Juiced Bikes support seriously lacking, 10 days and all I get is an auto respond.

[jim009]

New to the E-bike world and new to Juiced. Just received my new RipCurrent S and would like to share my experience. First, I can say the online buying process was as advertised with the bike being shipped in 2 business days. The only shipping option Juiced had was FedX and as we all know there was a reason Amazon dropped them from the shipping partner list. So I bit my lip and ordered away. FedX, true to form took almost 2 weeks to go from So Cal to get it here, only missing the scheduled delivery date by about 3 days (I live about 75mi East of Seattle WA). Upon delivery I did the customary box inspection and, well it did have some small torn spots and scrapes on the cardboard but it showed no crush damage and was generally in good condition. So I signed off thinking all would be good. Upon dismantling the box reveled a really nice foam formed packaging that surrounded the entire bike! Nice job Juicy! However, I did notice the rear fender was looking rather wonkey but being cheap plastic, I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until I started to remove the tie wraps and foam sheets holding everything together that I noticed the rear wheel wouldn't turn. Well, remember that wonkey fender? It was smashed into the rear tire and upon looking at it again I noticed the rear rack is what was crushed into the rear wheel. The rack was smashed down bending the rear supports causing the fender to in turn, hit the rear tire. I stepped back to look at the box and still could see no crush damage to the box or the nice foam packaging. This makes me wonder how this could happen. Immediately I ran into the house and sent an email to [email protected] letting them know and requesting a new rack as the rest of the bike is fine. This the part where I rant about Juiced bikes support. It's been 10 days now and the only response I've received is the auto responder initial email saying pretty much they'd get back to me. I've seen the videos about the owner (Tora) talking about doubling the size of his support staff and all I can say if this is doubled then how bad was it before? I have removed the rear rack and am now riding the bike without it. I do very much enjoy the RipCurrent S but cannot recommend Juicy Bikes to my friends and family as in my opinion, being an online bike retailer support has to stand behind the entire purchasing process in a timely manner and deal with these issues. I did reach out to the sales team (again, via email as no phone number could be found on the web site) and got another auto respond email. All I want is another rack.. How hard can that be?

Sorry for the rant,
Jim

 

[IOUZIP]

First that sucks getting a new bike and having problems.
Now to get the support you will need to open a ticket. See Link below. Submit a ticket below or call (888) 303-8889
Juiced Support
Take pictures showing the damage. You will want to attach them to your ticket.

I have 2 RCS bikes for the last 2 years and they have been darn good ebikes. I hope you get this resolved ASAP.

 

[jim009]

Hello IOUZIP,

Opening the ticket was the first thing I did (complete with pictures) within 10 minutes of unboxing. Thanks for the phone number! I had not noticed that before. I do like the bike power and range I get. The bike exceeds my expectations and I do think it was well worth the money.

 

[rawlus]

the point of online/direct retailers is that it eliminates a lot of their overhead on maintaining a physical presence for their customers. meaning thst customer service is on their terms and not yours. the benefit to the consumer is typically lower prices, but of course the expense is that you can’t speak to them directly, and more often it’s via email only, where the response is also on their terms and not the consumers….

when you buy direct, you accept this reality.

 

[tomjasz]

when you buy direct, you accept this reality.

Sure but experience taking support calls has shown me n00bs often don’t understand what they bit off. Add off brand components and simple repairs become expensive and completely frustrating.

many budget bikes won’t hold up to heavy usage. Mom and pops riding for recreation may not reveal issues simply because of the low use.

Farcebook has an ebike owner over 60 page. I’m amazed by the bad information and the low mileage riders calling their bike the best. The tendency here is similar. We tend to push n00bs towards our choices.

 

[ElevenAD]

the point of online/direct retailers is that it eliminates a lot of their overhead on maintaining a physical presence for their customers. meaning thst customer service is on their terms and not yours. the benefit to the consumer is typically lower prices, but of course the expense is that you can’t speak to them directly, and more often it’s via email only, where the response is also on their terms and not the consumers….

when you buy direct, you accept this reality.

all online companies are not created the same my friend, do your research, check out the customer service reviews before buying, Juiced have had flaky customer service for the past 3 years, they are not known for being speedy. I think the first E-Bike review video i ever saw was a guy reviewing his New Juiced Scrambler, this was like 3 years ago and i believe even that guy was complaining that he had been waiting weeks for a response from Juiced over some cosmetic issues and rust. I have dealt with Customer service from Biktrix/Rize/ and Ariel Rider and all three have responded within 24hours.

 

[ElevenAD]

Sure but experience taking support calls has shown me n00bs often don’t understand what they bit off. Add off brand components and simple repairs become expensive and completely frustrating.

many budget bikes won’t hold up to heavy usage. Mom and pops riding for recreation may not reveal issues simply because of the low use.

Farcebook has an ebike owner over 60 page. I’m amazed by the bad information and the low mileage riders calling their bike the best. The tendency here is similar. We tend to push n00bs towards our choices.

Not just Facebook, see guys on Youtube doing bike reviews all the time with video titles like "You need to buy this bike", they will go on about how great and well built the bike is then reveal they only have 300miles on the bike!

 

[rawlus]

Sure but experience taking support calls has shown me n00bs often don’t understand what they bit off. Add off brand components and simple repairs become expensive and completely frustrating.

many budget bikes won’t hold up to heavy usage. Mom and pops riding for recreation may not reveal issues simply because of the low use.

Farcebook has an ebike owner over 60 page. I’m amazed by the bad information and the low mileage riders calling their bike the best. The tendency here is similar. We tend to push n00bs towards our choices.

Sure, can’t really argue with that, it supports my statements i think, vast majority of ebike owners simply buy what they like and which fits their budget and then ride it and form whatever impression they will form. they don’t look closer into components or customer support record or other factors and enthusiast can debate all day about, for many/most their relationship with the brand is purely transactional.

Are some brand loyal? Do some care about spec and service? sure. but i’d guess it’s not even the majority.

 

[ki11a]

Ouch, 10 days with no reply from support...thats pretty bad :/

I've never heard good things about Juiced support unfortunately, although I do like their bike designs.

 

[jim009]

UPDATE: I called them and got a confirmation that they did receive my ticket. Supposedly it got lost in the system somewhere and the rep. apologized for the delay. Bottom line is I will be getting a replacement rack. I'll update "All ya all" (it's a Texan thing) when I actually receive it.

 

[Asher]

the point of online/direct retailers is that it eliminates a lot of their overhead on maintaining a physical presence for their customers. meaning thst customer service is on their terms and not yours. the benefit to the consumer is typically lower prices, but of course the expense is that you can’t speak to them directly, and more often it’s via email only, where the response is also on their terms and not the consumers….

when you buy direct, you accept this reality.

Lol this is ridiculous. There's absolutely nothing inherent or inevitable to online brands having shitty customer service. That's just how Juiced chooses to run itself.

The bigger problem is the market is full of noobs looking for the lowest price and its not apparent if a company like Juiced or Rad has low quality or bad service. And even if they did know better, I'm not sure what one would pick instead that is better without being much costlier. Yamaha looks like a great value if you live near a dealer, maybe Zen in the future. Ride1Up looks good but they too have had some issues.

 

[rawlus]

Lol this is ridiculous. There's absolutely nothing inherent or inevitable to online brands having shitty customer service. That's just how Juiced chooses to run itself.

The bigger problem is the market is full of noobs looking for the lowest price and its not apparent if a company like Juiced or Rad has low quality or bad service. And even if they did know better, I'm not sure what one would pick instead that is better without being much costlier. Yamaha looks like a great value if you live near a dealer, maybe Zen in the future. Ride1Up looks good but they too have had some issues.

i think you misinterpreted my statement, i was not excusing shitty customer service (which is a perception issue), i was commenting that online/direct brands tend not to have 24/7 support, tend to require zendesk or other self-help tools, tend to accept only email form requests for support, point being you can’t hop in the car and drive down the street to talk to the person who,sold your the bike…. so when you choose to do an online/direct purchase, you are accepting that you do not get the same quality, level and type of service you get buying local from a physical storefront.

you’re right, there are a lot of noobs, and a lot of people who expect unrealistic levels of service when dealing with direct sales companies (not Amazon level companies who invest in customer service infrastructure) but “brands” who are essentially drop shippers for anonymous chinese factories…

 

[Asher]

i think you misinterpreted my statement, i was not excusing shitty customer service (which is a perception issue), i was commenting that online/direct brands tend not to have 24/7 support, tend to require zendesk or other self-help tools, tend to accept only email form requests for support, point being you can’t hop in the car and drive down the street to talk to the person who,sold your the bike…. so when you choose to do an online/direct purchase, you are accepting that you do not get the same quality, level and type of service you get buying local from a physical storefront.

you’re right, there are a lot of noobs, and a lot of people who expect unrealistic levels of service when dealing with direct sales companies (not Amazon level companies who invest in customer service infrastructure) but “brands” who are essentially drop shippers for anonymous chinese factories…

I didnt misinterpret your statement. You wrote something without qualifying it, and attributing poor service to a brand being online. Sloppy writing. Amazon is an online company that generally has great customer service.


"shitty customer service (which is a perception issue),"
Lol. Guy cheats on his wife, wife gets mad. "Honey, this is just a perception issue, I don't get why you're angry."

 

[jim009]

UPDATE #2: We'll I spoke to the Juiced rep just after lunch (PST) on Aug the 5th. It's now the 14th and no followup from Juiced. Hummmm... Looks like more phone calls and an emails are in order here.

 

[IOUZIP]

I just assembled the RCS Step Thru and the thumb throttle was causing Error 4 which is a bad throttle. Opened an email support with Juiced and within a hour I got a response. Not sure when the replacement part will arrive.

 

[john peck]

New to the E-bike world and new to Juiced. Just received my new RipCurrent S and would like to share my experience. First, I can say the online buying process was as advertised with the bike being shipped in 2 business days. The only shipping option Juiced had was FedX and as we all know there was a reason Amazon dropped them from the shipping partner list. So I bit my lip and ordered away. FedX, true to form took almost 2 weeks to go from So Cal to get it here, only missing the scheduled delivery date by about 3 days (I live about 75mi East of Seattle WA). Upon delivery I did the customary box inspection and, well it did have some small torn spots and scrapes on the cardboard but it showed no crush damage and was generally in good condition. So I signed off thinking all would be good. Upon dismantling the box reveled a really nice foam formed packaging that surrounded the entire bike! Nice job Juicy! However, I did notice the rear fender was looking rather wonkey but being cheap plastic, I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until I started to remove the tie wraps and foam sheets holding everything together that I noticed the rear wheel wouldn't turn. Well, remember that wonkey fender? It was smashed into the rear tire and upon looking at it again I noticed the rear rack is what was crushed into the rear wheel. The rack was smashed down bending the rear supports causing the fender to in turn, hit the rear tire. I stepped back to look at the box and still could see no crush damage to the box or the nice foam packaging. This makes me wonder how this could happen. Immediately I ran into the house and sent an email to [email protected] letting them know and requesting a new rack as the rest of the bike is fine. This the part where I rant about Juiced bikes support. It's been 10 days now and the only response I've received is the auto responder initial email saying pretty much they'd get back to me. I've seen the videos about the owner (Tora) talking about doubling the size of his support staff and all I can say if this is doubled then how bad was it before? I have removed the rear rack and am now riding the bike without it. I do very much enjoy the RipCurrent S but cannot recommend Juicy Bikes to my friends and family as in my opinion, being an online bike retailer support has to stand behind the entire purchasing process in a timely manner and deal with these issues. I did reach out to the sales team (again, via email as no phone number could be found on the web site) and got another auto respond email. All I want is another rack.. How hard can that be?

Sorry for the rant,
Jim

Too summarize, Juiced support sucks! I won´t trouble you with details of my experience.(parts bike now)

 

[jim009]

UPDATE #3: Received my rack today! Thank you Juiced. Only took a bit less than a month and many emails and calls. Communication was definitely a "pull" effort on my part but in the end persistence pays off.

 

[ElevenAD]

i think you misinterpreted my statement, i was not excusing shitty customer service (which is a perception issue), i was commenting that online/direct brands tend not to have 24/7 support

you’re right, there are a lot of noobs, and a lot of people who expect unrealistic levels of service when dealing with direct sales companies (not Amazon level companies who invest in customer service infrastructure) but “brands” who are essentially drop shippers for anonymous chinese factories…

Yeah because so many LBS have 24/7 support! All LBS are not the same and thats an understatement. Having your bike sit in an LBS for 2 weeks waiting for parts is not much different than having it sit in your garage for two weeks while you wait for an online part. I agree buying online can be tricky but buying from an LBS also has its drawbacks and fair amount of BS. Either way you need to do research and choose wisely.

 

[m@Robertson]

@rawlus core point was perfectly valid. Online retail is lower cost because buyers are giving up the cradle-to-grave support that a dealership supported bike provides. This is why a Specialized ebike costs 3x what an online bike can cost. People who buy online should (but often don't) understand they are taking on some responsibility for repair and replacement themselves in exchange for the lower price they are receiving. If they want excellent service, there is a separate channel for that. And they can pay for it.

Sadly, many either fail to or refuse to recognize this. The bikes cost less for a reason and you are either ok with those reasons or you should have done more research in advance so as to not be upset when you get what you paid for.

Me, I bought cheap online but I can build bikes top to bottom, so I was fine with it. I learned the e part of ebike because thats the responsibility I took on when I bought my first ultra low cost bike. And I like it that way. But thats not good for everyone.

 

[Asher]

@rawlus core point was perfectly valid. Online retail is lower cost because buyers are giving up the cradle-to-grave support that a dealership supported bike provides. This is why a Specialized ebike costs 3x what an online bike can cost. People who buy online should (but often don't) understand they are taking on some responsibility for repair and replacement themselves in exchange for the lower price they are receiving. If they want excellent service, there is a separate channel for that. And they can pay for it.

Sadly, many either fail to or refuse to recognize this. The bikes cost less for a reason and you are either ok with those reasons or you should have done more research in advance so as to not be upset when you get what you paid for.

Me, I bought cheap online but I can build bikes top to bottom, so I was fine with it. I learned the e part of ebike because thats the responsibility I took on when I bought my first ultra low cost bike. And I like it that way. But thats not good for everyone.

I love that no matter how crappy the customer service is, there is a yes man to say, 'see you deserve to be treated badly! You expected an online brand to deliver a functional product.