# Time Sport USA warranty experience



## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

Any experience? Any advise? Any expectations?

To make a long story short, the rivets on the front derailleur hanger on my 2006 VXR became loose/cracked during a ride, causing the chain to furiously rub against the derailleur and forcing me to walk the bike for almost a mile. Sadly, the frame/fork was bought in May 2007 and has only about 850 miles on it. Never raced, abused, dropped, or involved in any accident. Was primarily used for recreation and excercise, always cleaned after a ride, very well maintained, kept inside the house, and is covered when not in use. 

No intent to put TIME in the spot as I really like their products a lot prior to this incident, but as a customer who invested and referred their products to friends, clients, and family, I expect good customer service and immediate attention whenever the quality of their product is in question. 

I called and e-mailed about a warranty claim for the frame in the morning of Thursday, April 2nd, and got a response from their service department with initial instructions within an hour. I again e-mailed them that evening in regards to an article I read on this forum, and immediately got a response early in the morning that the person (former Vice President) I e-mailed was no longer with the Company. Quite frankly, I was very impressed with the quick responses and was happy with the experience . 

I followed the initial instructions to gather up all the paperwork (warranty card, invoice, etc.), and even made arrangements with a LBS/Time dealer to dismantle and prep the frame/fork for shipment the following day. FYI - I had to pay this plus the assembly again out of my pocket. Not to mention, I also have to pay for shipping to their service facility in San Mateo, CA.

Here's where it became unpleasant . I got everything ready on Friday, April 3rd - even took pictures to attach together with the scanned images of the paperwork that I e-mailed to both [email protected] and [email protected], and hoping to immediately hear from them for final instructions/arrangements so I can at least ship the frame by the end of the day.. 

It's now Monday, April 6. I just e-mailed them again to follow-up on the status of my request and have not heard back from them. Am I expecting too much from their Customer Service? What would be an accepted window of response for this kind of inquiry? I'm in the Service Industry and is used to responding and resolving issues within a few hours.

The worst part is not being able to ride, and not knowing how long I still have to wait before this gets resolved .


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## Rubber Lizard (May 10, 2007)

Don't worry about it. The bike industry is far more 'casual' than other 'service' industries. 

They will probably be super helpful when they respond, but a getting such matters resolved in a few hours is unheard of. This is the case with large companies that have an army of staff or companies such as Time that has one guy that pretty much deals with everything.
A week window is pretty normal. 
FYI, warranties will always be easier if you go through the dealer and not trying to do it yourself.


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks for your input, RL


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

*Latest update on Time Sport USA warranty experience*

Customer to Time 
show details Apr 2 (6 days ago) 
toTime Sport USA <[email protected]>

dateThu, Apr 2, 2009 at 7:18 AM
subjectWarranty request
Good morning,

I left a message this morning in regards to a warranty work I am requesting for my:

2006 Time VXR
Serial # XXXXXXX
Purchased in May 2007

The front derrailleur hanger became loose or is cracked. This happened yesterday while I was trying to upshift to a bigger chainring. The bike is only used for recreation and only been ridden around 850 miles since purchased. 

Do I need to take it to the store where it was purchased, or could I take it to an authorized dealer that is closest to home in Glendale - Velo Pasadena?

Your immediate response will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 


Customer

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TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service to me 
show details Apr 2 (6 days ago) Reply
fromTIME SPORT USA - Customer Service <[email protected]>

dateThu, Apr 2, 2009 at 8:30 AM
subjectRE: Warranty request


Hello,

Our frame repair service is located in San Mateo, California. It would either need to be dropped off or shipped to that location at your expense. If it is a warranty then we pay for the repair and return freight.

The bicycle would need to be at least partially dissasembled to make it easier for the technician to work in that area by removing the crankset etc.
No warranty is promised until the frame is inspected in person by our service technician.
No warranty is given with out proof of purchase and is only given to the original buyer.
Warranty service is only available to frames purchased in the United States from an authorized Time dealer. 
The warranty is not transferable to second or third owners of the frame. 
If you are not the original owner then the repair can be done for a fee and the customer pays for shipping each way.
We will need to make final arrangements with our service center and then can set up a date for you to either deliver it yourself or ship it.

Let us know if you have any more questions


Time Sport USA

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toTIME SPORT USA - Customer Service <[email protected]>

dateThu, Apr 2, 2009 at 8:55 AM
subjectRe: Warranty request


Thank you for your immediate response. I look forward to hearing from you for further instructions. 

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[email protected]

dateThu, Apr 2, 2009 at 10:33 PM
subjectVXR issue

Hi Chris,

I have'nt logged into RoadBikeReview.com for quite some time, and happened to see your posting this evening in regards to a rebuttal with one of the members about Time products. The reason I was browsing was to research any postings about defects and warranty/replacement policies on the VXR models.

To make a long story short, my 2006 VXR's front derailleur hanger got loose/cracked as I was upshifting to a larger gear yesterday. I had to stop and walk the bike for about a mile to avoid any damages as the chain was rubbing into the derailleur and making too much noise. I already sent an e-mail to [email protected] this morning, and got a response from Wes who instructed me to wait for further instructions.

My concern is that the bike is less than 2 years old with about 850 miles since it was purchased in May 2007. The bike was only used for recreation, never raced, never dropped, never had any accidents, and was always kept clean and well-maintained. Quite frankly, I'm a bit disappointed as I never expected this to happen especially on a product of this caliber and price. Not to mention, the hassle and expense of getting it dis-assembled and assembled, plus shipping it to you repair center. 

I went to Velo-Pasadena this afternoon to schedule a mechanic to dis-assemble the bike, and to inquire if they heard of any similar case with this model. One thing that was pointed out during our conversation was that the newer VXR/VXS series are using a different hanger (4 rivets) compared to mine which has 3 rivets. 

My questions are:

- How long before I get instructions on when/where to ship the frame? I already have all the information ready (original receipt, warranty card/booklet, etc.)
- How long does it take to get it repaired? 
- How does it get repaired?
- Will I be immediately notified on your technician's findings?
- Will the problem be fixed with an upgraded/newer replacement part?
- When does a frame qualify for a replacement? 
- What is my assurance that the same defect will not happen again in the future?

I look forward to hearing from you.


Sincerely, 

Customer

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TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service 
show details Apr 3 (5 days ago) Reply
TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service <[email protected]>

dateFri, Apr 3, 2009 at 8:44 AM


Chris Smith is no longer employed by Time Sport USA

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[email protected]

dateThu, Apr 3, 2009 at 1:04 PM (5 days ago)
subjectVXR issue


Good afternoon,

Any answers to my inquiries?

I also took the liberty of attaching all the documentations for the frame to speed-up the process, plus some pictures for your reference.

I look forward to hearing from you.


Customer

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Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 3:54 PM
To: TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Follow-up on 2006 VXR warranty


Good afternoon,

I have not heard back from anyone, and just wanted to follow-up on my request for warranty service on my 2006 Time VXR. Thank you. 


Customer

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RE: Follow-up on 2006 VXR warranty

TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service 
show details 3:50 PM (18 hours ago) Reply

Hello,

Unfortunately our Service Center is closed all this week. They are in Europe and we are not able to contact them at this time. 
We will try to contact them ASAP to set up your repair. 

Once they receive the frame, the repair can be done in 48 hours, sometimes the same exact day.
Once the repair is done, you should never have the problem again.
Occasionally there was a problem with the rivets. The new rivets eliminate the potential for the problem to happen again. 
We use the original mount with new rivets.
The repair is simple enough that unless there is some other problem, there is usually no communication needed between the technician and the customer.
You will be notified when the repair is done and when it was shipped. 
This problem does not warrant a replacement of the frame.

We will continue to try and contact our Service Department and we will contact you later this week for shipping instructions. 

thank you

Time Sport USA

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toTIME SPORT USA - Customer Service <[email protected]>

ccTime Sport USA <[email protected]>

dateMon, Apr 6, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Reply Forward


Thank you for your response. Quite frankly, I was very disappointed that I did not hear from you last week, after going through all the trouble of having everything prepped upon receiving initial instructions from your Service Dept. . Because of my frustrations, I had no recourse but to post and inquire about my situation at a Bike Forum this afternoon.


Can you please verify where your Service Dept. is- Europe or San Mateo, CA


Customer

Sent from my Iphone
- Show quoted text -

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TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service to me 
show details 5:44 PM (16 hours ago) Reply



You sent in a request for warranty consideration on Thursday morning 4/2 and received a prompt reply in less than a couple of hours, along with a detailed description of what would be required for warranty repair work. Unfortunately the factory authorized person who does our repair is currently in Europe and we were not able to contact him to set up and schedule your repair right away. Later on Thursday you then try to contact a different person, Chris Smith, and ask him a bunch of questions that you could have easily asked us. 
The next day, Friday, you sent another request as to the status of your repair appointment. We did not reply because it was so soon since your initial request and we were hoping to contact our Service Center Technician to see what his schedule is and to give you the most accurate answer as to how soon your repair could be done. 

We never told you to immediately prepare you bicycle for shipment, we told you we would get back to you soon with more details. Here is what we said, cut and pasted from our inital reply:

We will need to make final arrangements with our service center and then can set up a date for you to either deliver it yourself or ship it.

Let us know if you have any more questions


Time Sport USA


So far its been about 2-1/2 business days since your initial request, what did you expect to happen? 

You are being extremely unreasonable in your expectations as to how fast this process is supposed to work.

Our Service Center is in San Mateo California, but that person, who works in San Mateo, California, who does our repairs, is currently in Europe until next week.


Thank you

Time Sport USA

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dateMon, Apr 6, 2009 at 7:47 PM
subjectRe: Follow-up on 2006 VXR warranty

hide details 7:47 PM (14 hours ago) Reply



Sir,


How do you expect me to react? 


- I e-mailed Chris, whom I assumed was a VP with a bunch of questions, and to address my concerns about your product (not knowing that he is no longer with TIME), and all I got was an immediate response that he no longer works with TIME. Did you at least consider answering the questions yourself, or even responded that you will look into my inquiries? NO. 


- Why did you not respond to my e-mails last Friday? Why did you wait until you got my follow-up e-mail this afternoon to take action?


- Should'nt you at least respond by apologizing or symphatizing with a customer who was inconvenienced by a product failure?

And now, you have the nerve to ask me, your customer, what I expect to happen after 2 1/2 business days? Simple - I expect immediate responses and answers. 


If you're upset at the fact that I posted my concerns on the forum and that my expectations from TIME is too high - you should realize that it is through this forum that I chose TIME over Colnago and Look, 
- you should realize that I was sold to your Company by the non-bias reviews that is available on this forum. 
- you should be aware that your product caters to a certain demographic, that is very demanding of quality and service from a reputable company like TIME.

Thank you. 

Customer


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

Good grief. I'm with Time on this one. You need to chill out.


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

I would have, FF.

- If I was'nt kept hanging for 2 1/2 business days (plus the weekend) 

- If at least the responses were more apologetic and symphathetic.

I AM STILL A CUSTOMER.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

gs3exec said:


> I would have, FF.
> 
> - If I was'nt kept hanging for 2 1/2 business days (plus the weekend)
> 
> ...


I feel your pain, man. Being without a bike is terrible. Keep one thing in mind though, you catch more flies with honey sometimes.

Then again, that's just my opinion though. I may be totally wrong. 

Honestly 2.5 days isn't that bad. That seems to be a fast response in the bike industry, honestly, at least from my experience.


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## toonraid (Sep 19, 2006)

I 2nd the motion - I have heard of guys having a running issue for months with other high end manufacturers such as Colnago & Pinarello so u need to chill and this coming from a guy who is into Looks & Ridley's.


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

FondriestFan said:


> I feel your pain, man. Being without a bike is terrible. Keep one thing in mind though, you catch more flies with honey sometimes.
> 
> Then again, that's just my opinion though. I may be totally wrong.
> 
> Honestly 2.5 days isn't that bad. That seems to be a fast response in the bike industry, honestly, at least from my experience.



Guys, I'm chilling out right now...........have'nt bugged the folks at TIME regarding this issue since my last e-mail. The ball is in their court and would wait until the end of the week, as noted, to wait for instructions. 

FF, catching more flies with honey goes both ways.....right? . It would have been a different scenario if those folks responded with something like;

- Our apologies for the inconvenience......................
- Sorry for the late response....................

Instead of:

"Later on Thursday you then try to contact a different person, Chris Smith, and ask him a bunch of questions *that you could have easily asked us the next day," *

This person responded with "Chris Smith is no longer employed by Time Sport USA" and did not answer the questions.

"*You are being extremely unreasonable in your expectations *as to how fast this process is supposed to work."

I may be wrong, but these responses just pushed the wrong button for me. I admitted and noted on my inquiries/postings how impressed I was with the first 2 responses from them.......they were the one who set the bar for me to assume that they were on top of their game in terms of taking care of their customers. I guess I set the bar too high for them. 

At this point, I'm already down a couple of $$$$ having my LBS disassemble the bike for me, preparing to spend $$$$ for shipping and having it assembled again, and sadly staring at a dismantled bike everytime I go inside my den for almost a week now. I'm not even sure if TIME will cover painting the scratches on the hanger, and the down tube where the chain rubbed when it happened. The bike frame and fork was in pristine condition w/ just 2 hairline paint chipped that is not even noticeable. Quite frankly, the part I hate most is dealing with the fact that it will not be the same bike anymore.

Anyway, I appreciate all your inputs and will hope for the best. I will keep you posted.


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

What's the latest?


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

I did'nt get any follow-up e-mail or instructions last Friday as noted on their last communication, so I decided to e-mail and throw some follow-up questions regarding the scope of their "lifetime warranty". As you can see on their response today, I am one customer that won't be buying any of their products ever again. 

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From: Customer
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 1:52 PM
To: TIME SPORT USA - Customer Service
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: Follow-up on 2006 VXR warranty


Good morning,

Before you respond back with instructions on when / where to ship the damaged frame, I need to know the scope of what TIME is covering since you already stated that the damage does not warrant a replacement. Because of the “hanger” failure, there are now (2) two evident scratches on the down tube as noted on the pictures I sent you last week. Will this be covered by the warranty?

Quite frankly, I’m not happy with the resolution you are offering especially after paying a premium price for a premium frame, do about every maintenance and care possible to keep it in pristine condition, was barely used with less than 850 miles on it, and then end up with a broken part that you at TIME acknowledged were occasionally having problems with. It kind of takes the wind out of your sails if you ask me


Customer


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Sent: Friday, April 13, 2009 3:15 PM
To: Customer
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: Follow-up on 2006 VXR warranty

Hello,

We were not able to view the pictures. We apologize but the scratches would not be covered under the warranty and would not be repaired. We will re-secure the derailleur hanger to the frame.
To save you the shipping charges you can drop the frame off at Velo Pasadena and our area rep will deliver it himself to the Service Center.
If you would like to drop it off, it would have to be there by Wednesday morning 4/15.

When dropping it off please tell Velo Pasadena that the Time rep will be picking it up for repair.

Thank you

Time Sport USA

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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

As an owner of a Time VXRS I'm a bit concerned about the pattern of anecdotal evidence about the poor service regarding warranty issues portrayed on this and others forums such as weightweenies.com. Next time I'm over at Velo Pasadena and I see Hrach (the owner) I'll probably ask him about it... and I'll probably suggest I'm might be more interested in a Colnago (which he also sells) the next time I'm shopping for a new frame to see if I can get a candid response from him about this.


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## toonraid (Sep 19, 2006)

Not good idea - Italian's aren't famed for their warranty plan, perhaps a good idea to check Colnago and Pina forums.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

toonraid said:


> Not good idea - Italian's aren't famed for their warranty plan, perhaps a good idea to check Colnago and Pina forums.



I've never heard/read of any complaints about C50s, EPs/EPSs at etc. with broken hard points like shifter and bottle cage bosses, cable stops and front derailleur hangers due to corroded fasteners like I have several times regarding Time frames. 

Pinas... for get about it... they don't even fit me.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

I've been following this thread for a while. I think you should have been a bit more chill in your communications with Time I also think at this point you may be better off/happier if you sent the frame to Calfee to do a full/nicely finished repair.


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## Maverick (Apr 29, 2004)

rocco said:


> As an owner of a Time VXRS I'm a bit concerned about the pattern of anecdotal evidence about the poor service regarding warranty issues portrayed on this and others forums such as weightweenies.com. Next time I'm over at Velo Pasadena and I see Hrach (the owner) I'll probably ask him about it... and I'll probably suggest I'm might be more interested in a Colnago (which he also sells) the next time I'm shopping for a new frame to see if I can get a candid response from him about this.


rocco,

do keep us in the loop and tell us how TIME's rep @ Velo Pasadena respond to such issues.
should be an interesting conversation.

on a side note, although TIME's product are generally great, but frankly there has been quite a few complaints on their customer service. from numerous discussion forums, it seemed LOOK's customer service among the best so far.

cheers


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

Here's an update as I also posted this issue on the "General Discussions" forum. 

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=2112055#post2112055


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Maverick said:


> rocco,
> 
> do keep us in the loop and tell us how TIME's rep @ Velo Pasadena respond to such issues.
> should be an interesting conversation.
> ...



I love my VXRS and Hrach's own personal ride is also a Time if that means anything. On the other hand, I've literally seen Hrach show a customer both Time and Colnago frames and ultimately the customer bought the Colnago.


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

TIMESPORT actually posted on the "General Discussion" forum.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=2112263#post2112263


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

gs3exec said:


> TIMESPORT actually posted on the "General Discussion" forum.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=2112263#post2112263


I just re-read your initial OP and I guess you can make an argument for both sides.
If you paid a lot of money for a bike a top notch customer service should come with it. 
With that said, I'm little puzzled as why you are so upset with the time they took to response. After all, the April 5th was Palm Sunday followed by Easter Sunday on the 12th. I know many companies/employee were on vacation during that week....heck I took off from work from April 2nd thru today.
Again, I'm not trying to defend Time and give you a hard time but I think the time they took to respond to you during the holiday week was more than adequate in my opinion. 

Hope everythig works out for you.

By the way, you only logged 850 miles on that nice bike in a year????
You gotta get out more often.


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## gs3exec (Aug 7, 2007)

cpark said:


> I just re-read your initial OP and I guess you can make an argument for both sides.
> If you paid a lot of money for a bike a top notch customer service should come with it.
> With that said, I'm little puzzled as why you are so upset with the time they took to response. After all, the April 5th was Palm Sunday followed by Easter Sunday on the 12th. I know many companies/employee were on vacation during that week....heck I took off from work from April 2nd thru today.
> Again, I'm not trying to defend Time and give you a hard time but I think the time they took to respond to you during the holiday week was more than adequate in my opinion.
> ...


I have to admit that I may have gone overboard on the response time issue. It's just that as you also noted, you pay top notch $$$ and you expect top notch service. I'm way passed that and just upset with their resolution.

And correction, it's less than 850 miles in two years


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## Borti (Aug 1, 2008)

While I think 2.5 business days for a bike company is ridiculously awesome - telling a customer that they are being extremely unreasonable is a no no. I work in sales and sell some very expensive product compared to our competitors so I expect high-maintenance customers from time to time - as should Time and accusing the customer of anything is a little odd.

Having worked in a similar industry and with many bike companies on a wholesale side of things - I would say the fact that you got an immediate response was great service for a company of their size. Not saying you are wrong, nor should you expect good service but that seems to be above average for a company of that size.

Good luck - and I know what it is like to be without a bike - so that is why I have several!

Bobby


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

gs3exec said:


> I have to admit that I may have gone overboard on the response time issue. It's just that as you also noted, you pay top notch $$$ and you expect top notch service. I'm way passed that and just upset with their resolution.
> 
> And correction, it's less than 850 miles in two years


For someone who doesn't ride their bike much, you sure are a pill. 

On a different note, Chris Smith has posted some awesome track videos on youtube.


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## tsteahr (Dec 29, 2002)

It is not that difficult to replace the rivets yourself if you are reasonably mechanically inclined. I had the rivets fail on my 05 VXR and successfully replaced all three aluminum rivets with stainless rivets and used a high quality epoxy for additional strength. I do not expect to have any further issues with this hanger. Its on there for good now.


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## midicun (Sep 26, 2008)

I will think twice before I buy TIME now. Thanks for posting this. No excuse for rudeness when you pay over $4K. I also work in Sales and if I spoke to a customer this way; I would be fired.


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

Maverick said:


> rocco,
> 
> do keep us in the loop and tell us how TIME's rep @ Velo Pasadena respond to such issues.
> should be an interesting conversation.
> ...



I've seen Hrach a few times over the last month or so but I keep forgetting to bring this subject up with him.


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