Thorn in my side...

Please be fair and thoughtful in your opinions. No rants please.
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Edvardus
Posts: 303
Joined: 28 May 2009, 6:26pm

Thorn in my side...

Post by Edvardus »

Buying something other than mundane, day-to-day stuff should be a pleasurable thing and the purchase of a quality, new bike should rank as one of the best possible experiences a keen cyclist could wish for. Not so with Thorn for me I'm afraid after placing an order with them on 28 August.
Leaving aside the abyssmal "sales team" follow-up once my interest had been established, some seven days into "build" I was told that the standard rims were out of stock. I gladly accepted the alternatives but was less than chuffed at the loss of a week, particularly as this information would have been available when their "bike invoice" was raised. On 17 Sept (over three weeks into build) I sent an email asking for a progress report. This morning I get a call asking if anyone had contacted me! No apology when I said "no" of course. Then the unbelievable news that they DID'NT HAVE A BLACK FRAME IN STOCK!! I thought at first that I'd mis-heard the girl and that she was talking about some minor component. I just couldn't get my mind around the fact that after so long, Thorn were now saying that the main constituent part of the bike was out of stock. Robin Thorn himself later confirmed that supplies wouldn't be available until late October.
Reading between the lines, and from information I've received, I think it's possible that "my" frame was initially available, but that in order to comply with a later, more demanding - and possibly existing - customer, it's been "half-inched". Well, Thorn have lost my custom as a result, but how bitterly disappointing it is to support one of our own bike suppliers to the tune of almost £1.5k and be treated in this shoddy way.
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
travelling
Posts: 302
Joined: 22 Apr 2009, 8:04am

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by travelling »

Firstly I am sorry you were let down, I've had a thorn and I loved it and customer service whilst not outstanding was okay

This highlights the difficulties many companies face in that many components for smaller companies like thorns are built in china. To get the cheapest price they must order in bulk but specialist bikes like thorns are not bulk order items so they order in small batches and time to time like your case it means numbers ordered vs numbers needed don't match and someone gets let down.

Does that make you feel better? nope and as I got burned like this before...and we are not talking halfords money.. I now test the bikes I like..find the best deal and ask the following question...have you one in stock and if I pay today will you send it today or next day if they say yes I make a sale

Both sides of this however have not been heard and I noticed from the thorn forum you appear to have signed up just to vent your anger understandable but the internet should always be the last place as a tool for resolution
I have the lightest bike in the world....then I put my fattest body in the world on it...the only pounds that have been lost are from my bank account
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Flinders »

If the frames are being made abroad, then we wouldn't be supporting a UK manufacturer by buying them, so might as well take that out of the calculation and either buy a UK-made frame elsewhere or buy a foreign frame from someone who keeps adequate stock, or had better stock control.

If your bike really was bumped for someone else, and this certainly sounds possible, then it stinks, and I wouldn't buy so much as handlebar tape from them in future. My LBS builds/services/repairs strictly in order of ordering, unless waiting for special parts, even for the owner's own family. It's called integrity........
yakdiver
Posts: 1466
Joined: 12 Jul 2007, 2:54pm
Location: North Baddesley Hampshire

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by yakdiver »

I have a Thorn club tour, and I have found the shop very helpful, but like any company they do have their bad days and it sound like you have had a really bad deal to be treated like that
geocycle
Posts: 2177
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 9:46am

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by geocycle »

There is an explanation/apology on the thorn forum from Robin Thorn:

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/ind ... pic=2206.0

My experience with them has always been very good, but the mark of a great outfit is how they deal with things when they go wrong.
Edvardus
Posts: 303
Joined: 28 May 2009, 6:26pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Edvardus »

travelling wrote:Does that make you feel better?

Not really, no! When another forum member (and existing Thorn customer) tells you that the order he placed (AFTER mine) had been delivered, yet two weeks ago he was also told that his frame was out of stock, does that not give you a tiny inkling that you've been well and truly shafted? So of course I feel anger - who wouldn't - and I think that something of this nature should have the widest possible exposure. If I hadn't sent my email to Thorn on 17 Sept, one wonders how much longer it would have taken them to come up with the good news. We're lucky that as prospective bike purchasers we have the means to publicise our experiences in the market. Unfortunately Joe Public often doesn't have the benefit of a forum.
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
Edvardus
Posts: 303
Joined: 28 May 2009, 6:26pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Edvardus »

geocycle wrote:but the mark of a great outfit is how they deal with things when they go wrong.

In this case Geocycle, by making sure that they tell you, soon after the event, that you're not going to get anything off the price of another one, should you be so keen to hang around.
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
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Kevin K
Posts: 380
Joined: 21 Oct 2007, 1:41am
Location: East Kilbride, Glasgow

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Kevin K »

All my dealings with Thorn have been positive and their customer service good. I think you have genuinely been unlucky; not that this improves your situation of course. I hope you find a suitable bike soon.
Kevin K. Glasgow
johnmac
Posts: 515
Joined: 19 Jan 2007, 9:45pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by johnmac »

Robin Thorn's explanation sounds weak to me. It smacks of 'my company messed up but it's not my responsibility'.
Edvardus
Posts: 303
Joined: 28 May 2009, 6:26pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Edvardus »

johnmac wrote:Robin Thorn's explanation sounds weak to me. It smacks of 'my company messed up but it's not my responsibility'.

Quite so Johnmac. I used to work for a large crane manufacturer and their picking list for assembly ran into tens of thousands. The only time when a component showed in computer stock but wasn't on the shelf was when someone had physically removed it without updating the records. I guess a similar picking list for a bike would probably be in the order of a couple of dozen parts or assemblies. And we're not talking about a vast warehouse of parts here are we. I don't think I have to spell out the scenario.....
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
bikepacker
Posts: 2273
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 7:08pm
Location: Worcestershire
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Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by bikepacker »

johnmac wrote:Robin Thorn's explanation sounds weak to me. It smacks of 'my company messed up but it's not my responsibility'.


That is the normal reaction from him.
There is your way. There is my way. But there is no "the way".
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Flinders »

It wasn't an explanation that would satisfy me.
When a bike is ordered, the components should be collected and checked. They seem to have found the rimes weren't available after a week. What kind of company checks whether the rims are in, and then takes a fortnight more to stroll along as see if the frame is in stock? Indeed, had they not been contacted, it could have been even longer.

A tip from company I use-
When an order is placed, they check their stock on the computer. Lots of stock, and they take the order. If the stock is low (and one frame is as low as you can get) they then do an eyeball check to be certain that there really is the stock there, and that none of it is damaged, before confirming the order. Not rocket science, just sensible business practice. In their case, as a large and efficient company, they can do this while you're on the phone- I appreciate that a small company might take longer, but not three weeks.

(and they also supply strictly in order of ordering)
Edvardus
Posts: 303
Joined: 28 May 2009, 6:26pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Edvardus »

Flinders wrote:and then takes a fortnight more to stroll along as see if the frame is in stock? Indeed, had they not been contacted, it could have been even longer.

Quite so Flinders. But I suppose if you have an existing customer who's ordered another bike and gets told his frame won't be available until the end of October, and he's dancing up and down, then your undemanding new customer who's waiting quietly, doesn't stand a chance. I guess there may well have been a stock-keeping error and Thorn then had a difficult decision to make - although it shouldn't have been, but I suppose it's human nature to respond to whoever shouts the loudest. It's rather amusing now, but after I'd been told by Robin that they definitely hadn't got another frame in stock, I received an email from Thorn confirming that my bike order had been despatched. I emailed Robin to ask if this was for real or just a cruel hoax and it turns out it was generated by their system because they were returning my deposit!
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by Flinders »

I suppose there are two choices in this sort of situation, either become a bullying customer who will try to get a frame promised to someone who was before you, or stay a quiet, polite customer and go elsewhere, where your custom might be more appreciated.

Sellers sometimes end up with the customers they deserve. :wink:
johnmac
Posts: 515
Joined: 19 Jan 2007, 9:45pm

Re: Thorn in my side...

Post by johnmac »

Interesting to see Chris Judden's recent review of the Thorn Club Tour - the phrase 'hatchet job' springs to mind!
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