Kristy Kelly: The Monster Bike Saga Continues
After a decade in call centers, nothing makes me turn into the stereotypical entitled, middle-aged, woman quite like a bad customer service experience. Last month, my youngest son was involved in an accident while riding the monster bike. Apparently, a red pickup truck side swiped him, sending him and the bike over a curb. He’s fine, the bike is banged up, but fine, so he goes home.
Let me say that once more. My son was hit by a truck, while riding the monster bike. The truck drives off. Does my son call the police? No. He goes home.
I only got the bike in October, so I knew it was still under warranty. As one does when they purchase something with a warranty, I reached out to the monster bike company, otherwise known as Qlife Bike. The only real piece of damage on the bike is the handlebar stem. I’m not entirely sure what the actual piece is called because Qlife Bike has subpar, underwhelming customer service. First I try to go to their website to simply purchase the replacement part. This item must be some industry trade secret because it's NO where to be found.
Checking my usual money wasting haunts like Amazon and Walmart, I quickly realize that one cannot simply purchase a handlebar stem until they have joined some secret society of elbow rubbing eTrike snobs before the part magically appears in a shopping cart. After multiple unsuccessful attempts, I knew what must be done. I sent the email to Qlife Bike. My only ask was to tell me where to purchase the handlebar stem, and how much it will cost. I didn’t even ask to use the warranty that came with the bike.
This is when it gets weird. After initial contact, they requested pictures of the part I was talking about, then a week goes by and I send a follow up email, and they ask for the order number. I sent that in the original email, but whatever, I sent it again. Then a week goes by with no response and I send a follow up again. They ask me what is wrong with the bike. After resending pictures, and the order receipt again, I was certain I would finally get an actual item to order, purchase, and move on with my life.
Then came the email I got this morning. We are now a month into this one customer service experience.
“Dear Kristy, Thank you for your patience, and I sincerely apologize for the delayed response. I understand the inconvenience this may have caused. Due to our warehouse conducting its annual inventory count, there has been some delay in processing. We appreciate your understanding during this time. Once we have any updates, we will be sure to reach out to you promptly. Thank you again for your understanding.”
And now, because Qlife Bike has made it difficult to purchase a replacement piece for the electric Trike I bought in October, under warranty, I now have an $1199 coatrack in my living room, unable to be ridden.
Considering their only form of customer service is through email, which I have found to be ineffective, I’m going to make a video a day, tagging the company, until they can tell me where to purchase the handlebar stem I need to make the monster bike ridable again.
Stay tuned for updates on my monster bike fight!
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