Gremlin1 Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 I am absolutely exasperated by the service I have (not) received in attempting to locate spares for my Northwave Aerlite MTB shoes and Thule bike carrier, ant trying to buy a Giant Trance! My tale of woe starts some months ago when my Thule carrier decided to dismantle itself on a road in the Cederberg. One "click-lock" knob later and my bike was hanging behind my car! Was advised that the agents for Thule resided in Olympic Cycles so I contacted them and was told the parts were on order but that I would be contacted when they arrived in a couple of days. No calls of course but I followed up as I realized they may be busy. Then the runaround started.......no the parts were missing from the order etc but they would arrive soon. Some weeks later I again followed up. No parts. Now getting pissed off dismantling bike to travel. So I placed an actual order. Needless to say 3 months down the line still waiting for the f@$#ers to actually come up with the parts! So I have a little accident and break the micro ratchet strap on my NorthWave shoes. Ok shoes cost 3k so I'm kinda keen to replace a R50 part (available on Amazon,but not to SA) so I go to Trail and Tar where they were purchased and after begging to be served they agree to contact the agents to locate spares (did ask for agent details but not forthcoming but fair enough they are running a business). Obviously it would be too much to ask to actually get a call back from a Cape Town business so a week later I decide to go to Cycle Lab to have a look at a Giant Trance (yes apparently they are the agents now) and am pleased to learn that they also sell NorthWave and they will contact the agents for the spare part. Two weeks later and I am still riding with insulation tape to keep my shoe on!Oh and just for information CycleLab did not have a single Giant in stock but I could buy one from the catalogue!! (Jesus wept!) But wait.......Google is your friend........Hullabaloo is the importer.....so a quick email ( followed by another 2 weeks later after no response) and I am settling into a winter holding pattern with taped up shoes, a non-folding bike rack and an aging 26' Silverback begging to be replaced. So in order of priority I am imploring the Hubber community for suggestions as to where I can get parts for NorthWave shoes, Thule carrier spares and finally a Giant retailer that actually carries stock!!
scuzzy Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 There is a Thule shop in Cape Town CBD as well as the Giant store in Durbanville, CWCycles also have a handy setup for Thule. Northwave, a shop opened at Meerendal recently that carriers Northwave, they are actually the agents for Northwave and will be very close to Hullabaloo, give them a shout, sure they will give you the real story For the Giant, chat to the Giant guys in Durbanville, very friendly and again, they will give you the full story on stock.
Shebeen Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Can't be that hard trying to find a giant. Toyota always have corollas in stock. Google is your friend, call the guys on this list http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-za/dealers/search/keyword/?x=1&keyword-location=-34.1022481%2C18.475722&searchdistance=25&countryname=South+Africa&keyword-original=&showspinner=false&ne=&sw=&keyword=&type=proximity Or get hold of dragons directlyhttp://www.dragons.co.za/
Iwan Kemp Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Bite the bullet and give me till lunch - let's see what we can do for you.
lechatnoir Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Two recommendations from me... The Loading Zone in Maitland (gave me good service) and Giant Durbanville (speak to Johan - great service)
Paul Ruinaard Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Just order off the internet and ship in - problem solved. I cant tell you how many times I have had the same story happen to me and the local LBS poodles (that I was trying to support) always have some lame dumbo excuse. To be fair its often the agents (Shimano importers particularly bad in this country) who refuse to stock anything let alone what resembles spares. OT: And then you get some of these posts where guys say - be careful, they could sue you for slandering them in public by posting here. #Whatabunchoftwats Its amazing we manage to have a cycling industry at all.
cadenceblur Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Contact Thule yourself. They are based in Durban, I ordered something directly from them a while ago. Got the same run around from the guys in Claremont. Or go into Bridge Cycles, they have a good relationship with the Thule guys as well. They've also helped me in the past.
Rust Never Sleeps Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Thule in the Bridge Centre on Durban Road-excellent service and they carry spares. Northwave at Meerendal speak to Eugene
Iwan Kemp Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 PM me your number and part numbers / descriptions and whatever pics you have.
Eddy Gordo Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Well sorry to hear about your poor experience with the previously mentioned LBS....... I am sure Iwan can help you out there.Another LBS to consider who now have a Thule shop is revolution cycles. Speak to Sterling Snr or Jnr.
T-Bob Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 Sounds like it was a tough couple of days at the office! Had similar problems with Gaerne getting ratchet, could find a single person to help me over a 2 week period so I just tweeted the head office and they sent me one for free and another one as back up.
Iwan Kemp Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 ... so I just tweeted the head office and they sent me one for free and another one as back up. I don't get that. I've had similar issues (outside the cycling trade) and got better response via Twitter than calling a call centre of visiting a branch. Makes no sense, but alas it works wonders!
Bobbo_SA Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 I don't get that. I've had similar issues (outside the cycling trade) and got better response via Twitter than calling a call centre of visiting a branch. Makes no sense, but alas it works wonders! Whats worse is when one department tweets another department in the same company, like sales passing it on to service.
Gremlin1 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Posted June 9, 2015 This is what makes the hub great! Thanks everybody for your responses and pm's. I really appreciate the suggestions and contacts. Watch this space for developments!
Gremlin1 Posted June 10, 2015 Author Posted June 10, 2015 I am pleased to advise that Hullaballoo has been in contact with me regarding spares for my Shoes and it seems that I will be sorted soon!! I am very pleased about this. Additionally Giant Durbanville has contacted me so as soon as I can build the courage to make the groot trek to that side of Cape Town (I live in Simons Town) I will have a look at some bikes!
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.