communication, a lost art?

[DblTrbl]

How do companies stay in business when they can't or won't communicate with their clients? My trike is 6 weeks late in being completed. After numerous emails and calls from me and even the company who makes the trike kit (names will not be mentioned) we can not get a firm completion date. If we get any communication at all, it's, well I anticipate this date....When that date passes it's, maybe this date..........
I can't even get an updated status as to the progress of the build.

I went with this shop because I had heard great things about his work and exceptional customer service, before, during and after a build.

If I owned a business and someone was spending big bucks for me to do a job, I would be sending them almost daily updates and making them feel like they were part of the experience.

I'm willing to bet a few months of paychecks that around the time the trike is finally completed, this guy will be communicating how much I owe him!!

Anyone else had problems with a dealer not communicating?

As a side note, after he received a call from the trike maker's GM he offered me a new trike to ride until he "fulfilled his obligation to me if that would make me feel better".....now how could that not make me feel like a valued customer?????

 

[Rick Kay]

You're right, that's terrible customer service, and it would be hard not to think the worst because of the lack of communication, especially since you've involved the manufacturer. I would ask for continued support from the factory. They should be willing to help with this problem. After all, you're their customer as well...


I'll be interested in the outcome of your problem. Please keep us updated!

 

[TwoBye]

Man that just doesn't sound right at all. I would be very concerned if I were in your shoes. And kudo's to you for staying after it and involving the manufacturer also. Stay strong and keep us informed.

 

[Mick]

I would like to hear more on this. Did they have the kit on hand before starting,is it a paint issue,possibly wrong parts in the kit? At what stage is the dealer at now and what are they waiting for from the manufacturer?

 

[Steve on 3]

I had a similar problem with my wrecked bike. I let my indy repair it because I trusted him. I trusted him enough to sign the insurance check and hand it over as soon as I got it. My bike went to the bottom of the work list. Folks were getting work done before my bike got touched. After much wailing and threats, he finally told me my tins were at the painter. I ran into the painter and asked how long I should wait before waxing them. He said that they had been painted for over 30 days now, I could wax when I wanted to. Turns out the indy used my money to buy a Frankenstein rear end and built a trike for another customer. I don't use that indy anymore.

Something is going on with your shop too. Physically go to the shop and make them show you your bike. See where you are and ride his new one. He will be in much more of a hurry to fix yours if you have his.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Even if there are valid reasons for the delays, it is inexcusable to not communicate w/the customer. Only exception to that would be if the customer was calling constantly after being advised of the situation and given estimated timing. Seems that is not the case here.
Given your location, is there any chance part of the delay is weather related?
Have you visited the business to look for yourself?

Anyway, you bet I would take that new loaner trike to rideThumbUp

 

[Phu Cat]

Dennisgar, Did you pay for everything up front?

PC

 

[Jonesy]

I'd be interested in who the installer is, one of the NH installers is close to me and I wouldn't want to send anyone to them if this is how they treat people.

 

[DblTrbl]

I dropped my bike off the first week of Oct before the weather changed for the winter. My build was scheduled for Feb/Mar. When it came time for my build, the owner went into the hospital for knee replacement surgery and told me he expected my bike to be finished when he got back to work Mar 24th. Unknown to him and ME, the technician who was supposed to build my trike left on a family emergency and has not returned. As I told the owner when I finally actually talked to him. I have absolutely no problem with either situation...I still don't to this day. My problem is ZERO COMMUNICATION.... Even after I have gone to his shop and he has received a call from the trike maker's GM, I still don't have a progress update on my build. Now, I'm being told MAYBE by the end of the first week of May. The shop is 90 miles from here and the logistics of getting the loaner is a problem. This shop had a very good reputation for the quality of their work and customer service...Maybe it's the pain killers? I don't know. I'm trying to remain calm and keep a positive attitude that he won't deliver my trike until it is 100% right. I have no problem waiting for a quality product. Again, my problem is with ZERO COMMUNICATION. I will keep you posted....until then, I will just take pleasure in watching everyone else ride.... now, thinking positive thoughts...I should take this time to play some golf!!!!

 

[rhino 2]

As a side note, after he received a call from the trike maker's GM he offered me a new trike to ride until he "fulfilled his obligation to me if that would make me feel better".....now how could that not make me feel like a valued customer?????

I had a Ford Ranger [new] And I can't remember how many times I had to bring it back and forth for warranty work, An they would never call me when it was ready, Finally I insisted they give me a loner car, Guess what after I got the loner I never had to call to see if my Ranger was ready.. They would always call .ThumbUp Me Having ''their'' car gave them an incentive to have my Ranger fixed and then call me to pick it up...
''Take the loner''...ThumbUp

 

[Papa Zook]

I'm not in any way taking up for poor communication or bad service, but it sounds to me like the guy is dealing with a lot of health issues and loosing his main installer at the same critical time, well I think he's probably overwhelmed and maybe dealing with depression. Depression can kick a persons ass if its bad enough...it will shut down one's ability to think effectively, perform tasks and even communicate.

If he has built a great reputation as you said he has, it wasn't by accident, he obviously has run a good business until recently. As I said, not making excuses for him as I have no idea who it is and don't want to know, but I think the guy is probably in a rough place right now. There are surely people here including myself that have dealt with depression at one time or another in their life. If any of you have not, you are very lucky because 90% of folks our age have or will. It sucks.

Anyway without knowing more about the situation, this is just a theory...just really makes no sense, otherwise why he would not communicate with you.

 

[DblTrbl]

I'm not in any way taking up for poor communication or bad service, but it sounds to me like the guy is dealing with a lot of health issues and loosing his main installer at the same critical time, well I think he's probably overwhelmed and maybe dealing with depression. Depression can kick a persons ass if its bad enough...it will shut down one's ability to think effectively, perform tasks and even communicate.

If he has built a great reputation as you said he has, it wasn't by accident, he obviously has run a good business until recently. As I said, not making excuses for him as I have no idea who it is and don't want to know, but I think the guy is probably in a rough place right now. There are surely people here including myself that have dealt with depression at one time or another in their life. If any of you has not, you are very lucky because 90% of folks our age have or will. It sucks.

Anyway without knowing more about the situation, this is just a theory...just really makes no sense otherwise, why he would not communicate with you.

Zook, good point you are making!! As I said before though, shoot me an email or a phone call once a week and say what has been done, they you are making progress and or give me a completion date. I can deal with the delay. He could be close to losing his franchise over this and I don't want that to happen. I didn't solicit help from the trike company, they saw a post about how long they had my bike and haven't finished it so THEY contacted the owner and then informed me that they were trying to get this resolved. I'm hoping they can make some serious progress over the weekend.

Another thing I'm concerned with is I timed numerous purchases for gear and parts to use as soon as the trike came home. Most of these had a very short return time and all have passed since the delay. Now, I'm stuck with these if they don't fit correctly or work. Guess I should have waited.

 

[Steve on 3]

Good points zook