[formermtboarder]

about two weeks ago my brother was deciding what he wanted for his birthday, hes somewhat into riding so i suggested a new bike. He sounded like he liked taht so i immediatally checked all; the best completes i could think of for one his size, i ended up w/ 3 choices-bighit grom, 05 stinky JR, 05 Stuff JR. Im a dirtjumper so i suggested the stuff, he liked it so i found a local bike shop that carried konas and his mom (my stepmom) ordered it. I wasnt present when it was ordered so she had to do it herself, simple enough right? Wrong the shop saidf kona was out of 05 stuff JRs so they convinced aher a normal stuff would be fine. i picked it up abotut a week later and was on my way hom, i went by the shop where i get my stuff to get some tubes and showed a guy who worked there (zachthemech) the bike. he asked if i ment to get the normal stuff and i was like, whoops. I saw it was the wrong one. I was already goin up to my dadas so i brought it anyway hoping it would be ok, well hell no it wasnt and my bro was crushed, a 9 year old kid just cant fit a stranderd bike, not even an xs size. I thought well ill return it and well get him the bighit grom, already pissed the shop told her the normal stuff would be ok. when we got there the owner told us whe couldnt refund and wouldnt trad3e, it didnt have a scratch, nothing. a 1000 bike down the drain, :nuts: i decided to head over to pauls schwinn to c if we could get a 24" wheelset and maybe make it work ok. Mike a pauls was awesome (mikedsx?? i think) great help, we cut down those gay canadien chopper bars, and threw some short azonic grips on to replace the huge cowans. lowered the seat all the way down and the bikje worked. still a little big, but much better!!! thanks to pauls cycling and fitness for all the help all the time...







...dont ever go to "The bicycle shop" in clemmons, NC :eviltongu

 

[sanjuro]

If this is what happened, this is unacceptable. I am usually fitting 9 year olds on 20 to 24 inch bikes, not 26. I won't sell a bike to a youth unless I know he can ride it safely right now, even if it is the wrong size.

I have taken an exchange when this is happened, but even when I sell a bike without sizing it first (as in a gift), I assure the buyer that they can exchange it for something else. However, I won't take back a bike which has been ridden and I cannot resell as new. Otherwise, selling bikes which are the wrong size, the wrong type, or some other way incompatible is unacceptable.

 

[formermtboarder]

word...and the bike was prestine, it had been ridden in one lap around my driveway and then carefully put in the shed

 

[Mutilatedjak]

i feel for ya man, it does suck. but, from a shops point of view, once a customer takes a bike out of the shop, as in buys it and goes home, they cant legaly give u a complete refund, because they cant take it back and re-sell it as a new bike, you allready rode it around the block.
and if u knew it was the wrong bike, not the JR why did u still take it home?
that shop does suck for not properly fittin a bike, but this whole situation isnt completely the shops fault, IMHO

 

[Zutroy]

i feel for ya man, it does suck. but, from a shops point of view, once a customer takes a bike out of the shop, as in buys it and goes home, they cant legaly give u a complete refund, because they cant take it back and re-sell it as a new bike, you allready rode it around the block.
and if u knew it was the wrong bike, not the JR why did u still take it home?
that shop does suck for not properly fittin a bike, but this whole situation isnt completely the shops fault, IMHO

Kinda a crummy thing for the shop to do, yeah you can't sell it as new, but you can knock some off and sell it as slightly used. If the shop told them it would be fine and fir the kid, they should have taken it back. This is why LBSs are dyeing. The ones that do good work and take care of the customer are the ones that survive.

 

[formermtboarder]

well 1st of all i didnt really notice no jr, didnt really pay attention till it was to late, and the bike was NEW it have been ridden less than 10 yards, it was absolutly perfect

 

[ohio]

The shop is not required to take it back, but in my opinion any shop worth it's salt would have. That is miserable customer service, to push an inappropriate bike on to someone and then refuse to accept it back. And if a local bike shop doesn't have good customer service, they don't really have anything worthwhile.

 

[ridetoofast]

hit'm where it hurts, just camp out in front of their shop for a saturday and let everyone that comes by the front door know what shyte service they give...

i'd bet two or three evolutions like that with a customer and they'll change their mind REAL quick

 

[formermtboarder]

hit'm where it hurts, just camp out in front of their shop for a saturday and let everyone that comes by the front door know what shyte service they give...

i'd bet two or three evolutions like that with a customer and they'll change their mind REAL quick

hahahaha what an awesome idea

 

[HellBentDH]

once a customer takes a bike out of the shop, they cant legaly give u a complete refund, because they cant take it back and re-sell it as a new bike, you allready rode it around the block.

Oh man I had to laugh at this "they can't legally give you a complete refund"

A shop can certainly give anyone at anytime a complete 100% refund. Granted they may not be able to sell it as new, but they can recognize that they made a poor choice by recommending a bike that dosn't fit and do everything they can to fix the situation.

This is exactly why so many small specialty shops are experiencing hard times due to the internet, many have forgotten how to treat their customers. I personally have a bunch of shops I won't give my business too because of things like this.

 

[Grasshopper]

Hmm, I know I have taken out bikes on test rides that were way longer then a lap around a driveway. I am sure the "new" bike I bought was taken on a least a few test rides. These bikes are still sold as "new". What is the difference between a bike that has just been taken home and a bike that has been on many test drives? You would think that the test ride bike would not be sold as new either. I really feel that if the shop had a true dedication to customer service and customer loyalty they could have a least tried to work with you more. Customer loyalty can lead up to Big $$$ in the long run. Especially when you think of all the little things you go to your bike shop for, tubes,chains, etc. All those things can really add up, not mention the business that is spread by word to your buddies.

 

[ZachTheMech]

The crappy thing is they wouldnt even let him return it to get the correct thing. They shouldnt have sold the big one knowing it was for a 9 year old in the first place. Im sure that bike had less wear on it then a floor bike too, so i see no reason why they wouldnt have taken it back. Our shop has done it and its not like its so difficult to do. That shop just lost more customers in doing that is all, sucks for them.

 

[BSEVEER]

All I can say is that this thread is titled correctly.

 

[wood-dog]

All I can say is that this thread is titled correctly.

yes..... yes, it is!

 

[H8R]

No way to run a shop, totally lame.

You have an email adress for them? Maybe some emails from concerned citizens would help.

 

[Biscuit]

Be sure to tell Kona about this. I'm sure they would want to know.

Report it to the better business bureau, they seemingly, intentionally misled a customer.

Tell the shop that you are planning on doing this (they might not care).

 

[Clavicula]

What about a big list with experiences and of course email adresses from this kind of "nice" people?

 

[motomike]

Fire away!!!

Contact Information:

The Bicycle Shop
2703 Lewisville-Clemmons Road
Clemmons, NC 27012

(336) 766-5564 phone

(336) 766-0706 fax

E-mail: clemmonsbicycle@att.net

 

[SK6]

i feel for ya man, it does suck. but, from a shops point of view, once a customer takes a bike out of the shop, as in buys it and goes home, they cant legaly give u a complete refund, because they cant take it back and re-sell it as a new bike, you allready rode it around the block.
and if u knew it was the wrong bike, not the JR why did u still take it home?
that shop does suck for not properly fittin a bike, but this whole situation isnt completely the shops fault, IMHO

Legally, the shop is ultimately responsible for size and fit, and is responsible for the bike once it leaves the shop. The shop has a reasonable duty of care to the customer, regardless of the customer’s insistence, unless there is a signed agreement of assumption of risk, and further stating, for the record that the LBS informed the customer that the bike was the wrong size.

So, a document of informed consent and assumption of risk, then the LBS has a legal standing. Otherwise, if the person gets hurt, it is the fault of the LBS. Sad really, but it is what it is.......

EDIT: This does not represent legal advice, nor is there any representation thereof. For any legal situation, it is recommended that one speaks with an attorney.

 

[todbanner]

The bottom line is... you guys can discuss all the legalities till you're blue in the face... if the shop keeps conducting business like this they won't be in business very long!

word gets around fast! And when you have a shop fron Customer Service is the upmost priority!

Those guys could have taken that bike back! admited their mistake! and sold him a Jr... and i'm sure they would have had a customer for life! as it is, they refused to bite the bullet and now they've probably lost a lot more customers due to this thread, and word of mouth around the area! BAD MANAGEMENT!

 

[ridetoofast]

camp out in front of their shop...hit'm where it hurts :devil:

 

[formermtboarder]

k well an update i havnt been back to that shop since then and the bike is ok (still big but hes gettin use to it), im not too worried, yes a smaller bike would be tons better, but hell be able to use this bike for a long time, in 2 years itll be nice, 3 itll be perfect, 4-5 itll still work, and after that when hes about my size itll still be a sweet, tight park bike

ive ridden it and its fun, the frame is actually very close in size to the identiti dr. jeckle...XL!

but that shop is still fulla douche-baggers

 

[Rip]

Sorry to hear about this, the shop should have taken it back and provided the proper bike to begin with.