Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Recently I purchased a fine set of frame sliders (crash knobs) made by R&G from the UK. I purchased these for my '95 ZX6R because they supply a replacement radiator water bottle and I decided to buy them from my local Australian distributor, Australian Motorcycle Components (AMC), rather than directly online as a support for the Australian distributor network. After ordering and paying online I received no feedback on the receipt of my order or delivery times. I had to call them and was told "3-4 weeks". I waited patiently... 4 weeks past and no word so I called and spoke to an uninformed and confused representative who could not confirm my order (?) or tell me when they would arrive. Following 2 or 3 more of these less than informative calls, my knobs arrived, without the bottle. Another call.. yes they "found" the bottle and I was advised they would send it and also received a string of excuses by the manager who explained it would cost them more money if they had to communicate with the customer! I waited patiently again while my partially disassembled bike waited for the final parts, but no bottle. Another call to them... they sent the bottle ordinary mail and the post office appeared to have lost it! Lots of apologies and compensation offered? Not likely, more excuses. They begrudgingly suggested they "would have to locate another bottle" and would contact me back... two weeks now and no word from them. I am not holding my breath. If you want quality parts and customer service, stay clear of AMC.

ianthomo wrote:........ and I decided to buy them from my local Australian distributor, Australian Motorcycle Components (AMC), rather than directly online as a support for the Australian distributor network. ......

If you had ordered these from the US, they would have been in your hands inside a week. The yanks know all about *Customer Service*. Most of the Aussie distributors are fucked. There are a few good online suppliers, some of them advertise here.

People should check the site sponsors first, at least to get an idea of price. Most of the time they are very competitive.

customer service in general over here is shit.... i put it down to a few things....


1.ppl working in the industry dont like the job, so they dont make an effort of it
2.customers dont give a shit abt service UNTIL it suits them. They annoy a shop until they get the info, then buy off internet or big dept store who cant help with the kinda questions they need answered.
3.customers think if they carry on like an asshole they will get their own way.

one example is this...today...

we had a job we were meant to do tomorrow (wed). it was a big job $2800 to swap over from a electric hot water system to a gas unit. a whole day job for our fitting team. The guy has limited/no water and purchased friday, and we arranged to do the job wed- it suited him. Today he came in yelling and screaming about how it was our fault that he wouldnt have gas at the time and he would therefore have no hot water, and abused me for not organising his gas supply. (the boss gave him a list of suppliers when on site last week)

now the 2 important points are...
1.since privacy laws etc our company cant arrange a contract with a customer and a gas company- just like u cant sign sum1 else up for foxtel or anything like that, its a safety thing...
2. there is a strategy in place to avoid the customer being without water- he wouldnt stop yelling at me long enough to listen (and threatened to cancel his order)

so i walked away and left one of the other girls to calm him down.

one of the other girls in the showroom who took offence called the boss, explained the situation... wrote up a cheque...boss drove around to the blokes place of work and handed his secretary the cheque and said "i dont care how he talks to u, but if he wants to talk to my staff like that he can have his money back. we dont want your custom"

we have been on site, and spent probably 2-3hrs dealing with this bloke..so its not like we just want to walk away... but were sick of asshole customers...

so..now he can worry abt getting sum1 else to install his HWS....

if people were decent, and treat other ppl how they want to be treated, the world would be a better place...

Gosling1 wrote:

ianthomo wrote:........ and I decided to buy them from my local Australian distributor, Australian Motorcycle Components (AMC), rather than directly online as a support for the Australian distributor network. ......

If you had ordered these from the US, they would have been in your hands inside a week. The yanks know all about *Customer Service*. Most of the Aussie distributors are fucked. There are a few good online suppliers, some of them advertise here.

People should check the site sponsors first, at least to get an idea of price. Most of the time they are very competitive.

spot on. i couldnt agree with you more Gos

im all for supporting local businesses etc if the price is comparative but when the difference in price can sometimes be half the aussie importers can get stuffed.
the importers need to go back to the companies and renegotiate their prices cause i think a lot of people are now buying their gear OS rather than paying extra for the same shit locally.

I bought some gear from AMC a year or so ago and had a similar experience. I eventually forgot about it and then one day six months later I get a call to say my gears arrived

I've never been back

I always buy my bits from the net, mainly US but also Japan and Europe. Get exactly what I order within 2 to 3 weeks max. Way cheaper than buying here.

I had a similar experience with AMC on the sunshine coast.

Had to wait nearly 3 months for a hugger, was over charged because they had to supply a different brand & then they made out they were looking after me on the price

Never again.

I've got stuff from AMC twice without any problems other than price

ianthomo wrote: If you want quality parts and customer service, stay clear of AMC.

just caught this topic
I have already warned the forum bout these guys back early last year
6 months delivery times are about usual...in the unfortunate instances I have dealt with them
and I now refuse to deal with them

I have had better service (and prices) from our site sponsors

cheers

Smitty

I buy R&G gear (you'll be happy with the gear, by the way) directly from R&G's website - I made the AMC mistake only once

I always try to buy local.... even if it doesnt necissarily lead to the best deal....

We used to try the local option - there's only so many times you'll put up with disappointment though.
Price and delivery speed/convenience are what get my dollars now - I've almost given up on good customer service in the motorcycle industry (with the exception of the site sponsors we've bought from and Procycles at Hornsby - excellent customer service there).

Honestly, if the price was in the same region and arrival times were better. Unfortunately, we can get far better prices from the US and more importantly to us: it arrives promptly. We're the Instant Gratification generation - if we want it, we want it asap. So if we can't pick it up from the shop nearby and it's going to have to be ordered in - we'd rather pay a little bit more and have it sent from the US to arrive here within a fortnight, than have it arrive in a month or so. And often we get it cheaper too, but it's mostly about the time that drives us to order online.

Those making negative comments about Australian suppliers in General (I'm not speaking ofthe lack of customer service from AMC in this instance) should attempt to import a commercial quantity of anything into Australia. In the 90's I was involved in importing and distributing a range of motorcycle clothing into Oz. As we are less than a fly shit of the world market, it makes cost effective purchasing very difficult indeed. Unlike your personal imports which are less than $1000 and therefore attract no import duties or taxes, it's cheap. But, the problem is, when you import a commercial quantity the Gov't charges start adding up, as does customs charges, freight, insurance etc., Therefore, once it hits the retail store, they are usually left with a very small mark up compared to other industries. This makes it difficult for them to be competitive and make a small profit along the way. Why you may ask can the US/UK/Asian/European markets offer them so cheap? Well, France probably has more bikes than Oz has cars!!! I'm exaggerating a touch here, but i'm sure you understand my point.

Yes, it's frustrating when you are trying to buy something and it's $300 more than buying it from O/S. It becomes a difficult decision. But just remember, if we don't support our local market, they will go out of business and then we really will be held to ransom by unscrupulous overseas sellers!

I always attempt to buy locally where possible and where pricing isn't inhibitive! My helmet (naturally due to AS1698),Gloves,boots,leathers,winter textile suit, luggage, parts, tyres, oils etc are all purchased locally. I tend to shop around find what I want on the net and suss out a reference point for pricing and then go look in the shops and haggle for a deal close to that price. OK, I'm not leaving a full margin for the retailer/Supplier but at least they get a drink of some sort. However, where the choice is economic, like my tyre warmers, then I will buy overseas. (At the time Kaneg were not known and were not a sponsor).

Once again, I find that if I develop a relationship with one shop, I can be looked after price wise and have the ability to see and touch what I want. Some shops will even get stuff in that they don't stock.

Strika wrote:should attempt to import a commercial quantity of anything into Australia.

I thought you used to just strap it to to your body and sweat your way through customs

WEll it makes it a lot easier if your son lives in the US and buys the stuff there for you and ships it.