The Best Customer Service

I am spoiled. In 1987, I bought an Easy Racer Tour Easy via mail order direct from Easy Racers, Inc. in Freedom, California. At that time, there were no Easy Racers dealers in the state of Washington and recumbent dealers were scarce anywhere back then. I guess you could say that this purchase changed recumbent history. I took my purchase seriously. I went beyond the call of duty. I bought a bike stand, manuals, tools and was ready to be 100% on my own without a dealer's support. Luckily, my purchase experience was fantastic.

In the tradition of Easy Racers, there is a new kid on the block who also believes that customers are #1 and seeks long term customer relationships. Owners are part of an exclusive club. They will feel appreciated, and special. Most models come with identification plates that say, "Custom made for..." attached to the frame. Dealing with this company was an exceptional experience.

The Bike Friday model is an upright New World Tourist (my only wedgie). The bike order was taken by one of the knowledgeable experts at Greengear in Eugene, Oregon. I outlined my riding style, body size, and a few rants about components and upgrades and that was it. I was given a delivery date. Not a ship date mind you, but a date on which the bike would be delivered to my door. So, they weren't exact, but it arrived via Fedex before I could call. And their intentions were good.

The box was small. As most Bike Friday's are shipped in suitcases. I happened to be home spending some time my son, Dan. We opened the case and were amazed at how carefally the bike was wrapped and placed into the suitcase. We picked up the bike and pulled it out of the box looking for some instructions. I don't usually get my hopes too high as with most recumbents, we are lucky to even get an owner's manual--let alone a well put together package of every bit of info I could hope for-as came with my Bike Friday.

First we found a video. We headed off for the VCR to watch, "a bike movie." The Bike Friday video music is a mix of an original score with a James Bond theme. The video walks the new owner through opening the box, removing the suitcase, the vital wrapped parts, the TOOLKIT (yes, the bike has its own toolkit, providing every tool I will need to set up my Bike Friday). Any place some part of the Bike Friday might get scratched is careflilly wrapped in felt or specially cut plastic pieces. The video was 55 minutes long. It went through the different models, how they differ in assembly, and even a carefully choreographed lesson in how quick releases work. Next the video discussed accessories, special features and the really cool Bike Friday suitcase trailer kit and hitch (these cool trailers will work on any recumbent and have an ingenious bolt-on hitch).

Next we got into the packet of printed goodies: First came the warranty card which lets me rate the bike (yeehaw!); I got an invitation to a Bike Friday Rally; Two brochures for European tours; A brochure on the suitcase the bike came in; A cool Bike Friday manual written in MY language about how to take care of my 3x7 hub (now who else does this?); A color brochure on the bikes; A color brochure on the options; A Bike Friday Newsletter; A BicycleR Evolution trailer brochure; Another bag full of component instructions; Some extra parts (6 spokes); Some cool stickers to personalize my Bike Friday; And yet another note about quick releases, with an invitation to call Bike Friday if I had ANY questions whatsoever. Last, but certainly not least is the 28-page owner's manual, complete with Polaroids of MY bike in its case and personalized with my name and bike's serial number. There are some cards so that owners can get a commission on other Bike Friday's and even a Bike Friday pen to fill out the warranty card.

After watching the video, Dan and I set up the Bike Friday, installed the cool one-bolt 20" Bike Friday (Apex) fenders and 10 minutes later I'm zooming down the road.

On top of all of this stuff, Bike Friday has a service hotline and people on call to get you the parts you need if you are out on tour with a problem, need a part or even a tire or tube. Greengear guarantees resale value in trade anytime you want to upgrade to a new model. This keeps the prices of used Bike Friday's strong. This is my kind of bike company. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to suggest that recumbent manufacturers buy a Bike Friday to see how customers shouldbe treated when they are spending big bucks on a bike and to check out their customer-friendly manuals, tools, parts, and accessories.

So, was the experience PERFECT? Well, you know me. Nothing is perfekt. I think Bike Friday welders could use a course in TIG Welding as Art The weld beads weren't as beautifal as the best we see, though the bike was perfectly adjusted and has worked very well. My bike has a wayward, sometime-squeak in the folding mechanism. My call to Greengear's 1-800 service was answered politely. I was told that somebody would call me back soon. After a few hours of waiting, I got impatient and called them back. Service made the diagnosis and offered to send parts that (hopefully) would solve the problem, though I may have to send my bike back to Eugene if the current solution doesn't work. They also told me this was a rare problem. I assume that it was because I wasn't broken down in some far off land that I didn't get the really FAST service, though it was better than most.

As for Greengear's new Sat R Day Recumbent, we are expecting a current version of the Sat R Day recumbent any day now. We understand that it has gone through several changes in the past year. We've heard from one reader who loves his (better than his V-Rex and Altitude), though we've heard of some glitches as well. We can only hope that the Sat R day will be as good as the Greengear Bike Friday upright models.

Viva Recumbency
Bob Bryant