Serving the Customer with Integrity

I've been in the customer service business for over 20 years. The most recent 10 years with a company that truly talked the talk and walked the walk. So I know a bit about what it takes to both meet and exceed the customer's expectations when it comes to purchasing products on line or over the phone. In fact, I guess you could say I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Recently, when looking to purchase a trailer hitch for my Sassy , an 03 Valkyrie Standard with attitude, I went to Honda Direct Line Parts. They had a good price on a Big Bike Parts Hitch and the shipping was free. So I made the purchase on line.

After 4 days and no hitch, I called to see what was up. The associate who answered the phone said he had my order, but no tracking number. When I asked if it had shipped he said "yes, it shipped yesterday but I don't have a tracking number for it." Now mind you that was several days after placing the order that it was even processed to ship. When I pushed for confirmation that it had shipped he assured me that it had.

The very next morning, I get a "shipping confirmation" email on a package that shipped on 3/17...the same day I had talked with George. So I called to see what that item was. George told me it was just a delayed shipping confirmation on my hitch. Not believing his story, I sent an email to them asking what the item was and was told by Chris that it was the adapters for the hitch! Uhm...

I sent Chris an email back inquiring why I got a shipping confirmation on the adapters, but never one on the hitch. Yet to hear back. Eventually, I learned that the hitch NEVER shipped... so I cancelled the order and went
to Hitch Doc.

Bottom line here is... this is twice this has happened to me with this company. The first time, the issue was resolved with a sincere apology so I thought I'd give them another shot at my business. NEVER AGAIN! Being slow to process and ship orders is one thing. Misleading the customer is something else. Too many other companies out there who are willing to deal straight up with the customer. For example....

I spoke to an associate about purchasing a helmet and if it didn't fit right, could I return it. They assured me that if it was in sellable condition there would be no problem with the return. And they did define "sellable". So I placed an order with them late on a Wednesday afternoon... received an order confirmation same day, a shipping confirmation the next day, and the helmet on the following Monday. NOW THAT'S CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!!!

I am aware that this only amounts to one customer's experience and some of you reading this have had positive experiences with HDL...that's great. Not arguing that. Just beware, if they are misleading one customer, you could be next.

Norm MacDonald
Galloway OH
VRCC # 19948