Marsha Gottlieb

Review of Fairhope Bicycle Company

I am an avid cyclist, had the opportunity to work ...

I am an avid cyclist, had the opportunity to work with many great bike shops over my 20yrs of cycling. this is definitely NOT one of them. I went to the shop b/c they are listed as a Bianchi dealer. They did not actually carry Bianchi but I was told that they could order one. I ended up settling for a different bike (Cannondale) which I realized was not what I wanted. Their receipt states returns w/in 14 days & restock fees for special orders. I spoke to Katie multiple times asking for the bike I wanted to be ordered instead but she insisted instead on making the Cannondale work for me and after weeks of trying to communicate with someone who would not listen to me, I asked for a refund. The refund was granted w/a restock fee (this bike was a floor model so there was no special order). The restock fee was >15%-more like 20% and when asked to recalculate she refused. I had paid with check (at their request) so there was nothing to be done as I realized by this time I would not want to do service with this shop even though it cost me $400 to walk away. If you do patronize the shop I would advise credit card purchase as you would at least have some recourse to negotiate.