E-bikes and Swiss Customer Service - anti-rant

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
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E-bike saga and Swiss customer service story:

I've been looking for quality/price value e-bikes for my wife and I. We live on a mountain and the pedal assist will make us bike a bit more than we have. We aren't getting the super speedy mini-motorcycles, but rather ones that help hill climb. Yet, the nearly CHF5000 for many of the e-bikes made us cringe.

A large sporting goods store had a massive sale and after reading several dozen in depth reviews in French, German, Italian, and English - as well as follow up reviews (would you still buy this bike 500/1000/2000/5000km later?), I pulled the (shift)trigger on Monday and ordered a pair of hybrids (something between city and mountain bikes, similar to what we have already except with the motor boost).

Sadly, Wednesday came and went and we were bikeless, so I contacted the retailer on Thursday and asked what was up. The first response was "sorry, there are none of those bikes left in stock and we won't be getting more."

I didn't like that response and said so. I also found the emails of some higher placed folks in the company (always do this). And I politely told them what I expected and why. Especially since they could have notified us prior to me contacting them.

Their next solution was better, with sending us comparable bicycles, but mountain bikes, at the same price as the hybrids. It was fair, but we lost several days due to inconvenience, and I was going to have to make some adjustments to the bikes (more comfortable seats and so on), so I pushed just a little harder, saying that this was a decent solution, but the bikes would still be late and not exactly what I had wanted.

This morning they discounted our bikes an additional CHF few hundred each (already refunding the account), promised delivery by Tuesday (or an in store pick up by tomorrow), and here's the key, they apologized. Apologies count for a lot.

I'm happy with this - especially after hearing horror stories about European and Swiss customer service from others - when the bikes arrive on Tuesday and if all is good, I'll mention the company by name - if they do good, they deserve credit.

Certainly a better result than the vacuum disaster by amazon-germany, who never apologised, and have lost my business completely.

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I boycotted so many businesses because of this and let them know via head office sometimes if they are a local business as it is terrible if the owner doesn’t know how crap his worker(s) can be. I take it as normal that there will be no apology.

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Exactly. This is why the genuine sounding apology really meant something. Excellent policy. It costs nothing but builds good will.*

* (I know some apologies are withheld occasionally due to legal/admission of guilt in a court case, but this was not that sort of situation, they had already offered a complete refund if unhappy and could have been done. In this case, they chose to retain me as a customer too.)

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We recently bought a push-iron for nickatbaseljnr - he's 15 so doesn't need an ebike - at Decathlon in Zurich near Stauffacher.

They also had quite a few e-bikes in their selection in the SFr1.5K ballpark. Not sure how that fits with your budget and also not an expert on e-bikes and which are the good / bad models. Maybe worth a look.

Cheers,

Nick

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This is nice to read, thanks for sharing MattyRedSox - I hope all goes well with the delivery.

I have to admit, after one year in Switzerland, I'm a little bit scarred and cynical about swiss customer service , which makes it nicer to hear when someone does have a good experience!

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I was just wondering what age you think someone needs an e-bike?

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When their doctor loses interest in their front side and develops a fascination for their backside.

This is a Friday thread, right?

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So far I haven't had many major issues - waitstaff can be a bit inattentive and such, but nothing earth shattering.

Japan had generally good customer service, until there was something unexpected that deviated from the norm, then it was horrible. Add a side of racism fairly often (generally missed by folks who are just visiting and aren't aware that they just caught some).

I tend to get decent service wherever I go, but I also am a good customer and when I feel something is "off," I weigh my response and the amount of personal cost to get it righted (eg a surly cashier having a bad day at MIGROS won't warrant any further action, but a waiter who consistently is not up to par in a very expensive restaurant might need a word to the owner or maitre de at the end of the meal - and then having wine or dessert comped with a "we'll talk with him, sir, thank you for the heads up.").

Amazon Germany was the only one where I've really encountered an awful response here.

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So the bikes finally arrived and seem to be okay with some adjustments (new hand grips, better seats, better lights). Decathlon’s Rockrider eST100 for under a CHF 1000.

Not the greatest bike in the world, but for the price, fantastic. The guy at the local bike shop who helped me with a lock, the new accessories, and such was enthusiastic about the price.