I found a dent in my new bike :-(

i can suck a gooseberry through a pinhole…i’ll take it….

So at the end of the day, the retailer / distributor / brand owner has inspected the frame first hand (unlike anyone else on here), have declared it safe and given you free stuff (probably, if it turns up). So if it does break the warranty will kick in and you’ll get what ever the warranty entitles you too. Pretty good end result if you ask me.

Well Steve to give CRC thier due and to be fair to them, that appears to have happened, yes.

However, the gripe I have is that they made the “safe” statement and an offered for two budget tyres, I countered and asked for a written statement to acknowledge honour of the warranty all things considered and asked for some tyres I actually would use (ralphs or rons). After emailing that request, I heard nothing.

Then when I phoned customer services to complain (at 4pm yesterday) I’m informed that its been posted to me and will arrive Tuesday. Even after some periods of being on hold, the Customer Services rep was unable to tell me whats in the box, so as per my post a few posts up I’ve no idea what I’m recieving.

She also stated she would email the Tracking link so I could follow for delivery with confirmation of what the box contains – I’ve recieved nothing so far.

Elsewhere amongst friends I have been reminded that perhaps my expectation of CRC is too high specifically based on the reflection of the value of my purchase vs the overall CRC business.

Maybe they’re right and I should be grateful to CRC for the service they’ve provided

This is the thing with free – goodwill gesture – gift type things. You don’t really get to choose as they’re free – goodwill gesture- gift type of things.

do you really think anyone at crc knows anything about composites, let alone enough to declare it safe? The only “benefit” of them looking at it is that the warranty is still good. I’d not give their assessment of the carbon any greater weighting than the folks on here. Or Doris on accounts.

The only “benefit” of them looking at it is that the warranty is still good

A point I was happy to accept from the start as I had posted. If it breaks there I get a new one, I’m not concerned with the cosmetic issue.

I thought I’d just update this in CRC’s favor as it does appear a little negative toward them. In the end the frame was returned to me with a written acknoeldgement that the warranty would be honoured, and a reminder that the Vitus Warranty against defects on the frame & fork is 5 years.

CRC also returned it with 2 X top of the range Schwalbe tyres and tubes of my choosing FOC for the inconvienience. So to be fair to them, they paid all postage, sorted out collection & delivery and I got some freebies – remembering of course I’d already bought this at significant discount.

My frustrations then were perhaps borne of the fact that I’d found a problem with a new bike and thier communications weren’t as instant as my expectations.

Since then I’ve raced the bike, significantly at Torq in your sleep for six hours where it took a battering as I got tired and sat down in the wrong places, with no issues. But then, if it breaks in the next five years I’ll get a new one – a period within which a race bike probably exceeds its useful life as a race bike albeit via upgrade or damage.

I remain happy with it – it’s quick, comfortable and handles well and definately suits it’s intended use. Thankyou CRC for helping me out with the issue.

So a good result hampered by poor comms.

Its this lack of ownership that lets companies done.