lickton's gets no more business from me!

walter

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee here: shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton <licktons@voyager.net>

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's

Zoot Katz

On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:25:38 -0700 (PDT), walter
<wamanning@gmail.com> wrote:

>i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
>alot, but whatever.
>
>receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
>turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.
>
>i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
>631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
>customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
>they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
>of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
>ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
>online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
>tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.
>
>their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
>rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
>because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
>
>hmmm...lemme seee here: shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
>bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
>envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
>and it takes me a minute or two.
>
>clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
>if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
>basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
>who knows nothing at all about customer service.
>
>walter
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
>Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
>From: Robert Lickton <licktons@voyager.net>
>
>Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
>actual
>cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
>actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?
>
>Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
>you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
>competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
>won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
>shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
>than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's

Curt + 1
Walther 0

Tell ya what, Walter, go get me a shiney sharp object from your
kitchen drawer. Put it in an envelope. Make sure it's not going to
pierce the packaging. Put my address on the envelope. Now take it to
the post office and pay the postage.

Tell me that you'll do that for a stranger for less than six bucks.
--
zk

Mike Jacoubowsky

>i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
> alot, but whatever.
>
> receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
> turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.
>
> i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
> 631% markup is ludicrous,

It's not a markup, it's a service charge.

My goodness, do you go into a restaraunt and complain that they shouldn't be
charging $6 for a salad that has .50 worth of vegetables or whatever in it?
How is that different?

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"walter" <wamanning@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:624d2fdd-7898-441b-b3b5-06c1b3c7c12b@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
> alot, but whatever.
>
> receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
> turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.
>
> i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
> 631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
> customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
> they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
> of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
> ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
> online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
> tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.
>
> their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
> rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
> because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
>
> hmmm...lemme seee here: shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
> bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
> envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
> and it takes me a minute or two.
>
> clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
> if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
> basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
> who knows nothing at all about customer service.
>
> walter
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
> Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
> From: Robert Lickton <licktons@voyager.net>
>
> Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
> actual
> cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
> actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?
>
> Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
> you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
> competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
> won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
> shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
> than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's

Tom Sherman

Zoot Katz wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:25:38 -0700 (PDT), walter
> <wamanning@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
>> alot, but whatever.
>>
>> receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
>> turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.
>>
>> i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
>> 631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
>> customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
>> they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
>> of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
>> ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
>> online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
>> tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.
>>
>> their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
>> rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
>> because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
>>
>> hmmm...lemme seee here: shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
>> bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
>> envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
>> and it takes me a minute or two.
>>
>> clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
>> if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
>> basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
>> who knows nothing at all about customer service.
>>
>> walter
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
>> Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
>> From: Robert Lickton <licktons@voyager.net>
>>
>> Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
>> actual
>> cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
>> actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?
>>
>> Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
>> you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
>> competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
>> won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
>> shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
>> than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's
>
> Curt + 1
> Walther 0
>
> Tell ya what, Walter, go get me a shiney sharp object from your
> kitchen drawer. Put it in an envelope. Make sure it's not going to
> pierce the packaging. Put my address on the envelope. Now take it to
> the post office and pay the postage.
>
> Tell me that you'll do that for a stranger for less than six bucks.

Having performed lower management, my opinion is that Zoot is correct,
and Walter Manning is off base.

This post will NOT discourage me from ordering from Lickton's.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Tim McNamara

In article
<624d2fdd-7898-441b-b3b5-06c1b3c7c12b@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
walter <wamanning@gmail.com> wrote:

> clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
> if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on
> the basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a
> jackass who knows nothing at all about customer service.

Lickton's is a brick and mortar shop that has been in business for at
least 30+ years, since I first did business with them in 1978 and they
were well-known then. Bob Lickton is notorious cranky and, from a
customer service perspective, that's not a particularly good thing as
you point out. On the other hand, he's managed to be in business for a
long time and to develop a reputation as one of the better shops in the
Chicago area. So he's done something right.

I'm baffled by buying a lock ring by mail order and not just riding down
to the LBS to get one. Unless you only have LBSes with worse customer
service than Lickton's.

As a customer, of course, you certainly have the right to no longer do
business with them if their service was unsatisfactory from your
perspective.

Leo Lichtman

"walter" wrote: (clip) further try to justify that
> because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
> (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lemme guess. They didn't actually say that you were subsidizing Kryptonite
locks. They tried to point out that they have a minimum charge, which
results in less margin for handling on the heavier items (like Kryptonite
locks.)

It would be a good customer relations ploy to have a sub-minimum charge for
items that will fit in a first-class envelope.

frkrygow@gmail.com

On Apr 21, 8:13 pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote:
>
>
> I'm baffled by buying a lock ring by mail order and not just riding down
> to the LBS to get one. Unless you only have LBSes with worse customer
> service than Lickton's.

Could be Walter has already gotten angry at all his local bike shops
because they're not working for free, either.

- Frank Krygowski

SLAVE of THE STATE

On Apr 21, 5:13*pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote:

> As a customer, of course, you certainly have the right to no longer do
> business with them /if/ their service was unsatisfactory from your
> perspective.

... if ...? wtf?

He doesn't have to do business with them for any reason or for no
reason.

BTW, Walt is a cry-baby who has nothing better to do than waste his
time and everyone else's time complaining about some gd sub-$10
purchase that went all wrong. I mean, he could post something about
global warming.

Walt, you wouldn't own a Bianchi, per chance?

ZBicyclist

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
>
> My goodness, do you go into a restaraunt and complain that they
> shouldn't be charging $6 for a salad that has .50 worth of vegetables
> or whatever in it? How is that different?

One hopes the waitress is more attractive than Robert Lickton.

Another example is medicine.

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."

Doctor: "Don't do that."

That will cost you upwards of $50.

Zoot Katz

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:37:09 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
<l.lichtman@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>
>"walter" wrote: (clip) further try to justify that
>> because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
>> (clip)
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Lemme guess. They didn't actually say that you were subsidizing Kryptonite
>locks. They tried to point out that they have a minimum charge, which
>results in less margin for handling on the heavier items (like Kryptonite
>locks.)
>
>It would be a good customer relations ploy to have a sub-minimum charge for
>items that will fit in a first-class envelope.
>
Stickers?
--
zk

Zoot Katz

On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:07:00 -0700 (PDT), frkrygow@gmail.com wrote:

>On Apr 21, 8:13 pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I'm baffled by buying a lock ring by mail order and not just riding down
>> to the LBS to get one. Unless you only have LBSes with worse customer
>> service than Lickton's.
>
>Could be Walter has already gotten angry at all his local bike shops
>because they're not working for free, either.
>
Posting private e-mail without the author's consent is a scummiest of
stupid stunts to start with. In this his case piddling rant
backfired.

I liked the Subject: of Curt's response, "We love you, too, Walter."
--
zk

Bob

On Apr 21, 8:07*pm, SLAVE of THE STATE <gwh...@ti.com> wrote:

> BTW, Walt is a cry-baby who has nothing better to do than waste his
> time and everyone else's time complaining about some gd sub-$10
> purchase that went all wrong. *I mean, he could post something about
> global warming.

I think Walt's offbase but at least he's on topic. Let's see...
rec.bicycles.misc, rec.bicycles.racing, rec.bicycles.marketplace,
rec.bicycles.soc. Nope, not a word about global warming or any other
allegedly impending climate change. There are plenty of offtopic
threads in these NGs without encouraging more.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Leo Lichtman

"Zoot Katz" wrote: Stickers?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I get more of those than I want, free of charge, along the road shoulders.
;-)

I was thinking more in terms of a Campy lock ring.

Bruce Gilbert

"walter" <wamanning@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:624d2fdd-7898-441b-b3b5-06c1b3c7c12b@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
> alot, but whatever.
>
> receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
> turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.
>
> i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
> 631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
> customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
> they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
> of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
> ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
> online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
> tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.
>
> their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
> rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
> because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
>
> hmmm...lemme seee here: shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
> bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
> envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
> and it takes me a minute or two.
>
> clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
> if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
> basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
> who knows nothing at all about customer service.
>
> walter
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
> Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
> From: Robert Lickton <licktons@voyager.net>
>
> Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
> actual
> cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
> actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?
>
> Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
> you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
> competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
> won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
> shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
> than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's

When informing customers about Shipping & Handling we often have a similar
problem, arise. We have a $5 minimum deal. I figured our worst case
scenario: only one item to get to the post office, with one small item in
the bag. If we send someone to do the post office run, it will probably take
45 minutes. The postage may only be a dollar, but what will it cost you for
the employee to drive up there, stand in line and then return? Many times we
actually have been called back by customers complaining about paying our $5
minimum when the actual postage on the package was over $6. My wife and I
sometimes have to sit back and laugh...

Lately though, the gas prices have sharply reduced the shipping costs
complaints.

Bruce