Tucked deep within an industrial area, not far from Melbourne’s best trails and road rides, sits SRAM’s Australian Dealer Service Department (DSD). This custom-fitted building serves many roles from being SRAM’s southern-hemisphere offices, to dealer training, to service support and as a place to store event support equipment and vehicles.
Sitting as one of SRAM’s six global DSD’s, the Australian offices were built off the need for an increasing demand from large bike companies and dealers wanting immediate support for original equipment components, without having to rely on aftermarket-selling wholesalers.
When not wrenching at one of the many supported road or mountain bike events, the small service crew are all hands-on providing service of product – some of that is warranties; plenty of it paid rebuilds (through bike stores).
We spoke to Dave Ferroni in the service department, who explained that the team averages about 25 jobs a day, which includes the admin and phone calls. They push hard for a 24-hour turnaround on repairs and warranty claims, from the time of receiving the item. The intention is to minimise the time for which any customer is without their bike.
Another function at the Australian DSD is SRAM’s Technical University (STU). This is a three-day technical course for bike shop mechanics and anyone else in the industry that seeks detailed service and operation training in SRAM products.
Running such courses costs money but has the potential to pay huge dividends in terms of increased workshop efficiency and detail of service – so SRAM does charge for the course. Some 130 people have undergone the training in just the past year, with another 100 spots to be filled by the end of 2015.
Making this knowledge available to dealers creates an extra 'something' that cannot be offered with online purchases, and it’s something SRAM hopes will lead to customers getting the best experience out of their product.
SRAM sponsors the Australian National Road Series and provides neutral support; accordingly there’s a full complement of vehicles and event trailers stored in the building, which are used and called upon for the large events.
Take a tour of the building and find out more of what goes on at SRAM DSD in our gallery above.