Tuesday 29 January 2013

Customer Service!

A Brompton bike is not cheap but in my mind you really do get what you pay for. In that sense the prices are pretty good. I have two Brompton bikes and as you know, I love them. The shop you buy one from is a very important consideration as it could be the start of a long term relationship. This idea was certainly tested when a friend recently decided to buy their very first Brompton.

He went in to a quite well know shop which will remain nameless. The level of customer service was rather shocking. I will elaborate.

My friend wanted a titanium sage green. Telescopic seat post, Brooks saddle, firm suspension, P handlebars, rack, 6 x gears and Marathon tyres. It was a bespoke order and he was excited about all the options.

When at the shop he went through the various items and was told that they might be having a titanium bike in that colour delivered next week and that they keep those items in stock and could fit them at the shop. The sales person was perhaps trying to be helpful and allow my friend to bypass the otherwise 10 - 12 week wait. This is where things took a turn for the worst.

My friend said that actually he didn't mind waiting as he would prefer to just have it made at Brompton to his spec and delivered to the shop for collection. In addition to this the extra time might mean the new cranks would be fitted.

At this the sales assistant turned to quite an abrupt tone and said that the shop had qualified technicians who could easily carry out the changes with the parts they held in stock. My friend politely said that he wanted a bespoke Brompton and didn't want it that way.

In the end my friend was so frustrated with it all that he left the shop saying that he thought the customer was always right and that if he didn't see the problem in them just placing an order? In the end my friend went in to another stockist of Brompton bikes, went through what he wanted and was told to expect his new Brompton in about 10 weeks.

I don't quite know what went on in that particular shop or what the problem was of placing an order for what the customer wanted and was paying for? My friend plays with a very straight bat and him telling me of his experience has put me off that particular shop somewhat. My friend has said that he will not use that shop again under any circumstances and I believe him.




3 comments:

  1. Name and shame them ,i live in Leeds was in London one weekend went to velorution this is the old one and the service was the worst ive ever seen, yes they did go bankrupt.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment. I hear you. I should do really but perhaps it was just a bad customer assistant having a bad day or just a bad customer assistant?

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  2. Finding a good bicycle shop is as rare as finding a gold nugget.

    ReplyDelete

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