Who here ordered a new Canyon bike for Christmas and got disappointed? While you’re definitely not alone, the company’s CEO wants to apologise to you, and offer reassurance that Canyon’s now getting to grips with the issue.
In an open letter, Roman Arnold has said he and his team are “heartbroken” that they failed to deliver the level of service that Canyon customers expect. He attributes the problem to a total overhaul of the direct-sell giant's systems and facilities towards the end of 2015, designed to meet growing demand.
“Throughout this period of transformation, we failed to deliver the level of service that our company stands for,” Arnold wrote. Canyon opened a brand new factory in Koblenz, Germany, and implemented a new company-wide system, and it was the latter that immediately caused delivery issues.
Related: Check out our tour of the 'old' Canyon factory
Vanishing data
Canyon's bike assembly area, snapped by BikeRadar back in 2012
Customer and order information vanished almost overnight, said Arnold, and many customers were subjected to “ridiculous” delivery times. To compound matters, Canyon’s customer service was ill-equipped to answer the huge number of enquiries quickly, or access the information they needed.
“All of these problems, while unintentional, were our responsibility and I deeply regret how many of you have been affected,” added the Canyon CEO. “As a person who is extremely passionate about riding, nothing gets me more excited than the idea of getting a new bike, so I can honestly sympathise with how upset you must be. Your emails, calls and posts have not gone unnoticed, they have been taken to heart.”
A new Canyon
A fully packed Canyon, ready for shipping
While it's undeniably been a difficult time for Canyon, the last few weeks have seen the situation improve dramatically, according to Arnold. The new systems are performing better with “each passing day”, he said, and production problems are working themselves out.
Canyon plans to begin posting regular updates on the issue under the News section of its website, and provide an improved customer service. “Unfortunately, we can’t do this overnight but we are concerting all our efforts on improving as thoroughly and as quickly as possible,” said Arnold.
Won't stop working
Roman Arnold, founder and CEO of Canyon Bicycles
The Canyon founder concluded his open letter by thanking all his customers for their loyalty and patience, and saying that the whole Canyon team “won’t stop working” until they meet expectations.
With entry now made into Australia and New Zealand, plus mooted plans to enter the USA, BikeRadar is very interested to see if the company can rebuild its reputation for excellence – it's always made great bikes at keen price points.
Have you been affected by Canyon’s delivery issues over Christmas? Let us know in the comments below!