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The Quiet Man |
Let me tell you a story about customer service. It's a bit long, but I'm blown away. I don't work for these folks, but I have bought several shields from them without issue over the years. I order a new windshield for my bike. The '19 Road King came with a pretty decent shield with a quick detach mount, but it's enormous. I logged in to the Long Ride Shields website and ordered a 16 inch replacement shield. Nice thing about LRS is they have a re-curve at the top of the shield that lets you cheat about 2 inches. The re-curve lets a 16 inch tall shield give you the wind protection of an 18 inch shield. It's magic, and it works. So anyway, the windshield comes in yesterday wrapped in foam and covered in plastic. I get it out, make sure it is what I ordered and appears to be in good shape, make sure the mounting holes match up and such. It all looks good so I peel off the plastic wrap and mount the shield. Bear in mind, once that plastic is off and the shield is mounted IT'S MINE. LRS has no way of knowing if any defects are their fault or if I did something. They're clear on this up front, it's in the instructions, and there's even a sticker on the plastic telling you to inspect the shield closely and check fit before removing the plastic film. They are fine with punching holes through the film so you can temporarily mount the shield and check height, but once that film is off, it's yours. I mount the shield up and it looks great. I get it out on the road and the sun hits it and I discover an issue. There is a tiny place (3/4 inch at most) on the edge of the shield where it transitions from the edge to the inner face that didn't either didn't get polished smooth or got dinged at some point. Instead of a nice rounded transition there is a hair thin hard edge that catches sunlight like a prism. It's a minor thing, but it's enough to trigger my neurotic nature that I try to keep hidden. Normally, I'd just dress that spot with some fine grit paper and call it a day, but this is poly-carbonate with a coating, not acrylic. I shoot LRS an email telling them about it and asking what the best way for me to address it would be. I flat tell them that I didn't find it until I'd been riding the bike and that it wasn't their issue. All I want is advice on how to dress that edge. I get an email back asking for a picture. I send it and again tell them its a minor issue and all I'm asking is the best way for me to fix it. 5 minutes after that email gets sent, my phone rings. I assume it's a telemarketer and send it to voicemail. Minutes later I get another email from LRS stating that they wanted me to give them a call. They want me to be happy with my purchase. Well then. It's the same number that just called me. I call it back. I get Billy on the phone. Billy is a super nice guy and I explain to him that this is in no way their responsibility. It's a super minor defect that no one without possible OCD would notice to begin with and that I hadn't even caught it until it was mounted on the bike and on the road. "Oh, I get it," he says, "I totally get it. That would drive me nuts too." I sense I may have a neurosis or two in common with Billy... In any case, he tells me how they finish the edges at the shop and what the best way to do it at home would be if I want to give it a try. "And here's what I'm going to do," he says, "and don't say no because I'm already doing it. I'm sending you another shield. You want another clear one or would you like tinted?" I hem and haw and tell him he doesn't have to do that. I was planning to order a tinted shield anyway at some point. "Tinted it is. That way you have both." Wait. They don't even want the original shield back? "What would I do with a damaged shield? Keep it and if you get that edge cleaned up you've got a spare. I recognize your name from when you've bought from us before. We take care of our customers." Yes. Yes they do. THAT is how you do customer service folk. I'd never mentioned that I was a prior customer. Not once. So. Absolutely shameless plug for Long Ride Shields. They work. They look good on the bike. They manufacture and ship within a week of order. They actually care about their customers. If you have a Harley, Honda, or Indian and you need a new windshield, give them a look. https://www.longrideshields.com/ | ||
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Member |
Just for the record freedom shields https://freedomshields.net/ does great stuff and has excellent service also | |||
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Member |
Always nice to hear of a company that stands behind their workmanship! | |||
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The Quiet Man |
I don't have direct experience with them, but from people I know and trust Freedom Shields is also good to go. And to be clear, I'm not even sure the issue is with their handiwork. This could well have been the result of the shield getting dropped or banged into something during the shipping process. I'd have been happy with "hit that edge up with a scotchbrite pad and it should take most of the shine off." Whole new shield and a clear effort to make it a personal relationship. It's 24 hours later and I'm still pleased about it. As to the original shield, about 5 minutes with some 2000 grit paper and some painters tape almost completely fixed the issue. I can find the spot if I look for it, but I can almost guarantee that no one else would ever see it. | |||
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Member |
They don't make one for my Goldwing NRA Life member NRA Certified Instructor "Our duty is to serve the mission, and if we're not doing that, then we have no right to call what we do service" Marcus Luttrell | |||
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