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I have recently (within the last 18 months) started riding a motorcycle. Motorcycle gear is hard to find at retail, which I think is pretty common with niche activities at this point. Two Internet sites (in the US at least) dominate that sector, and turns out they're both owned by the same firm: CycleGear and RevZilla. The former DOES have retail stores, but the latter does not. The sites are now similar, but the feel is better at RevZilla, so that's MOSTLY where I search and buy. I fully expected the customer service to suck either way, though, given that they have effectively no competition. tl;dr? I was wrong. Last year, as it got cooler, I realized I needed a heavier moto jacket. I bought one, but the fit was wrong, and the fit was wrong in a way that made it clear that just going down a size wasn't going to solve the problem. Merlin jackets are just not shaped like Ubermonkey, turns out. I called RZ to arrange a return, and was ON THE PHONE WITH A REAL HUMAN IN LIKE 6 MINUTES. And this real human set me up with a return label immediately, and then asked if he could help me figure out a replacement. He knew the product lines they carried, and understood the styles I wanted, and suggested a brand I didn't know but immediately clicked with. They credited me immediately for the return (before I got off the phone) so at no point was I technically paying them for two jackets, even. I was stunned. Customer service is not dead. (I looked it up: RevZilla was conceived in 2007 as an online provider; CycleGear has always been brick & mortar. The RZ founder and a PE group formed a holding company in 201 to own & operate both businesses separately. I suspect the fact that an RZ founder is still fundamentally in charge is why the RZ service is so good.) |
Also, RevZilla's media group, Common Tread, is one of the last great motorcycle journalism and video/podcast production outfits left.