How local bikeshops treat your online purchase?

[The duke]

I purchased a BH EasyMotion emtb online. Buying locally was almost 1/3 more expensive, plus I'd have to pay California's 8% sales tax immediately. I just couldn't justify spending $1,000 more locally.

Well, my BH now needs some warranty work, of which, both labor and parts are covered by the manufacturer. I took my BH down to the two local ebike retailers who are listed as 'BH dealers' on the BHUSA website and got the stiff arm from both of them. One told me he'd do the labor for someone who purchased from him, then try and get that back from BH, but he wouldn't do it for someone who bought online. He said I'd have to pay him cash upfront, then try and collect that money back from BH myself.

The 2nd BH dealer suggested I go back to where I bought the bike for service. This was really snarky since he knew I bought it from another state. He went on to say he didn't stock parts for every BH and really didnt want the headache of having to order parts, since BH is slow to deliver. He didnt want my bike cluttering up his shop.

Is this open distaste for online buyers normal and to be expected? Both my local vendors are also online retailers and admit that they do a large part of their business online. I'm planning on driving 100 miles to try another ebike retailer, close to where BH's California headquarters used to be in Orange County. My local guys sure havent earned any points with me. Is my patronage for service and parts irrelevant to them? Do statistics show that local shops will never be able to 'earn' business back from online shoppers? I'm confused.

 

[lerxst]

Both of the dealers you mentioned are s*it. They do not deserve your business. I hope you have other options. If you don’t, maybe you can get the manufacturer to lean on them.

 

[rich c]

Did you tell them you would pay for the labor? It’s been discussed here endlessly. On line manufacturers don’t pay warranty labor. That’s the reason you spend $1000 extra locally if you can’t do the repair yourself. I was a small businessman, I totally agree with the shop owners. You wanted cheap, now you have cheap. Watch YouTube and fix it yourself.

 

[The duke]

Did you tell them you would pay for the labor? It’s been discussed here endlessly. On line manufacturers don’t pay warranty labor. That’s the reason you spend $1000 extra locally if you can’t do the repair yourself. I was a small businessman, I totally agree with the shop owners. You wanted cheap, now you have cheap. Watch YouTube and fix it yourself.

Ah, I can see why you 'were' a small businessman. ?

What if I had bought my bike from a NorCal bike shop, then moved to SoCal. Would they still be justified in their behavior....from your standpoint as a former business owner?

 

[rich c]

Ah, I can see why you 'were' a small businessman. ?

What if I had bought my bike from a NorCal bike shop, then moved to SoCal. Would they still be justified in their behavior....from your standpoint as a former business owner?

I was a small businessman and am now retired at 66 years old. Why should any business work for free? Because you might come back in three years to buy brake pads, no, you’ve already proven you prefer to buy online.

 

[The duke]

I was a small businessman and am now retired at 66 years old. Why should any business work for free? Because you might come back in three years to buy brake pads, no, you’ve already proven you prefer to buy online.

I would never have guessed you were 66!

You know, I own a car! I took my daughter down to stables where they breed and sell horses because at 6 years old, she's been begging to ride one. All the people there were still so nice to me. No grudges about the Honda. Instead, they let us pet the horsies and even sold my daughter a package of 10 lessons. You know....I'll probably never buy one of those steeds. I've already proven that I prefer cars.

 

[ebikemom]

Hey, guys, be nice!

As for the local bike shop: I think if the manufacturer had a parts and labor warranty that paid for labor, the shop would do it. So, I don't think the fault on these things is the small business, but the lack of payment for their work, and lack of time in the day to provide free services to everyone bringing in ebikes. A local ebike business in Seattle just stopped selling ebikes because repairs were so problematic in terms of getting parts from the manufacturers in a timely manner, and this was for the bikes that they stocked and sold. I can see why all of this is frustrating to a bike purchaser who just wants their bike to work so they can ride it, but it sounds like bike shops that take on ebike repairs can be stuck between a rock and a hard place just getting parts to do repairs. The owner of the shop that gave up ebike sales said he was sick of begging manufacturers to send parts, and sick of disappointing customers who had to wait and wait and he couldn't satisfy.

I've been in two different shops where ebikes are sold, my local LBS (a large, multi-store business) and an ebike dealer where we rented when on vacation when they fielded phone calls from people-with-ebikes-needing-fixing. In both cases, the callers were asking about bikes the dealers did not sell. In both cases, the person answering the phone said "No." I could tell by their interactions that the person on the other end of the phone must have been frustrated.

At the present time, in many areas, this seems to be a reality--that for online ebike buyers, finding a place to get their ebike fixed if it breaks down can be a challenge. This is something that ebike shoppers should seriously consider when making purchase decisions. I recommend finding a place willing to do repairs before buying the bike--call around, talk to LBS and local bike techs, and find out what their policies are, how they handle repairs where there is no warranty covering the cost of labor, etc.

 

[indianajo]

My LBS treats my online purchased pedal cargo bike as invisible. As long as I tell them exactly what size tire I want, they will sell it to me. I don't think they have ever stocked a stretch cargo bike, certainly no bike for 68" tall people except the worst of kiddie MTBs & 1 speed cruisers. A question about new brake pads for a Tektro 2120 disk brake earned a vacant stare - no answer. I only trade there because shipping on an individual tire ups the price about 100%.
I'm not ever going to tell them what that green box on the front is. The battery, I mean. They might not sell me tires if they found out I could go 18 mph.

 

[MikeDD]

My LBS procured a new battery under warranty from Specialized. I had purchased the bike in another state as a demo. I do buy parts from them. I guess I am fortunate to have this LBS. On note, the repair, warranty folks are not the salesmen. The salesmen are on a different floor.

 

[lerxst]

My literal local bike shop, which is not a R&M shop, pointed out that my R&M rear wheel was laced incorrectly (related to Rohloff hub positioning) and fixed it for me. I paid for the labor, but it was cheap. They never once treated me any differently because I didn't buy the bike from them. If your bike dealer treats you with a poor attitude because you didn't buy from them, their business is s*it, and they too are s*it as human beings. You'd be better served by getting on your bike and riding the F out of there as fast as you possibly can.

The place I purchased my R&M bike from was an official R&M dealer in California and had apparently built the wheel incorrectly. I purchased from them because they were the only store in all of North America that had the R&M bike I wanted (Delite, dual battery, rohloff), and at the same time people in this very forum were complaining about 20+ week waits on new R&M orders.

My conclusion: some LBS are s*it, some LBS are gold, some LBS can go from gold to s*it or s*it to gold, faster than you can e-shift Rohloff gears. Whether you buy from them or not, whether they R&M certified or not, has no bearing whatosever on their quality or customer service attitude.

 

[J.R.]

I don't have a local BH dealer, I did purchase a BH from Wisconsin and had it shipped to me. I've had other bikes shipped as well. I had one major issue with the BH. When the bike malfunctioned I did an inspection and made careful written notes of what happened and what I found. This was a Sunday morning. I called the dealer and was fortunate to catch the owner on a Sunday. I explained everything and he said to hold tight, that he'd see what could be done. Monday morning the lead tech for BH called me and I explained the situation. He asked if I could take the bike to a dealer, the closest being 200 miles away. That wasn't the best option for me. After giving the tech some assurance I could help diagnose and repair, he had me perform a few checks. He determined it was the bike's controller had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. He shipped a new controller from California to me in Pennsylvania and emailed me pages of the shop manual concerning replacement. I received the controller on Saturday morning and was riding by noon. ~6 days down. I have to add I was always told labor was on me for repairs, and parts were covered. It worked for me and the savings was well worth it.

 

[Chopperbill]

Like I have the plague. Fortunately my online bike dealer, Rad,treats me like a king.

 

[Over50]

I've had both experiences with LBS'. My regular LBS is fantastic but I didn't have them in the beginning of my e-bike trajectory. After having used them now for a couple of years, they recognize that I purchased my R&M from an out-of-state seller because I didn't have a lot of local options. They've been great about service for the R&M and for my analog bike (Spot) which I bought online from a Chicago store. But I've also spent a lot of money with my regular LBS having purchased 3 Terns and 1 Haibike in 2 years. On the other side of that coin, when I was e-bike shopping I got the stinky attitude from several LBS' who expressed e-bike animosity. Then shortly after having purchased the R&M from Brooklyn, I called one LBS regarding some brake work and they told me to take the bike to a motorcycle dealership.

 

[lerxst]

I called one LBS regarding some brake work and they told me to take the bike to a motorcycle dealership.

Ugh, the level of ignorance at that LBS is choking me

 

[harryS]

Duke, I think the first dealer was reasonable. He gets paid by you. You get it back from B&H. These are not like automobiles, where I suspect decades of litigation resulted in the current universal warranty service. And I believe many bike shops operate on such a low margin, they cannot afford to give free labor and hope someone eventually pays them.

Are you going to call that shop 100 miles away to make sure they take your bike?

Heck, the nearest LBS to my house, I go in there and get the stink eye because I'm not wearing a bike jersey or in his sponsored weekend rides. I don't go there no more.

 

[Scott Adams]

If I were in the OP's situation, the next move I would make would be to call the mfgr, BH, and see what they say about the situation. I'm not saying that would resolve this problem, but I would at least want to get their response regarding dealers who won't perform warranty work on bikes purchased elsewhere.

If you do call BH and care to share their response, that would be interesting.

Anyway, I hope your bike is back on the road soon.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

REI makes a point that they'll at least try to fix any bike. And they sell e-bikes so they should be cool about it.

My own experience is that I've never had a problem getting help on e-bikes I purchased elsewhere from any bike shop I've done business with.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Hey, guys, be nice!

As for the local bike shop: I think if the manufacturer had a parts and labor warranty that paid for labor, the shop would do it. So, I don't think the fault on these things is the small business, but the lack of payment for their work, and lack of time in the day to provide free services to everyone bringing in ebikes. A local ebike business in Seattle just stopped selling ebikes because repairs were so problematic in terms of getting parts from the manufacturers in a timely manner, and this was for the bikes that they stocked and sold. I can see why all of this is frustrating to a bike purchaser who just wants their bike to work so they can ride it, but it sounds like bike shops that take on ebike repairs can be stuck between a rock and a hard place just getting parts to do repairs. The owner of the shop that gave up ebike sales said he was sick of begging manufacturers to send parts, and sick of disappointing customers who had to wait and wait and he couldn't satisfy.

I've been in two different shops where ebikes are sold, my local LBS (a large, multi-store business) and an ebike dealer where we rented when on vacation when they fielded phone calls from people-with-ebikes-needing-fixing. In both cases, the callers were asking about bikes the dealers did not sell. In both cases, the person answering the phone said "No." I could tell by their interactions that the person on the other end of the phone must have been frustrated.

At the present time, in many areas, this seems to be a reality--that for online ebike buyers, finding a place to get their ebike fixed if it breaks down can be a challenge. This is something that ebike shoppers should seriously consider when making purchase decisions. I recommend finding a place willing to do repairs before buying the bike--call around, talk to LBS and local bike techs, and find out what their policies are, how they handle repairs where there is no warranty covering the cost of labor, etc.

I appreciate your response the most here. The reality is in today's world, people buying on line only look at first cost and not total cost of ownership. They are also frequently not aware how much repairs and hourly rates are, and often shocked by the real costs owners incur to maintain that technical staff, and often think they are somehow being 'ripped off', by rates as low as $75 an hour. They underestimate time involved chasing down OEM support, ordering parts and the disturbing lack of written technical documentation across the board from ebike OEM's on their bikes.

I doubt those shops were as mean or snarky as (Duke) suggests, as perceptions from consumers are affected by their own elevated expectations. If you were in their shoes you'd feel quite differently. They are making a simple business decision : will you pay them and will it allow them to cover costs and make a reasonable profit. Don't take it personal, just as those business owners can't take it personal that Duke chose to buy the bike elsewhere. The ebike oems have just as much to do with this as anyone else. They often don't cover labor, or don't assign enough time, so it's a loss for the dealer. If Duke bought a Yamaha, they do cover labor at dealers stated ratesand have a full online system that details hours it should take. That way they can also have a dealer sign their agreement that states they will accept warranty work no matter where the ebike was purchased.

If duke had done the homework and not just focused on purchase price, Duke might not have been in this predicament of driving 100 miles and hoping a dealer might helps out. I don't think it's fair at all to blame any dealer for a failure to plan ahead. Stuff breaks. Duke rolled the dice by buying on line, and not identifying ahead of time if anyone local would support him and what their terms are. Buyer lives with that decision, should be an adult about it, not seek sympathy to burnish a bruised ego by blaming others, and simply accept responsibility.

 

[ebikemom]

Aw, shucks, Mike! <Blush!>

I think that lots of ebike purchasers do roll those dice every day, choosing a bike based on initial purchase price and features, and not thinking about long-term ownership costs. I think we are all lulled by a belief that a product will be durable, and that we are used to being able to get our cars and conventional bikes fixed, so why should there be a problem? Also, we see "warranty" and may assume "parts and labor" when often it is just parts ... And, we want to get our great new ebike ASAP, and it is so easy to click "BUY."

 

[christob]

I've been fortunate with my LBS (who does not sell my particular ebike -- and in fact, sells no rear-hub ebikes at all!)

I had two significant issues arise during warranty period -- in each case, I started the proceedings by speaking with the manufacturer crew (Vintage Electric Bikes) in California, and informed my LBS service contact here in Virginia -- and then put them in touch with each other via email to finalize whatever they needed. When the first bike died a sudden and complete electronic death after just 850 miles, the manufacturer sent a whole new bike (covering shipping the new one, and the dead one as needed.) I had the new one delivered to the LBS for final assembly, and I picked it up there. If the LBS had labor charges for that work, I never saw them.
Later, when the rear wheel of that new replacement bike broke 5 spokes within the first 3 months, the manufacturer sent a new rear hub wheel (to me, which I took to LBS); they provided LBS with the prepaid return shipping label to send back the bad wheel (it had apparently been laced with spokes that were cut incorrectly.) I think I did pay shop labor to have that new wheel installed, but as I recall is was about $25 or $30. Many miles later, I noticed some spokes on the new rear wheel were getting loose, and I had the LBS tighten & re-true the wheel, paying their shop fee for that.

Now, a lot of how the 2 "big warranty fixes" above, played out in my case, certainly speaks to the manufacturer's culture and commitment. I was very apprehensive at the start, about buying a bike from makers in California, with no retail presence or dealers in Virginia... But I've been 200% pleased working with Vintage Electric on any issues that arose. (Note: I've since racked up 5,000 miles on the replacement bike they sent -- 3,700 of that is on the replacement rear wheel they sent; no further issues or broken spokes in all that time.) All of the above is on top of the fact that the bike I originally purchased from them was actually a demo with 78 miles and a minor fender dent when I bought it, for which they took $1,000 off the retail price when I bought it -- then they ended up sending me a brand new replacement bike as mentioned above, free of charge.

At the LBS, I make a point to buy accessories, clothing, etc., from them whenever I can. I've had them install 3 replacement tires whenever the existing ones go bald (paying their $10 labor fee without a second thought; I likely couldn't change the tire for less than $10 of cursing, myself When they rescheduled my replacement bike's build-out to be done much faster than they originally quoted (saving me from going 2-3 weeks without a bike) I sent the service crew pizzas for lunch as a thank you; I was legitimately delighted they got me on the road that much faster than they could have, and wanted to express my thanks... And I want to be considered a loyal, good customer; that in itself carries some value in the relationship. Particularly when horror stories like the ones shared in this thread and elsewhere, so readily exist at other shops.