Bobber Chopper
Us vs. Them - Consumer Actions Against E-Business - Case Study Demon's Custom Cycles South
What is your experience with e-business? Most people will probably say that 99% of purchases they make over the internet are just fine. After all, that's why we use it. It's convenient, quick, usually cheaper and you can visit any store in your underwear and nobody will tell you to leave.
Why then don't we conduct 100% of our business over the internet? The answer to this is simple and best illustrated in a balanced scale. Let's say that a perfectly balanced scaled represents the ultimate shopping experience. Everything is exactly how you like it. Great customer service, awesome prices, always open, no hassle, no traffic, absolutely everything you could possible want in a shopping experience. But you and I know that it just doesn't exist. No matter how hard businesses try, they will never reach that pinnacle.
When a business decides to be primarily web based, they are moving weights from one side of the scale to the other. The internet allows them to really stack one side of that scale, but no matter how hard they try, face-to-face customer interaction always get's left behind.
The purpose of this article is to talk thru the options that the e-consumer has when faced with a negative or otherwise unpleasant experience with an online business. While I've experienced it from all the expected sources like Craigslist and EBay, I want to focus on more traditional e-commerce and my experience with Demon's Custom Cycles South aka Demon's Cycle (www.demonscycle.com).
By no means do I consider myself a biker or a custom bike builder. I do like to treat my one car garage like my own little pro shop and on any given night you will find me welding, bending, grinding, wrenching, or torching my way to a "cooler" bike. In early 2008 I decided I wanted to build a ground-up custom motorcycle. I did my research on styles, decided what I liked and then built the list of what I needed. I started with the frame. After a little searching I found that I could get a great deal from Demon's Cycle.
I order my frame on 6/24/08. One thing you have to realize when building a bike is that in order to get it legally registered, the frame must have a Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO). Demon's website states "frame includes a Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO) for registration (will be shipped separately for safety)"
A short while later I received my frame, wheels, and front end. I was pleased with the product and everything was going smooth. Now all I had to do was sit back and wait for my MSO to come in the mail. A few months passed and I still hadn't received my MSO. At that point I sent them an email. No reply. A month later I sent another. No reply. A month later I sent another. No reply. I eventually called and was informed that they do not automatically send the MSO. They said the customer has to send an email requesting it. I was perturbed because this policy wasn't stated anywhere on the website or conveyed to me in any email (I checked). But I sent my email requesting my MSO anyway. To this email they did reply, only it wasn't the answer I wanted. Now I was told that they ALSO have a policy that the MSO must be requested within 3 months or it will cost you $75 to retrieve it. Now I was angry. How could they expect me to know policies that they don't post? How can they expect me to submit a timely request if they don't answer my emails? And now I have to pay $75 to get an MSO that I should have received almost a year prior for free! (I haven't checked their web site lately, but after the hell I've raised I'm betting they might be publishing their policies now)
I consider myself a responsible, courteous customer and as such I send a polite email letting them know about my situation. I attached all three of my unanswered emails. I let them know that they very well can't expect me to know a policy that they don't have written and if I had known I would have requested the MSO the very second that I received the frame.
To this I was told that I just need to send them $75 and I will have my MSO.
That's it? Did they read my email? Are they even listening? no. no. no.
To see all my email traffic back and forth to Demon's Cycle go to http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=75895
Well I eventually sent them the $75. But I am not finished. As a consumer you only have a few options when you are faced with a bad situation.
1. Suck it up and go on your way
2. Take legal action against them in court
3. File complaints
4. Talk
I opted for 3 and 4. Any smart business person knows that a satisfied customer may not talk to anyone about their experience but a dissatisfied customer will talk to as many people as they can. While it's not fun to deal with unhappy customers, it is necessary. I read once that "companies with crap service goad customers into uniting against them". That is what I am hoping to do. They may not listen to me but the same internet that makes them successful makes me loud! When the cash starts to slow, they might consider making the situation right.
Here's my advice:
If you've been screwed, don't hope that things will change. Make them change. Hope is a substitute for action, so get out there and shout, post, complain until things change.
If you've found this article trying to get reviews on Demon's Cycle, then you have a choice to make. You can buy from them and hope everything turns out well, or you can join with me and wait until they start to treat their customers right. Either way, do your research first!
Check out xlforum and hdforums and search for Demon's Cycle to read some honest customer reviews. Also remember to look at complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau of West Palm Beach as well as the Federal Trade Commission.
Always remember "In the beginning of change, the Patriot is a scarce man, Brave, Hated and Scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs NOTHING to be a Patriot." ~ Mark Twain
About the Author
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