Please bear with me for a short story. I am currently in possession of a defective bike. I have discussed the issue with the manufacturer and expressed to them what I would like to happen in order to resolve the issue. They have agreed to my request and I believe that we mutually feel that the resolution will be fair. This resolution requires a certain amount of time to handle and for the sake of owning a quality piece of equipment for years to come, I am happy to wait. The manufacturer has allowed me to enjoy the product "as-is" for the time being and I am doing just that. This is good for them because people are asking me about it everywhere I go in town. At the same time, this is good for me because I have a functioning set of wheels. I consider this bike to be a demo or a rental for now. I am assuming that my situation will be resolved by this time next month. If they follow through with the next move, I will give it thirty days after that and post a message describing my experience for all to see, including a general report about the product. Court has already done a complete one on it so it will only be testimonial from a new owners perspective. Only time will tell if this will be a positive, negative or neutral post but I can say that I am optimistic and would be happy to post a positive comment for them with minimal emphasis on the "snafu." Stay tuned!
To answer the question directly, no a manufacturer does not have a "right to privacy" when it comes to products. They are not selling apple pies off of their window sills to the neighbors. They are selling a costly product and depending on what state you live in, you could be paying tax on your purchase. If you order a steak at Applebee's, you are allowed to say aloud that it either was done to your liking or it was burnt to a crisp. Let's be real though. If you go online and complain about how bad your steak was at Applebee's, their restaurants will still be full tomorrow and plenty of people will be ordering a steak for $7.99. When it comes to the e-bikes that we are talking about here, we are talking about many manufacturers that no one has ever heard of before selling products that cost some people quarter, a half, or almost all of a paycheck. They are small and selling a costly product. The company that I am currently doing business with is so small that I have communicated with both the vice-president and the founder of the company, including a personal phone call. One bad review, whether it is fact-based, opinion-based, or both, can cost a small business or company thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. If we do the math, a thousand dollars is a low price for an e-bike. If I write a bad review in their category on this website, ten people might read it and say to themselves that it suddenly isn't worth the risk to go with this bike over another one. That is a ten thousand dollar loss directly related to your review. But what if your review is legit, you say? Fine, good point. It's a lousy bike and you want to make sure that those ten readers don't buy the bike. That is fair too. My own personal opinion is that you ask yourself if you gave that company every opportunity to resolve the situation. Did they work with you? Or did they do what many companies do, which is break down communication and hope that you will just go away and deal with your unfortunate purchase. Ask yourself if you would be happy to know that they were reading your review. Keep in mind that they are allowed to log in here too and they can post a reply to your comments. There is a phenomenon in society when it comes to reviews and feedback. No one is louder than someone who isn't satisfied with something. I will admit with no shame that when I am not satisfied, I tend to raise my voice a bit too. But I know that when I say that Applebee's cooks lousy steaks, there are a thousand people that would say that they would go back to Applebee's for a steak. Perhaps this is an issue of stands but so bit it. That is the way it is. I think it is fair to report to your peers your experience with a bike, so long as you do it with some form of fairness and be sure to use their own claims as a basis for your grievance or compliment. You can find a description of every bike on a company website. If they report their bike to weight 50 lbs, go to the gym and pick up two 25'ers if you aren't sure what that means, as opposed to going online and complaining how heavy your bike is. If they say that the max speed is 20mph and you are an average-sized person that is only able to get 15mph out of it, then you have a legitimate grievance. At this point, you have the 1st Amendment right to say what you want but please give the manufacture a chance to resolve the problem first. Most people here would like to see the evolving of the e-bike movement. This would make it easier to obtain e-bikes in the future, create more places to get them serviced, and bring costs down. Let's do what we can to contribute to the cause!
