Top Saddlery seat defect?

[RJ2112]

Thank you for clarifying. I appreciate you doing so. Language is difficult to translate accurately.

There have been a number of reports on this forum of seats shipped to the United States from TS, that have arrived with the seat pans broken in two. With photographs.

What is your explanation of this?

 

[ant_mb]

OK, now we know that taking money from you gets your attention! What about this guy? Seat Mishap! How have you handled this situation? My guess is since he can't take any money from you you won't respond.


Then you give me a used seat pan(I paid for new), and expect me to pay to have it shipped back to you. When I expressed my dissatisfaction with that you simply never responded back. Is that what 15 yeas of experience have taught you? If you ignore the problems from another country they simply go away? That's just bad customer service in my book.

Here is a poll done on TS seats. POLL

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

Man, all you guys are too rough with your seats, i have counted 5 poeple already that have the same rip in the same place... didnt you see my ruler that shows a safe distance of droppage before a rip can occur?

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

damage report, vote here: http://www.600riders.com/forum/bar/26235-top-saddlery-damage-report.html

 

[CrazyBiker]

looks like there are issues with recent upholstering process. Mine has stayed immaculate for all the hard miles I put on it.

 

[S.D.Willie]

This thread went from serious to downright hysterical. Thanks for all the laughs i had at work with this stuff YamahaMAXdRPMs. That was really funny. And the spinal tap comment in the thread was spot on. Too bad i still have a seat that is not what it should be.

 

[ant_mb]

TS chose not to respond to the other two threads. I watched him read them both and nothing. Goes to confirm what I thought. If you can't take money from them they're not going to respond. Sad!

 

[clunk]

"or from friction against an abrasive surface such as the rubbing of the seat when placed in a vertical position on a concrete floor"

Or maybe the friction from being packed too tightly inside of a box that's too small??? While cardboard may not be very abrasive, if you press and rub long enough on just about anything you can wear it down. I believe this theory correlates well with the reports of damaged shipping boxes.

And BTW, I have also had my original Yamaha seat standing up in a vertical position on a concrete floor for over a year now (currently using "comfort" seat). No damage (spontaneous or otherwise) to that seat yet.

 

[Jman]

Well, Top Sellerie, at least you actually responded to someone's thread. Unfortunately, your excuses and explanations are pretty lame. I hope that you will treat customers better than you treated me when seats get damaged in shipment (twice). Ignoring people all together is not a real good reflection of your claim to business experience. I wish you no ill will and more so on any future customers you may have.:america:

 

[clunk]

Jman,

At your suggestion I started looking at the Airhawk as an alternative. Not quite as stylish, but it sounds like it will be effective. My "medium cruiser"
seat cushion arrived today ($90 from eBay) and looks like it will be a decent fit.

Although the package was new, there weren't any connection straps inside, so I will get to compare and contrast Roho's customer service w/ Top Celery's. Worst case I'll have to buy Roho's $10 straps or jury-rig some of my own. Seems like it'll be pretty secure once strapped down.

 

[Jman]

Wow, that looks like it is the perfect size. Interested to hear more on how you like it.

 

[topsellerie]

TS chose not to respond to the other two threads. I watched him read them both and nothing. Goes to confirm what I thought. If you can't take money from them they're not going to respond. Sad!

TS does not work the same hours as you because of the time difference between France and the USA.
A lot of interesting information that I read last evening were real discoveries and will be as well for the management of the company ... In other words, all related information on this forum about the disappointments experienced by some have not yet reached the company management ; which should have been. I'll speak on behalf of the company management in the coming days and serious complaints reported by some forum members, such as those reported by Jman, in particular, will be permanently resolved. Our position yesterday expressed with respect to SDWillie will also, therefore.
I speak on behalf of a company with the necessary time to feedback to the company management + times of translation (more or less OK ; as you've seen yesterday with the "NOT" forgotten...) + workload elsewhere ; understand that I can't and will not respond to every post published on this forum. But please note that despite the repeated mockery of YamahaMAXdRPMs, I did not fail to thank him for opening the thread that interests me (even if it is not very efficient at the moment).
We have no policy to allow dissatisfied customers in nature. All the information has not been received as it should had been, that's all. And we will draw the necessary lessons, while solving problems. As we had solved the case of myrick4bmx, when I reached this forum for the first time on last July to resolve what the company management believed to be the only case of dysfunction manifests at that time.

 

[S.D.Willie]

TS does not work the same hours as you because of the time difference between France and the USA.
A lot of interesting information that I read last evening were real discoveries and will be as well for the management of the company ... In other words, all related information on this forum about the disappointments experienced by some have not yet reached the company management ; which should have been. I'll speak on behalf of the company management in the coming days and serious complaints reported by some forum members, such as those reported by Jman, in particular, will be permanently resolved. Our position yesterday expressed with respect to SDWillie will also, therefore.
I speak on behalf of a company with the necessary time to feedback to the company management + times of translation (more or less OK ; as you've seen yesterday with the "NOT" forgotten...) + workload elsewhere ; understand that I can't and will not respond to every post published on this forum. But please note that despite the repeated mockery of YamahaMAXdRPMs, I did not fail to thank him for opening the thread that interests me (even if it is not very efficient at the moment).
We have no policy to allow dissatisfied customers in nature. All the information has not been received as it should had been, that's all. And we will draw the necessary lessons, while solving problems. As we had solved the case of myrick4bmx, when I reached this forum for the first time on last July to resolve what the company management believed to be the only case of dysfunction manifests at that time.

At this point the seat is no longer on my bike until this is resolved. Let me be honest in saying I want to keep the seat, i love it. I would only ask the the price to repair the seat locally be deducted from the original cost. To be fair a local shop said they could repair the seat for about $60.00 which would be cheaper than shipping it back and the turnaround time would be very quick. I think this is fair because Top Sellerie doesn't lose any time repairing the seat and also you dont have another seat coming your way for a return or repair. With regards to other members issues with broken seat pans I am hoping you can understand my hesitance to send it back overseas. Since you offered to pay the shipping cost the one way doing it this way ends up being cheaper for both of us. I hope you are willing to do this for me, the customer.

Sincerely,
Bill R.

 

[Jman]

In all fairness, I would like to inform the forum that the Top Sellerie of this forum has contacted me. For the sake of transparency, this is what was written in my visitor messages area:

Be sure the management of the company is only discovering your problems today... You can easy imagine that if this information as not reached it, it is because of a problem of person inside the company.
Therefore, this post exists to resolve your problem. So, can you send at this email address ([email protected]) the number of your order and forward all the emails you have sent us to explain your problem. If you have received one or several emails back from us, thanks in advance to forward them as well.

Best regards,

Top Sellerie


Let me just say that I am not sure how - in all the forum posting on this topic and all the emails sent to TS (that was previously working just fine for placing the order, asking questions about the materials and communications on the first damaged seat), that management is just now hearing of these problems exactly 1 month after getting informed of the second cracked in half seat.

However, I am willing to document and offer praise to any corrections that may be offered. In the spirit of documenting my continued experience, this is what I wrote in response:

Hi Top Sellerie(forumFZ6),

I will forward the emails that you requested. The first one has the original damage. The second email has what was returned to me. Since no one responded to me from the email address that had previously been used to communicate with me at Top Sellerie - I spent another 100 US dollars trying to transfer the seat cover and foam to my stock pan to try and salvage the 600 and some dollars spent at that point. Did not turn out very well. At this point, as you can imagine (if you were me), I am disgusted with the whole Top Sellerie experience. If you want to do something to make it right, that is fine with me. However, I will not spend another dime on my end as I have already given up the equivalent of a mortgage payment for a motorcycle seat.

Best Regards,

Justin

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

But please note that despite the repeated mockery of YamahaMAXdRPMs, I did not fail to thank him

thank you thank you, im glad my mockery did not go unnoticed, i would like to think that a small piece of all this "resolvment" (new word, enjoy it) had to do with me, and my heartfelt counseling.

now, back on topic.

i dont buy it. here is why.

A: You mean to tell me, allllll these people for all these months have had issues with their seats, complained complain and complained, and one person makes a post and all of a sudden, it was rude of them to "go online and voice their opinion?" doubt it, the way i see it, if you had answered his emails when he sent them, you wouldnt have this neg feedback.
B: why is it that this whole issue was his problem, something he did wrong, when sooo many people have had the same issue in the same area.
C: I enjoyed how you said this is the first you have heard of any complaints... do you have your spam folder settings set to "no complaints"

personally i would NEVER buy a seat from you now, i have in the past been very close, and even took the time to build a custom one... now, i would go with corbin or another brand far before i would buy yours.

its simple

-Bad quality: how can you make a seat, thousands of them, that all have the same problem in the same area? and if you have had "15 years experience" im sure we are not the first to complain. and the funny thing is, when someone does complain, you tell them its their fault... haha. thats completely insane.

-P!ss poor customer service: first of all, you dont reply to peoples emails, and it seems when you do, all you do is say its their fault, and it can be fixed, but it will cost them. NO, TOP SAD its YOUR fault, YOU fix it and YOU pay for shipping.

-Immaturity: im sorry, if you want to be a reputable company, you should be able to take criticism. when someone doesnt like a product you sell (for obvious reasons) you should take the criticism, especially if they tried to solve it with you professionally before they went public and you chose not to respond. You do not come on that website, looking for backup to make you look good, you obviously didnt get it. and now you start back pedaling.

-Lying: lets be serious... you really expect us to believe that these problems are just now coming to you today? we are not stupid, you thought you could bully people one at a time, but once a group started to form, you need to back pedal and "pretend" that this is the first you have heard of it.

here is what im gonna do. I am putting an
"ANTI TOP SADDLERY"
logo in my signature, i encourage everyone to do the same until ALLL the issues are resolved with every member who has one. Only then will i remove it. We are a family, we need to stick up for fellow family members.


you made your bed, now you sleep in it.
​

 

[RJ2112]

TS does not work the same hours as you because of the time difference between France and the USA. .............

I'll speak on behalf of the company management in the coming days and serious complaints reported by some forum members, such as those reported by Jman, in particular, will be permanently resolved................

I speak on behalf of a company with the necessary time to feedback to the company management + times of translation (more or less OK ; as you've seen yesterday with the "NOT" forgotten...) + workload elsewhere ; understand that I can't and will not respond to every post published on this forum. ..............

We have no policy to allow dissatisfied customers in nature. All the information has not been received as it should had been, that's all. And we will draw the necessary lessons, while solving problems. ............

I reached this forum for the first time on last July to resolve what the company management believed to be the only case of dysfunction manifests at that time.

All of these points are good ones, and should be addressed by any company that wants to conduct itself in a professional manner. If your company has not heard of ISO 9000 standards, you need to. Quality does not happen, 'because I say so'.

ISO standards are the basis of why the Japanese are so effectively anal about quality control. In the simplest terms, 'Say what we do, Do what we say." Write out the quality standards that you desire to live up to. Document your performance and compare the two. Investigate all field failures of your product, and drive them to root cause. Do not stop working the problem when it becomes inconvenient.

 

[clunk]

Mentioned earlier that I bought an Airhawk seat cushion, but it arrived without the attachment straps. Called Roho and they apologized for the inconvenience and said they would send a set out today.

That's the way customer service is supposed to work ...

 

[FZ1inNH]

You mean to tell me, allllll these people for all these months have had issues with their seats, complained complain and complained, and one person makes a post and all of a sudden, it was rude of them to "go online and voice their opinion?" doubt it, the way i see it, if you had answered his emails when he sent them, you wouldnt have this neg feedback.

I'm not defending either party here but I've ordered three seats, one FZ6 and two FZ1 seats and none had problems at all. The number of complaints here in the forums don't outnumber the successful orders by my count.

-Bad quality: how can you make a seat, thousands of them, that all have the same problem in the same area?

You have to be a bit more fair about this. It is three or four here out of how many that ordered? Heck, I alone have been through three of them

-P!ss poor customer service: first of all, you dont reply to peoples emails

This Rep does state there was an issue with an employee. If that person is in charge of directing complaints and doesn't do their job, or hides the e-mails, how can anyone else at the company know? If anything, that alone makes more sense to me when we discuss Top Sellerie's lack of response because I find it hard to believe they DON'T have customer service in mind. It only takes that ONE person at the other end to mess up the whole process. Regarding their e-mails, I guess it depends upon the recipient because in my dealings with them, they've been responsive with never more than two days but typically a response the same day. I'm cognizant of the time difference so I always tried to send e-mails EARLY my time knowing it's better than half way through their work day when I send it. If I sent it in the afternoon here, I wouldn't expect a response the same day as they have all gone home for the day in France.

I'm not saying you did NOT have issues with them, but I am saying that what you've stated doesn't apply to all their customers here in the forum. It may be that I was e-mailing someone responsible while you were e-mailing the troubled employee there, that is all.

logo in my signature, i encourage everyone to do the same until ALLL the issues are resolved with every member who has one. Only then will i remove it. We are a family, we need to stick up for fellow family members.

I understand you're upset and there are several others here that are having issues that need resolution with Top Sellerie but please don't expect everyone to jump on the band wagon and pump fists and pitchforks. They are stating above that they had an issue with an employee, that management is now learning of the issues and they are dedicated to an amicable resolution with those who have a problem with their seats. You spoke about immaturity? I think this attitude displays just that in the face of a company trying to make things right. They are offering to help and try to better things and this attitude will not help others who DO wish to resolve their matters with TS.

Please, calm down, work with them and get the issues resolved.

I don't know who first said it but I really love the old saying: "There's nothing that cannot be settled over a cup of coffee."

Please just consider it, ok? Thanks for reading.

 

[S.D.Willie]

Top Sellerie's most recent email to me was apologetic and they told me to basically ship the seat back usps, make a copy of the invoice(for shipping) and they will refund me the shipping and have the seat repaired within 48 hours. That sounds great but I am still worried about the handling of the box with usps going both ways. I thought that deducting the cost of what it would be to repair the seat(an opton i asked them to honor) would be cheaper for all involved and faster but I guess they didnt particularly want to go that route.

 

[RJ2112]

They gain insight into what is going on, by physically seeing the damage done. I'd be willing to bet the gentleman who is stating it's a shipping issue with too small of a box/lack of proper cushioning is right.

As it stands, there are two failure modes that might be attributed to the shipping container (and packaging).... the abrasion issue seen on your seat, and the more catastrophic seat pan issue.