Oh wow that's a lot to go through for a bike!!
Yeah, I don't understand why we had to jump through all the hoops. When we bought DD's bike, we ordered it on a Friday and they told us it would be ready Monday or Tuesday. DH says they said Wednesday at the absolute latest, but I didn't hear them say that. But they would call us when it was ready to pick up. We heard nothing, so we went by the following Friday....a week from when we ordered it, and it was ready. They SAID that something must have gone wrong with the system, because we should have gotten an automated voicemail. At the time, we thought it was odd, but nothing bad. So we waited an extra few days....no biggie, it happens. But now I'm wondering if they were telling the truth. And when we went in to get DS's bike, we picked it out, ordered what we wanted, paid, and left. 15 mins later, we get a phone call that the color we ordered is only available with a cross bar, which we had said we didn't want a cross bar. So, we could get the bike without that cross bar, but only if we did black instead of dark blue, but the black came with leather seats and hand grips, and cost 50 euros more. We said to go ahead and change to the black, and we'd pay the extra when we came to pick it up. Also, biking is a huge mode of transportation over here, and as such, bikes get stolen a lot. So bikes come with a built in lock that you turn the key and push down on a lever and it locks the wheel so it won't move. On a lot of newer models, there's also a hole in that lock for a pin lock, which is just a length of chain with a thick D-ring on one end, and a "pin" (Like what you use for headphones to plug them into a computer or phone, but a lot bigger) and you attach that chain to a bike rack or pole and then stick the pin into that hole so when you pull the key out, the wheel is locked AND it is chained to something immobile so they can't just pick up the whole bike and take it somewhere and take apart the lock. DS's new bike didn't have the pin hole. So we bought one to have them install. His bike also didn't come with the rack on the back where you would attach bike bags, which he needs to put his school bag and gym bag in. So we also ordered one of those to be installed. That's what they claimed came in that day when DH went in on Friday to see if it was done since we had been by and called several times after we were already supposed to have it. They never told us they were waiting on something, which leads me to believe that was just an excuse and wasn't really true. Then, when they promised they'd bring it yesterday, they never called or anything, so DH had to call them to ask when we could expect it, since they closed in 30 minutes and we hadn't heard anything. They said 10 minutes, and then when they brought it, I don't know if DH noticed or they volunteered the information that the lock we had ordered hadn't been installed. Apparently, the tires are wider than standard, and so the lock might not work and we'd have to bring it by today to have it installed. But I'm wondering....if they already tried to install it and it doesn't work, why didn't they call us, and why do they need to try again? If that lock doesn't fit on his bike, shouldn't they just tell us and credit the money back to us? Or find one that DOES work with his bike? The whole thing is just beyond fishy and I don't feel like I can trust a word they say. It just seems like they are using flimsy excuses to buy them time because they just didn't put the bike together when they should have, and they don't want to have to admit they dropped the ball, so they keep inventing issues with delivery, or things not fitting. I can't believe that professionals, trained to do these repairs would not notice those things, or that they wouldn't call when they did realize something wasn't going to work. At the very least, if you tell someone it will be ready a week from the order date, if it doesn't come in, you call the person and tell them there's a delay with shipping and they'll call when they get it in to give a new pick up date. And if, when it DOES come in, a part is missing, you would call to say you got the bike, but not the back bag rack, so you were waiting on that. The fact that they didn't tell us those things were delayed until we came in to see why we hadn't heard anything. If DS's knees weren't touching his elbows when he pedals, I would cancel it and go somewhere else to order a bike, but he's grown so much in the last 2 months that he's in desperate need...he's grown even since we ordered the bike, so we can't wait any longer! I'm just so angry that they have handled it the way they have.
