A while ago I wrote a very angry couple of posts (since deleted) and also tweeted about how Phoenix Distribution, Arai Helmet and Hein Gericke had been ignoring my multiple attempts to get my helmet fixed. Helmets are somewhat important in the daily life of a motorcyclist. A comfortable helmet will ensure that you can focus all your attention on the road and stay alive as you battle your way through obnoxious or careless drivers who cannot comprehend what can go on in the mind of a motorcyclist (until they decide to give it a try). At the time Hein Gericke, the retailer, wasn’t following up on my multiple requests to get my helmet fixed. I then turned to Phoenix Distribution who failed to respond to my emails. My last resort was to find a way to reach the higher spheres of Arai Helmet in Japan, which I successfully managed to do. What followed was at first a demonstration of Arai’s determination to keep all their customers happy, and a great demonstration of customer service from both Phoenix Distribution and Hein Gericke.
As a result, the helmet was fixed – free of charge – and Phoenix even replaced the cheek pads, which were showing ageing, as well as added a deflector to prevent the same future problems from happening. Arai, though their representative Phoenix Distribution, also successfully managed to keep me happy as I was about to put the helmet in the bin and fork out about £300 for a new helmet (anything but Arai at the time). This was a really long shot at the start of this 2-month saga. And the Hein Gericke store manager was removed from his functions – not as a result of my specific problem, but it seems that there were problems in this particular store.
I do believe that mistakes happen and that everyone was a victim of some unfortunate circumstances, and lessons have been learnt by everyone.
- Never underestimate the power of isolated consumers.
- Never underestimate the power of the internet. Word of mouth can spread very quickly.
- Do check your contact form that sits on your website. If you haven’t been receiving enquiries over the net, something might be wrong with your website. Never blindly trust technology.
- A customer is never lost for good, but you do have to go to great length to get them back.
- If your brand image relies on a chain of representatives, do perform random quality checks. The quality of your service will always prevail over the quality of your products.
I did receive in the end great customer service, and was assured that it wasn’t special treatment (although I feel that it was, otherwise I would have been charged for the elements fixed and replaced, as originally quoted by the store). Now only time will tell if my next lid will be another Arai Helmet. At the end of the day I never experienced such issues with any other helmets before.
