Lame methods of doing business
 

So I get this Axiom bicycle rack. One of the parts that shipped with the rack is wrong. I called the company and they said I had to go to a dealer and make a claim through them. It's a $0.50 part. I asked them to just put it in an envelope and mail it. Dangit they can't. Policy they say. Now this doesn't make sense to me. :confused::confused: It'll take them 5 minutes to fix a problem and now they want me to drive 10 miles, have the dealer assess the problem, file paperwork, all for a cheap piece of aluminum?

Well, I'm sold. Where can I buy one of those?

That is a bit ridicuous. Is it something the dealer can just put in an envelope and mail? I've done that on occasion just as a courtesy to keep the customer from waiting another 2-3 days for the parts to come from the manufacturer.

So much for buying only finer, well made things in your old age....:D

I bought a large surface mounted Kohler glass medicine cabinet two years ago, and one of the hinges broke a month ago (exploded, actually). After a month of my wife of my wife telling me to go get a new one (b/c I had to remove the door with only one hinge), I noticed there was an orange sheet of paper on top of the cabinet, I had left there when I installed the thing. It had a 24 hour 800 # on it to call if there were missing parts. I laughed, but called anyway. The girl that answered apologized profusely, said they had updated that design and sent me two new hinges within four days--no shipping, totally gratis.

Oh, did the same thing with my 20+ yo Benjamin air rifle when I lost the windage screw for the front site--Crossman ( a successor in interest even) sent me a new screw for free.

Sorry Kuan...when I run into CSRidiots like that, I always ask to speak to their supervisors...nicely...I always have to remember THEY are doing EXACTLY what they've been allowed to do...nothing more and nothing less...

HOWEVER...

The stupervisor is a different matter...

I'd mention to them that it's a $0.50 part and it would cost me, as the CUSTOMER, about 2 gallons of gas and 2 hours of my time (besides this phone call) to handle this when it was really a problem from the factory's standpoint...and then the clincher...if they really want me to do their job that they failed to do the first time, I'll not only go to the dealer, I'll return the product all together and get my money back and purchase the same style item, but this time from some other company that doesn't have such a customer-gets-a-free-kick-in-the-nads type of policy for fixing problems. (Not necessarily in those words, but I sympathize for you on this...obviously!)

Usually, when you run into people like that, and you remind them how they're treating you in a very unfriendly way and that you just might return their product all togeter, they'll see the light...

BTW, when you called, did you get the name of the person you called?

I find that when I call a company, I'll say, "Hi! My name is Mark. Who am I speaking to?" All most every time, I get a name...once or twice I've gotten the "my CSR # is XXX..." but usually, I'll use that for a while and eventually, I'll get the person's real name (or it could be their screen name) and then you have some leverage...I also note the date and time of the call and if I get transferred or put on hold, I note the times involved (like how many times I get transferred, how long listening to the music, etc....). Any details of those phone calls have proven more helpful than some of the folks you're talking to...once they realize you have some way/method of tracking them (and their attitudes, if they give it to you!), those calls usually become more civil and you sometimes get what you need the first time.

Good luck getting your part...I hope you reach some sort of solution before you lose hope in the product... :thumbup1:

Thule was good to me when I lost a small shim for my roof rack -- called 'em up, and they agreed to send me the $.20 part in an envelope with just a standard stamp (a detour from their usual policy of UPS shipping with a min. $6 charge). Common sense saves the day. I'd second the call to contact a supervisor, and if you don't get anywhere, return it and buy another model. I might go so far as to write a letter to the powers-that-be at Axiom and detail your experience.

Come to think of it, I sold a car a few years back with the Thule's (and bike tray, mast cradle and board bones!:() on it and had long since lost the keys to the locks. The dad of the kid that bought it called me a few weeks later and gave me a # to call and some ID # off the racks, and I called and after confirming my identity, sent me two new keys, gratis. I remember the surf shop was insistent that I fill out the registration card for the racks in the store and they would send it in for me--good thing!

I had a penguin aquarium filter and the impeller broke from about 5 months of having sucked up sand from the bottom of the tank. I called the company up to order a new one ($30 impeller.. gah) and the guy on the phone said he had one sitting on his desk he'll send to me for no charge... Sweet!

Thule will sell a new key for $5 to anyone who gives them the lock number which is plainly visible on the tumbler. So much for security. Yakima does the same thing. I've bought a number of used racks and gotten keys that way.

In the past, I've quoted some statistics to make a case to an uncooperative business. "Studies show an extremely satisfied customer tells 8 people of his good experience and an extremely unsatisfied customer tells 28 people of his bad experience. Well I'm the kind of person that tells 128 people." (Don't quote me on the numbers. I can't remember where they come from.)

I'm currently preparing for a professional certification in my field -- Certified Supply Chain Professional. A key foundation of the field is CRM (customer relationship management). Leading companies recognize the power of forums like this one to effectively proliferate both good and bad customer experiences.

If I were looking for a bike rack, I would steer away from Axiom simply based on your experience.

Don't know if it will work, but you could try calling them back and telling them you have a policy too. If you buy something on a credit card and it doesn't work, you'll cancel the charge on the credit card and they can come pick up the merchandise. Ask them if avoiding that hassle is worth $.50 to them.

> So I get this Axiom bicycle rack. One of the parts that shipped with the rack is wrong. I called the company and they said I had to go to a dealer and make a claim through them. It's a $0.50 part. I asked them to just put it in an envelope and mail it. Dangit they can't. Policy they say. Now this doesn't make sense to me. :confused::confused: It'll take them 5 minutes to fix a problem and now they want me to drive 10 miles, have the dealer assess the problem, file paperwork, all for a cheap piece of aluminum?

As others have implied, don’t be a floor mat for these people. You owe them nothing. Don’t take no for an answer. Dispute the charge, slander them on other boards, write your local newspaper and consumer protection agencies, write the attorney general’s office – they exist to go after companies such as this.

The issue is not $.50 the issue is selling a defective product and then deflecting responsibility for it.

Don't be a loser.

I hate being in retail for this exact reason, some vendors like dealing directly with the customers, some don't .

I remember having many problems with Oakley in the past, I stopped buying their products. I now buy discounted Smith Sunglasses every few years...

Call them up, then tell them you are sending everything back and calling the credit card company. Then do that. Also tell them that you are putting them on Angie's list as a BAD company to do business with.

Now that Angie's List is with Google, like Craig's list, some companies fear this.

Or, you can do like some people and make a little video about how you got screwed and put it on YouTube. I guarantee you that after 300,000 people see it, they will be sending you all kinds of stuff.