Tam Bikes — Local services in Mill Valley

I was ecstatic that Tam Bikes had the Specialized Crux bike I’ve been looking for. I was able to purchase the bike at a discounted price over the phone as I reside in Los Angeles. Knowing I would be driving 7hrs to pick up my bike — I decided to make a mini vacation out of it. I called Tam Bikes prior to leaving to let them know when I’d be arriving. They said that the bike would be fully built, tuned up and ready to go. The man who helped me on the phone was very kind and helpful. I should add that I could have gone to a different store that was in San Diego but the interaction on the phone told me the trip would be worth it because it meant the customer service would be great, and being treated with respect and kindness is worth the drive.

When I arrived after a 7hr drive... there was one person ahead of us waiting in line to be helped. A young boy who must have been the owners son or family friend (maybe 14 years old) asked how he could help me. I told him I purchased a bike and was here to pick it up. He had us come inside so that he could go and grab the bike — I also wanted to purchase a helmet for me and my fiancé. I had them set aside the Specialized helmets with ANGi integrated ($200 each) over the phone the day before. Unfortunately — when I mentioned the helmets to the young boy he acknowledged the helmets that were on hold but then walked me over to other helmets and pointed out a $45 one. I didn’t want to be rude because he was just trying to help and he was being very polite. We decided just to get the $45 helmets because the boy was rushing the whole process and didn’t seem too keen on helping us with the products we wanted. Unfortunately for Tams Bikes they missed out on a $400+ sale because of this. Having the child help us made things awkward because we didn’t want to hurt his feelings or make him feel like he wasn’t doing a good enough job.

This was the biggest problem. Although the boy who “helped” me was very sweet... I just spent over $2000 on a new bike. No one (all4-5 adult male employees and probably the manager in the store) acknowledged us. None of the “adults” even said hi. They never asked if they could help or if I needed anything else. Instead, a child helped me... and he didn’t even ask if I wanted to test-ride my new bike. I had to ask him to readjust the seat, he never even offered. The young boy had me get on the bike and awkwardly try to sit on the bike while he barely could handle holding the bike up... I’m not a small woman and he was barely 75 lbs. I could hear the adults who were working on bikes behind us laughing at what was going on. This was one of the most disrespectful & unappreciative experiences I’ve had in a small business. I understand Covid is going on. Things are strange right now. But you knew I was coming in.. you knew I was driving a long distance for what was supposed to be an exciting purchase. We drove 7 hours to give you my business and the only thing I got was laughed at by your rude employees and helped by a child. I expected at the very least to be treated with respect and I didn’t even get that.

Beyond disappointed. If I could give no stars I would.

By the way, I rode my bike around San Francisco today. The back tire is clicking. I wouldn’t want to take my bike back here even if it was my only option. I’m going to wait until I return to LA and take my business where it’s welcomed. Where it’s wanted. Where an adult will help me. It’s unfortunate because I wanted to purchase the $200 Specialized helmets along with water bottle holders, new pedals, and other bike equipment but I’ll be purchasing that elsewhere.

The young boy deserves 5 stars for being a good sport. But he’s barely 16. Come on guys. You allowed him to handle a purchase I made... a $2,000 purchase.

Think about it. Poor business model.

P.S. Please don’t put your “Tam Bikes” logo sticker on my brand new bike. It came right off when I got...

tl/dr: My derailleur broke under warranty, and Tam Bikes made getting a replacement needlessly difficult, stressful, and time consuming.

As Tam Bikes are an authorized Shimano Service Center, I took my broken derailleur to them - this is what Shimano recommends doing. Days later I get a text that the claim was denied, as I had built the bike myself "so there's no warranty". Nothing in Shimano's warranty documentation omits coverage for a 'customer built bike', so I pushed back on this. Tam ultimately agreed to send the derailleur to Shimano under an RA, though they were disparaging toward me..."I've done all I can with Shimano. Your experience and schooling don't carry any weight" and warning "they might not be able to ship one til sometime in August".

Shimano got the derailleur, approved the warranty claim, and had a new one back to Tam for me to pick up a week after.

Tam texted me "Shimano sent us a new derailleur for you. However, we have to install it using Shimano-certified mechanics...". I called and told them I'd prefer to install it myself (it's not exactly rocket science, especially following Shimano dealer manuals available on their website), and was told Shimano required it. I asked what exactly Shimano said, and they said they'd call me back. When they did, the story changed to "we strongly recommend" you have us install it. After I informed them I'd install it myself, they then hit me with a charge for processing the warranty. This is something I've never encountered before, and I was upset that they never informed me of any such charge before making the claim (they did ultimately waive it).

At long last I do have my derailleur replaced. In the future I'll deal with Shimano directly.

Tam Bikes: It's not about the money. It's about being treated with respect and honesty, and your shop didn't do this,...

In terms of going above and beyond of servicing my bike they did a great job fixing up my bike after a surprise accident on my bike ride. They were very knowledgeable about pointing out some issues on my bike. Also they were very great about communication about when to pick up my bike and when my bike was ready.

However, outside of professional space of doing the task at hand. My personal experience in how I was treated was poor. I was told my bike straight up was unusable and was kind made to feel embarrassed for owning the bike I brought in. The fellow, asked me how much I paid for my bike and I said 300 dollars. He just kind of disheveled manner said “looks like it” and it’s not meant for performance riding. Yes, I get it my road bike is 10+ years old and isn’t “performance” level which is true because I am not a rich person from Marin and 300 dollars is all I can afford. Further inspection of my bike was met with grunts and disheveled sounds. But in the end they did get the job done. Just wish they were but more mindful. Furthermore, hope they take from this to be more inclusive in that not everyone has the ability to drop 1000+ dollars and shouldn’t feel bad about the bike they own if it’s not.

Additional note: also went to my local bike shop and the issues were misdiagnosed. They mentioned that my gear shifters needed replacement which was causing issues. My local bike shop found that it was my derailleur hanger that was warped and was a much...