Suspensionwerx on vacation?

I'm not sure of his situation right now but I assume he's over his head in suspension oil and components and is trying to see the light of day. No one in any business wants to turn away work but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get through the storm. I'm sure once he can see the daylight again things will return to normal

In today's day and age of technology, there is NO excuse to turn away work. You merely put it in the queue and advise the shop that is what the deal is and this is how long it is going to be. PERIOD. If you can't do that you hire more staff.

I even called the fcking idiots at Trident and recieved no call back. How the christ do you get a manitou rear shock fixed these days. Fcking awful.

In today's day and age of technology, there is NO excuse to turn away work. You merely put it in the queue and advise the shop that is what the deal is and this is how long it is going to be. PERIOD. If you can't do that you hire more staff.

I even called the fcking idiots at Trident and recieved no call back. How the christ do you get a manitou rear shock fixed these days. Fcking awful.

He's never turned away any work from us and we always get the shock back within a week. I'd say that's pretty damn good at this time of year.

Maybe you've been spammed or he has a swear filter ;)

Drop it off at your LBS. They will drop off the shock/fork with James. We (the LBS of your choice) will leave a note for James to contact the customer before he starts the work. When he pulls your shock/fork out of the queue to work on it he will see the note and call you and discuss the issues. As soon as he hangs up he will be working on your shock/fork with your conversation fresh in mind.

How is this such a complcated system for some people to understand?

Oh, I get it, you don't actually WANT the work done? You just want to ask him questions about tuning but you're not sure if you're actually gonna drop cash to get stuff done? Yeah… guess why he doesn't answer calls or emails… Because he services hundreds of items per week from people who are ready to drop cash and get real work done. He doesn't have time to go over your options with you and let you think about what you talked about, only to have to talk to you again when your shock is getting the service 4 weeks later (because you've ridden it blown for 3 weeks cause you don't want to spend $150 on a rebuild/tune and then 1 week in the queue).

Please let me know if the suspensionwerx system is still in any way unclear or unfair. I'll be happy to clarify more. IMHO James has the best business going on the shore in this industry. He doesn't talk to anyone except his business contacts and real paying customers.

-m

Wow Matt, You really told everyone how James runs his business !

I speak from the viewpoint of an ordinary Joe Public who has had three forks and a shock fettled by James and am super pleased with his work, his shop and his adorable dogs. On each occasion I have dealt with james by phone and in person.

Why would anyone bother to involve a third party (the LBS) when they don't have to? My way, I build the relationship with James, know first hand what is to be done, and pay him my hard earned cash for his hard labour. This way I'm more likely to get assistance when I really need it. Your way adds time at each end, a greater possibility of miscommunication, and (dare I say it) more money for the consumer. Yeah, no thanks.

Sure, I get all my preventative maintenance done in the off season, but shit happens and James should really be a bit more diligent in returning emails and phone calls.

I'm sure you run a great shop Matt, but taking an arrogant, condescending and sarcastic tone with potential customers certainly won't make me feel comfortable enough to want to deal with you… Particularly when your information is misleading at best:- James advertises his phone number on his website and makes no mention of the public having to deal with him through an LBS.

Another Matt quote from this thread:
"Has anyone actually checked with James to see if he wants people "stopping by"? I'm guessing he doesn't. Otherwise he would post his address on his site. The place he does the work isn't zoned for commercial, so if you all start showing up there at all hours of the day and the neighbours start complaining to the CCNV, there could be trouble for James and his operation."

- Ohhh, and using your logic: if James had wanted everyone to know that his place of business wasn't properly zoned, he'd have posted that information on his website! Not cool of you to tell the world. People "stop by" during his posted hours at his invitation. I don't believe that random people showing up at 3:00 am and disturbing the neighbours is a real issue here.

Darryl: good luck with your spring, sorry your post opened a shit-storm.

- Ohhh, and using your logic: if James had wanted everyone to know that his place of business wasn't properly zoned, he'd have posted that information on his website! Not cool of you to tell the world. People "stop by" during his posted hours at his invitation. I don't believe that random people showing up at 3:00 am and disturbing the neighbours is a real issue here.

Cheers. Thank you for pointing this out and having common sense.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Zac is away from Trident at the US Nationals tuning for Manitou, it is terrible timing for Trident, but he will be back on Tuesday or Wednesday.

By the way, we don't think you are an idiot for calling the people at Trident idiots, we figure you must have a good reason for it.

In today's day and age of technology, there is NO excuse to turn away work. You merely put it in the queue and advise the shop that is what the deal is and this is how long it is going to be. PERIOD. If you can't do that you hire more staff.

I even called the fcking idiots at Trident and recieved no call back. How the christ do you get a manitou rear shock fixed these days. Fcking awful.

I even called the fcking idiots at Trident and recieved no call back. How the christ do you get a manitou rear shock fixed these days. Fcking awful.

There used to be a wicked warranty manager guy at trident. not sure if he is still there. too bad if he isn't.

Wow this thread sure went to shit.
Posted via Mobile Device

There used to be a wicked warranty manager guy at trident. not sure if he is still there. too bad if he isn't.

Yea. Its too bad both places are unable to figure out how to use a phone these days. I'd lose my job if I couldn't do that.

Tonestar, I apologize for the strong words. I'm sure your not all idiots. I have had to tell a customer that I simply cannot fix his shock. I get the shit end of it, not you and Trident/Suspensionwerx.

Drop it off at your LBS. They will drop off the shock/fork with James. We (the LBS of your choice) will leave a note for James to contact the customer before he starts the work. When he pulls your shock/fork out of the queue to work on it he will see the note and call you and discuss the issues. As soon as he hangs up he will be working on your shock/fork with your conversation fresh in mind.

How is this such a complcated system for some people to understand?

Oh, I get it, you don't actually WANT the work done? You just want to ask him questions about tuning but you're not sure if you're actually gonna drop cash to get stuff done? Yeah… guess why he doesn't answer calls or emails… Because he services hundreds of items per week from people who are ready to drop cash and get real work done. He doesn't have time to go over your options with you and let you think about what you talked about, only to have to talk to you again when your shock is getting the service 4 weeks later (because you've ridden it blown for 3 weeks cause you don't want to spend $150 on a rebuild/tune and then 1 week in the queue).

Please let me know if the suspensionwerx system is still in any way unclear or unfair. I'll be happy to clarify more. IMHO James has the best business going on the shore in this industry. He doesn't talk to anyone except his business contacts and real paying customers.

-m

Your first suggestion was all you needed to say, I don't think you had to blow up on me or assume I just want to email him back and forth without paying for any REAL service.

As some people stated, if that info was on his website that would avoid some confusion. Honestly I figured that shops would not want to be the middle man between the customer and SuspensionWerx since they are not really getting any money out of it (are they?). Aren't there shops who would rather charge the customer for a fork rebuild in house than send it out to a third party. Isn't mechanical service where shops make money?

If you can't do that you hire more staff.

Unless if you want to keep the small, hands-on, business model your current customers appreciate?

…

You work at a shop right? Does your shop have any trouble getting qualified mechanical staff? No one wants to be a bike mechanic anymore.

Even if you can find someone, there is definitely a shortage of half-way decent ones.

…

Maybe check the sense of entitlement too? James CHOOSES to do work for SOME bike shops (and he chooses not to do work for others).

He does not have a distribution agreement a-la Trident/Manitou, Lambert/RockShox, OGC/Fox saying he has to provide a service to you or anyone.

I even called the fcking idiots at Trident and recieved no call back. How the christ do you get a manitou rear shock fixed these days. Fcking awful.

Wow… I am certain you are going to get better service now… seeing as Trident and James both read the boards.

-D

You merely put it in the queue and advise the shop that is what the deal is and this is how long it is going to be. PERIOD.

I was just thinking about this.

James' business took off from day one for a reason:

1) High quality work and knowledgeable service.

2) Way faster turnaround then offered by distributors.

…

The way he runs his business he has managed to maintain both the core things that made SuspensionWerx successful to his regular customers (both shops and end users).

Demand is too high for the supply of James.

This is his first year in business. I am sure he will dial things in over the winter.

Wow… I am certain you are going to get better service now… seeing as Trident and James both read the boards.

-D

I'm not getting any service currently. Whats the difference? I phone…email…no reply. I got yelled at by some kids dad the other day because his bike has been sitting at our shop 4 weeks with no fix. He has a 250 dollar seasons pass that is sitting idle. Why do people defend companies that simply don't return phone calls and emails for business. Isn't that why they are there in the first place? We are busy too…but we have a system that just puts em next in line regardless of how long the line is. There isn't an excuse for that imo.

I posted this because I know James and Trident read the boards. Maybe they have a solution for me because nobody esle here that is defending the fact he is busy does. Someone is dropping the ball and my shop is taking a beating from customers because of it.

he's a one man show that got completely overwhelmed with his sole employee gone.

hire another employee? How many experienced suspension technicians do you know in the Vancouver area presently looking for work?

I doubt James has time to scratch his ass these days let along check these forums.

he's a one man show that got completely overwhelmed with his sole employee gone.

hire another employee? How many experienced suspension technicians do you know in the Vancouver area presently looking for work?

I doubt James has time to scratch his ass these days let along check these forums.

This is true, and what Drew said about Mechanics. It still doesn't fix the fact people aren't getting a call back after 4 weeks.