Baja Designs Customer Services - Sucks!

[Tom_Vervaeke]

Hello:

Listed below is an email I just sent back to Baja Designs. They sent me a wrong part for my 02 WR426 (WC Frame Guards) and won't work with me to get the correct ones. The issue is that I mounted the left side one (it fit) before attempting the right side piece which does not fit as they sent me the YZ parts. They admitted they goofed but won't do anything for me.

In the past these guys have pissed off a bunch of my riding buddies with the same sort of petty bull****. I should have learned. So, consider the email below my venting.

I spent about $450 there over the holidays on a new skid plate, frame guards, 4.0 IMS tank, a few tools, and spare cables and such. All of this was fine except for the WC guards. Since almost all of the stuff they sell is the same that everyone else sells (except their dual sport kits which I don't need/use) I can get the same stuff from 10 other online places.

Not sure if others here have had the same problems.

There, I feel better.

---------------------

Guys:

You know, I should have learned. In the past I and others have had problems getting good customer service from you guys. But, I bought a new bike, placed 3 new orders with you guys. Had

one problem with one part. Called yesterday, 1/24, spoke to Jason (not sure of name) who took all my info, promised to call me back in 10 minutes to resolve it, and no one called. I have a busy job and I literally sat by my phone for 2 hours waiting for a call back. It's now been 24 hours.

I just called back, was told that "the boss" wasn't going to resolve the situation to my requirements, and that he would work on it a bit more and he would "get back to me today". Yeah right. What ever happened to a promise? Your person promised to call me back with a resolution. I even proposed several ideas to him.

Guess what? I will no longer do business with you. Except for your dual sport kits (which I don't use) almost every other single thing

you sell I can get from another vendor. I came to you out of convenience to me. It didn't work out.

I now have a set of $54 Works Connection frame guards that don't fit because YOU sent me the wrong ones. Not my fault. You even read my order correctly and admitted sending me the wrong part.

I should have listened to my buddies who all told me that you guys would not be there if there was a problem.

They were right. I will vote with my wallet and take my purchases to other online and local shops. I just dropped about $2K on new stuff for my 02 WR426, of which you guys got around $500 of that business. No more.

I will post this email to the Thumper Talk WR forum as well as DirtRider.net in the next few days. Along with several other MC email lists that I am on. Despite your "we're sorry for the

past poor service" on your web page, I don't see any difference.

Good Bye,

Tom Vervaeke

[mcarp]

That stinks...

On the bright side, MX-South has treated me well. You can even haggle with them on prices (find a competitor offering the same product and they will match/beat price).

It's hard to find quality service anymore...

here's some places that seem to have good service:

MX-South

Dennis Kirk, as long as you don't order anything on backorder (because you'll never get it)

MX-Tech

Trail tech

Rocky Mountain ATV

Dirt-deals.com

[MOmilkman]

mcarp,

Dont forget Hooters!!! They have great service.

Sorry to hear your problem Tom. I know exactly how you feel. I had the same problem with WestWood International (advertiser in Dirt Bike) and I eventually had to send them a stinky letter too. Nothing ever came of it and apparently they just dont care. They figure you are just one guy and what difference can you make?

You sound like a very responsible, even-tempered guy. Kudos for standing up for yourself and warning us of the perils of bad Customer Service.

Heck, after all isnt Customer Service what great businesses are built upon!

[FroggerXCF]

I hear you Tom. I ordered three things the last, (and final) time I ordered. Two of those things did not fit on my bike either. I called, complained, got nowhere, and now do my biz elsewhere. They had their chance!

Try Bobs for solid prices, good customer service, and dependable shipping. Plus, they stock just about everything you need.

Bobs Cycle

[Tom_Vervaeke]

Guys:

I just called Works Connection directly. They found a right side piece for my bike that had a slight stain on it. They're shipping it free via UPS to my house and all I have to do is return my YZ piece to them. Now THAT is customer service. They were not even the cause of the problem but they're going out of their way to satisfy me.

Hey, I'm going to return their part AND put a check in there to cover their postage to me.

Anyway, this makes my day.

Tom

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: Tom Vervaeke ]

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: Tom Vervaeke ]

[YAMAKAZE]

I found out that Baja Designs Customer Service SUCKS a very long time ago. I wouldn't give those idiots or their STUPIDVISORS the roost off my back tire!

This is one company I will Boycott forever.....

Believe it or not ...there is strength in numbers..

Bonzai ?

[Dan_Lorenze]

Tom, im glad that WC took care of you. I use their frame gurards and they are great. Im sorry to hear about your dealings with Baja-Designs was a bad expierence. My dad recently bought an HID unit from them and they were so helpful, he praised them for all of their assistance. They spent alot of time with him making sure that he was absolutly satisfied. I've dealt with them with similar results. It too bad that they dropped the ball with your order.

It's funny that this subject came up, I was just telling my good friend "DL" how lame I thought that the motorcycle industry was when it came to business. In my industry (Television) I have no other option than to make the customer happy NO EXCUSES!!!! I can't not call someone back. I would lose my job fast. It almost seems as though the motorcycle industry is behind the times when it comes to taking care of the customer. You would think that they would love to sell you stuff as well as take care of you.

I feel so lucky to have a local dealer that I love to deal with. They can always beat every deal on every part that's out there. Is there a local dealer that is sharp and wants your business in your area? That's the best case senario. Best of luck!!!

[bonez34]

your dad got good help because he spent $500 on one light bulb, that's why. i'm sure they don't sell a lot of those and i'm sure they don't want him to mess it up and have to replace it at that cost. i had good service from them but i haven't had to send anything back.....yet!

[mdek]

I must say that I just had to make a return on a headlamp out of a dual sport kit that was the wrong color and I found them very helpfull

Mark

[Tom_Vervaeke]

Guys:

I'm the original poster and I have another update. I just got home from work and the phone rang. It was Baja Designs (Jay). They apparently got my email and that email worked its way through their system and back to Jay who was helping me with my problem.

My impression now is:

- They really were trying to solve my problem after I initially called them.

- They do care about customer service. Sure, I could be cynical and say they only care because I was upset enough to write an email that got someone's attention, but I honestly feel that they do care. Jay and I talked for about 15 minutes on the things that BD is doing to improve service (new building, new location, new computer system, more folks, etc..).

- Jay was upset that I didn't give him more time prior to sending an email off to them.

So, I have to admit that they have convinced me that they are TRYING to make a difference. In my case I was still an unhappy customer who found his own solution, but I do think they are TRYING to solve their customer service problems. I did point out that in my original post that I ordered about 10 things and only 1 had an issue.

However, with all of that being said:

- I did still solve my own problem.

- I did have to make several phone calls to BD and then WC to do this, not all were toll free.

- Jay did not call me back initially when he told me he would. He admits he was "swamped". That may be, but if I tell my customers at my job that I will do X in Y time then I try to do it. If he could not solve my problem he could have called me back and said "Hey, I'm still working on it" to set my expectations.

So, no, I never did ask and they didn't offer what they were going to do to solve my issue as I told Jay upfront that I had called WC and solved it myself. No, they didn't give me any free stuff or promise me x% off my next order (I thought they might). And, I'm not 100% sure they are going to correct their e-commerce online ordering system to ensure the next person with a WR doesn't get the YZ part.

Jay told me he tried my office, my cell, and then my home (my .sig line in my email to them lists all my phone numbers). Sure enough, I checked my work and cell voice mails and they had left messages.

So, I'm going to change my wording of their service from "I think they suck" to "I think they are trying but could still use some improvements".

This only seems fair.

Tom

[MOmilkman]

I have also thought Works Connection was great with their customer service. I had the aluminum piece that holds the top of the left frame guard strip out on me.

Called them and they had a new one out the door the next day postage paid.

Now that kind of service right there alone gets my business next time I buy another bike and need to deck itout with off-road protection.

Tom, Im glad they finally seen the light. Or mabye they caught a glimpse of this post? Eh?

[John_H]

Tom,

I feel your pain. I have two dishplayers from Dish Network and both have major problems. All their dishplayers do and they know it. At least they admitted it in a recent email. I may have dismantled one of those units the other night in frustration (but I'll never admit to it).

A while back my brother became enraged with a track ball for his computer. He smashed it to bits and sent it to the company (Logitec). He told them it worked as well smashed as it did when it was new. They actually sent him a new one and an apology.

Some businesses definitely have better customer service policies than others. Mostly, however, I think it depends on who you talk to and thier own level of integrity.

[Tree_Crippler]

I called Baja after I blew out a brake switch and had a new one within a week. After riding a National Dual Sport my handlebar light switch was shorting out. They hooked me up with a new one. I never had any problems. Maybe you hit a bad week or something.

[Tom_Vervaeke]

Guys:

I forgot to mention in my second update that when Jay (it's actually Jake) called me he clearly stated that management was most concerned about my possible posting to TT and/or dirtrider.net. They obviously know about the power of the internet and the power of good and bad publicity.

This is one of the reasons I wanted to send a few updates as things occured. With the large audience here its very important that we be fair with our postings. Both good and bad.

Since speaking with Jake, I got an email from a Greg at Baja Designs. I'm not sure he understood the problem at all and was blaming the problem on quality control at WC. Here is a quote from Greg's email:

"I called Works Connection myself and they said the part number we sent you was correct.The frames on the bikes did not change.It may have been a manufacturing flaw by them but I dont know for sure.They said they have had a few people mention the same problem you are having.They have not been able to physically check it on a bike

yet".

This seems like BS to me. When I called WC they knew EXACTLY what the problem was. In 2 seconds. There was no issue of quality control, etc.. WC uses a jig to make these parts.

So, I'll conclude this by saying that I'm sure hoping Baja Designs can improve. They're trying, but I'm not sure they're ever going to be great.

Tom

[AZWR426]

I had the same problem installing a Works Connection right side frame guard. The distance between the bolt holes appears wrong and due to a counterbore for the bolt heads you really can't slot the holes. So I bent the part slightly at the existing bends to change the distance between the bolt holes and I loosened the allen bolt in the frame sections and no problem. Also as I recall the application sticker on the package said the same part was used on the wr and yz, Mark

[streamdream]

I love this!!! Holding dealers and suppliers accountable with our wallets is the way to go!

Here's how my dealer treats me...

The day I bought my bike, he took me back to the parts/service guys and introduced me to them. Remember, this guy is the owner! (He sells over 4000 units a year...yes 4000.) He told me that I get a 20% discount on whatever I order or pull off their shelves for as long as I own my bike. I know this might not be a big deal for him, but I felt like a million bucks! I checked prices on the web, and he just destroys them...plus, I don't pay shipping.

Any other dealers doing this?

[mjlang]

Sorry to hear about your problems with BD. I live in SD and go there quite often and find them to be a little better than most motorcycle shops. The overall issue is that they hire kids to work parts counters because they will work for crap wages for the opportunity to get gear cheap so they can go riding. Until they hire professional parts people at competative wages, the service will continue to suck.

[JamesD]

Sorry to hear about your problems Tom. I have a Baja Designs dual sport conversion kit installed on my WR and other than bad picture quality on the installation guide I had no complaints. However, I bought it 2nd hand and didn't have to deal with BD.

I had no problems installing my WC frameguards. I'd say BD is covering their assets. ?

BTW Tom, how are you coping with the WR seat? Aren't you used to a KLX?

Oh, and do you still have those VFR mirrors in your basement? I still need to replace mine after that off road excursion when riding with the HSTA group. The plastic is still zip tied together too. It was to be my winter project until I got laid off.