The Perils of Pissing Off the Customer

As I recently stated on the BBTC Listserve, I'm in the process of finding a cheap single speed 29er to ride in the winter so that I don't muck up the drivetrain on my Mooto-X YBB. When looking around online for deals, Kristin commented that I see if Fabien might have any thing. So I typed in what I thought was the URL for Fabien's shop, Ti Cycles.

Oops. What I found was anything but.

Going to http://www.ti-cycles.com/ with a hyphen (correct site URL has no hyphen) brings you to the recently posted woeful tale of a very pissed off customer. Complete with photos.

So I didn’t learn my lesson on the first custom bike I order from Fabien and all the delays, promises etc … I was stupid enough to order another one. I didn’t have much choice if I wanted another Independent Fabrications since TiCycles was the only authorized dealer in Seattle at the time. Unless you want con[sta]nt delays from Fabien and cons[sta]nt excuses about your group set being out of stock or the vendor not shipping it for weeks because they suck, DO NOT BUY from TiCycles. FABIEN PICARD is a liar and will screw you.


The rant goes on and I have to say if what he says is true and the photos aren't doctored, the man has every right to be pissed. And I have to say that getting my Moots ordered from Ti-Cycles wasn't a very smooth process. There were numerous delays and lies told (aka "misunderstandings") and I had every reason to believe that the staff simply failed to order parts in a timely manner. My handlebar and seatpost, for example, weren't even ordered until after the frame arrived in April, despite me paying for them back in January. The only reason I never ranted too hard about the crappy service was because I was so thrilled with the end result, I immediately turned the page. I've since gotten some very good service from the mechanics at the shop, but I'm glad I accidentally stumbled onto this site as it was a good reminder of what I had gone through earlier this year. Ti Cycles is a nice shop with good mechanics, but I agree. If you can't get something off the shelf, you might want to look elsewhere.

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