Up until now I’ve had nothing but good to say about Canyon. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve employed Dave Hinde in their customer service department.
Long story short, my frame is cracked and they have the bike. I offered to strip it and just return the frame but they insisted on seeing the whole bike. Have now been told it will be a month from them being notified of the crack to making an ‘assessment’ (I sent them photos on day 1), and no info on when I’ll get it back after that. When I said that this was unacceptable, that I was going on a biking holiday and that I would be seeking compensation to cover the cost of hiring a bike, this is the reply I got:

Nowhere in our terms we offer an express service neither you have asked for a lead time. The
Factory works according to first in first out. Your bike is scheduled as all other bikes form our customers.

We will not cover any costs or pay compensation as there is no law which says that we have to return your bike in a specific time frame. Please check our terms before you start threatening us with unreasonable comments.

Yes, the frame has a crack, this can happen and that’s why we have warranty terms.

So they’ve accepted the frame is cracked, OK, they won’t pay compensation, fair enough. It’s the ‘no law which says that we have to return your bike in a specific time frame’ and last offhand ‘our frames break, so what?’ comment that worry me, and I’m more than a bit angry at being accused of making unreasonable and threatening comments.

I’ve complained to Canyon head office and guess what? No reply.

So unfortunately, as good as the bike is, I wouldn’t recommend a Canyon to anyone if this is the way they deal with customers.

tweet/FB to their MD etc?

Any warranty is meaningless if matters aren’t dealt with in a reasonable time – though that may cover this.

Maybe your Lbs might be able to help you out!;-)

I think with it being mail order you should be looking @ around 3 months and I don’t think its unreasonable they want to set the whole bike, condition/setup IMHO

Canyon owner of 3 years and only complaint is the expensive rear hangers !

Without wanting to sound unsympathetic, why should Canyon prioritise your warranty return over someone else? They clearly have a system in place for good reason (we don’t know the full breakdowns of how their processes work so it would be wrong to make a judgement on this without all facts).

Asking for the whole bike back makes sense – the overall condition of things like wheels, shocks etc will be telling as to whether the bike has been abused.

As hard as this is, they’ve not done anything wrong.

And for the love of god, I wish consumers would stop thinking they are entitled to “compensation” – I deal with stuff like that every day and very few things annoy me more.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to see the whole bike either. The bike’s only a year old and the only non standard bits are the bars and a hope BB as the truvativ one packed up after 4 months.
I’m surprised at how out of kilter the response was with my emails. I said the timescale was unacceptable to me, that I would seek compensation and that I wasn’t happy. It really was no more threatening and unreasonable than that. He only had to say ‘we don’t offer compensation’. It’s the accusations of being threatening and unreasonable that get my back up, and the fact they won’t give me an indication of when I’ll get it back. If I took that attitude with customers in my industry then I’d be out of a job sharpish.

Rocky Mountain took 3 months for each of my mates RM7 frames that cracked. When I had a problem with a fame Cannondale took 6 weeks to sort it out.

They have admitted the frame has cracked and they deal with first in first out policy. Yes, the OP needs it for his holiday but is it fair someone else warranty claim has to be pushed back so the OP can have his for his holiday?

Surprise/surprise andyrm pops up with his underpants on the outside of his trousers on a customer service thread. 🙄

Yes, the frame has a crack, this can happen and that’s why we have warranty terms.

is not the same as

last offhand ‘our frames break, so what?’

Structural materials can fail. Especially cheaply mass produced items that are subject to dynamic loading. Not all flaws in the welds and material will be picked up by their QC, so they cover that with a warranty.

They’re going to fix your bike. Dry your eyes.

I haven’t asked for someone else’s to be pushed back, but have said that I consider the timeframe to be unacceptable – they’ve acknowledged it’s cracked and already said the frame would be replaced under warranty in a previous email(hence me offering to strip the frame for a quick turnaround). I made a speculative punt at asking for compensation, they just had to say no. But it’s going a bit far to accuse me of being threatening and unreasonable, the whole point of a customer service department is to deal with customers in a professional manner.

Harsh audience this morning.

Hangovers…or no sex last night?

You would get exactly the same response from most manufacturers….only in slightly more flowery language (unless it was On One in which case it’d be exactly the same). A lot of places would also charge you for postage and rebuilding the bike with a new frame as these are also not covered under the warranty.
Remember English is probably not the authors first language and I suspect there’s quite a lot been lost in translation.
Yes it’s a pain in the arse.Yes it’s bad timing.No it’s not your fault.Neither is it ideal for them.
Sh1t happens……it’s how YOU deal with that counts.
Alternatively,that’s what you get for buying off krauts you cheapskate ;0P

Al,,I don’t drink…..but then again I hav’nt had sex for 4 years.

Both

patriotpro – Member
Surprise/surprise andyrm pops up with his underpants on the outside of his trousers on a customer service thread.

Honestly he sounds like he knows his stuff and it makes sense.

and

When I said that this was unacceptable, that I was going on a biking holiday and that I would be seeking compensation to cover the cost of hiring a bike,

becomes

I made a speculative punt at asking for compensation, they just had to say no.

They’re a direct seller of “cheap” bikes, lightening fast customer service outside of the sales channel is not part of the business modwl

Wht mike said

That was a demand for compensation.

OP I think you’re over-reacting a little bit to the language they’ve used. It is annoying having to wait but I guess their business model means they have to cut corners somewhere and it seems with most manufacturers you have to wait a fair while for warranty claims.

Honestly he sounds like he knows his stuff and it makes sense.
and

It is absolutely guaranteed that whatever the scenario he will side with the manufacturer/business and say that the consumer is in the wrong though.

Surprise/surprise andyrm pops up with his underpants on the outside of his trousers on a customer service thread.

Calm down dear.

It is absolutely guaranteed that whatever the scenario he will side with the manufacturer/business and say that the consumer is in the wrong though.

Not at all. Just that companies have rights too, the customer is definitely not always right, and that there’s something a bit distasteful about going online, badmouthing a company’s “poor” service before they have even had opportunity to see the process through to it’s conclusion.

See it on here and on the internet in general – and on emails I receive, always along the lines of “give me what I want, even if it is beyond what I am entitled to, or I will try and damage your brand reputation online”. That’s not right.

If a company has genuinely been in the wrong then of course it should be put right. But in this instance, Canyon are not in the wrong. They’ve outlined their returns process, outlined the “one in one out” system and that they don’t bump customers ahead (which is fair, imagine your warranty claim got bumped for someone else and how p*ssed off you’d be), and how they (quite rightly) don’t offer compensation, as per their terms of sale which are accepted at point of purchase.

Maybe they could have dressed it up in some more flowery language, but they are European.

Sounds to me like they have a backlog of warranty claims…….not encouraging,

I complained to Canyon about the length of time it would take to look at my bike. The words I used to ask for compensation were ” I will be seeking compensation if I have to hire a bike for this holiday “. Look at it as a demand or a request, however you want, but it’s not threatening.
That wasn’t the point I was making on here. My compaint is the fact they won’t tell me how long the process will take and that they’ve accused me of making threats. And it’s the UK service centre, so the language thing shouldn’t matter. A bit of flowery language doesn’t hurt.
You’re right though, shouldn’t have been such a cheapskate. Doesn’t mean to say I’ll buy off any of my LBS’s next time as one of the reasons why I bought direct was the shops near me aren’t great.

You know what they say about buying cheap.
I had a warranty claim on my Specialized Epic.
7 from finding the problem I had a new bike. All done through my LBS.

I’d have asked the question like this:

“I’m going on a riding holiday next week/month/whenever and was really hoping to have my bike rather than hiring one – what can you do to help me? Have you got a loan/demo bike or similar you could sort me out with?”

Over many years as a consumer and as a service provider, I’ve found the best responses come when problems are approached with “I hope you can help me…..” in a friendly way, rather than “I know my rights”. One appeals to a human side, one appeals to a rule book and results in things being done by the book.

Love these threads, mountain biker spends thousands on a bike that breaks then cries and stamps feet when the company wont deal with the issue immediately or ‘compensate’ him for having to hire a bike on his cycling holiday.
Boo-hoo….first world problems and all that.
Canyon must shift thousands of bikes, some will be damaged in transit or crack after some use due to small manufacturing defects, they have said they will replace under warranty….when dealing with an internet only manufacturer this is about as good as things get.

The inability to walk into a shop and complain face to face is the price you pay for getting such a good deal in the first place, its something the LBS cant complete with….let me say i’m not against the direct sale model, i’ve just used Ribble’s online bike-builder to spec and buy my new road bike and will be using YT-Industries or Canyon for my next full suspension mountain bike….but i’m well aware that a warranty issue with these companies can turn into a long drawn out process.

If you want to see truly shocking customer service, work in the auto trade, try getting BMW to show any interest in one of their ‘ultimate driving machines’ when it breaks….even in the warranty period!

Rorschach – Member
Al,,I don’t drink…..but then again I hav’nt had sex for 4 years.

Explains a lot 😛

Looks like there are a lot of fans of the Canyon customer service model on here. I might have done them a favour!

send some photo’s of a bike with some unusual wear on the chainstay pivot to hotlines earlier in the week and a new frame was on its way the same day.

I would be very interested to see the email that prompted that reply…

its always difficult to judge after only hearing half the story, of course!

Though I do think that asking to see the whole bike etc. is fair, I do think that the timeframe given to inspect it is unreasonable – but again, half a story, if they’ve actually said ‘could be up to X weeks’ but that might be a worse case scenario and it normally only takes a week, and I think the comment ‘be a month from them being notified of the crack to making an ‘assessment’ Sounds a little odd – how much of that delay has been the customer rather than the company, as I get the impression the argument been going back and forth for a while already…

Just saying like!

FWIW, I know they have changed their UK setup recently, this may well have been for the worse, but I’d really like to see the whole story before writing them off!

Seeing the whole bike is reasonable at your local bike shop. Askin for it to e posted back is not. Say my frame broke- id transfer bits to another frame i have lyin about…..

What if its not the original bits either ?

Never have i been asked to send a whole bike back. Inc warrentys for giant – scott – merida- trek- gary fisher

Usually hack the bb out the frame and post it back is enough. If its a strange breakage they sometimes asked for the frame.

if they’ve actually said ‘could be up to X weeks’ but that might be a worse case scenario and it normally only takes a week

I’d imagine it’s this – sadly consumers take an “indication” as a “promise” so you have to manage expectations to protect yourself as a business. The amount of times I have to put in the most ridiculous disclaimers to ensure a customer doesn’t try and use it as leverage if I’m unsuccessful is unreal. Last week there was one “I’ll do everything I possibly can, but it is important to note that this is me doing what I can to help and in no way does this form a promise, guarantee or indication that the outcome will be the one you are looking for”. Been caught out in the past trying to help and then having it used against me, so would imagine Canyon are just doing the same and quoting max timeline so no complaints are justified if it’s not within a shorter timeframe.

3 months is a joke. In reality, its 3-5 days delivery, then 2.5 months sat in a warehouse in a box because their claims department isn’t big enough to cope with the volume. My specialized cracked and a new frame, with new headset, seat post and seat clamp was back in the bike shop, built up in two weeks. You sorta get what you pay for with these direct buy bikes in my opinion. If it was from an lbs you could at least go in there and complain, plus the lbs would be more interested in keeping you sweet for future purchases

how much of that delay has been the customer rather than the company, as I get the impression the argument been going back and forth for a while already…

I notified them (with Photos) on a Monday morning. On the Tuesday, they emailed back asking for photos. I sent them again on the Tuesday. On the Wednesday they said they would send the photos to Germany. On the Thursday they said they wanted the complete bike back, I offered to strip the components, they said no, whole bike please. The bike went via UPS on the Monday and was with them on the Wednesday. On the Friday I asked when they would be fixing it, then they said they would assess it in two weeks time. So a month in total, bar 2 days.
UPS were great though, would use them again no argument!

3 months seems a heck of a long time to me. Unless they are getting a lot of bikes back under warranty.

You can’t start the process from notification of a potential fault – it has to be from receipt of the returned bike. If the bike arrived in a massive logistics centre (have you seen the size of Canyon’s place?), then a 36-48 hour “booking in” process at the goods received dock and then notification the relevant department is about right (I deal with deliveries and logistics centres every day across several industries – this is an entirely realistic timeframe), so to notify on the Friday that you’re then in the warranty inspection queue and advise a 2 week timeline is pretty reasonable.

Buy another bike and sell the canyon when it comes back. I wouldn’t want to be dealing with their warranty dept again.
I’m a fan of the direct sales model, but it won’t work with service like that and this isn’t the first bad experience with canyon I’ve heard of.
I don’t think you’re entitled to anything by way of compensation, but over a month with no word simply is not good enough. Lots of people standing up for the big multi national, rather than the consumer. Surprised.

Even if I had enough other bike(s) to use in the meantime I’d be pretty pissed off if a manufacturer took the entire bike away for over a month for a frame failure. As T_R suggests, the parts from the frame could likely be put to constructive use.

If that’s their typical level of commitment to product/customer support, it’s insufficiently resourced.

If I was the OP I’d not buy from them again and I’d tell people that

I wonder what canyon would say to a potential buyer who asked what the warranty turnaround timescale was ?

Canyon are just doing the same and quoting max timeline so no complaints are justified if it’s not within a shorter timeframe.

This is part of my problem – they haven’t quoted ANY timeline! The line

there is no law which says that we have to return your bike in a specific time frame.

is a big part of what bothers me – how long could they keep it? If they said they were fixing it after a month I’d be OK with this, even though I haven’t got it for my holiday, but this is the assessment only. How long is the lead time before repair?

I work in an industry where Customer rejections/complaints are dealt with on a fast track basis and serviced before fresh customer orders, as the existing customer has already paid for their product, where the fresh orders haven’t. I certainly would reply to a customer in the tone used by Canyon, you can call the language flowery if you want but I’d call it professional.

Please check our terms before you start threatening us with unreasonable comments.

Oh yes, the customer’s being unreasonable after being asked to wait a month for a yes or no, then an unspecified amount of further time? Complete joke. These companies should remember that the reason why the customer is having to deal with this shit in the first place is because their product failed. If I treated my customers in that way I’d be out of business sharpish.

Have you spoken to them (with your mouth, not electronically)?
I find I get good information this way.
Slagging people off online is not always the best way to get the bast service.

This waiting time to deal with warranty issues would put me off buying a Canyon I think, up until now I would had of looked in their direction if looking for a new bike.

As has been well documented on here, they don’t answer the phone (though I have tried many times). email is the best way to get a response. However, since the stroppy reply, my emails requesting a timescale for repair and return have been ignored. I don’t expect the service to improve by posting on here, I also don’t think I’m ‘slagging them off’ – Their email speaks for itself. You have to question whether this would be the tone they would take if speaking with a customer face to face?

You’re asking them to be all sweet and polite, yet you’ve charged in with demands of compensarion if it doesn’t get fixed within your required timescale. It was in fact a very professional response, completely formal and laying out the commercial terms of the deal to which you implicitly agreed when you bought the bike. Not exactly a customer service focussed approach, but still professional.

You need to build a relationship and that is more difficult using written media and especially by the sound of the response from a speaker of a differenr native language.