[Arndt]

I've ordered a custom seat for my 2011 DL650 from an outfit called Rick Mayer Cycle. See> Rick Mayer Cycle custom motorcycle seats I paid upfront and sent my seat to the address listed on the website, and I have confirmation from US Postal that the it got delivered.

According to an email my seat was supposed to go into production 8/15/2014 and take 7 - 10 days to get done. Even if counting only weekdays the finished product should now be on it's way back to, and I was promised a tracking number when the shipment leaves the shop.

As of today I have nothing. I've called: no answer. Emails don't get a reply. I tried facebook too. Absolutely nothing at all. I have no seat, no responses, no revised ETA, no explanation for the delays, nothing!!!

I'm beginning to wonder whether this entire "business" is just a sham operation to steel money. Does anybody else out here have experience with this operation? If so, please share your story with me as I am losing hope that I will ever get my seat back at all.

 

[John V Strom Jr.]

There is an almost exactly worded post as yours on triumphrat.net. read it last night. Same story as yours. Hope it ends up getting resolved.

 

[MikeB]

I'm beginning to wonder whether this entire "business" is just a sham operation to steel money. Does anybody else out here have experience with this operation? If so, please share your story with me as I am losing hope that I will ever get my seat back at all.

If you are talking about the Rick Mayer operation in Anderson, CA, yes it is a legitimate business -- or at least it was a couple of years ago. I went to his shop and watched as they built my seat. I can tell you, though, that he had a rack floor to ceiling across an entire wall filled with seats waiting to be done, so I'm not entirely surprised at the delay.

It's a small operation with no office personnel to answer phones, etc.

I'm happy with the seat, BTW. Much better than Sargent and Corbin I have tried, but that's just MBHO -- my butt's humble opinion.

 

[Joe S.]

Its not a sham and frankly its amazing to me that people tend to post stuff like this without doing a bit more research into a business. Its a one man operation that he gets some help from his wife on. He is not good about answering emails or phone calls as he is usually building seats during the day. He also tends to be on the slow side with production times. This is also the time of year when a lot of these guys are going to rallies and building seats there.
I've had him build 5 seats and am pretty sure you will get yours, although I'm not sure it will be exactly when you want it. This is not unique to Rick's operation BTW, many of these small shops operate in a similar way.
I have no relationship with the guy at all other than having had him make seats.

 

[Mastery]

Been problems for over a decade, yet people keep dealing with him. Beware: Rick Mayer Cycle - ADVrider

 

[Arndt]

Its not a sham and frankly its amazing to me that people tend to post stuff like this without doing a bit more research into a business. Its a one man operation that he gets some help from his wife on. He is not good about answering emails or phone calls as he is usually building seats during the day. He also tends to be on the slow side with production times. This is also the time of year when a lot of these guys are going to rallies and building seats there.
I've had him build 5 seats and am pretty sure you will get yours, although I'm not sure it will be exactly when you want it. This is not unique to Rick's operation BTW, many of these small shops operate in a similar way.
I have no relationship with the guy at all other than having had him make seats.

I'm working with small shop mechanic without problems. I don't care how many people work there. He set the production schedule, he quoted the 7 - 10 days for WIP, and he's the one who is running behind inspite of not answering the phone, emails or anything. Infact, if the seat had been delivered as promised I would have never called up there to begin with.

 

[Arndt]

If you are talking about the Rick Mayer operation in Anderson, CA, yes it is a legitimate business -- or at least it was a couple of years ago. I went to his shop and watched as they built my seat. I can tell you, though, that he had a rack floor to ceiling across an entire wall filled with seats waiting to be done, so I'm not entirely surprised at the delay.

It's a small operation with no office personnel to answer phones, etc.

I'm happy with the seat, BTW. Much better than Sargent and Corbin I have tried, but that's just MBHO -- my butt's humble opinion.

Thanks for the feedback! The website shows the business in Red Bluff, not too far from Anderson. I'm glad to hear you like the seat; I hope one of these days I'll be able to say the same of mine.

I don't buy the small operation excuse however. To send a reply to my emails saying something like: " .. been very busy, your seat should arrive xyz date" would have been sufficient, and could be done quickly. But NOTHING? I think it's plain rude, and there's never an excuse for being rude.

Thanks again for your feedback MikeB.

 

[Joe S.]

I'm working with small shop mechanic without problems. I don't care how many people work there. He set the production schedule, he quoted the 7 - 10 days for WIP, and he's the one who is running behind inspite of not answering the phone, emails or anything. Infact, if the seat had been delivered as promised I would have never called up there to begin with.

Whatever, I could care less what you do with him. I'm just telling you my experience with the guy and how I found his business to be set up. You can talk about him like a dog on every forum you visit if you are so inclined.

 

[John V Strom Jr.]

Total conjecture on my part here, but maybe he is great at what he does and that is why he is so busy, but at the same time, perhaps he is just unorganized and not wanting to hire a helper? That's obviously his call and like someone said, doing it that way for a decade. If so, sounds like he doesn't much care because he's still has work apparently. IMO though, he'd be better off under promising a bit. People's expectations could still be met.

 

[ArkieRider]

Thats a shame.... many a business with a great product has gone out of business due to poor management. Sure seems he could simply give a more realistic turnaround time and all who choose to do business with him would know what to expect up front.

 

[RoosterMan]

Thats a shame.... many a business with a great product has gone out of business due to poor management. Sure seems he could simply give a more realistic turnaround time and all who choose to do business with him would know what to expect up front.

In today's world, customer service is king. I owned /operated a 1 man business for many years so I understand what it takes to be successful. Just as important as making the product, you've got to be responsive to your customers needs. You'd think he could hire someone on the cheap like a teenage kid or whatever to answer the phones and check email. Dunno cuz I'm not him.

I have had similar issues with Happy Trails (see vender section) but I keep going back because IMO their products are unmatched in quality. I've never taken delivery of anything purchased from them in less than 30 days beyond their promised due date. So yea, it's frustrating dealing with inept management. I wish you good luck.

 

[om28]

I've read so many threads just like this one about Rick Mayer all over the internet. His reputation for bad customer service and late deliveries overshadow his seats, at least for me. As mentioned, I'm surprised he's still in business, or as busy as he claims to be.

 

[notacop]

I've seen his brother, Rocky, at rallies busy with the customers and his two workman slaving over hot foam knives while Rick sat and took orders for future reference.
I got a Seat Topper pad from Rocky for my G650GS because it satisfied a need and didn't cost $650. It was only $165 or so.
Boy, is a happy butt expensive!
The stock Wee seat and an Air Hawk keep me going for hundreds of miles.

 

[strompilot]

Yeah, 7--10 days to do the seat----once he gets to it! Rick Mayer is known to be difficult to work with and his customer service horrible. Tons of horror stories out there about lack of response, no phone calls/emails, etc., and what's worse, he makes you pay in advance. I love working with the Russell folks, just up the freeway from Mayer. They don't charge your credit card until they've made your seat, and they deliver when promised, although during the busy part of the season it may take a bit longer. But however good the Rick Mayer seats may be, they're absolutely no good at all if you don't have it.

 

[keithert]

My father had his seat on his BMR R1200R. He loved the seat. I had his brother Bill Mayer make a seat for my Nomad and hated it. Bill Mayer has terrible customer service.

I just had Russell do a seat for my Royal Star. They completed it in their two week estimate and it is now on it's way back to me. So far their customer service has been good. We'll see how it is if I need the seat adjusted. From all reports though it should be fine.

 

[Arndt]

Another day

I spent another day trying to elicit a response: nothing! Phone calls go unanswered, emails get no reply. There has to be a legal limit to how much non-responsiveness a business can do to customer. Don't we have any lawyers on this site?

 

[MikeB]

Don't we have any lawyers on this site?

And if there are any doctors I'd like to have a free examination. Ditto for dentists.

Heck, I'd even settle for free chiropractic sessions.:mrgreen:

 

[RoosterMan]

And if there are any doctors I'd like to have a free examination. Ditto for dentists.

Heck, I'd even settle for free chiropractic sessions.:mrgreen:

I'd be up for a complimentary physiatric analysis.......

 

[notacop]

" Don't we have any lawyers on this site?"

Maybe, but we do have a search engine at the top of the page. The little google box. Works fine and the Rick Mayer thing is not new or a recent phenomenon.
Caveat Emptor!

 

[Motor7]

If you can get your money back from Mayer, you should have Terry Adcox to build you a seat. He is another one man show, but he gets them done and unless it is something unusual it will be in the $250 range. Mine is supposed to be done around the middle of this month.