Ciamillo is Restructuring

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bombertodd
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by bombertodd

Reading the comments here: http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/01/29/fac ... s-closeup/


And reading this: http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-rev ... #breakdown


And this: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gfo ... st=3490211

This too: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/compon ... 73007.html



It seems there has been a really long trail of bad custom service, broken promises, and unhappy customers. I can't see digging out of this hole. Just remember actions speak louder than words.

Oswald
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by Oswald

ZeroG wrote:Ciamillo is Restructuring for Better Lead Times, Customer Service, and Quality

I am in the process of changing the way I do business for better customer service and quality. Manufacturing of my designs has been taken back to the artisan level with no employees and no dealers. Now I make everything at Ciamillo myself. Although this means the best product ever produced out of Ciamillo since the early years (2002-2005), please have patience in this transition when attempting to reach me as the majority of my day is spent on the shop floor making parts. Lead time estimation and communication with my customers is improving on a daily basis as I remove the burden of large dealer orders and deal directly with you, the end user.

Dropping dealers will soon have me freed up to have more time to work with each and every one of my direct customers. Not having employees means that each and every part on every product made here is done by me. The machining, molding, finishing, anodizing, padprinting and shipping. This means that the quality of each step is greatly improved and the craftsmanship in the final product is to my personal standards - the very best.

Ciamillo has dropped the ball on some of you in the past and for this I am very sorry. I would like to win back your loyalty and have the resources to provide replacement or refund on inferior product that may have been released when I had employees doing production.

I am very sorry for any inconvenience in not getting a response from me right away and I will respond to your request as quickly as possible when you email me at tciamillo@gmail.com.

If you need to speak with me urgently, please call 770-364-7933

Thanks,

Ted Ciamillo


I'm a sales and logistics consultant with a background in quality control, specialized in small to medium sized companies.
Judging from my experience, I think it's a very bad idea trying to do everything yourself. You should surround yourself with the right people for the right job.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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lewolive
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by lewolive

Oswald wrote:
I'm a sales and logistics consultant with a background in quality control, specialized in small to medium sized companies.
Judging from my experience, I think it's a very bad idea trying to do everything yourself. You should surround yourself with the right people for the right job.


That's something I regularly told Ted. But the facts are:
-Ciamillo components has grown with Ted only. In life in general I say "if you did that in the past you can do that again !"
-Finding the right people for the right job is easier in a big city than in the country. Skilled people are working for a bigger pay check than Ted and the cycle industry in general are ready to pay.
-Being the unique manufacturer of the brakes would allow customers to identify who made possible issues. Ted would assume easier his mistakes than if it has been done by an employee.
-When the goals are to raise the quality, the best solution is to reduce the volumes made, and never mind if customers cannot buy. Anyway there is still a little stock available (from me and different dealers in the world). Then, doing after sales service is also easier than doing it on a large history of sales.

lewolive
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by lewolive

Hbrown wrote:Just a question. Will the Gravitas Cranks still be made?

I have been waiting for a while now. I realize that it takes time, and I am willing to wait, as I have been. I love the look of them, and would rather have them than not.

I also have 4 sets of brakes, 2 sets of Gravitas and one set of Micro's with the new cam. And one old set. I will never part with my brakes, and yes they take a little knowledge to set up, But once done you don't have to touch them again. Remember they use Campy type pads not Shimano, although they can be made to fit (table edge, and some force) cork pads.

How long? in your opinion will it be before I can expect the Cranks to be shipped out? I still have a frame built up with everything but the crank, all done in the same carbon that is used on your Crank tubes. A proper showcase.

Shimano, BB30, 130bcd, 175 length, Black with Silver.

Just a little future delivery notice is all I need. Thanks


The question of the crank is more a problem of cost of production and demand on the market than a problem on ability to make a reliable product.
As of today, the features would mean 460g for the crank, which is about 15g lighter than the new Rotor 2014 cranks.
According to my experience at the shop, the MSRP should be really above $1000 in order to pay the amazing time that it takes to produce just one crank.
There is a very very little market if we raise the price to $1200 or $1300.

At the same time, we have good sales on the GSL micro and factory brakes don't save weight, except Sram (just a little bit).
So, customers who want to save weight would buy brakes in priority.

Please note that the knowledge that we've got with the crank is so important that it'll be used for brakes R&D and I'm also imagining an aluminum crank based on this knowledge. The aluminum crank would not be there to break the weight record but to brake the design standards.

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Kayrehn
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by Kayrehn

If everyone has their point of view to share here, why isn't CarbonLord allowed to air his grievances?

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Tinea Pedis
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by Tinea Pedis

Grievances between a manufacturer and wholesaler have no place on here.

But for the sake of wholeness, I have emailed Ted (on his gmail) and asked for his side of the story. We'll wait and see how long a reply will take.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

I think this would be an excellent place to hear the grievances between a manufacturer and a wholesaler. Why wouldn't it?
I've never used this guys products, but I think it's clear he is completely lost when it comes to trying to run an engineering, manufacturing, sales and distribution, and customer service operation by himself. People who buy from this guy are taking a huge risk, as evidenced by the many comments to date. Doesn't seem to be an isolated instance of poor service, but rather more the norm when things go a bit wrong.
And I'm not sure what the purpose of emailing him to get "his side"'of the story would do. Isn't that what he's been doing with his posts? He's had an open forum to present his side it seems. Why shouldn't dealers, or whomever, be allowed the same. Ted seems to be constantly apologetic yet fails to follow through. Personally, just from reading what he and everyone else has written and trying to sort the credible from "internet noise", I'm of the mind that Ted is dillusional.


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mnmasotto
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by mnmasotto

Calnago wrote:I think this would be an excellent place to hear the grievances between a manufacturer and a wholesaler. Why wouldn't it?
I've never used this guys products, but I think it's clear he is completely lost when it comes to trying to run an engineering, manufacturing, sales and distribution, and customer service operation by himself. People who buy from this guy are taking a huge risk, as evidenced by the many comments to date. Doesn't seem to be an isolated instance of poor service, but rather more the norm when things go a bit wrong.
And I'm not sure what the purpose of emailing him to get "his side"'of the story would do. Isn't that what he's been doing with his posts? He's had an open forum to present his side it seems. Why shouldn't dealers, or whomever, be allowed the same. Ted seems to be constantly apologetic yet fails to follow through. Personally, just from reading what he and everyone else has written and trying to sort the credible from "internet noise", I'm of the mind that Ted is dillusional.


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Well said!!!!

Martin.dk
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by Martin.dk

Tinea Pedis wrote:Grievances between a manufacturer and wholesaler have no place on here.


But Ted and his Sidekick Lewolive gets the opportunity to speak their side of the story witout any problems. that doesn't make any sense at all.

Tinea Pedis can you please explain why a dealer/partner like Lewolive overly positive posts about all the good stuff from Ciamillo isn't removed from the thread?

/Martin
Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez wrote:Ohh okay! I just knew "plug" was something to put inside a hole... yikes

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CBJ
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by CBJ

Lets not try to split hairs. I think there is plenty of information in the thread for intelligent people to make an informed decision about to buy or not.

lewolive
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by lewolive

Martin.dk wrote:
Tinea Pedis wrote:Grievances between a manufacturer and wholesaler have no place on here.


But Ted and his Sidekick Lewolive gets the opportunity to speak their side of the story witout any problems. that doesn't make any sense at all.

Tinea Pedis can you please explain why a dealer/partner like Lewolive overly positive posts about all the good stuff from Ciamillo isn't removed from the thread?

/Martin


Martin> I'm not Ted's employee and I'm independant. My turnover is not dependant from Ted. That's true that I used to be in the past, but it's no longer the case.
I only think that the products are great and they are a good opportunity to improve high end bicycle.
There is a big difference between me and Ted, I'm a distributor, not a manufactuer. I have bought enough small parts to service the brakes within 24h. That's my specialty. If you have problems with servicing directly from the shop in the USA, you can share it on the forum, but please do not associate the Asian and the European distributor to the situation. If you are in Europe I can service quickly your brakes.
My customers have 100% of satisfaction on the products that they buy and the services that I offer.

On the relation that distributors have with Ted, it's hard for all of us ! It has always been like that, even when the sales used to be huge ! That's true that the relation have been more complicated due to the crank project. At the same time, distributors have obligations and if they don't respect them, they may be blamed for that.
I know that I couldn't run Ciamillo business without being able to service all the brakes and staying in my distributor zone.
I was with Ted with the sun, I was still there for the storm and I'll be there for the next summer, it only depends on Ted's ability to supply reliable products in an acceptable time.

JensW
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by JensW

lewolive wrote:
Martin.dk wrote:
Tinea Pedis wrote:Grievances between a manufacturer and wholesaler have no place on here.


But Ted and his Sidekick Lewolive gets the opportunity to speak their side of the story witout any problems. that doesn't make any sense at all.

Tinea Pedis can you please explain why a dealer/partner like Lewolive overly positive posts about all the good stuff from Ciamillo isn't removed from the thread?

/Martin


Martin> I'm not Ted's employee and I'm independant. My turnover is not dependant from Ted. That's true that I used to be in the past, but it's no longer the case.
I only think that the products are great and they are a good opportunity to improve high end bicycle.
There is a big difference between me and Ted, I'm a distributor, not a manufactuer. I have bought enough small parts to service the brakes within 24h. That's my specialty. If you have problems with servicing directly from the shop in the USA, you can share it on the forum, but please do not associate the Asian and the European distributor to the situation. If you are in Europe I can service quickly your brakes.
My customers have 100% of satisfaction on the products that they buy and the services that I offer.

On the relation that distributors have with Ted, it's hard for all of us ! It has always been like that, even when the sales used to be huge ! That's true that the relation have been more complicated due to the crank project. At the same time, distributors have obligations and if they don't respect them, they may be blamed for that.
I know that I couldn't run Ciamillo business without being able to service all the brakes and staying in my distributor zone.
I was with Ted with the sun, I was still there for the storm and I'll be there for the next summer, it only depends on Ted's ability to supply reliable products in an acceptable time.



but how is that a answer to Martins questions?

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53x12
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by 53x12

The recession of 2007/2008 was just a little speed bump in relation to the storms that lie ahead IMO.

Hopefully future demand is there, but I am going to doubt it. Especially with more competitors in the market now. If you want good customer service and good production you need to hire good people for those roles. Otherwise you do both half assed. At leash hire someone to do one part of the equation. If this expected demand comes, where will the time be when things get busy again to take care of the customer service?
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

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ZeroG
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by ZeroG

Calnago wrote:I think this would be an excellent place to hear the grievances between a manufacturer and a wholesaler. Why wouldn't it?
I've never used this guys products, but I think it's clear he is completely lost when it comes to trying to run an engineering, manufacturing, sales and distribution, and customer service operation by himself. People who buy from this guy are taking a huge risk, as evidenced by the many comments to date. Doesn't seem to be an isolated instance of poor service, but rather more the norm when things go a bit wrong.
And I'm not sure what the purpose of emailing him to get "his side"'of the story would do. Isn't that what he's been doing with his posts? He's had an open forum to present his side it seems. Why shouldn't dealers, or whomever, be allowed the same. Ted seems to be constantly apologetic yet fails to follow through. Personally, just from reading what he and everyone else has written and trying to sort the credible from "internet noise", I'm of the mind that Ted is dillusional.

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Not delusional but still suffering form the effects of the recession, the less than ideal decisions it forced me to make, and the mistakes I have made with pricing policies and deals. I am fighting for the reputation that I once had. I did have an excellent customer service rating from the point I started my business in 2002 through 2010. The first three years, when during that time I began visiting this forum, I handled tech questions, warranty issues and other customer service issues myself while making all the product myself. This was the Artisan Model I am getting back to. It has worked for centuries and worked well for me in the beginning.

Regarding Carbon Lord, I understand his frustration and I will say that Carbon Lord certainly has the right to feel the way he does as his business was centered around reselling my product. He also came to my defense on many occasions during this post recession fight for for survival. He may be facing challenges in his business too and I wish him the best of luck but grievances with me can be sorted in private. I have extended to him the wish to do so.

Martin.dk
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by Martin.dk

I'm not Ted's employee and I'm independant. My turnover is not dependant from Ted. That's true that I used to be in the past, but it's no longer the case.
I only think that the products are great and they are a good opportunity to improve high end bicycle.
There is a big difference between me and Ted, I'm a distributor, not a manufactuer. I have bought enough small parts to service the brakes within 24h. That's my specialty. If you have problems with servicing directly from the shop in the USA, you can share it on the forum, but please do not associate the Asian and the European distributor to the situation. If you are in Europe I can service quickly your brakes.
My customers have 100% of satisfaction on the products that they buy and the services that I offer.

On the relation that distributors have with Ted, it's hard for all of us ! It has always been like that, even when the sales used to be huge ! That's true that the relation have been more complicated due to the crank project. At the same time, distributors have obligations and if they don't respect them, they may be blamed for that.
I know that I couldn't run Ciamillo business without being able to service all the brakes and staying in my distributor zone.
I was with Ted with the sun, I was still there for the storm and I'll be there for the next summer, it only depends on Ted's ability to supply reliable products in an acceptable time.



And Carbon Lord isn't Ted's emplyee either! So how come you're allowed to air all that positive feedback on how great Ted is, and how he's tyurning everything arounf for the better? It's so loopsided it stinks that Carbon Lord, who used to/still is selling Ted's products isn't allowed to air his opinion.

@ Tinea Pedis: please explain the difference between Lewolive and Carbon Lord. Why can Lewolive, Who's an asosiate/cutsomer/shopowner/reseller/close friend to Ted use this thread to advertise so openly while Carbon Lord who's also a customer/shopowner/reseller of the same products gets his post deleted? It isn't right and I honestly think you need to explain.

/Martin

EDIT: Something vent wrong in the qoutes, but I think you can decipher it anyway.
Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez wrote:Ohh okay! I just knew "plug" was something to put inside a hole... yikes

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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