Giant or Trek? (for service)

Lesser quality bike?????

Where the hell do you get that from??????

And poor service??????

As an former employee at shops that have carried both Giant and Trek, let me tell you by FAR the Trek people were a hell of a lot more of a pain in the azz to deal with!

You know my answer, buy the TCR. Far better bike for the money.

A lot has to do with the local bike shop. I refuse to buy a Trek because the local dealership in Fredericton is absolutely horrid when it comes to service. Hell, last year they wouldn't even talk to me when I was the only person in the shop for 25 minutes. Joke was on them though...I had 2 grand in my pocket to spend on bike stuff...I went and spent it at a bike shop where they were quite willing to relieve me of my cash.

It was so bad that I even wrote a letter to Trek telling them that their local dealer was a very bad representative for their brand but apparently they really don't care that much about customer service or the impression dealers are making on their potential client base.

Either way, when you can't get someone to take your money to purchase an item, I'm going to assume that the customer service once they've got your money is going to be really bad. I'm sure Trek bikes are really nice but no thanks.

PS: I love my Giant and I get great service and I don't get jerked around by the local jackasses flogging for Trek.

I guess my 'lesser quality bike' and 'poor service' notions came from reading feedbacks in this forum. Furthermore, there seems to be some snobery associated with giant bikes from bike riders I know. One even commented 'you don't want to look like a girl in those frames' (that comment came from a girl)

Mind you, the staffs at my local Trek store seems to ask me...'how r u doing today?' followed by 'r u buying a bike today?' and seem disinterested when I reply 'not today but in a couple of weeks!'....then insist I can get one on lay by, talk about pressure!

I guess at the end of the day, at comparable prices...one is a carbon composite and the other is not...so am I crazy for being this indecisiveness?!?

Brunswick_kate said:

A lot has to do with the local bike shop.
Hell, last year they wouldn't even talk to me when I was the only person in the shop for 25 minutes.

some shop owners are that way and it's not just bike shops
was in a gun shop once and the owner was talkin with someone
just shootin the bull
after 10 min and him not even ask if I wanted anything
I just ask him if he was goin to shoot the bull all day or
try and make a sale
I made him pay for makeing me wait
I made an offer on what I wanted that was well below what he had
them priced at, we dickered over the price for a few mins then
I still got them for less 🙂
ended up savin over $50 on a $300 purches

Sales people at any type of retail are totally different no matter where they go.

Not only was I the service manager for the three shops I worked at, I was also one of the chief salesmen.

One of the big things is if the salesmen are on commission or not. One's that are are more likely to be pushy and up-sell you, the one's that aren't will try to get you on the best bike within your range.

I would even typically DOWNsell someone, and get them on something they will actually use, enjoy, and appreciate. Unless someone was totally insistant on getting a higher priced bike, I would usually just get them into exactly what they were really planning to ride. There is no need to sell someone a full Dura-Ace bike when they are just getting into the sport and can really only afford to get a decent 105 equipped bike (same thing with mtn. bike, who needs a full suspension with XTR when the closest off road trail to them is 100 miles away, and they will only be riding the local rail paths on the weekends most of the time).

This almost always ended in a customer who came back for evrything they need because you have treated them with respect, and not raped their wallet. Even the one's who were really wanted the more expensive stuff, but bought what I recommended instead would 99% of the time come back for their tune-ups and thank me for not letting them overspend .......

Now bear in mind, I had NO problem selling $3000 bikes, I just wanted people to get their money's worth!

And that is why on the forums I often rip into people looking to buy a peloton level bike when they really have no need for it. You can always upgrade parts as you deem fit to get better stuff! And with EBay, this is even easier if you don't have a shop hook-up!

Just my worthless opinion ............

Around here, both Trek and Giant dealers seem to offer decent customer service. Of course, this area is generally quite bike friendly (drivers typically give you room, don't yell at you, wide shoulders or at least decent roads), so that may be the case. I have a Giant, and get fine service. But I'm sure that the Trek shop here would be okay too. I guess I can't answer your question, but I'll state the obvious and say that the responses here are for Giant.

:o[font=Arial Black]I know exactly how you feel! I live here in Naples Florida where it is very Expensive! The attitude at all the shops here is if you have to ask how much anything is you can't afford it! Bike shops are no exception! I hate that attitude sickens me! Same thing you can stand there , they look at you like what the------- why are you in here how dare you ask for service! I walk out the door go out of town mostly and wont buy here from theese SNOBS! My family and I could probably buy their whole store out from under them ...but I don't go around acting like a stuck up snob! You treat people with respect! and you get respect back and a lotta business too! my 2 cents Terry S..........😎 [/font]

It seems to me that many LBS's are becoming something like a franchise, not all, but many. Just a few years ago in SoCal, I went to a shop looking for a steel frame. The owner was hell-bent on selling me a Giant. I own an older Giant, and while I find them fine, I WANTED steel. Nothing wrong with expanding one's experience ya know? His attitude turned me off completely. My thoughts were that he must be getting some sort of kickbacks from Giant with regards to units sold?

If I could find something like an "independent" bike shop, they would get ALL of my business.

yes its hard to find unbias opinion these days...wish there r more dealers like Daremo...mind you I did find a cool giant dealer on other side of town...had a fitting done with them...they even recomended me to bring in my trek brochure to make sure I get the right fit. unfortunely I have to go with the one with the massive discount bugger...
Had a test ride on the tcr composite today...it was sweet mind u...not much to compare against...very sensitive...must be the lower center of gravity (well...my [censored] does sound good)

the feedback have been really helpful.... certainly put things in a reality perspective....haven't tested the trek 1500 but I'm on the small side 5'7 so the giant should be cool...i hope

so tmorrow will be the big spending bike day!!!
😄

hi there.

Living in the Cayman Islands, bought Trek1500 3 months ago.... new...love the bike, but HATE trek. If you think we have a lack of customer service on this rock.... try to deal with trek directly.... or oakley for that matter.

Ended up getting the bike through our(local) trek dealer (after trek contacted them to contact me)....what a joke.... ended up assembling the bike myself..... after waiting 3 days for them to unpack the container in their yard.....to hell with them.....as much as i love the bike, i will NEVER buy a trek again..... what happened to customer service?? is it a myth that only exists in fairy tales, but not when you spend your hard earned $$$$$??

well so much for that. other than that the bike is running fantastic. unfortunately we cannot seperate the product from the manufacturers....

good luck in finding the right bike (and service) for you. :eek:

Well, some LBS people are a bunch of [censored]. As a result, I drive to a different state to a shop that has great service. The people are sooo nice. It really just depends on the shop and their employees.. it's worth the extra 45 minutes to drive...

When I bought my road bike, the guy spent all his time with me, talking with me, helping me out with everything, etc. So the overall experience was enjoyable.

I think the problem is most LBS deal with people who know very little about bikes, so I bet if you put your knowledge up front, they will be very eager to help you I would assume.

Understand this.... you can take everyone's opinion here about their LBS service, but what it comes down to is what YOUR LBS service is like... Don't go in with 'bad attitude', give it some time. if you establish a good relationship with the store/employees, you are all set

If you have ONE bad experience, just try a different shop, but to swear off a bike brand after one incident is incredibly stupid

By the way...

I ride a Trek 1500... awesome bike. Excellent bike for the money.

you're putting too much stock into the name painted on the frame of the bike...you're average shop/mechanics will work on anything and do anything you could need...bottom line is a bike's a bike and components(the things which need the most expertise when fixing) are extremely similar.

ey3dea414 said:

you're putting too much stock into the name painted on the frame of the bike...you're average shop/mechanics will work on anything and do anything you could need...bottom line is a bike's a bike and components(the things which need the most expertise when fixing) are extremely similar.

very true indeed...wonder if that goes for the frame?

drifter03 said:

very true indeed...wonder if that goes for the frame?

you guys can consider yourselves very lucky...... try our lbs(national)... it's a hardwear store (not sears) smaller.... lot smaller.... not really what i would consider a lbs..... but hey..... hell at least i can buy a biddon there. (have to wait 25 min for service though). and trek was not helpful at all.... that is all i am saying. i had my correspondence with them after being told by our lbs that a trek 1500 is a fiction of my imagination. (come on guys i have a bigger imagination than that!!! lol). but ended up getting my "imaginary" bike after import taxes, shipping costs and then of course the huge big mark-up from our local paint store.

as for me.... it is my choice to try and live the caribean dream (similar to the american dream...... it's only a dream) and whilst doing that i will enjoy life and my trek.... i will ride that bike hard .... and then some.... just hope aftersales service is good.....dream on... so sorry no 45min ride to a different lbs. will need boat, visas, lots of bananas and more than 45min.

bout the bike. very nice bike. i did find that the 58 frame does have a very long reach to the handlebars. i'm 6'-0". did end up getting a shorter stem. helped the situation slightly. the wheels are awesome.... try our road surfaces.... they get punished, but stay true. the frame is nice and stiff, but cannot tell for sure.. haven't had it up a hill yet. (lol don't have hills on the island). the carbon fork looks a million bucks and does the trick.... did find the saddle extremely uncomfy and changed to a selle italia... way better. the components aren't top of the line, but not bad at all.... i would say if you pay a regular price (not elevated like me) for the bike it is a good buy. you have to realise that it is more a cruising bike than a racer, although it carries itself well as a racer. it's the legs that makes the difference.

as for trek......... well i think you know what i think.......

TrekDedicated said:

I ride a Trek 1500... awesome bike. Excellent bike for the money.

I recently bought one too, I think the same. Can´t wait to put it on the test during my local events.

The only thing I am a little bit concerned is the tires and the wheelset. Did you have any problem so far?

The experience you get from the LBS is most definitely a modifier in anyone's perception of one brand or another. There's no way to avoid that, but I would think that more often than not, the level of service you receive from the people at the shop is independent of the brands they sell.

I've walked into my local shop on random days and have gotten Godlike service and attention on one day, spotty the next and downright no service on yet another occasion, and this is from the same people each time.

People have up days and down days and I try to factor that into every interaction I have with people. Heck, without my Job I would be homeless, but even with that level of importance and responsibility, I still have days where I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying something REALLY abrasive that might lose me my job... So the argument that "They're being paid to be nice and attentive so they should be that way 100% of the time" is more a guideline then a rule 🙂

Maybe they had a really difficult customer a few minutes prior, and they were trying to decompress who knows?

All I know is that if they gave me crappy service every single time I was in there, then it would be a no brainer... But since they are great, most of the time, I figure I'm good to go.

As far as brands of bikes Giant or Trek, I always get prompt courteous replies to all the emails I send to Trek, and even had one Trek Representative go out of her way to send me extra info email when she clearly didn't have to.

I have had no issues with my Trek, and if you think about it, isn't that the best customer service of all? I rode exactly 7 different bikes during the shopping months and some three or four times. All of them were in the 3-4k range and I'm convinced that when you're in that spending range it would be pretty difficult to make a really bad choice quality wise (sizing wise is a different story)

The thing that sold me on my LBS was that the owner said that the Specialized I tried actually fit me slightly better according to the numbers and my fitting on the fit cycle even though the Trek still felt more comfortable to me while riding...

His advice was to play it safe and maximize my enjoyment of cycling while minimizing the chance for discomfort or even injury and go with the Specialized which was more than $1000.00 less... I was convinced that day that the guy was sincere, and even though I ended up getting the Trek, and I've still had "not so great experiences" with their service on rare occasions, I see those as honest guys on a bad day, like I have bad days, and not an indication of overall service or intentions... and even less on the brands they carry.

Oh, and they did mention (the shop people) that all of their brands service were great, and they rarely had problems with any legitimate request or claim...

The general attitude of the LBS is very important, but never let it sway you from the right bike choice, just the right seller choice... Trek and Giant are brands, not sales, that's something to also keep in mind...

Have a good one!

Feanor

Rominger said:

I recently bought one too, I think the same. Can´t wait to put it on the test during my local events.

The only thing I am a little bit concerned is the tires and the wheelset. Did you have any problem so far?

Nope, not at all.