[RETEX] LCBI ceramic bezel inserts bad experience

b-boy · Dec 10, 2017

Hello everyone,

I would like to share with you our bad experience with the LCBI company.
I'd like to add that LCBI was informed that this issue with them would be shared here on WUS considering how they are dealing with customers.

So here are the facts:

A colleague needed to replace his bezel insert on his Seiko SNZH FFF mod'.
It is not easy to find something for the SNZH.
I finaly saw the LCBI ceramic bezel on the internet and he ordered one.

Here is the product he ordered: https://lcbistore.com/products/snzh53-fifty-five-fathoms-style-blue

And here is what he got:

→ the lum is not properly applied on the insert (see the 30 and others...)

He then wrote fiendly to LCBI about the issue:

> On Nov 23, 2017 9:26 AM, <XX> wrote:

> > Hello,
> >
> > I get my parcel yesterday and basically I like my bezelinsert but there is
> > unfortunately a quality issue.
> >
> > Please check attached pictures, you can see easily the blurred
> > numbers "30" and "15" - sorry, this not what I have expected.
> >
> > Is it possible to get a part as shown in your offer or should I send it
> > back to you and get my money back?
> >
> > Please give me feedback how to proceed, thank you!
> >
> > Kind regards

I want to remind that we are not speaking about a 10/15$ bezel insert ordered in Asia.
It is a US Bezel insert ordered for 45$ without shipping! (we are in Europe)
So a minimum in terms of quality and service is expected.

Here is the answer from LCBI he got:

Am 23.11.17 um 15:39 schrieb Carlos A.

> If you are not satisfied with it. Send it back with a tracking service for
> a refund.

And no, I did not remove anything from his email answer.

Here is the pure customer experience you get from LCBI. :rodekaart

The end of the story:

On Nov 23, 2017 11:59 AM, "" <XX> wrote:
Hello Mr. A.,

well, thank you for your friendly and professional support. I will kindly share this expierience @watchuseek.com.

Kind regards

Click to expand...

Gesendet: Donnerstag, 23. November 2017 um 17:59 Uhr
Von: "Carlos A." <lumedceramicbezelinserts@gmail.com>

My pleasure. Thank you.

Click to expand...

Carl.1 · Dec 10, 2017

My that bezel really is shoddy. Realistically only a blind man would be 'satisfied ' with it.

kevinkar · Dec 10, 2017

I would say the experience with the company was *good* while the product itself was bad. Seems the complaint is slightly too harsh in this instance since they replied almost immediately, were professional and offered money back. That's actually excellent service. Usually when it takes days, weeks or months for a reply and that reply is unhelpful, disrespectful and unprofessional or they refuse to offer a refund or replacement, THAT'S a bad experience.

I'm surprised they did not offer a replacement instead of simply offering a refund though. Perhaps they know the quality of the finished product is not that great and figured might as well end the discussion instead of sending out an equally defective product. Again, I'd consider that a win.

Customer support = good. Product = bad.

mike120 · Dec 10, 2017

I would argue that any company who sends something like that out and then says anything other than "Let me refund you and include money to send it back to us" has pretty poor customer service..... though the argument that their CS is garbage because they sent that out in the first place is also pretty good.

kevinkar · Dec 10, 2017

Offering to refund money for the purchase but not shipping is not the *best* solution I will agree but considering the shipping to the customer is free to begin with and the fact these things weigh so little means the customer is out a few dollars at most (a USPS priority mail envelope is only $7.20) which, in the grand scheme is meaningless.

Keep in mind the OP's colleague did not respond with a note stating "the poorly made bezel was not as advertised and thus free return shipping should be included" at least giving the seller an opportunity to agree to that term. Rather the seller merely agreed to refund the money and the colleague agreed with the transaction. If that's the agreed to terms, you can't really complain after the fact then claim horrible customer service. If the terms were unacceptable they should have discussed it further.

That's like trading in a $10,000 car for $8,000, accepting the dealer's terms only to log on to genericcarforum.com and complain the dealer bent you over for giving you $2,000 less than the car's worth and that it was horrible customer service. Seems silly to agree to terms and then complain about it after the fact.

Sure, the seller shouldn't display pristine examples on his website and send something that bad instead. But give him the opportunity to make it right before claiming horrible customer service.

mr_b_on_time · Dec 11, 2017

That looks bad, but they did offer a refund. Maybe they would be willing to offer a replacement if that is what your friend was mainly after.

Not really sure why they were threatened to share this here, since it looks like they replied the same day the email was sent, and they are willing to offer a refund. If your friend wants to get it replaced with one that looks like it should, why doesn't he simply ask for one in an email?

I was thinking of picking up one of their lumed bezels. Now, thanks to this thread. . . I still am.

rawrfische · Dec 11, 2017

Odd. I thought I had submitted a reply. Guess it didn't take.

At any rate, I would've asked straight out for a replacement on that SNZF bezel and cover for shipping if they wanted the old one back. I have two LCBI bezels for Sumo and they both look amazing.

Perhaps it's not too late?

Kulprit · Dec 12, 2017

kevinkar said:
Offering to refund money for the purchase but not shipping is not the *best* solution I will agree but considering the shipping to the customer is free to begin with and the fact these things weigh so little means the customer is out a few dollars at most (a USPS priority mail envelope is only $7.20) which, in the grand scheme is meaningless.

Keep in mind the OP's colleague did not respond with a note stating "the poorly made bezel was not as advertised and thus free return shipping should be included" at least giving the seller an opportunity to agree to that term. Rather the seller merely agreed to refund the money and the colleague agreed with the transaction. If that's the agreed to terms, you can't really complain after the fact then claim horrible customer service. If the terms were unacceptable they should have discussed it further.

That's like trading in a $10,000 car for $8,000, accepting the dealer's terms only to log on to genericcarforum.com and complain the dealer bent you over for giving you $2,000 less than the car's worth and that it was horrible customer service. Seems silly to agree to terms and then complain about it after the fact.

Sure, the seller shouldn't display pristine examples on his website and send something that bad instead. But give him the opportunity to make it right before claiming horrible customer service.

What he said.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

b-boy · Dec 12, 2017

kevinkar said:
I would say the experience with the company was *good* while the product itself was bad. Seems the complaint is slightly too harsh in this instance since they replied almost immediately, were professional and offered money back. That's actually excellent service.

I would not say so no.

First of all, there are very basic things missing in his answer:
starting with "Hello", and finishing with "Regards" or so.

Secondly in this case, to apologies for the inconvenience would be the minimum I am expecting after receiving such a scrap part.

To offer a refund is the minimum, but what about the costs for the shipping back of the item then?
When I read the answer, no information concerning the point... means the customer has to cover it.

I would expect that he sends directly a suitable part to close the issue.

If this is for you what we can call a good customer support, then we really do not have the same expectations.

kevinkar · Dec 13, 2017

b-boy said:
First of all, there are very basic things missing in his answer: starting with "Hello", and finishing with "Regards" or so.

Basic maybe but not required to get the message across. Both those basic things are missing in your reply to me, for example, but that does not mean I'm receiving poor forum conversation.

b-boy said:
Secondly in this case, to apologies for the inconvenience would be the minimum I am expecting after receiving such a scrap part.

Shouldn't the minimum be a refund of the purchase price? If money was refunded, the apology is meaningless.

b-boy said:
To offer a refund is the minimum,

I thought the minimum was an apology?

b-boy said:
but what about the costs for the shipping back of the item then? When I read the answer, no information concerning the point... means the customer has to cover it.

No, it means the customer should have replied "Uh, the part is defective. I shouldn't be responsible for the return shipping. Would you please send me a pre-paid shipping label?" and at least give the seller a chance to show his good faith. In this case, your friend merely agreed and subsequently complained about it. If it wasn't agreeable, why not at least ask for a better deal? Maybe the seller is really busy trying to make that better product you want and just figured to end the transaction by refunding the money and being done.

b-boy said:
I would expect that he sends directly a suitable part to close the issue.

I would hope for that too but not necessarily expect it. Looks like your friend offered the seller a clear choice - replacement or refund - and the seller chose refund. If the expectation was a replacement, shouldn't the e-mail say that and only that? Again, the choice was offered and, after the seller chose, the buyer complained! That's not bad customer service since the seller provided what the buyer asked for. Seems more like this is a story about a buyer who is annoyed he didn't ask for what he really wanted.

b-boy said:
If this is for you what we can call a good customer support, then we really do not have the same expectations.

It's clear that's true. I expect a seller to be responsive and reasonable when something goes wrong. In this example, the seller responded almost immediately and accepted one of the buyer's reasonable choices. I fail to see how that's bad customer service.

I don't disagree we have differences of opinion here but I think the rush to judgement this seller is bad is not warranted in this case. He isn't making the quality product you hoped for (more annoying than bad) but his responsiveness and refund of the purchase price (minus shipping) was totally reasonable.

b-boy · Dec 15, 2017

No more words with you.

The part you get from LCBI :

And no the money was not recovered.

At least the potential buyers knows what to expect from LCBI .

6R15 · Dec 15, 2017

That damage on the 30 almost looks like there's a protective film over it. Did you make sure that it is actually the bezel texture?

jmai · Dec 15, 2017

That's truly terrible. It's amazing that some businesses don't understand how a few extra lines of niceties go a long way towards retaining a customer for life. It seems LCBI sells out everything they make fast though, so they probably don't "need" your business. But still, awful.

That being said, I got one for my SNZH the other week and it's really nice. Unfortunately the only game in town if you want a lumed ceramic bezel. :/

timetellinnoob · Dec 16, 2017

jmai said:
That's truly terrible. It's amazing that some businesses don't understand how a few extra lines of niceties go a long way towards retaining a customer for life. It seems LCBI sells out everything they make fast though, so they probably don't "need" your business. But still, awful.

That being said, I got one for my SNZH the other week and it's really nice. Unfortunately the only game in town if you want a lumed ceramic bezel. :/

what i just don't get is, a human had to pack that package and put it in the place for it to ship off. how did they not LOOK at the bezel for 10 seconds of QA? for me personally, i'd think the one shipped should have been put aside and a good one shipped in the first place. shipping the bad one is either an admission of knowingly sending a bad one, or admission of zero QA in the packing/shipping process. =\ either is a bit of a bummer.

[RETEX] LCBI ceramic bezel inserts bad experience

b-boy

Carl.1

kevinkar

mike120

kevinkar

mr_b_on_time

rawrfische

Kulprit

b-boy

kevinkar

b-boy

6R15

jmai

timetellinnoob

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities