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lickton's gets no more business from me!



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 21st 08, 09:25 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
walter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee he shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's
Ads
  #2  
Old April 21st 08, 10:18 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Zoot Katz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 941
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:25:38 -0700 (PDT), walter
wrote:

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee he shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's


Curt + 1
Walther 0

Tell ya what, Walter, go get me a shiney sharp object from your
kitchen drawer. Put it in an envelope. Make sure it's not going to
pierce the packaging. Put my address on the envelope. Now take it to
the post office and pay the postage.

Tell me that you'll do that for a stranger for less than six bucks.
--
zk
  #3  
Old April 21st 08, 11:35 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Mike Jacoubowsky
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,972
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous,


It's not a markup, it's a service charge.

My goodness, do you go into a restaraunt and complain that they shouldn't be
charging $6 for a salad that has .50 worth of vegetables or whatever in it?
How is that different?

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"walter" wrote in message
...
i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee he shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's



  #4  
Old April 22nd 08, 12:55 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Tom Sherman[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,890
Default Lickton's gets no more business from me!

Zoot Katz wrote:
On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:25:38 -0700 (PDT), walter
wrote:

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee he shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's


Curt + 1
Walther 0

Tell ya what, Walter, go get me a shiney sharp object from your
kitchen drawer. Put it in an envelope. Make sure it's not going to
pierce the packaging. Put my address on the envelope. Now take it to
the post office and pay the postage.

Tell me that you'll do that for a stranger for less than six bucks.


Having performed lower management, my opinion is that Zoot is correct,
and Walter Manning is off base.

This post will NOT discourage me from ordering from Lickton's.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
  #5  
Old April 22nd 08, 01:13 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Tim McNamara
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,945
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

In article
,
walter wrote:

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on
the basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a
jackass who knows nothing at all about customer service.


Lickton's is a brick and mortar shop that has been in business for at
least 30+ years, since I first did business with them in 1978 and they
were well-known then. Bob Lickton is notorious cranky and, from a
customer service perspective, that's not a particularly good thing as
you point out. On the other hand, he's managed to be in business for a
long time and to develop a reputation as one of the better shops in the
Chicago area. So he's done something right.

I'm baffled by buying a lock ring by mail order and not just riding down
to the LBS to get one. Unless you only have LBSes with worse customer
service than Lickton's.

As a customer, of course, you certainly have the right to no longer do
business with them if their service was unsatisfactory from your
perspective.
  #6  
Old April 22nd 08, 01:37 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Leo Lichtman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 767
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!


"walter" wrote: (clip) further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
(clip)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lemme guess. They didn't actually say that you were subsidizing Kryptonite
locks. They tried to point out that they have a minimum charge, which
results in less margin for handling on the heavier items (like Kryptonite
locks.)

It would be a good customer relations ploy to have a sub-minimum charge for
items that will fit in a first-class envelope.


  #7  
Old April 22nd 08, 02:07 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,673
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

On Apr 21, 8:13 pm, Tim McNamara wrote:


I'm baffled by buying a lock ring by mail order and not just riding down
to the LBS to get one. Unless you only have LBSes with worse customer
service than Lickton's.


Could be Walter has already gotten angry at all his local bike shops
because they're not working for free, either.

- Frank Krygowski
  #8  
Old April 22nd 08, 02:07 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
SLAVE of THE STATE
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,774
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

On Apr 21, 5:13*pm, Tim McNamara wrote:

As a customer, of course, you certainly have the right to no longer do
business with them /if/ their service was unsatisfactory from your
perspective.


... if ...? wtf?

He doesn't have to do business with them for any reason or for no
reason.

BTW, Walt is a cry-baby who has nothing better to do than waste his
time and everyone else's time complaining about some gd sub-$10
purchase that went all wrong. I mean, he could post something about
global warming.

Walt, you wouldn't own a Bianchi, per chance?



  #9  
Old April 22nd 08, 02:15 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
ZBicyclist
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 342
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

My goodness, do you go into a restaraunt and complain that they
shouldn't be charging $6 for a salad that has .50 worth of vegetables
or whatever in it? How is that different?


One hopes the waitress is more attractive than Robert Lickton.

Another example is medicine.

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."

Doctor: "Don't do that."

That will cost you upwards of $50.


  #10  
Old April 22nd 08, 02:17 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.racing,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.soc
Zoot Katz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 941
Default lickton's gets no more business from me!

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:37:09 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


"walter" wrote: (clip) further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.
(clip)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lemme guess. They didn't actually say that you were subsidizing Kryptonite
locks. They tried to point out that they have a minimum charge, which
results in less margin for handling on the heavier items (like Kryptonite
locks.)

It would be a good customer relations ploy to have a sub-minimum charge for
items that will fit in a first-class envelope.

Stickers?
--
zk
 




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