Good service in Bristol???

grayo59

Just thought I'd mention Zero G AKA Dave Garlands in Bedminster Bristol.

On Sunday 28th Sept I was pulling away from an uphill junction and my chain snapped on my sub 9 month old/sub 1000 mile Allez. (Probably only 600 dry miles actually as I've used the Halfords Hack in the wet, on trails and for a camping weekend) (I fell off in front of a car! - clipped in see?) :shock:

Phoned LBS this morning (Tuesday) and I said above and asked if there was any reason why it would not be under warranty.

They said it's 50/50 as it is a wear and tear item but they would check with Specialized and get back.

Five mins later they phoned back and said yep Spesh have agreed as a good will gesture and I've booked the bike in for Thursday for a replacement.

So far so good - I will tell you progress...

grayo59

So I collected bike and no charge as expected but the guy in the shop couldn't resist giving me a bit of a lecture about how the chain was in a bad way and that I needed to maintain it better.

I was a little surprised as other then the break, the chain to my untrained eye looked fine to me and I said as much along with a repeat of my "it's only done a few hundred miles from new" and "you (the shop) did the first service free of charge after two months and I've only used it in the dry and used my "hack" bike for mucky weather...."

He then said I needed to clean the chain and lubricate it which I replied I had and he started to bluster with "well we've done it as a goodwill gesture this time" but that if it happened again they wouldn't as they had to pay for it.

So I said that when I rang a guy called "Ash" told me that he would contact Specialized and see if they would do it as a goodwill gesture and he did. He called back in less than five minutes and said they would without them inspecting the chain.

Ash was stood there and he confirmed this. Slam Dunk! There was a bit more woffle about er ah well they hadn't had the money back yet and I then said if it was so badly worn then how come the chainrings and gears weren't commensurately (good word eh? ) worn too?

He came back with "No they're fine and well we appreciate your custom and the labour is good will on our part" and I said I understand that and thank you and I went.

So, yes I got the job done F.O.C. but I felt a bit told off. Am I being unreasonable? What should I do to keep the chain in good order?

Should a chain on an Allez pack in after less than a thousand dry miles?

I've not ridden it yet - collected it in my car and have got man-flu! But will see how the gears change this weekend.

grayo59

All working fine and thanks for your many opinions. Keep 'em coming.

STEFANOS4784

Hmmmm, i don't see any opinions on this thread, are you sure you don't own/work in
Zero G AKA Dave Garlands in Bedminster Bristol.
Ahem, here we come with the torrents of abuse from loyal forum devotees (no doubt) :P

redvee

The shop could be one of many in Bristol.

Dave Bater/Garlands bought Bike Tech whrn Caratti Sport had some problems a few years back, who was then bought by Zero G who had also bought Garlands cycles.

I remember years ago posting on BikeBiz, a trade site, about the Caratti building in Aztec West being up for let in the year before they went tits up in the UK.

alfablue

I am not that impressed - good customer service is not about doing things grudgingly and then getting arsey, wouldn't make me want to go back, so what is the point in that behaviour?

STEFANOS4784

Hmmm, maybe you're right, i just re-read op and it says "mention" not recommend, maybe i just got carried awat with my assumptions :oops:

ris

i've found the zero-g shops in downend and bedminster both to be really helpful. the bedminster one in particular were very patient when i turned up to take a cube and a spesh allez 09 for a spin round the block.

grayo59, fair play to you for getting the chain repaired under a goodwil or warranty job. i think i would have just gone and bought a replacement chain to use immediately and a powerlink for the broken one so i had a pair to swap over.

there are a few threads about chain cleaning and maintenance on here, and the bikeradar tech had an article recently about giving an old chain and mech a clean up, but i doubt yours is that bad. i've seen so many conflicting bits of advice that i have no idea what is the 'best' way!

alfablue

I seriously doubt that lack of maintenance caused your chain breakage, unless it got rusty!

ris

alfablue, imagine the level of obsessive chain cleaning would it take to wear a chain out with a toothbrush and finish line! :shock:

unless you bought the bike to clean it and the riding part is just a way to get more cleaning done...