Rapha EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

Used return is ok? Did not know that

Anyways glad you got sorted.

Yep. I just returned two awful jerseys I wore once each. It was inside the 30 days.

I dont like doing it, but if they're discounting things so heavily, it might be because it's a severe miss for them, so the returns are probably expected.

I had some merino LF gloves develop very bad tears recently. I bought them 16 months ago and wore them five times. I got a full credit and promptly bought the pro gloves.

Rapha is still the greatest.

[ColnagoFan]

[QUOTE=mikmcconnell;2333880

Would I recommend people buy Rapha? Yes, but only on sale.[/QUOTE]

Speaking of, some additional stuff is back on SportPursuit: https://www.sportpursuit.com/search?s=rapha

[jinbok]

Originally Posted by rheosibal

50/50 on their CS. Online/Phone service is fantastic. It doesn't matter if you've had the product for 10 years or 20 minutes, their disposition remains the same. No issues with repairs, returns, etc.

Now once you hit the store...all kinds of issues when it comes to a return. At least at the LA store. I purchased a product, tried it on a few days later, figured it wasn't what I needed, and tried to return it. It was brand new, just lacking the plastic bag and the tag. The associate spent more time looking at the product to see if it was "used" versus attempting to make any accommodation.

Hey,
I was one denied your return due to the missing tag and bag.
Our return/exchange policy is unworn/new condition with tags attached, within 90 days. Because our return window is pretty big, we want our customers to do the same by following our policy at their best.
Only exception is our Classic Collection, which has 30 day guarantee program. Nothing else.

The main reason why I denied your item was 1) missing tag and 2) it smelled like a laundry detergent.
So as a floor lead, I discussed this with my team and made the decision of not accepting your return. It wasn't par with our policy.


As we have an amazing CS, some people abuse it in a wrong way especially at our stores. We had few awful cases and we decided to keep it more strict.

Though, used products return is all case by case - and all stores handle differently.
We don't just take used products as a return. It's not stated it on our policy unless it's a failure of our products,
then we do offer some sort of vouchers or etc. We also do offer crash replacement and free repair services.

If you weren't happy with the quality of our products or failure of our products, I would've took care of it in a different way.

If you want me to take a look at again, please come by the store to do so. Coffee on us.

Thanks!

[dbnm]

I bought some Rapha branded shoes in January. I did not wear them until yesterday and they seriously hurt my feet.

I emailed Rapha and they agreed to give me a full refund, with free shipping. Even better was the fact that they suggested I wear the shoes a few more times and if I am still not happy, the refund would still be granted.

That's awesome.

[dbnm]

I decided to return the shoes. I contacted Rapha, they sent me a Fedex label for the return. They asked for the tracking number which I promptly sent. To my surprise, they sent me a store credit, for the full purchase price, almost immediately, EVEN BEFORE GETTING THE SHOES BACK.

Wow. This is another reason why I keep buying their products.

[wooly]

Just a little example of Rapha's great service. I have an older first gen transfer jacket. I've had it probably going on 4 years and where it a lot in the fall and winter. About a month ago the rubber part of the zipper pull broke off and I couldn't easily zip the jacket. I also noticed the zipper was getting more difficult to pull up and down prior to the pull breaking. Sent the jacket into Rapha US and two weeks later the jacket came back repaired. Zipper pull replaced and the zipper works as it did when I first got the jacket. All for the price of postage. Pretty damn good if you ask me.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by jinbok

Hey,
I was one denied your return due to the missing tag and bag.
Our return/exchange policy is unworn/new condition with tags attached, within 90 days. Because our return window is pretty big, we want our customers to do the same by following our policy at their best.
Only exception is our Classic Collection, which has 30 day guarantee program. Nothing else.

The main reason why I denied your item was 1) missing tag and 2) it smelled like a laundry detergent.
So as a floor lead, I discussed this with my team and made the decision of not accepting your return. It wasn't par with our policy.


As we have an amazing CS, some people abuse it in a wrong way especially at our stores. We had few awful cases and we decided to keep it more strict.

Though, used products return is all case by case - and all stores handle differently.
We don't just take used products as a return. It's not stated it on our policy unless it's a failure of our products,
then we do offer some sort of vouchers or etc. We also do offer crash replacement and free repair services.

If you weren't happy with the quality of our products or failure of our products, I would've took care of it in a different way.

If you want me to take a look at again, please come by the store to do so. Coffee on us.

Thanks!

This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense to me. Why would you buy a product from a company that doesn’t let you try it out in the real world before deciding to keep it or return it? It could be 90 days or 900 days, what’s the difference?

Let’s think REI or Nordstrom’s or even Costco. Yeah, none of them sell Rapha, but they all have amazing return policies. If I’m going to spend big $$$ on cycling gear, I want to know it’s something I’m going to love.

Or, Competitive Cyclist: We guarantee your total satisfaction and offer a world-class returns policy. New, unused gear can be returned at any time for a full refund. Used gear must be returned within 30 days of delivery for store credit.

Not saying that Rapha doesn’t give great customer service, they just need a better return policy!

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

This makes ABSOLUTELY no sense to me. Why would you buy a product from a company that doesn’t let you try it out in the real world before deciding to keep it or return it? It could be 90 days or 900 days, what’s the difference?

Let’s think REI or Nordstrom’s or even Costco. Yeah, none of them sell Rapha, but they all have amazing return policies. If I’m going to spend big $$$ on cycling gear, I want to know it’s something I’m going to love.

Or, Competitive Cyclist: We guarantee your total satisfaction and offer a world-class returns policy. New, unused gear can be returned at any time for a full refund. Used gear must be returned within 30 days of delivery for store credit.

Not saying that Rapha doesn’t give great customer service, they just need a better return policy!

I think your want for "unlimited no-risk use for some extended period and still be able to return because you didn't like it" is unrealistic and would be death to retailers. There are just too many people who will abuse that policy...just go to a B-93 and see those people ripping off REI

If that is what you want, then just shop at the four places you mentioned as yes that policy is an attractive differentiator.

Retailer might make a one-off exception on a case-case basis but you are never going to see that a s a blanket policy on their website

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

I think your want for "unlimited no-risk use for some extended period and still be able to return because you didn't like it" is unrealistic and would be death to retailers. There are just too many people who will abuse that policy...just go to a B-93 and see those people ripping off REI

If that is what you want, then just shop at the four places you mentioned as yes that policy is an attractive differentiator.

Retailer might make a one-off exception on a case-case basis but you are never going to see that a s a blanket policy on their website

I don’t see any of those companies even close to “ death”.

I just came back from a 2 week vacation with a very cold climate. Being from sunny Socal we did not have even one stitch of cold weather clothing. We dropped a tidy sum at REI not knowing what we would actually need-use-want, etc. We pulled off tags, threw away boxes, etc. In the end, we only used about 1/3 of what we purchased. REI happily took back all the stuff we didn’t use, minus tags, and a couple things we used just briefly. The gentleman didn’t question anything and smiled the whole time. That is truly great customer service!!!

They don’t appear to be going out of business.

[pasadena]

Rapha has a great return policy and customer service.
It's part of their brand.

Very happy with what they offer.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I don’t see any of those companies even close to “ death”.

I just came back from a 2 week vacation with a very cold climate. Being from sunny Socal we did not have even one stitch of cold weather clothing. We dropped a tidy sum at REI not knowing what we would actually need-use-want, etc. We pulled off tags, threw away boxes, etc. In the end, we only used about 1/3 of what we purchased. REI happily took back all the stuff we didn’t use, minus tags, and a couple things we used just briefly. The gentleman didn’t question anything and smiled the whole time. That is truly great customer service!!!

They don’t appear to be going out of business.

I think this post says more about bloated consumerism in 2018 than it does REI's return policy.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

I think this post says more about bloated consumerism in 2018 than it does REI's return policy.

I imagine if you had ACTUALLY read what I wrote, you would have seen that it was not bloated consumerism, but actually ignorance on our part since we have never traveled or spent time in a country that is above the arctic circle. Had we had experience with this type of climate, we would have not had to buy as much.
Plus, my wife is very skinny and gets cold very quickly.

So, please don’t judge or throw big words around until you know all the facts. Thank you!

PS: Norway was amazing and we were able to see the Northern Lights for 5 nights in a row. And, we were comfortable in 10* weather while watching them.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I imagine if you had ACTUALLY read what I wrote, you would have seen that it was not bloated consumerism, but actually ignorance on our part since we have never traveled or spent time in a country that is above the arctic circle. Had we had experience with this type of climate, we would have not had to buy as much.
Plus, my wife is very skinny and gets cold very quickly.

So, please don’t judge or throw big words around until you know all the facts. Thank you!

PS: Norway was amazing and we were able to see the Northern Lights for 5 nights in a row. And, we were comfortable in 10* weather while watching them.

Nice save. Victim card nets you 10/10.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

Nice save. Victim card nets you 10/10.

I have no idea what this even means...

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I don’t see any of those companies even close to “ death”.

I just came back from a 2 week vacation with a very cold climate. Being from sunny Socal we did not have even one stitch of cold weather clothing. We dropped a tidy sum at REI not knowing what we would actually need-use-want, etc. We pulled off tags, threw away boxes, etc. In the end, we only used about 1/3 of what we purchased. REI happily took back all the stuff we didn’t use, minus tags, and a couple things we used just briefly. The gentleman didn’t question anything and smiled the whole time. That is truly great customer service!!! They don’t appear to be going out of business.

WRT to the used items I see it more like taking advantage of the policy. behavior such is this is one reason why REI reduced its return horizon from lifetime to one year and costco reduced its return policy on some electronics from lifetime to six months. as for the new without tags, sure fine.

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I imagine if you had ACTUALLY read what I wrote, you would have seen that it was not bloated consumerism, but actually ignorance on our part since we have never traveled or spent time in a country that is above the arctic circle. Had we had experience with this type of climate, we would have not had to buy as much.
Plus, my wife is very skinny and gets cold very quickly.

So, please don’t judge or throw big words around until you know all the facts. Thank you!

PS: Norway was amazing and we were able to see the Northern Lights for 5 nights in a row. And, we were comfortable in 10* weather while watching them.

lack of experience justifies over buying, using and then returning? sorry steve, that doesn't work for me.

so every time you embark on a new experience, you over buy? were you expecting to return eTAP if it didn't work for you? life isn't risk free. sometimes you buy things and it oesn't work out. oh well.