Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Richard230]

The two dealers I've dealt with in the UK have sent mechanics to the Netherlands for training. I think that's great!

I wonder if my local dealer will continue with Zero after this experience though.  I can't see that there's any proper money in it for them, just aggro from bad service and unhappy customers. Their demo bikes are 2016 models, which speaks volumes to me.  I'll see what next week brings, but as much as I love my bike, it has turned into a liability.  I don't want it off the road for weeks when there is a problem and there have been too many problems already.

I'm sure I'll feel better once my bike is back in my hands, but my mind has started straying back to more tried and tested ICE bikes with a proper support network.  It's really sad.  Hopefully my next post on this topic will be more positive.

Perhaps that is why the BMW Evolution scooter is selling so well in Europe.  BMW is pretty big on customer service and they like to keep their dealers happy too.  No doubt that reputation is a big factor when someone is investing in an expensive new technology like an electric vehicle.

[maggot]

My Zero SR 2015 died (no power) in January when I had it plugged in during the winter storage. I took it to my dealer here in Finland to get it fixed under warranty. The dealer was very helpful although I imported the bike myself from Germany. They found out that the battery pack is faulty and needs to be replaced so they ordered a replacement from Zero European headquarters. Until this point everything went smoothly and I had no particular hurry to get the bike fixed as it was winter and all the roads were covered in snow.

But now we have waited the replacement battery pack to arrive for over two months! 😡 Normally at this time of year I would have been riding for a week or two as the weather is decently warm already. At the moment I have no idea when I'll get the bike back... I asked the dealer to get an estimate of how long it will still take to get the battery pack. The answer was that nobody knows. I think waiting over two months for a spare part is ridiculous and unacceptable.

[nevetsyad]

Call and E-mail Zero yourself. I've heard that works. It got me on the ignore list, but it worked for others. lol

[MostlyBonkers]

I can't help wondering if there's a container full of Zero parts waiting in a dockyard somewhere.  Stuck in customs perhaps? I hate to think how much it must cost to send parts via DHL from California, so they must be trying to get a bulk shipment over to setup this new warehouse or distribution centre in Europe. It would be nice if they could at least communicate with us and give us some proper information.

[nevetsyad]

I don't think so. I think they're such a small volume company that they have to have things built as needed, they don't seem to have much if any parts at the ready. They may even wait until there's a certain amount of something requested to have it produced, requesting a one off will be more expensive than waiting until they needed 10 of something.

Or they're just a small company that's bad at communicating with their customers and focused on fleet deliveries.

[Shadow]

...But now we have waited the replacement battery pack to arrive for over two months! .... I think waiting over two months for a spare part is ridiculous and unacceptable.

Politely insist on borrowing a Zero bike to ride until this is resolved. Worked for me, things got done much quicker when I was putting on the commuter miles on their asset.

[domingo3]

There's a third party in the relationship too, the customer. I've said that I've been looked after by my dealers; courtesy bikes and generally a good attitude. However, I've still had to chase. If I've not heard anything for a few days, I call. I've called Zero and spoken to Aaron. I've emailed. I've complained. I badger my dealer regularly. I turned up there unannounced a couple of days ago.  It's tiresome but it has to be done.

What contact info do you use for phone and Email?  Is it just (831) 438-3500 and inquiries@zeromotorcycles.com or is there something better?  Unfortunately, I've moved across country and the dealer I'm working with is not the one I bought the bike from, so I don't have the goodwill to request a loaner bike.  The dealer is 3 hours away, so turning up unannounced probably isn't worth it for me.  I can call the deal and ask nicely, but I'd like to lean more on Zero to help get me back on the road.

EDIT April 12 - Sent an Email to zero Email above.  Didn't get a response from Zero, but the dealer called a few hours later letting me know the motor I'm waiting for is shipping this week.  Could be coincidence, but I assume that helped get things moving. 

[maggot]

...But now we have waited the replacement battery pack to arrive for over two months! .... I think waiting over two months for a spare part is ridiculous and unacceptable.

Politely insist on borrowing a Zero bike to ride until this is resolved. Worked for me, things got done much quicker when I was putting on the commuter miles on their asset.

Well, I don't think that would work in my case as I imported the bike myself. It would be kind of unfair to ask a loaner from the Finnish dealer/importer because this situation is no way their fault. Fortunately for me, the dealer has been very helpful in helping me with this warranty issue although they didn't sell the bike.

[Shadow]

I am understanding the dealership billable hours get paid by Zero Motorcycles for warranty work, or is that not true?

[maggot]

I am understanding the dealership billable hours get paid by Zero Motorcycles for warranty work, or is that not true?

To be honest, I really don't know but that is probably how it works.

I also sent e-mail directly to Zero EU but they didn't bother answering.

[madcow]

Well, in my case it certainely did work. After waiting more than 6 weeks I wrote them an email last Friday announcing that I'll engage the delay legally (with estimated costs of up to $200 per week). No reaction until today at 1700pm: the dealer called to tell me that they managed to put my bike first because of the delay and that I could pick it up now. A few minutes later I received an email where Zero apologised for the delay and asked me if there are any further problems that need to be resolved.

Finally, I'm simply very happy that I can ride again since the weather in Germany started getting very good lately.

[MostlyBonkers]

I am understanding the dealership billable hours get paid by Zero Motorcycles for warranty work, or is that not true?

To be honest, I really don't know but that is probably how it works.

I also sent e-mail directly to Zero EU but they didn't bother answering.

Yes, for warranty work all expenses are paid by Zero. However, manufacturers have a contract with dealerships which specify how much they will pay for labour. The figure is significantly lower than the rates dealers charge their customers for regular maintenance and repairs.  Therefore dealers will prioritize work that earns them more money. Warranty work is at the bottom of the queue. It can become a real problem if manufacturers issue a recall. They expect lots of work to be done on the cheap by dealers when dealers want to charge their full rate. It hits the bottom line.  Warranty issues tend to get a lower level of service from the dealers.

There's no money in it for the manufacturer, just costs. All they need to do is employ people who don't give a damn about their customers and they reduce their costs. Its a little bit like how companies don't pay their bills until they're threatened by legal action.

I happen to work for a law firm that prides itself as being a global leader in international trade. If I don't start getting some results soon, I might just
see how Zero reacts when the big guns are brought to the party.

The other option for Zero is to build reliability in at the design stage. Test thoroughly so that badly designed parts are weeded out and improved before customers have to suffer with them. On the understanding that no product is perfect, back the finished product up with good customer service so that issues are resolved quickly.

I feel that Zero are taking advantage of the fact that they don't have any competition. It's a very short term strategy and they must be hoping the business gets bought out. That leaves the Directors with a large windfall so they can retire. They don't care about what happens from that point on.

My conclusion is that Zero needs some competition. Customers unhappy with Zero's reliability and service will flock to the competition. Exactly what happened to the British car industry in the '80's.  Zero have had years to get it sorted and yet the complaints remain the same.

It is such a terrible shame. After all the hard work they've put in on the engineering side over the years, they get sabotaged by their customer service department. Boo and hiss.

[nevetsyad]

On hold for the last 20 minutes trying to get an update on my warranty work. They got around to looking at it about two weeks ago, but I didn't get any follow up calls. I imagine higher earning, customer work, started back up again and I'm on the back burner. Oh well, I've never gotten my Zero back in under a month, from either of the three dealership's she's done time at yet.

And of course, no refund from Zero, just silence on E-mails since they said they were looking into a refund. Like you said, it's such a shame, all this engineering and awesomeness, undone by the end user experience problems. I die inside a little when I tell people not to buy Zeros now. I told dozens about how great they were for the first year, while glazing over the serious problems I had. No more of that.

[MostlyBonkers]

I have enthused about my Zero to many people too, despite some significant teething problems like the charger dying after 500 miles.  I can only tolerate so much as an early adopter though and my recent experience has changed my mind. I wouldn't want to encourage anybody to put themselves in the position of suffering such bad service. Being ignored, lied to and not getting responses to email is intolerable.

In fact, I might just start a negative marketing campaign soon.  I don't want too see people buying Zeros and unwittingly setting themselves up for a world of pain.

A few posts in the right places on Facebook, Twitter and this forum will help put people off. Why do companies think they can get away with it in this day and age? Bad word of mouth spreads quicker than ever now. I've refrained from ranting elsewhere, but I'm not one to shy away from speaking my mind.

[nevetsyad]

Seems like a new charger is a right of passage when joining the Zero struggle. 6 Weeks for that to get replaced. No one could get my bike to shut off on it's own while riding however, nothing in the logs either. I bought a helmet cam and caught it on video once, Zero said they'd make sure it was fixed right away if I told them when I brought it in. They did nothing special when I finally could be without it for 4+ weeks again, besides throw me under the bus when that dealer messed my bike up.

They're replacing the second dealer's mess ups now, waiting for parts from Zero, we'll see how that goes. They also shipped off more logs for analysis. I've sent Zero a dozen or so phone pulled logs, and dealers have sent 4 full collections. I've NEVER heard anything back. Of course, half of those, the dealers didn't pass on the last shutdown date to Zero. Just plugged it all in and let Zero deal with it, and you can't speak with a Zero tech, especially when you make their black list, like I did by asking if my refund was approved.

Exactly, I've started my negative marketing campaign against them also. I'm in every group, and I comment on everything I can. I own two Zeros, and I wish I didn't. Don't make my mistake. Wait for an electric Honda or Suzuki. Zero doesn't care about you unless you buy a fleet of Zeros.