Complaint about Tune's customer service

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Frankie - B
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Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:17 am
Location: Drenthe, Holland

by Frankie - B

Hi all,

I'm writing this topic as I'm completely fed up with Tunes customer service.

Late 2009 I bought a set of wheels build around tune hubs from Roues Artisanales in France. Adrien used a new Mag 180 hub in the rear wheel. Back then we knew the Mag 180 hub had some issues with a creaking sound. Adrien and Tune fixed this.
Sadly the creaking sound came back to my wheels. So the 15th of September this year I sent them an email telling them the following:

15th sept 2013

Hi,

In 2009 I bought a set of custom wheels from Adrien Gontier, Roues Artisanales (RAR). By then a creaking issue was known with the Mag180 hub. Adrien supposedly solved this, but since a few months my rear wheel creaks like mad again. I love the wheels he build a lot and I really like the way the Tune hubs sound and work. What can we do to solve this issue? is it known to come back?

thanks,


I then got the following automated reply:

Guten Tag und Herzlich Willkommen beim Service-Team der Firma Tune.

Wir bestätigen den Eingang Ihrer E-Mail.

Gerne kümmern wir uns um Ihr Anliegen so schnell wie möglich möchten Sie aber darauf hinweisen,
dass saisonbedingt die Bearbeitungszeit unterschiedlich lang sein kann.

Freundliche Grüße,
Ihr Service Team.


Welcome to Tune.

We acknowledge receipt of your email.

We would like to inform you that we may need some time to respond to you during high season.

Best regards,

Your service team


I'm okay with that. Any company can have busy times and I like the fact that they let me know up front.
So, I waited two weeks to cut them some slack. Those two weeks pass and nothing happens. That is when i decided to resend my email.this happend on the 30th of September.. By then I got the same automated response.

I wait a little less then a month and decide to call them. The phone is picked up by a friendly German tune employee. he listens to my story, even the whole email thing, and tells me I can send them over to them to get them fixed. I don't even have to pay labour I should only need to pay for replacement parts. My thoughts are that that is a good deal so I ask the guy the address where I should send it to. he tells me that I will need to email them again so he can answer my email. By then I tell him again that I don't have any trust in their email system and ask him to send me an email. (my emails can still end up in their spam filter, who knows?) I spell out my email address to him and he then tells me I should receive an email of him soon.
I waited little less then a week for an email from him, when that didn't show up I sent Tune another email:

28th Oct 2013
Dear Service center,

Least week I spoke to one of your colleagues in German about a creaking (knacken) issue in my Mag 180 rear hub. He then wrote my email address down so he could sent me an email in which he would tell me where i need to send my wheel to for service. i still need to get that email.

please let me know where I should send my wheel to in order to get this solved i really like the wheel set and the hubs are amazing, but the sound is driving me crazy.

Thanks,


Guess what? I got the same automated response!!!

Dear Tune, please help me by fixing my wheel and help a lot of others by actually responding to emails.

many thanks,

Frankie
'Tape was made to wrap your GF's gifts, NOT hold a freakin tire on.'
If you want to see 'meh' content of me and my bike you can follow my life in pictures here!

by Weenie


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

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madcow
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by madcow

This is where a good dealer comes into play. It's not realistic to expect a manufacturer to deal directly with consumers as they typically don't have the manpower to do that which is why the have distributors/dealers. If you had a problem with your car you wouldn't call the manufacturer you'd take it to your dealer. Most manufacturers will have the same reply when contacted by a consumer directly, which is to contact your local dealer, and in this case would probably have been a better response than giving you a bit of the run-around. If the manufacturer is expected to handle issues directly then there wouldn't be as much need for distributors/dealers. Why not contact the dealer where you purchased them and give them the opportunity to take care of you, that's part of what you paid for when you purchased the wheels through them. They'll have a direct line to someone inside at Tune and should be able to resolve issues rather quickly. If they are good they'll be happy to earn your business by getting your problem taken care of.

If for some reason they can't or won't take care of the problem, drop me a PM or email and I'll take care of it for you.

bonedpwinkle
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Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:39 pm

by bonedpwinkle

Fairwheel Bikes is constantly setting the standard of what great customer service should be! Love those guys.

RichieE46
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Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2013 4:54 am

by RichieE46

Yea, the dealer should help you resolve the issue. Its good to contact Tune like you did. But I would work more closely with the dealer to get things resolved.

Honestly, that's really the only reasons why I shop at my LBS, because I know they will take care of me if issues arise. Obviously, I can get parts cheaper online.

In your case since the wheel is custom built, I would only purchase from a wheel builder that is known for their customer service.

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kac
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by kac

I agree with Jason's perspective, but the interactions with Tune stand independent of Jason's comment. Tune should have directed the request from the customer to the appropriate "desk", not responded with NSA-like trickery. After all, look what that run-around got Tune: complaints and defenses on WW but not a happy customer.

OwenJames
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by OwenJames

Yeah, a good dealer should definitely be the first place to contact.

With the exception of Fairwheel, however, Tune seem to use dealers with the crappiest customer service on the planet.

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Frankie - B
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Location: Drenthe, Holland

by Frankie - B

Thanks for your replies, guys.

On my bike I rarely have issues with products and if they arise I often question myself how long the product lasted and buy an upgrade. On this issue though, things are different. I bought the wheelset from RAR in France, I'm in Holland. Adrien, the owner of RAR is a very reputable builder and I'm sure his customer service is top notch as well. I didn't feel like bothering him with this minor issue, and Tune even has it's contact details and 'service center' number online.

Jason, I've sent you an email :thumbup:
'Tape was made to wrap your GF's gifts, NOT hold a freakin tire on.'
If you want to see 'meh' content of me and my bike you can follow my life in pictures here!

Razor
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by Razor

OwenJames wrote:Yeah, a good dealer should definitely be the first place to contact.

With the exception of Fairwheel, however, Tune seem to use dealers with the crappiest customer service on the planet.


I had the same issue with my Mag 180, it was sent in for service for the Tune "fix". It worked for a couple of months and the creaking returned. I had to upgrade to the Mag 170, no problems now.

konky
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Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:26 pm

by konky

I really can't see the point in this post other than the poster is hoping someone from Tune is watching and it will somehow have a beneficial effect on his cause. That's not what this forum is for. And it's annoying when you see it.

The 'service centre' is not about dealing with failed items. Tune like about 90% of manufacturers do not deal with complains directly. They have a network of retailers and distributors that do that for them.

Frankie-B I am not an engineer and I don't own a Tune 180 hub but let me answer your question. The 180 was a flawed product and it's true Tune weren't particularly good at dealing with the issue other than that hey have long since stopped making that product. Your hub is a long way outside its guarantee period. if you are intent on pursuing this cause do it through the retailer with whom you have an outdated contract. RAR are neither contractually or morally obliged to deal with your problem so please don't bring then into this by the way. We all know that the 180 was a rubbish product, just move on and get on with your life.
Last edited by konky on Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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sugarkane
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by sugarkane

Wow konky that's defiantly the winner of the pointless and totally unpleasant post of the week :thumbup:

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DMF
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by DMF

So wait a minute, let me get this right, you had a product that is known to be flawed, not least to say über light weight and exotic weenie stuff, that worked flawlessly for some four years! And now you're fed up...

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Adrien
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by Adrien

Frankie, send me an email, I'll make the necessary very, very swiftly!
Which color is the hub?
You should have contacted me first, but no problem, we will take care of this, unless it is already handled by Jason?

Have a great sunday,
Adrien.

konky
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Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:26 pm

by konky

Bingo!

OwenJames
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:16 pm

by OwenJames

For the record, I have had great service from Tune, direct. They answered every question I had and were very helpful.

The Tune dealers on the other hand... (Fairwheel, being the exception)

by Weenie


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

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thegunner
Posts: 164
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:38 am

by thegunner

damn^ now that (and fairwheel) are demonstrations of excellent customer service. :thumbup:

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