[email hidden] (Michael Pearlman) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:My latest is that Performance told me on a phone order that they had changed
Quoted message said:warehouses and as a result normal shipping would take 10-15 days vice the usual 4-5 days. (And
it hasn't arrived yet, 9 days later.) Of course if I wanted to pay more I could get it earlier.
My irate email to their service folks went unanswered. Might be a long while before I order
there again.
They told me the shipping was slow because of software problems (inet order). My email always got
the same generic response, telling me to include my name/address (even after I included it in ever
email after that)... I got my 2-day order in 6 days. I won't order from them again.
While I dont want to say that I will "never" deal with the larger on line discounters, I have become
convinced that the lowest price that they provide is not always, and in many instances, is not the
best value, be it bicycle components or digital cameras.
Today I purchased a digital camera from a local mom and pop camera store. The price without hagling
was the same as I could get from most of the more reputable on line vendors and yes I did check.
However the degree of service and instruction that I received was way beyond what I would ever think
to get from one of the lowest cost vendors. In short I received a much better value from a local
business, not to mention that the dollars that I spent remain, for the most part, in my community.
During the same week I also purchased a new set of cranks from Zach Kaplan for what I would guess to
be about the same or even perhaps a lower price than what I could have from the mega discounters out
there, had I even been able to locate a set of 165 cranks from them. In addition to the cranks, I
also received valuable information from Zach that helped me determine why my knees were bothering me
and hopefully will keep me on the road and riding.
Again, I won't ever say never, but I will say that whenever possible, smaller specialty retailers
that provide greater service and ultimately greater value than the larger discounters is where my
business will be directed.
Pat Mc
