Repair time under warranty

[Sun]

Hi,

Bit of back story for you as i think it's relevant as to why i chose a Wisper bike.
Having knee and hip problems i was very pleased when i discovered pedelec bicycles as i could once again enjoy cycling, a standard bicycle is just to painful for me these days as i can't apply pressure through my knees, public transport was reshuffled in my area as well so it meant an hours walk before i could even hop on the bus for work, so through much googling and reading reviews i settled upon a wisper 905se.

I have to say from the outset i love this bike, the frame seems bombproof, some of the parts seem a bit flimsy, a pedal has just came away at the bearing for example, but fair enough i accept these things, parts are consumable and corners have to be cut in some departments to make bikes competitive price wise with each other, to clarify the bike is 7 months old and gets pampered, it's a tool to me and my only form of transport, so it gets looked after.

I started having a few problems electrically, the bike would try and move off under power even though i was stationery and the handlebar throttle wasn't being applied, this was happening intermittently for a month or so until it just died completely, no power at the controller when i tried to turn the bike on, dead as a dodo.

I contacted Wisper support who advised to me to take it to my closest dealers,and they would work with them to find the solution, so i duly contacted Edinburgh cycle coop in Byker Newcastle upon Tyne (great set of people to deal with btw) and i arranged to deliver the bike to that store, i was lucky that a friend was able to drop the bike off in his van as the closest dealer is still some distance away from me, and have you ever tried to pedal these bikes unassisted? they are as heavy as an old butchers bike and my knee problems restrict me from doing this anyway.

The bike was delivered to them on the 3rd of this month, i heard nothing from them until i decided to ring them on the 13th, they informed me they were waiting on a diagnostics kit to be sent from wisper to them, they also advised that the bike may still need to be sent away after they took delivery of the diagnostic kit, ok this had me scratching my head a bit, surely the bike should have just been sent back to wisper as it wasn't exactly a minor fault.

Edinburgh Cycles rang me back today just to keep me in the loop as promised, they thought they had it figured out as it powered on, then they experienced the problem i had with it trying to leave under power while stationery, so it took two of them to work on it just to stop it running off, and then it died on them again, no power to the bike.

They informed me wisper wanted to test the controller so they have sent that away, it also could be the wiring so i'm still no further forward really, as mentioned it's my only form of transport and at the moment it's costing me £40 per week plus an hour per day walking just to get to work, surely it's not being unreasonable of me to think a bike under warranty should have just been sent lock stock back to wisper where they have all the diagnostic equipment and experience to repair the bicycle in a timely manner? it's been two weeks now and how much longer will it take with shipping and testing parts back to each other until my bike is returned back to me? i'm a little disappointed with this level of service, it seems like the buck is being handed to the stockist and not being handled by the manufacturer.

All in all i still love these bikes, and look forward to the day it's back with me, especially as the weather is now starting to improve.

cheers

Alan

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I wouldn't blame Wisper. Many of the parts are generic Chinese stuff that's common across a whole range of bikes. I'm sure Wisper are doing their best, but the problem is always to find someone with the right skills and knowledge to diagnose the cause of faults. Also, like what happened with cars, the electronics have become more sophisticated. The Wisper has software in the display as well as the controller, and I guess it has the sealed harness, which makes checking signals in and out of the display/controller nearly impossible without the right equipment. Generally, it's a better system than they used to have, but when something goes wrong, it's harder to find the fault. I hope you get it sorted soon.

 

[Sun]

Cheers for the good wishes d8veh, appreciated, and i agree that these bikes are sophisticated electronics wise, and that reaffirms my point that the bike should have gone back directly to Wisper, they have the expertise and know how as it's their product, had it been a mechanical fault on the bike then fair enough, any bike mech would have been able to handle that, that's their field, but when it's electronics, and a major failure, then Wisper should have stepped in imo.

I'm also not laying blame as such, just disappointed a bit that their aftercare doesn't match the quality of their machines, anyway fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later

 

[flecc]

It is the norm for e-bikes sold through dealers to be primarily serviced and repaired by the dealers. For example, Giant do exactly the same for all their e-bike models, sending diagnostic equipment on loan to the dealer and also giving the dealer technical advice. There is a financial basis to this, since a very large part of the sales margin goes to the dealer, in return for which the service responsibility is accepted, no different from the position with cars and motorcycles of course. Having passed the margin to cover warranty service labour costs to the dealer, naturally the original supplier will try to avoid the uncovered repair costs until it becomes clear they are the only option. That of course can mean delay on a few odd occasions, and I've known of incidences of the same in the motor industry, with similar inevitable customer dissatisfaction.

At least with Wisper you can be sure it will be fixed, not always the case with some companies.
.

 

[Sun]

Fair points if true flecc and thanks for the input, you would have thought for the sake of customer satisfaction that the odd case would be dealt with swiftly to protect the brand and secure customer loyalty, a small price to pay in my eyes, delayed times are fine if the bike is a weekend use tool but a different ball game if it's your primary source of transport.

Oh i have no doubt it will be fixed, i did my homework on pedelecs and was suitably impressed with the lack of horror stories with Wisper and similarly impressed with the gentleman who frequents these boards in the handling of problems.

I can only hope that i have came across with a balanced view in my particular problem, i understand my problem isn't the norm, but i think i have been fair concerning a valid issue.

Shame on the companies who don't honour their warranties, that's akin to committing retail hari-kari and they don't deserve customer loyalty, it's also illegal under the consumers act.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Alan

Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you here, we are particularly busy at the moment.

Thanks also to Flecc and D8veh for your support in answering these points.

Alan, I have today sent of a transcript of your complaint to Wisper Support who will get back to me today or tomorrow at the latest.

Please also accept my apologies for any delay, however as Flecc says, we will sort your bike out for you.

Regards

David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Alan,

I have spoken to all involved, there seems to have been a communication issue between or dealer's branch and head office and our support team.

This has now been resolved and things will move more swiftly now, thanks for bearing with us!

If you have any further issues or worries please feel free to contact me directly dmiall@me.com.

All the best

David

 

[Sun]

Thank you David, much appreciated.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

My pleasure Sun, please keep me informed with progress.

Have a great weekend!

All the best.

 

[Sun]

Thanks, email sent.