Why have a business email address if no-one responds!?

[Owl]

It doesn't matter now anyway! Today I found a helmet that fits!

Mint!

[Robert Taylor]

mmmmmmm I get bucket loads of emails a day from customers and I work very hard to answer them.........sometimes to very late at night, a couple of weeks ago I missed one (fuck knows why n how but I did) the guy contacted me again thankfully and I checked back to see that I fucked up.
Im so glad he didnt broadcast it live on Kiwibiker so as to get shredded by the masses !

Ive got to relate to that, sometimes you get so busy e-mails can get passed over for 2 or 3 days and with volume its easy to miss the odd one. There are frankly too many methods of electronic communication and if anyone wants a more immediate answer then heck a phone call is still the most immediate way of getting a response.
I wouldnt beat too readily on the shops that are ''slow'', they may be so busy they cannot be at a keyboard every single minute of the day. If they are lazy about it then yes someone else may get the sale but Id have to say its like any modern motorcycle business in a low volume economy, low staff levels so that overheads are not disportionate to the returns. Many many of these guys are worked off their feet, if some of them are like me they struggle to keep up with enquiries and much of this is done after hours at considerable sacrifice to family.

[Ms Piggy]

Ive got to relate to that, sometimes you get so busy e-mails can get passed over for 2 or 3 days and with volume its easy to miss the odd one. There are frankly too many methods of electronic communication and if anyone wants a more immediate answer then heck a phone call is still the most immediate way of getting a response.
I wouldnt beat too readily on the shops that are ''slow'', they may be so busy they cannot be at a keyboard every single minute of the day. If they are lazy about it then yes someone else may get the sale but Id have to say its like any modern motorcycle business in a low volume economy, low staff levels so that overheads are not disportionate to the returns. Many many of these guys are worked off their feet, if some of them are like me they struggle to keep up with enquiries and much of this is done after hours at considerable sacrifice to family.

That's fine to be a little slow to respond however to get a smart arse response from them when I gave them my feedback is not fine.

If a business offer email as a form of communication then they should have systems in place to manage it or don't offer it. Simple.

I'm a customer not their mate and I expect to be treated with respect because I had a genuine enquiry for a legitimate reason and...

My time is too important to me to deal with shops that just don't give a shit.

[Robert Taylor]

That's fine to be a little slow to respond however to get a smart arse response from them when I gave them my feedback is not fine.

If a business offer email as a form of communication then they should have systems in place to manage it or don't offer it. Simple.

I'm a customer not their mate and I expect to be treated with respect because I had a genuine enquiry for a legitimate reason and...

Thats all fair enough, I was just trying to illustrate that as there are now so many forms of communication it becomes yet more of a headache to manage it all. And most motorcycle businesses are so short staffed ( neccessarily so to survive ) that somewhere sometime it falls on someone to answer in their own time.
For the most immediate form of communication nothing beats the telephone, even though to some that may appear an old fashioned concept.

[Tony.OK]

Thats all fair enough, I was just trying to illustrate that as there are now so many forms of communication it becomes yet more of a headache to manage it all. And most motorcycle businesses are so short staffed ( neccessarily so to survive ) that somewhere sometime it falls on someone to answer in their own time.
For the most immediate form of communication nothing beats the telephone, even though to some that may appear an old fashioned concept.

Ph calls are all well and good if its the odd one, but as a customer ringing around to find a good deal it can become quite costly if they are all toll calls. Alot of businesses still don't have a toll free number, and some even expect you to ring a cell ph.

I use emails purely for that fact they're free, if I get a response that is good for me then I will make the ph call.

Just another point of view.

[Ms Piggy]

Thats all fair enough, I was just trying to illustrate that as there are now so many forms of communication it becomes yet more of a headache to manage it all. And most motorcycle businesses are so short staffed ( neccessarily so to survive ) that somewhere sometime it falls on someone to answer in their own time.
For the most immediate form of communication nothing beats the telephone, even though to some that may appear an old fashioned concept.

Yep okay I hear ya but if you are in a business where the staff are legitimately too busy to answer email enquires then don't have it as an option of communication OR have an automated response letting customers know that if their enquiry may be answered in 5 business days or something. And as I say it wasn't so much that my email wasn't replied to more than when I did make a phone call the guy I spoke to was a rude prick.

[Ms Piggy]

Im so glad he didnt broadcast it live on Kiwibiker so as to get shredded by the masses !

Hey Quasi - it wasn't because my email wasn't replied to that I began this thread, more because the salesperson was incredibly rude to me...hmmm, maybe I should change the title of the thread to: "Why do sales people think they can speak to me rudely when I give them feedback".

[Quasievil]

Hey Quasi - it wasn't because my email wasn't replied to that I began this thread, more because the salesperson was incredibly rude to me...hmmm, maybe I should change the title of the thread to: "Why do sales people think they can speak to me rudely when I give them feedback".

I speak rudely to my customers all the time, it was only a few Months ago I called Tony ok "a four eyed git" I publicly call whitetrash a Homo, the list goes on

[Ms Piggy]

I speak rudely to my customers all the time, it was only a few Months ago I called Tony ok "a four eyed git" I publicly call whitetrash a Homo, the list goes on

Hah hah hah! On ya!

[Robert Taylor]

Yep okay I hear ya but if you are in a business where the staff are legitimately too busy to answer email enquires then don't have it as an option of communication OR have an automated response letting customers know that if their enquiry may be answered in 5 business days or something. And as I say it wasn't so much that my email wasn't replied to more than when I did make a phone call the guy I spoke to was a rude prick.

There are 2 sides to every story and yes a lot of salesman are rude and also devoid of product knowledge, as are many private citizens. Was there any provocation whatsoever to make him respond in that fashion?

[Ms Piggy]

Was there any provocation whatsoever to make him respond in that fashion?

No there wasn't.

[PeterJ]

mmmmmmm I get bucket loads of emails a day from customers and I work very hard to answer them.........sometimes to very late at night, a couple of weeks ago I missed one (fuck knows why n how but I did) the guy contacted me again thankfully and I checked back to see that I fucked up.
Im so glad he didnt broadcast it live on Kiwibiker so as to get shredded by the masses !

Mate, I have been trying to get a reply from you about two weeks now!...

Got one, Thanks.

[sinned]

My experience with email messaging to bike shops is complete failure. I have emailed two bike shops in the last year with a straightforward product-in-stock query and never received a reply.

Monday last week I sent an email asking price and availability of tyres to the shop that has fitted tyres for me in the past. Then followed up on Thursday by forwarding the email with another request. On the second email I placed a read receipt and got acknowledgement the email was opened/read. I am still waiting for reply.

I initially made a phone call and was sent to voice mail. Instead of leaving a message I sent an email. I find emailing works well for me in the other areas of my life and business - is this a motorcycle business area of incompetence.

Why is this so hard?

• An email request - simple as it was - gave the shop time to find out the prices during a quiet period and get back to me at their convenience . (I have been there recently and they have quiet periods.)
• My email had my name and telephone numbers. If they didn't want to key a response a tel call would have worked. If I got them on the phone I would have got an answer - seems okay to ignore email requests.
• I have been a customer so my name should be in their records.
• All email business inquiries should be acknowledged - by the next day.

There are other places to shop at but for tyre fitting I prefer to make an appointment and wait until the job is done.

Richardson Motorcycles have set up in a new location in Johnsonville; can anyone offer feedback on their service, especially for tyre supply and fitment? As I live just up the road this should work for me.

[White trash]

I speak rudely to my customers all the time, it was only a few Months ago I called Tony ok "a four eyed git" I publicly call whitetrash a Homo, the list goes on

Actually, customers pay. So I aint one.

You're welcome.

[marioc]

Businesses that are not web savvy these days are losing customers.
A lot of the time these places are run by people out of touch with the modern world.

I have had this situation so many times its not funny.

I always do business with people/companies with a decent web presence.
It tells me they know what they are doing and realise its importance.

Nz is so backward in this department.

A bit like the quality of our internet connections.