Australian Motorcycle Components SUCK

Okay, so I thought, surely it cannot happen to me again........ well I was wrong. About a year ago I ordered a Sargent seat for my VStrom from AMC. Took ages to get, I forget how long, but think it was about 2 months after their website initially said they had them in stock.

Ordered another one for my GSX1250FA on 28 May 2012. This time the website had some comment about delivery that I did not understand, so asked them how long it would be, came back with 3-4 weeks. It has now been 8 weeks and nothing, nothing, no seat, no email, no nothing. I have been traveling for work, so was hoping it would get here before I do, but no. To make things worse I followed up a couple of days ago asking for an update, not a peep so far.

What the hell is wrong with these people

I wil NEVER do business with them again, I do not care if they are supposedly the only distributor in AUS. I am next writing to Sargent directly to tell them how pathetic AMC's service is.

And rightly so .Maybe a polite (and i mean polite ) phone call to the manager (AMC) might help you and him .

I know this is trivial but the other day Carol went into a chemist to buy me some earplugs $1 (new pipe sorting ) .Got a dud pair ,squish them and they
bounced back to shape immediately .I took them back in to replace ,young girl behind the counter refused saying she thought they were ok and to replace it she would have to get the manager . I couldn't believe my ears . (sorry ) Told her she could use them then, left them on the
counter and walked out .I shall travel to the next town to get anything else , be careful who you employ.

After another follow-up email yesterday I got a response this morning claiming the factory has been busy with some BMW show and new product releases. Said the seat will leave the factory on 28 August, and then a week to ship. That would make it 3 months after the order was placed before it even leaves the factory. Just not good enough in my book.

Mate cancel your order!!!

I use Solomotoparts & Absolutely love them mate. Fast & friendly email responds. My Arrow Race Headers come from them. Like the Sargent seat, the the Header wasn't listed for Bandits. So a email was sent and replied too. 2 weeks was the estimated delivery time as he order them from Italy. Italy to the US to Me in 10 days. at near half the price of it here in Oz.

Hey Vellies

I tend to buy more and more goods overseas, motorcycle parts, dog grooming equipment, electronic test equipment and recently a replacement battery for wife's mobile phone ($11 on EBay or $40 from Aus battery supplier - I wonder which I will choose )

If you are not committed to your current purchase I suggest you give Jake Wilson a call.

They do not list the GSX1250 on their website but do list GSF1250 and GSX650. I reckon they would be able to provide a seat for your bike. Incidentally the two seats listed sell for $378 US. If you add $40 for freight and do a currency conversion it comes to just over $400. I have purchased tyres from Jake Wilson and they were delivered to my door 6 days after purchase from Utah to Mackay. I'm impressed.

I have phoned them several times and just love being treated as a valued customer. Our 10:00 pm is 8:00 am their time (the day before). Their phone number is 0011 1 801 465 4595 (I think!).

i ordered a screen from AMC told me 3 weeks it took 9 weeks there shit for delivery full of excuses was not happy will not deal with them again

Danmoto .China to my door .8 days .

Thanks all, appreciate all the alternatives.

I agree with BanditDave 100%. Fuck buying local. You'll just get ripped off and treated with utter contempt.

Jake Wilson is fantastic! Great price and service. I ordered a rear tyre from them at 10am on a Tuesday, and it arrived 7am on the Friday of that week (geez Dave, did you really have to wait SIX days?). I saved $110 on the tyre, even after paying $20 to have it fitted locally.

For all the things that are said about the poor old Yanks, you have to give them one thing. Customer service. I think that it all stems from their custom of " tipping ". Obviously the better the service, the bigger the tip. Over here NO tips. Who cares about good service ? It is bred into the American way of life from an early age. I take my hat off to them for that.

rolls wrote:I agree with BanditDave 100%. Fuck buying local. You'll just get ripped off and treated with utter contempt.

Jake Wilson is fantastic! Great price and service. I ordered a rear tyre from them at 10am on a Tuesday, and it arrived 7am on the Friday of that week (geez Dave, did you really have to wait SIX days?). I saved $110 on the tyre, even after paying $20 to have it fitted locally.

What sought of money are you paying for postage guys?

Cost of shipping depends on the item, and how quickly you want it delivered. I have ordered many things from overseas suppliers like SV Racing, MorePower Racing, Twisted Throttle, etc. My latest purchase was an exhaust from MorePowerRacing in the states, shipping is $97, and should take 5-10 days. Because they have a proper website I could see my order was dispatched 2 days after I placed it. There was another option with 3-5 day delivery but was $180 or there about. Even with shipping included I saved nearly $200 on the exhaust over what I was quoted locally.

I really appreciate the references to other vendors, I have no hesitation to shop in the US.

Lastly, I agree with the tipping culture. I lived in Canada for 3 years, and it was quite noticeable just how poor service in general was when I returned to Australia.

Kaupy1962 wrote: What sought of money are you paying for postage guys?

From memory it was $55 for the tyre.

Vellies wrote:After another follow-up email yesterday I got a response this morning claiming the factory has been busy with some BMW show and new product releases. Said the seat will leave the factory on 28 August, and then a week to ship. That would make it 3 months after the order was placed before it even leaves the factory. Just not good enough in my book.

I've had similar experience with my ZG screen I ordered through them. I've lost track now how long ago it was I first spoke with them and was told delivery would be end of May but I think it was around 12 May I placed the order. By mid June we had some email spats with each other after I had emailed Zero Gravity direct asking if I could bypass their Aussie distributor and buy direct from them or another of their international distributors. I added some views on their choice of distributor in AUST as part of my email (ie customer feedback). ZG USA obviously forwarded my email to AMC and I got a fairly clipped email from them. Don't need to air it here but I let them know my views (customer service etc) and they let me know all their problems.

In the end I left the order open... and one day, maybe.....a ZG touring screen just might arrive. As long as my visa isn't debited in the meantime I care little as I ended up sorting my own screen via a home made fix (another post). Last email I had from them was saying my screen wasn't on the expected shipment but ZG was arranging a special despatch and it would be 10 days or so. I think that was about 3 weeks ago.

Agree, there are definitely better supplier options out there and sadly, most are direct from overseas.

The only excellent service I've had within AUST for ordered products has been form Motorcycle Adventure Products (MAP), but that was mostly for my other bike. The killer for overseas orders from US now is the freight. Last order I did from the US was around $90 for the freight component. Product was still waaaay cheaper than buying through oz.

AMC? Unless you can walk in their door and walk out with the gear, shop elsewhere in my opinion. They might mean well, but they certainly don't deliver on what they say. Please note, I'm being really kind in my choice of words.

It only took 2 weeks from the states for my sargent seat and was actually cheaper then buying it here via Ebay. I have purchased othe items from them and AMC service is just rubbish and you will find cheaper.

Kaupy1962 wrote:
What sought of money are you paying for postage guys?

I recently purchased a set of PR3's, 6 k&n oil filters and a pair of 90 deg valve stems from Jake Wilson. $75 postage, delivered to my door 6 days after I ordered!

sb1250 wrote:

Kaupy1962 wrote:
What sought of money are you paying for postage guys?

I recently purchased a set of PR3's, 6 k&n oil filters and a pair of 90 deg valve stems from Jake Wilson. $75 postage, delivered to my door 6 days after I ordered!

Do you have trouble getting someone to fit the tyes? (think I read elsewhere on this forum that Aussie tyre retailers/fitters don't like to put on tyres imported from o/s)

I purchased a pair of tyre levers from Supercheap for $15 each plus a $10 rubber mallet.

I used some 'F' clamps and pieces of wood to break the beads - that was the hardest part.

The tyre levers and some bits of garden hose to protect the rims.

There are a number of You Tube examples for tyre changing.

Just for the record that's how all motorcyclists got around the problem 20+ years ago none of this "sissy shit" of going to the shop for simple tasks and paying a ridiculous amount for the privilege.

Incidentally, the local motorcycle shop quoted me $50 to fit two tyres if I brought in the wheels. My alternative for $10 less has provided me with a set of tyre levers and a rubber mallet

My mate and I bought the tyre changing kit (and static balancer) from Jake Wilson. Works an absolute treat. For less than $200 we have fitted dirt bike and road bike tyres without too many dramas. We also haven't scratched the rims unlike some shops

NTBill wrote:

Vellies wrote:After another follow-up email yesterday I got a response this morning claiming the factory has been busy with some BMW show and new product releases. Said the seat will leave the factory on 28 August, and then a week to ship. That would make it 3 months after the order was placed before it even leaves the factory. Just not good enough in my book.

AMC? Unless you can walk in their door and walk out with the gear, shop elsewhere in my opinion. They might mean well, but they certainly don't deliver on what they say. Please note, I'm being really kind in my choice of words.

An update on the original topic.

I got a phone call today from a very apologetic AMC. It seems John (or was it Robert) has been away for a few weeks and was upset to find on his return that my screen was there and had been for a while but a staff member had taken it upon themselves to cancel my order. He said he had no idea why but offered a big and seemingly genuine apology (more than once) He said I wasn't the only customer they had let down and admitted they had made some monumental stuff ups ( his words) and particularly among the bandit market. Triumph customers haven't fared too well either by the sounds of it. He told me the screen is getting sent priority mail tomorrow and has given me a pretty fair discount. Credit where credits due, the guy admitted to serious mistakes and said he'll be having a decent chat to the staff concerned. I guess my advice would now be, no matter who the supplier is, establish the communication channels early and ask to be kept updated.
Bill

I've just been alerted to this thread by a (happy) customer. Yes, we have many of them!

Firstly the name's Rob.

To address the various posts, last first.

I did call Bill this afternoon after becoming aware of a stuff up with his order, while checking several orders a particular staff member had been involved with during my absence. Originally Bill had been considering cancelling his order and it had been out of the file or cancellation. the staff member was instructed to return the order to the file, however for some reason (to be discussed) deleted in THEN returned it to the orders file (not even to the cancelled orders file) I obviously apologised to Bill and as he has said, discounted his order. At the end of the day, if one's staff make a mistake, as owner, you wear it and make it right.

Everything we had told Bill, regarding the delay in supply of his screen was correct- namely material delays at the factory, which is beyond our control.

I was more than a little annoyed over what I hand found at the time of the call Bill and it appears didn't clarify a couple of issues.

I did state that like anyone, we have had a couple of major stuff-ups over the years, and I will be the first to admit to those, though I didn't relate them to the Bandit forum.

I did say that we had a number of supply issues which impacted Bandit forum members. They (screens and seats) were supply issues. Orders on factories were timely, even already in place for normal stock items. As the distributor, we have to wear the flack for any late factory supply.

I did also mention that I was about to call a customer with a Triumph who was impacted be something the staff member did during my absence, so problem with a Triumph customer - singular.

We have had several customers disappointed with delivery of their Sport Touring screens. We try to keep stock and order several months worth at a time, given the history of delays, but still get caught from time to time.

As for the seat:

The confusing information on our site relating to delivery is (as far as I can tell)

"Please note: Sargent seats are custom made to customer order and have a delivery of 3-4 weeks in the US Winter, 5-6 weeks in the US Summer"

It's the US summer now, so delivery is often 6 weeks, however the customer was quoted an estimated 3-4 based on the expected date of our next shipment. It was ordered in a timely manner, and is due to be shipped on 27 July. I actually made an error in the response to Vellies, in that I typed 27/08 instead of 27/07. Excuse, I was working Sat morning through a pile of correspondence backlog from my time out of office, 27/08 is my birthday and I guess I had a dull brain moment. Since corrected and a $50 discount on the seat for causing the confusion with the incorrect date.

My statement about the BMW show related to the fact we received an out of office reply from our normal contact who was at the BMW show mentioned and therefore,had to re-send the chase up to an alternate contact, which added an overnight delay to our receiving the delivery confirmation.

As for Matt's jump in with the comment about his screen. We've already been through that on another thread and I can back up the statements with proof of the extended delay on his screen being entirely due to factory material shortages and NOTHING to do with our performance. He's free to not wish to do business with us, however he was given correct information as we received from the factory.

We take customer satisfaction very seriously and can take pride in last month's stats of 78% orders shipped from stock. This month looks to be similar. We are the ONLY Sargent distributor to allow customers to return any seat for a full refund within 30 days if not totally happy with the purchase.

We can and have screwed up from time to time, and if we do, admit to it and make every attempt to see the customer happy.

We DO NOT give BS answers.
We DO attempt to be price competitive with overseas suppliers.
Anyone can call and speak to me for price and delivery quotes or to follow up orders. My direct email is robertr@amcaustralia.com.

Just an added note regarding the VSTROM seat mentioned.

Our site has never mentioned stock availability and has always has a notice that Sargent seats, if not in stock are generally 3-4 weeks delivery, with longer delivery in the US Summer.

I'll have to check further, however a quick glance suggests 6 weeks delivery on that order with the GIPro Gear Indicator ordered at the same time being supplied from stock. Of the 12 all Black VSTROM seats sold last year, 3 were from stock, 5 within 4 weeks and the balance 5-7 weeks.

Did speak to Robert today, and he advised as per his note above about the error in expected delivery date. I will keep everyone informed of how it turns out. Should have the seat in a couple of weeks if all goes according to plan from here.

As for the vstrom seat, let me save you some time Robert. Order placed 17 March 2011. Email from Leanne advising it was received by AMC, so I assume I received at a few days later, May 16th.

I am not interested in a public pissing contest. I have stated the facts, I will await delivery of the seat.

I have pulled the paperwork and the dates on vellies post are correct.

Now to make certain The seat leaves the factory on due date, gets on the plane (2 air pallets) on time, arrives in one piece and gets shipped out same day. The pressure's on!

to AMCMO every time I rang i was told next week its been shiped or its in customs it will be here next week i rang at least 6 times not that good when i was told up to 3 weeks for delivery it ended up just over 9 weeks and for your info it wasnt you who i talked to it was a lady on another note the srceens not to bad thanks