Bo-Ridley

I broke the barrel adjuster to my SRAM Rival rear derailleur and am having a difficult time finding a replacement. One LBS said to call SRAM because they have great customer support. SRAM told me to go to a LBS and the next LBS said that SRAM will not send them the part directly, they will have to go through a supplier. The supplier seems awfully slow or non existent because it has been two weeks. Any ideas?

Thanks

DXchulo

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...S&SSAID=154539

Is that what you're looking for?

DaveSSS 

What poor service. https://aebike.com/product/sram-force...p5901-qc30.htm

Psimet2001 

It's hard to explain how the distribution system works if you don't already have some understanding of it, but in general here is my take -

LBS never having received a request for the part or similar SRAM part and not sure exactly how to get the part for you suggests calling the manufacturer because - 1. It seems viable and many manufacturers will just send parts direct to the end consumer for no charge - saving the consumer time and money, and the LBS a headache. 2. They don't know any better. 3. you were talking to the least knowledgeable guy and that was his "goto" answer.

SRAM - in general they rely on their dealer network to service end users. That's what distribution systems are supposed to do. This is why there are local bike shops in each market selling SRAM parts and not SRAM stores in each market. On this item, to them they decide that this one is not a warranty claim or issue that they wish to process themselves so they send you to the dealer. Done for many reasons but the biggest is because the dealer is supposed to be able to visually assess the situation and determine the actual parts needed and the extent of the situation. For all they know you bought a torn up used part and the adjustment barrell won't do anything to elp get it working and then maybe you'd trash them all over because their part "doesn't work even after they sent me replacement parts."....who knows...but you know how companies think....

So back to the dealer. Now that you've told them that SRAM said to go through them they realize that they're going to have to deal with their distributor. In this case let's make up a name for the distributor.....I'll call this one...uh...QDT.

So...QDT has all sorts of programs to discourage the LBS from submitting a single order for a single adjustment barrell. they have minimums, a freight program, discounts, etc.... so by the LBS placing an order with QDT for an adjustment barrell only they will end up paying full boat on shipping and reduce some of their account metrics substantially. This is done by QDT to reduce their transaction cost - allowing them to supposedly keep prices down with dealers (LBSs) - imagine what the wire transfer and PO processing and shipping paperwork and box costs are for a $1-$2 transaction....and it is done to encourage the dealer to actually use the need to place the order as an opportunity to buy that much needed inventory to restock their shelves in the store.....

....well...it's Jan. and most shops don't have much in terms of cash or customer flow. Right now these guys probably only have guys from BF coming in and asking for adjustment barrells or some such thing. - so the shop isn't picking up inventory. That means they will be waiting to place the order until they have some other items to put on that order.

Different shops deal with this differently. Sometimes they just have a flat policy of saying, "we order on x day each week or every other week" and then pile up all parts needs until that day. This could account for your delay.

Also, let's say the shop is an older one. Maybe they don't have a computer. Maybe the guys at the shop aren't super computer savvy. If this is the case then it means they have to find the part in the catalog - which it may not be there - or have to work with the QDT guys over the phone to find the item.....this can sometimes be....shall we say.....challenging. This could account for the delay because they may just not know how to go about finding the item. Leaning this way on this one because they initially told you to call SRAM - meaning they aren't in the mode of just going to the catalog or internet to find the part needed.

EDIT: All in all the shop isn't a very good one, or is dead and just doesn't see your adjustment barrell as a pressing issue.

sstorkel

I've been through the wringer with SRAM on support/warranty issues. IMHO, they have the worst support policy in the business! My MTB was out of commission for over two months because they, literally, would not send me a part that cost 5 cents to manufacture. The product in question was under warranty and I offered to pay them for the part, but they refused to send it to me! A year later, I'm still ready to punch any SRAM employee I meet in the mouth...

In any event, the second store was incorrect: SRAM absolutely, positively will send parts directly to your LBS provided the LBS is a SRAM dealer and calls SRAM to order/request the parts. Suggest you call SRAM Tech Support, get them to give you the name a local Authorized Dealer, then have that dealer call SRAM to order the parts directly.

I finally got my situation resolved by walking into the LBS with a parts diagram in hand, grabbing a mechanic, and handing him my cell phone with SRAM Tech Support already on the line. He told SRAM what parts I needed to order, because they were highlighted on the diagram, SRAM told him the fork should be repaired under warranty, and they finally sent the fork back to SRAM for a complete rebuild (charging me $30 in the process).

crhilton

Wow, what a cluster. The sad part is that there's a perfectly good reason behind most of that stuff, although I would argue that SRAM is dropping the ball majorly by making you go through a distributor network that doesn't like to send out small parts.

Psimet2001 

yes - this gets into my larger ideas abuot the entire industry. Those who have been on here a while know I have been in and out of the industry for a while. I'd have a full brick and mortar shop tomorrow if there was a real way to make good honest money doing it while providing the type of deals and pricing and service I want to. As such I am always stuck in the middle - resorting to no-traditional industry setups.

In this situation SRAM should revise it's thinking.

In general for the industry the end dealers need to increase their sophistication, and create new arrangements with manufacturers...breaking the crack dealer like hold that the major distributors have on the US market.

You have to understand that most shops and most guys running shops just simply aren't aware of all the product out there. Most can't afford to go to industry trade shows. That and many lack computers or internet access - or even the desire to spend time looking through what's out ther enough to be educated beyond what their sales reps have come in and told them about offerings or products. That coupled with the poor cash flow and usual low capitalization leads many shops to favor product or services based more on the margins that they can offer or the financing terms than the actual benefit to the end consumer.

.....that and most are stll living in a make believe world where they think that this old classic distribution network model can sucessfully fend off globalization and the mass commoditization of the products they sell. Silly shop owners....I wonder if they just use the computer for the heat it gives off - sort of like a small space heater for when they have to turn the heat low and they're trying to get to sleep in the back of the shop......

Bah Humbug

Exactly. With all the baggage for an order through the LBS, good customer service would be shipping one out, which can't cost them much.

roy5000x2

If this was a unique case, then yeah, that makes sense. A customer needing a small part for there bike is not a unique case though. It happens daily at bike shops. The cost for a company to ship a $0.05 part is more than $0.05. There's no profit. If they only shipped out this small part to a handful of customers every year, they wouldn't be losing much money at all. Doing this would be beneficial to them as it'd be great PR for them, and it'd only cost a couple hundred dollars. If there are 10,000+ people who need that small part, the cost to the company (shipping costs, labor costs, time used) is far too great. They'd lose thousands of dollars. Also, as stated earlier, SRAM doesn't have the parts in house.

sstorkel

Bull****. How do they handle warranty repairs if they don't stock any parts?!?

Bo-Ridley

Likely so. Since there is not a photo I can't say for sure but I appreciate your research.

Psimet: Thanks for that. I should add that both LBS' that I refer to are VERY well known shops in NYC (or slightly over the GWB) and I love them both. They are both known for good service and I'm not in any way pissed. Just want to get the adjuster. The beauty is that it has forced me to use the number two mount and I am appreciating it more.

I really do understand how it is when you need some small, not normally needed part. Still, those things happen and there needs to be a way of getting them.

thanks, bike forum people.

markieta

Warranty repairs are sent back to the distributor (QDT, in psimet's case).

edit* actually, it depends on the part in question.

RacerOne

Nice tutorial, thanks!

guadzilla

But the manufacturers are equally resistant to change when it comes to the distribution model, as well... it is a complete circle-jerk. Not just in bikes but also pretty much any other equipment-intensive hobby (dont get me started on dive gear).

V.

sjumper

+1,000,000

It is worse in canada.

sstorkel

Doubt it.

The distributor doesn't know a damn thing about the parts they sell, what constitutes a warranty problem versus normal wear-and-near, and they certainly don't know how to repair each of the hundreds of thousands of products they distribute. Their expertise is in moving a boxes from one location to another. If you buy a product and it is found to be defective within a short period of time after purchase (e.g. before the distributor gets paid), then your merchant may give you a brand-new part and have the distributor return the defective part to the manufacturer.

If the part fails after substantial use, say 1.5 years into SRAM's 2-year warranty, the distributor isn't going to touch it. In that case, you (or your LBS, if you're dealing with SRAM) will have to contact the manufacturer and they'll handle the warranty claim themselves; no distributors involved.

Psimet2001 

It's completely dependent upon the situation. In this case the distributor actually has facilities on site to service parts such as shock re-build and wheel building. They handle many of the service and warranty issues themselves. Not all. Many.

markieta

Cheers

sstorkel

This will come as quite a shock to both my LBS and SRAM, I imagine. As well as vendors like Easton, Mavic, and Shimano who are setup to provide warranty service to consumers and/or bike shops. Not impossible, I guess, but it sure doesn't make sense... If I'm a manufacturer, I want to see warranty problems so I can improve my products. And I also want to be able to evaluate whether a warranty problem is actually a problem, or the result of someone misusing the product so I don't lose my shirt paying for a bunch of unnecessary repairs. And I especially don't want somebody who neither I, nor the consumer, knows bungling the repairs and making my brand look bad... or me look liable in a civil lawsuit!

Guess it might make sense for small manufacturers based in a foreign country where the distributor is their only local representative. Still, most of the warranty cards I've looked at seem to suggest that I need to call the company that made the product to obtain warranty service, not QBP...

Psimet2001 

QDT provides parts. For some product lines - such as SRAM - they act as the broker for processing the warranty. Just like when you have a factory deal on SRAM you're actually dealing through QDT.

That's what distribution networks do. Especially in most industries outside of consumer electronics or mass consumer items.