratrooper" model. It is enough to make me gag and just tell Montague to go take a leap. A Hummer? What the ^&(^*! were they thinking? Gross! I go to a shop that specialized in folders, recumbents and such an they have a "Hummer" on the floor. I can't hack the whole Hummer thing, but the folding frame is pretty much what I want. OK, so my bargain with the devil is probably where my problem begins. I like the overall bike design, so I sign away my soul...sorta. I go back to the shop and I say "OK, I can't tolerate the concept of a Hummer, and I don't want to reward them (Montague) by buying one, but what I want to do is buy a Paratrooper and pay to paint it. I'm just not comfortable pedaling a camo bike." So we agree I'll buy a Paratrooper and the shop will send the frame out to be painted a generic blue. I also spec'd a few other upgrades: a Zoom stem extension to make my aching neck less unhappy, some Continental Goliath tires that I had used before and liked, and thornproof tubes to cut down on trailside commute repairs (I hope!). And a spare thornproof tube just in case! Being a schmuck, I volunteer to pay up front. I hate it when people just order custom stuff and just walk away or disappear. So I'm told it is going to take 3-4 weeks. So 5 weeks go by, then 6, 7 and 8. I try not to get too tense, but I start hearing a bunch of "dog ate my homework" stories about the frame painter (supposedly in Denver) -- "his shop burned down....he had an appendectomy" or stories to that effect. Finally, at about 9-10 weeks out, I get the call. The frame is back and bike is ready to go. It is late in day, but I drive from Ballard down by SeaTac to this shop and there it is. Blue. Hmmm, tires aren't right but I'm told, correctly, that Conti discontinued Goliaths so I just grab the bike and go. I stash it on the boat and go to friend's house. The next evening, i look over at the bike and realize that the rear triangle is black, not blue, and it has a yellow decal on one side that says "Shimano-Equipped". Then I think a little harder and realize that there are a few other subtle differences...handlebar is a bit angled, not straight. It dawns on me. They didn't sell me a Paratrooper. They sold me a Hummer. I'm pretty steamed. It is not like the bikes are so different. Most of the mechanicals are identical. But I am feeling a bit violated, like a chump..."Oh, let's just give him the Hummer. He won't know the difference!". I look at my sales receipt. It has "Paratrooper" printed pretty plainly. So the next night I email the gent at this shop and, more or less, say "Thanks for treating your customers like chumps!" and I send a CC to Montague. But a few days go by...and I have to get to work...and the bikes are nearly identical...and maybe he was just trying to act in my best interest by getting me a bike. Maybe the frame painter in Denver died and they couldn't find the frame!! So I just said, "What the hell, I won't call the state AG, I will just move on with my life" So I started taking the bike to work, and it is a pretty nice rig, maybe I'll get back to Victoria some time. I took several months from bike commuting after some neck problems, but I started biking to work again about a month ago. This morning, I got all set to pedal to work on a very rainy morning, but discovered the front tire was completely flat. I said "Oh, well, what are you going to do? The thorn-proof tires did pretty well" and, because I was short on time, I ran out to grab the bus to work. So I come home this evening and get my spare thorn-proof tube out of the closet and pull the front wheel off the bike. Figure I'll swap the spare in and then repair the original thorn-proof tube. Sure enough, as I pop the tire off there is a *really* big thorn stuck in the tire.... ....but as the tube falls out it says "Cheng-Shin Tube 26x1.9" and so on...your garden-variety inner tube. So it is dawning on me that the tube in my rear wheel is probably not the thorn-proof tube that I paid extra for either. Small things, but enough to make me lose faith is the nice, smiling proprietors -- and the smiling gent was the proprietor -- who make such a show of making sure we are happy bicyclists. Probably too late, but I think I shouid call the AG. |
Ink, you are complaining about a "specific bike" and a "specific bike shop".
This could happen to you in Portland, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Clearwater, Fl. There are many great bike shops in Seattle, and hell yes, you should WRITE the AG. For some reason old fashioned snail mail works better. |
Originally Posted by Marge
Ink, you are complaining about a "specific bike" and a "specific bike shop".
This could happen to you in Portland, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Clearwater, Fl. There are many great bike shops in Seattle, and hell yes, you should WRITE the AG. For some reason old fashioned snail mail works better. Sigh. But I have had some great experiences lately that I expect to post about...in a more upbeat thread! |
Well, what happened when you went to the shop, bike in hand, and requested a full refund? It seems reasonable that if you didn't get what you wanted that you should get your money back, and if they're not willing, then step it up a notch.
Adam |
First, I suggest an assertiveness training course.
Next, I play Devil's Advocate. Maybe the shop wasn't lying when they said there were problems with the frame painter. Maybe your bike was lost/burned/damaged. And maybe the shop tried to share the loss and just gave you another bike, albeit the model you did not want. Did I miss something, or did you get your first flat after 2 years? Yeah, they may have screwed you, but it seems to me that you bought them a few drinks first, and possibly bent over. You should have brought this to them in 2003. I doubt the shop owner is all that happy with how things turned out either. Not a good way to stay in business. No one lives happily ever after at the end of this story. |
Originally Posted by Expatriate
First, I suggest an assertiveness training course.
Taking some of your following words out of order a bit: Did I miss something, or did you get your first flat after 2 years? Next, I play Devil's Advocate. Maybe the shop wasn't lying when they said there were problems with the frame painter. Maybe your bike was lost/burned/damaged. And maybe the shop tried to share the loss and just gave you another bike, albeit the model you did not want. While I can be interested in hearing and adjusting to such a problem, it is not my job as customer to go fix it. And as a customer, when a problem arises, what I want is "the straight dope". Yeah, they may have screwed you, but it seems to me that you bought them a few drinks first, and possibly bent over. You should have brought this to them in 2003. I doubt the shop owner is all that happy with how things turned out either. Not a good way to stay in business. No one lives happily ever after at the end of this story. When I think about any recourse I think of what time and effort that would involve. Like I say, I have a nice commuting bike. But the thing I didn't get -- the thing that really bugs me -- is the straight dope. |
Mate, I agree you got screwed. I'm not taking sides though, just throwing out some "What ifs". Glad your aunt doesn't read this too. :D
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Yes you got screwed. But, it is going to be a little difficult complaining about some two year old tubes.
Take heart in the fact that the only thing "Hummer" about the bike was that it had a Hummer decal. |
Originally Posted by Avalanche325
Yes you got screwed. But, it is going to be a little difficult complaining about some two year old tubes.
Take heart in the fact that the only thing "Hummer" about the bike was that it had a Hummer decal. My credentials as a tree-hugger aren't very strong, but I really, really, really hate the whole phenomenon of consumer Hummers in this country. Gross. Sick. and a business expense :( |
Dude, that shop did you over, hard core!
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Ink
After two years, you're still p*ss'ed. Not only did the shop screw you then but they still are by taking any joy you may have from owning a decent bike. A couple of options here: you could get an attorney, sue, maybe win a few bucks which you will share with your lawyer, or lose. Either way you still lose. The shop is still screwing you. The other option is the one you suggest, ignore it. Walk away. Put it behind you. Quit letting the shop own you. Take satisfaction that the jerks that sold the bike to you will ultimately get theirs. I don't believe in Karma--but as a businessman I know that what goes around comes around. Replace the tubes--change the decals--service the BB. Then you'll know that things are right. John in Oregon |
I have been watching this for a few days.
Why did you not just buy the Hummer and take the decals off? That would truly be sticking it to Montague. As well as being far cheaper than a repaint and faster to boot. By the way. assuming a puncture with an insert of more than .5mm, a "puncture resistant" tube will last about a day longer than a standard tube. I tell my customers to not waste the money but I do stock them. Let it go. I tend to hold onto this kind of stuff myself and it just is not worth the acid reflux. Go look at the Giant folder, the HalfWay, nice bike. Having known many people that owned boats, I loved this line: " I am living on my boat, though, to save $$$." |
A boat is a hole in the lake you pour money into.
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Originally Posted by Expatriate
A boat is a hole in the lake you pour money into.
Nice one. That made the whole thread worthing perusing. :) |
Originally Posted by Rev.Chuck
Why did you not just buy the Hummer and take the decals off? That would truly be sticking it to Montague. As well as being far cheaper than a repaint and faster to boot.
But I'm something of an idealist. By the way. assuming a puncture with an insert of more than .5mm, a "puncture resistant" tube will last about a day longer than a standard tube. I tell my customers to not waste the money but I do stock them. Let it go. I tend to hold onto this kind of stuff myself and it just is not worth the acid reflux. Go look at the Giant folder, the HalfWay, nice bike. Having known many people that owned boats, I loved this line: " I am living on my boat, though, to save $$$." It's true! (but I can't deny the old "hole in the water" saw.) |
Originally Posted by Ink
'Cause I did not want the Montague folks to believe that somebody would actually *buy* a bicycle named after that evil blight. I'd like them to look at their sales stats and go "Whoa, all of our Hummer models went unsold! What a stupid, clueless mistake *that* was!"
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Originally Posted by Expatriate
Hey, a "Hummer" was something else long before the Humvee came along.
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Uh. someone that can't sing? Doesn't know the words? :)
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