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Anyone got a contact at Giant?
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Does anyone have a contact at Giant Bikes? I have a warranty issue with my 2010 TranceX1 and my local dealer says it's very unlikely Giant will look at it before Christmas. I was planning a lot of riding over the Christmas break... my bike is unrideable and I'm devastated! Being a long-term loyal customer I thought I'd try contacting Giant myself and pleading with them to fast track my warranty claim. So any contacts would be greatly appreciated!
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has info@giantbikes.com.au for a contact & thats it!
...I'll see how it goes. I was hoping someone might have a friend there...
N+1.
Your contract is with the retailer not the importer so they need to solve your problem. You will find the importers unhelpful as they are losing a lot of business to oversees Internet sales and obviously want to protect the local bike shops. Put the pressure on the shop to fix or replace.
Under the relevant retail laws the goods must be fit for the purpose for which they were sold. There is no set rule but you do not have to accept a repair and even if you do you can still ask for a replacement down the line if it happens again, however a replacement is often more warranted the newer the item and the price paid. For more info visit http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Refu... but trying to politely explain this to the shop may help. Maybe they have a loaner bike which is better than nothing.
Also, worth noting that consumer law changes from the 1st January to one standard across the country - http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/Content.as...
And providing cr@ppy service is the best way to change that?
As some might know, I am shopping round for a replacement for the Rush. Bike prices overseas are clearly cheaper (usually by a massive amount) than in Australia and one of the things a local retailer will try and argue is that if you buy overseas you don't get local support. This is one of the biggest arguments the local market has going for it so if they can't sort out your warranty issues instantly... well... I'm sure you can see where this is going.
Basically, go back to the retailer and explain that you've done the right thing and supported the local market so now it's their turn to support you.
I can see where jp is getting to, the LBS has processed the claim as much as they actually can and it is now down to Giant to complete processing. Sure, the LBS can push Giant and you would hope that they are doing so but at the end of the day it is somewhat out of their hands. We see it often enough buying high end computing gear. Our supplier will push but there's nothing like getting in the face of HP, Cisco, et. al. to speed things up! Of course, if you don't think the LBS is pushing hard then it would be wise to get in their face to hurry them along.
One thing the LBS should be able to do for you is to supply parts that you can put on your bike whilst the claim is being processed. Of course, this depends on what is wrong with your bike. When the front brakes on my Giant went, they had to go back in for warranty repair which was going to be a few weeks. I was going down south that weekend to ride so Bike Addiction grabbed some breaks off a demo bike and let me keep them until my brakes were back. This is exactly the sort of thing that I would expect when paying a little more to purchase through an LBS over buying online.
...for all the words of advice. I am dealing through my LBS, and they have always been very helpful to me (I've bought 4 bikes from them). I only dropped the bike off with them yesterday, but they were very pessimistic about how helpful Giant will be. They basically said the Giant rep won't want to know about it 'til next year. Of course I'll be on the phone to them this morning making sure they're doing what they can. In the meantime I thought I'd try my luck contacting Giant directly. I'm staying optimistic, and will be sure to report my progress over the coming days. I've been a loyal Giant fan for years, but this will be the real test...
BTW, the problem is that the bottom bracket thread is stripped, and unrepairable. LBS said it's definitely a warranty issue.
How long have you had the bike and how did you discover that the bb thread was stripped. Has the bb been removed before?
It's 10 months old. I just took it in for a routine service and asked them to check the bottom bracket. When they took it out they discovered the problem - it had never been removed before.
Warranty is covered by the distributor, not the retailer. The LBS can only push the supplier for a quick resolution to the problem but in this case the LBS will have to submit pictures of the problem to the supplier and have it assessed by them. They may even have to return the bike to giant to have it assessed.
Chances of having this problem resolved before the distributor closes down for christmas are pretty slim, as there is little your LBS can do to speed up the process. If the shop has a test bike you may be able to get them to loan that to you.
I just had a rear shock issue and when I dropped the bike off they quoted 4 weeks. There was nothing the lbs could do as they had to send it to the importer to repair and the lbs has actually always been good when there has been warranty issues.
The delays in getting my bike repaired has just reinforced why it's good to have 2 bikes and why I am no longer selling my Trance X0 and it can be my back up bike.
To be fair to the LBS and Giant if the issue was just identified to Giant yesterday then getting a returned repair before Christmas is insufficient time. I would expect a 3-4 week repair was reasonable time frame, but being Christmas eve one week tomorrow, it just seems really unfortunate timing for a warranty fault. A January fix is reasonable. IMHO the best option is to highlight very nicely to the LBS how loyal your business is and what options they can provide for a loan or demo bike to see you through Christmas.
Good luck.
Definitely see if your LBS has a test bike, not quite the same as your own but as they probably close down for Christmas, hopefully they won't mind you taking it for a week or two. When my roadie had an issue, Supreme Cycles kindly lent me an old Cannondale. I had to take it back one weekend as it was already committed to someone else but apart from that I had it for around 3 weeks.
This is further evidence that I want, nee need a second bike myself! It is no longer a luxury.
Can you even repair this kind of thing? Smaller threads can get a heli-coil, but on a BB? Anyone know if that's possible?
Maybe
http://www.helicoil.in/pdf/HeliCoil%20Catalogue.pdf
Also, maybe if Giant agree you could probably even glue a new one in there. Sounds dodgy but if they agree to replace the frame they might agree to this as a short term solution. You would want an email stating it otherwise they might void your warranty???
"Warranty is covered by the distributor, not the retailer" is incorrect. The retailer has the obligation to provide a warranty regardless of any warranty offered by the manufacturer.
Apple had this issue with iPods a few years back. If you took a faulty iPod to a non Apple store they would say that Apple only offer a 90 day warranty as the manufacturer and there was nothing the store could do. It was soon proven legally that regardless of what Apple's policy was, the retailer was obliged to provide a warranty deemed to be fair in general terms (often 12 months but sometimes even longer).
It does not matter what the manufacturer says, your contract is with the retailer. When you paid them your money you entered into a legal agreement via the transaction and as such are covered by a set of standard rights in consumer law.
The BB "should" have been removed by the LBS when the bike was assembled to grease the threads as the majority of bikes don't get greased in the factory. If it wasn't removed it should have at least been checked for tightness. Pretty standard practice for any LBS I thought.
My thoughts are that this will probably come back onto the LBS.
Timing is probably the biggest issue here.
LBSs and distributers are basically in Xmas melt down so the issue, as I read JP original post out is not giant not wanting to process it, but giant not being physically able to process it before christmas, especially if it's something that is not in currently stock which needs to be replaced.
Looks to me like the LBS is just being up front "We'll try but it's unlikely to get done before Xmas."
From a shops prepective a broken bike isn't something you want hanging around the shop waiting on parts, we just haven't the room with Xmas stock and laybuys so they would be hoping for a speedy resolution too but there is only so many hours in a day and all that.
You may wish to think that this is the case but if you tried to hold the shop that sold you the product to this there would soon be no bike shops to go to. The fault lies with the manufacturer, the warranty is supplied by the manufacturer. The bike shop is the go-between and cannot/should not be held responsible for a manufacturing defect. Their only obligation is to follow up the warranty claim with the Australian distributor and if a satisfactory result cannot be reached then take further action with the manufacturer.
Try reading this page and related documents if you are still unsure
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Refu...
Statutory warranties only apply if the manufacturers voluntary warranty is not deemed to be sufficient according to the value of the item warranted.
Give the LBS a break - or lose the service they provide!
I'm happy to report that things are progressing well. Giant contacted my LBS the morning after I emailed them, LBS had already called the Giant rep and he is coming to inspect my bike on Tuesday. In the meantime Giant shipped a replacement frame from Melbourne today, so that it's there ready to go if the rep approves the warranty claim. That leaves just 3 days for my LBS to strip my old bike and re-build it on the new frame, and at a very busy time of year, but they're doing their best. No guarantees, but there is a chance I'll get it back by next Friday. So my loyalty to the LBS and Giant has been rewarded with very prompt action! I'll post another update next week...
That's good news - sounds like you might have a merry christmas after all!
Giant are one of the best companys when it comes to warrenty.
Sure the LBS is your first contact with a warrenty claim but its the importer that then approves it.
If you can make direct contact with the importer then it can really help your claim along as some LBS dont pass on the necessary info.
When I first saw this thread I thought there would be a few strange comments (which there has been) and I also thought it wouldnt take Gaint long to sort it out.
Giants warrenty and how they handle it is one of the reasons I buy Giants. Almost no other company comes close to them for service!
Well this is my first experience with a Giant warranty claim, but I'm very impressed with their speed and service. The rep came to my LBS yesterday and approved the claim so they are supplying a new frame. And my LBS is doing all they can to get my bike rebuilt by Friday. Fingers crossed!
So who is your LBS? Effort like that should be rewarded with some positive publicity.
Anthony is excellent, and always goes out of his way to help me. And John (the bike mechanic) does a fantastic job keeping my bikes in good shape.