G&L choppers

tidd1340

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I've decided to cancel my order from Elswick for a hard-tail,and go with G&L.Anyone dealt with them? Communication has been excellent with Rich so far,just wondering if there are any opinions out there.
 
elswick looks way better. i hate the dropouts on the G&L. big and bulky and no imagination. and if you cancelled your order from elswick because you were waiting, well, from what i have heard the wait from G&L is pretty bad with almost no communication.

opinions are like assholes everyone got one.
 
I have a g&l tail on mine. While the drop outs aren't prettiest I agree, the welds and quality is unmatched. They told me 6 weeks and I had it in 6 weeks. They answered the phone and emails. My exp. Was excellent. This is going back a few years though so I have no clue how they are now. My bike used to be on the customer page, not sure if it's still up. Look for the brass monkey on under customer builds.
 
Thanks for the input Mike.Your bike is still up..I'll be honest I'm having a hard time making a decision between sending my frame to you or going with a hard-tail.
 
It's a tough decision. I did the hard tail for a few years and slowly bought parts for my brat build two years later I have the best of both worlds now. The tough part is now I have to sell one. lol. I just threw down 250 miles on my brat build. wicked soul yesterday.
 
I put 300 on my Road King yesterday..headed to the little Grand Canyon in PA. How did you feel after 250 miles?
 
I feel like i wish I had a road king.Haha I'm sore but at least I can walk. I put 125 miles on my hard tail last time i was out on it and I can barely walk for two days. The hard tail with the low bars is rough on my back. If it had apes or higher bars it wouldn't be to bad. Not as nice as suspension but still a nice ride.
 
I gave Rich 3000.00 2 months ago to build me a bike. I'm having a hard time getting him to respond to my calls or emails so I'll let you know. Around the time I was giving him the money he was good about keeping in touch. It's only him and one other guy so I hope hes busy and not blowing me off. I'll keep you guys posted
 
I have long considered having a frame hardtailed. I just can't find a frame guy who seems to want to do what they say. It seems as though the hardtail frame service is doing well to get by with such poor customer service. I imagine these are young guys who have honed their welding skills to the point they start a business. I don't need to mention any names because its not my intent to try to hurt anyones business. I think the ones I am talking about will do that themself.
I just can't send my frame out to someone who dosen't do what they say. For instance I just talked to one framebuilder the other day and asked if he had some pics he could send of finished products. He said sure no problem. Few days later no emailed pics. I emailed him to remind him. Now no response at all. I know their probably busy but if he wasn't going to send them he should have just said "I am just to busy". Fine I can live with that. You just don't tell someone your going to do something when your not. Some of these people who have thrown up a sign and started a business could use some people skills. They will figure it out eventually but then again they may just be in for a quick buck and then get out.
jefft
 
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I have ran a service business myself and I know first hand that its hard to work when people keep calling you, but at the same time its a big leap of faith to hand over large sums of cash to people based on nothing more than word of mouth which is a pretty remarkable feat when you think about how close people are to their money. I think your right. You need to understand that when your running a business you need to keep in touch to ease your customers minds. It takes only minutes to respond to an email.
 
Somehow you have to be able to do the work and have someone knowledgable to take calls if you don't want to. That may mean hiring more help. Your not always making a lot of money at first but you got to build up that all important reputation and being honest is something that helps greatly. Customer relations can make or break ya. You can't come through on a simple request and then ignore me, then I probably am going to get the run a round on my frame. First impressions stick.
jefft
 
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I ended up going with another kit from Visual Impact...let me say the service was top notch..emails answered quickly...parts fit like a glove.VERY HAPPY!!
 
I originally wanted to order 2 G&L tails. Got in touch with them and then they all of a sudden stopped responding. After 2 weeks of countless attempts to contact them I told them to forget it and went with Elswick. Elswick tails came in a week late. Welds are top notch but the top tubes that meet the main downtube could fit a lot better.

I am going with a Visual kit on my next bike.
 
I cancelled my order from Elswick..paid up front and no contact..8 weeks overdue.Glad i used Visa and they got my money back.Went with another kit from Visual impact.Cant beat Mikes service.
 
Hey guys,
There have been a few different threads regarding G&L lately and I feel the need to speak up here...

I posted a similar thread back in April of 2010' asking about G&L and subsequently, shipped my frame & motor (along with a $4,000 deposit) out to Colorado for a complete build. I'm still waiting.

I haven't had much contact at all with Rich and I'm trying to cut him some slack but what would you guys consider a reasonable amount of time for a build?

Thanks
 
Hey guys,
There have been a few different threads regarding G&L lately and I feel the need to speak up here...

I posted a similar thread back in April of 2010' asking about G&L and subsequently, shipped my frame & motor (along with a $4,000 deposit) out to Colorado for a complete build. I'm still waiting.

I haven't had much contact at all with Rich and I'm trying to cut him some slack but what would you guys consider a reasonable amount of time for a build?

Thanks

With him having not only your bike, but also $4,000 of your money, I'd have expected to at least have contact when needed/requested. Being as how its now going on 8 months, I'd expect a completed bike on my door step. However, it wouldnt have gotten to the 8month mark if it were my bike and $. After 1/2 that time I'd have pulled my business and went elsewhere.

Busy or not, poor customer service is poor customer service. I have had busy, low man, shops build me custom cages/suspension and it never involved anywhere near that time frame, let alone that level of non-communication. Shops that operate in this manor only do so because their customers let them.

No one likes nagging customers, but at the same time no one should be expected to be kept in the dark and made to wait 7-8 months. Would this same level of "service" be accepted by these shops if it were their parts/$ that they were waiting on? No chance.

When I work on peoples cars/trucks I tell them right up front it'll cost them more if they are going to hang around and watch, ask millions of questions, or call every hour. It simply slows the process down. I have no problems with them doing so, but need them to understand that customer service time means no one is working on their vehicle. Its very easy, and takes little time, to shoot an email/phone call once the wrenches stop turning for the day, or before they begin the next day. I give them a time line on when their work will be completed, keep them updated on any issues that may change that time, and if its more than two days of work, I keep them informed of progress. The people who bring their work to you, for the most part, dont know how to do it themselves, and dont understand what is involved. If you enjoy making money doing this sort of work its your responsibility to ease their minds and make them comfortable. Most people dont like spending money, and most people dont trust shops/mechanics. If your seeking to do this type of work for any length of time its not your work itself that speaks for you (unless its horrid), its how you deal with your customers.
 
A year and 7 month's is way too long. I hope your money is earning interest, it should be. You might have contacted Punkskalar for a quote. I read here he does good work in a reasonable amount of time. 4G's is allot of money to be just sitting there, while your waiting to at least hear something. I, like Brother, am very busy, and answering the phone, well, it has to be done, but if a problem arises, as they do from time to time, I let the customer know as soon as I know. Had just an incident this week. I was informed that my parts order was shipped and to expect delivery on the 19th. Well, went to locate it about noon on the 19th.,and now it would be in today, the 22nd. I called my customer and told him what I just told you, but now he had to rent a vehicle for another week because of a shipping snafu. Not my fault, or the company I purchased the parts from, but the shipping co. But, if I did not contact him, he would have been tearing me another asshole. Yes problem's do arise, but, being a responsible proprietor, I HAVE to keep my customer's happy, no matter what it takes, if I want to keep doing business with a good reputation. I don't advartise, and turn allot of work away, because I won't do business with someone who bring's me junk and then argue's about the price.
 
Thank you very much for the feedback.

As Gordon mentioned, it hasn't been 7 or 8 months... it's been a YEAR & 8 months.
And if that money's earning any interest, it's in his bank account.
 
Do keep us posted, as I for one would love to hear what the Clusterfuck is all about. You have ny support, if that means anything.:wtf:
 
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