All I saw a few months ago were people getting frustrated with the lack of Emails being answered and
you having been on the News Group daily announcing and then defending your product...I thought it
great having a Manufacturer being sooo open and responsive on this NG and I think everyone else was
happy as all heck you gave soo much of your time to answer questions....then you stopped showing up
and there was this deafening silence on your end. When people are faced with a non-responsive
business, they get anxious and this leads to frustration and the frustration leaks out all over the
place. You have to also understand that several companies making bents and bent accessories went
Glug and took customers $$ with them....so Not being (as) available as you were a few months ago
probably made these people more nervous.
I (personally) would send out an Email to all my customers (on the day I 1st realized) there was
going to be a shipping delay. Keeping your customers well informed keeps them calmer and makes them
feel they are involved. Shutting customers out just makes them feel uneasy.
I also noticed that the 1st time you addressed all these Negative posts came Only after one person
used the evil term (Court Action). It would have been better to start answering people long before
this evil term appeared. It implies that you (only) react when the term Court Action appears and
that ALL the earlier posts (asking for answers) were being ignored. Perhaps the timing of your reply
today (after) the term appeared was merely a coincidence...don't know but I hope not.
All these negative posts most likely damaged to your company and your own reputation. I myself
backed away from ordering some tires after reading all the unhappy customers venting their
frustration on this NG.... But I also had trouble deciding whether to buy Velocity or CR-18 rims and
till I figured that one out...no tires got ordered.
You will have to do some major damage control and EARN back the customers you lost and restore your
good name....it may take a while, but it will be worth it. Getting your wagons in a circle and
firing back at lost customers is not the best way to go right now...it takes up too much time. Best
route is to produce the best damn Air Free Tires you can and THAT will make you and your company
real popular, real fast. Again though, as you point out, when people in the future go looking for
info on your company via search engines they may see all these negative posts and shy away from your
company...which is unfortunate but that issue is now in the past since you have reappeared and
explained your situation.
People do understand that businesses have problems and can be fairly sympathetic...(when you keep
them informed). When you shut your customers out...they start to think they have been $$ screwed and
they panic.
Oh Yeah As for saying Peter (RANS Rocket), should issue a retraction and Grovel, this of course is
up to Peter if he does so or not. I personally would NEVER make such a request of a customer (who)
did have enough faith in your company and in you to have made the original purchase. Calling Peter
out this way on a public Forum rubs me the wrong way.
Anyway...hope everything gets smoothed out for you and your business and keep Lurking here Hugh as
it will be far better if you address customer concerns here and via Off List Emails (when) they
1st happen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
"Hugh waters" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The gentleman who started this thread was refunded on the 16th. He made a request to cancel his
> order on Jan 30th. On the Feb 1 Air Free replied and said that Air Free would perform a chargeback
> and did so on its regularly scheduled day to issue refunds.
>
> Peter (Rans Rocket) needs to check his records and issue a retraction and
an
> apology to me and Air Free.
>
> I noticed the threads got very long about the Open Road tires before
anyone
> actually called me. Prediciting the death of a business or speculation without knowing the reality
> doesn't reflect well upon the fine folks I
have
> met here and these posts are indexed by the search engines so what is written here will be around
> for a very long time. My name "Hugh Waters"
has
> been bantered about with very little knowledge of the truth and I find
that
> to be an irresponsible use of this technology and it has the possibility
to
> hurt my name and the business for which I am not the only principle.
>
> Several recent posts in my defense are the kind of things that can really make a person feel good.
> To know that in your dealings with people that
you
> have left a positive impression on them, so much to the point that even though they are almost
> complete strangers, will jump to defend you is a feeling that almost can't be described. To those
> I say Bravo, but if the curiously truth and knowledge deprived posts had never occured in the
first
> place....
>
> Official Air Free Statement "A few customers were billed for Open Road tires they ordered. These
orders
> occurred between Dec 1 and Dec 20. Refunds have been made to all these customers who indicated
> that they wanted to do such. Our inability to deliver the product came from a material
> substitution we had not approved
so
> we asked that product not be shipped. Since the material substitution was
a
> breach of contract we became free to explore other manufacturing possibilites. New manufacturing
> has become a reality and soon Air Free
will
> be in a position to make a more lucid statement."
>
> Oh yes, I'm gonna make some tires. I have nothing else to do and
apparently
> I now have soemthing to prove.
>
> Hugh
>
>
>
>
> "Melisa Johns" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
>
news:[email protected]...
> > You purchased on a Visa card and the product was not delivered. Here in
> the
> > US, you call the card issuer and have the charge taken off.
> >
> > Is it different where you live?
> >
> >
> > "trikefast" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > >
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > At the urging of my friend Alex who lurks in this group, I would like
to
> > > relay my problems in dealing with Airfree Tire Corp.
> > >
> > > In early December I ordered a pair of 'openroad' tires. I was told
that
> > they
> > > would be sent within a day or so. My visa card was charged at that
time.
> > > After waiting almost three months, I emailed Hugh at Airfree and
> requested
> > > a refund. He said he would send it right away. Now four months after
the
> > > original order I have no tires, no refund, and I get no responses to
my
> > > repeated emails to Airfree.
> > >
> > > If I lived in the US I would consider small claims court. As it is, I
> can
> > > only warn others about my experience, and suspect that I will not see
my
> > > money again.
> > >
> > > Peter (Rans Rocket)
> > >
> > > P.S. Please do not suggest I call Airfree rather than email -
> neurological
> > > damage following a bike accident makes speaking on the phone almost impossible.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
