Winshield seller

[proudcoppop]

I am the one indirectly responsible for Atadude’s displeasure and all the bad press regarding Marcel and his windshields. I sold Atadude my new but modified F1 EVO III slider. The shield was used for only a few tenths over 50 miles. The main black shield was so tall it hindered my view of the road so I had three inches trimmed off of the black shield and also had an equal amount trimmed off of the tinted slider. The slide portion of shield did have some distortion that I assume was caused in the forming process. In my opinion the distortion was minor in nature and difficult to see in actual use. After trimming I still did not like the shield because of wind noise and decided to sell. When I advertised the shield I stated the modified dimensions of the shield but in hindsight someone probably would not know it was modified based on the dimensions alone and I should have also said “modified’. Atadude purchased the shield for $180. Upon receipt of the shield Atadude commented about the the edge finish. The plastics shop that trimmed the shield finished it equivalent to the other edges on the shield and I thought it looked consistent. Regardless I felt bad that Atadude was not happy with what I sold him so I credited his Pay Pal account $150 which was the full amount he paid minus the shipping cost and told him to keep the shield. Please understand that Atadude was always polite and a gentleman. He did not request a refund but since it was obvious that what I had done (Not Marcel) caused the displeasure a refund was the only right thing to do. After selling the slider to Atadude I ordered a 25 inch tall EVO III non slider from Marcel and alas it was too short and created a lot of buffeting so I called Marcel once again and he offered to exchange it for a taller 30 inch shield. The 30 inch shield arrived yesterday exactly 1 ½ weeks after they received my exchange shield just as Marcel had promised. Since it was near 60 here in Indiana last night I was actually able to ride and the 30” shield was excellent. No buffeting yet I could still see over the shield. I think Marcel produces a fine quality product. He appears to play a significant active role in his company and my bet is that he spreads himself to thin which may account for lack of communication at times. When I call F1, I leave a message for Marcel early in the morning and he has always returns my calls. On three occasions he returned my call the same morning and one time it was a day later. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Marcel, his customer service and his products. After now working with thme on three shields I have never experienced a lack of customer service or follow up. One other note - the shield I finally ended up with was the shield Marcell recommended when I contacted him the first time. Marcel asked me several questions regarding my height, the look I was after and type of riding I do which is primarily long distance. I should have taken his initial advice.

[docdoru]

22 K with Marcel's F1:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/docdoru/DSC00379.jpg

[Jimmy Neutron]

Boy it sounds like you are a true gentlemen. I think you handle everything better then most. Nice job..:popcorn::cheers:

[smokster]

Boy it sounds like you are a true gentlemen. I think you handle everything better then most. Nice job..:popcorn::cheers:
I thought so too. I wish more people would stand up for themselves vs blaming everyone else.

[Jimmy Neutron]

how do I get a hold of Marcel

[Dudley]

I am the one indirectly responsible for Atadude’s displeasure and all the bad press regarding Marcel and his windshields. I sold Atadude my new but modified F1 EVO III slider. The shield was used for only a few tenths over 50 miles. The main black shield was so tall it hindered my view of the road so I had three inches trimmed off of the black shield and also had an equal amount trimmed off of the tinted slider. The slide portion of shield did have some distortion that I assume was caused in the forming process. In my opinion the distortion was minor in nature and difficult to see in actual use. After trimming I still did not like the shield because of wind noise and decided to sell. When I advertised the shield I stated the modified dimensions of the shield but in hindsight someone probably would not know it was modified based on the dimensions alone and I should have also said “modified’. Atadude purchased the shield for $180. Upon receipt of the shield Atadude commented about the the edge finish. The plastics shop that trimmed the shield finished it equivalent to the other edges on the shield and I thought it looked consistent. Regardless I felt bad that Atadude was not happy with what I sold him so I credited his Pay Pal account $150 which was the full amount he paid minus the shipping cost and told him to keep the shield. Please understand that Atadude was always polite and a gentleman. He did not request a refund but since it was obvious that what I had done (Not Marcel) caused the displeasure a refund was the only right thing to do. After selling the slider to Atadude I ordered a 25 inch tall EVO III non slider from Marcel and alas it was too short and created a lot of buffeting so I called Marcel once again and he offered to exchange it for a taller 30 inch shield. The 30 inch shield arrived yesterday exactly 1 ½ weeks after they received my exchange shield just as Marcel had promised. Since it was near 60 here in Indiana last night I was actually able to ride and the 30” shield was excellent. No buffeting yet I could still see over the shield. I think Marcel produces a fine quality product. He appears to play a significant active role in his company and my bet is that he spreads himself to thin which may account for lack of communication at times. When I call F1, I leave a message for Marcel early in the morning and he has always returns my calls. On three occasions he returned my call the same morning and one time it was a day later. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Marcel, his customer service and his products. After now working with thme on three shields I have never experienced a lack of customer service or follow up. One other note - the shield I finally ended up with was the shield Marcell recommended when I contacted him the first time. Marcel asked me several questions regarding my height, the look I was after and type of riding I do which is primarily long distance. I should have taken his initial advice.

Thank you for letting those of us who have followed this drama with "The Rest of the Story".

[Spydr in KS]

Thanks for posting this. The rest of the saga has gotten a bit out of control, including the lame attempt at humor in the most recent post on the subject. I too am a happy F1 customer and am planning another purchase soon from them.:2thumbs:

[ataDude]

I am the one indirectly responsible for Atadude’s displeasure and all the bad press regarding Marcel and his windshields.... The slide portion of shield did have some distortion that I assume was caused in the forming process.

No, you're not! You did fine, Ted. I didn't ask for the money back ($150 out of $180) but you stepped up and had it credited in PayPal almost before I even knew what was happening.

As we discussed in our emails, my purpose for purchasing this from you was to conduct a side-by-side comparison of the F1, CHAD and CalSci. I'm disappointed that I never got to that stage.

Thanks for validating, in this post and in our email conversations, that the F1 windshield defect was there when you received it... from the factory/garage/shed/barnyard. Not being able to originally post that information made the incident details somewhat more difficult for me to document.

For those few F1 fans who either called me a liar, or inferred same, this is for you: http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Tongue/mockery-035.gif http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Tongue/mockery-035.gif http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Tongue/mockery-035.gif http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Tongue/mockery-035.gif

I now no longer need a response, or an inner shield (yea!). The overt decision on the part of F1 to not call (as promised in their email) and even sell me the inner windshield still puzzles me... but that no longer matters. I have been firmly converted from a potential customer to one with a story to tell. So be it.

As we also discussed, I figured the cost would be in the $50-$60 range for the clear slider plastic from F1 and that I would re-refund the difference depending on the final cost. It's too bad we never got to that point. And, as you requested, I kept you mostly out of the picture (until now).

BTW, I had already "fixed" the rough edges issue... on the entire front shield... not just the modified part... by using a belt sander to smooth them up and then polishing them. That took about two hours.

Pictured below are the rear-shield factory heat marks/bubbling at issue... something that should never have left the F1 "factory"... and something I could not begin to "fix" on my own as it was molded in.

This is the same picture that I sent to F1 in the emails to them:
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=19&pictureid=1217