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I wanted to give the gift of motorcycle saddle bags to my husband for Christmas. I found this site online and ordered. They arrived the day they said they would, however, the "new" saddle bags were heavily scratched, had holes repaired where they had been bolted to another motorcycle and were generally in no condition to be given to anyone. I attempted to contact the business by telephone and was only able to leave messages. I sent an email, was promised a prompt response and it took days for the return authorization to come through.
I was told that I had to ship back the bags at my expense and only when they were received and inspected would they consider a refund. Unfortunately, a friend returned the bags for me, paid over $40.00 in postage, labeled the return box properly but did not get a tracking number (just sent them regular mail). When I contacted Viking Bags to check on the return (after repeated attempts to speak with them as their hours were very limited), four weeks had passed and they immediately asked for the tracking number. I had to reply that I did not have one and was informed to call back after they had time to check the warehouse. After 3 days, they informed me that there was no sign of the bags and that no refund would be issued.
Gratefully, I had purchased these bags with a Mastercard and that bank was more than willing to help me dispute the charge. I was appalled with the service I received from this company and would warn all people to choose another vendor.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Customer service, in particular Julio, has got to be one of the worse I have experienced in a long time. I purchased bags for my bike but found them when held up for fitting to be quite a bit raised above my rear fender, I call that a fitment issue. They responded back basically denying the issue. Despite this I ordered another smaller set and went to ship these back. The cost was ridiculous so I phoned Julio to further make my point about the fit and ask if there was anything they could do. Julio offered nothing, while I had proposed some fair solutions, none were acceptable. He claimed he did not have a chance to say anything yet there were gaps in which I asked him if he was still there. Game playing and rude, I cancelled my subsequent order.
Here's my review...
Bottom line.
Bags are decent all things considered... Company is inept, and indifferent to the point of insolent.
Ordered on 3/31, bags arrived on 4/4 missing keys. Called customer support several times to explore my options: return bags, have keys made and my favorite "We will send you a new set of locks with keys and you can drill out the locks on the bags and replace them yourself".
Locksmith quoted me approximately $60 to re-key. Didn't want to stick the company with that charge and in retrospect given my experience with customer service I believe that would have been a whole new nightmare.
Finally got customer service to send return label on 4/6, I shipped on back 4/7. UPS says package delivered to company on 4/11.
4/13 shipping label "created". 4/17 no change in status. 4/18 company assured me bags were shipped priority and would arrive 4/19. Called company 4/20 for update on shipping and was told bags would arrive 4/21.
Magically bags arrived complete on 4/21.
In every one of my dozen plus calls to customer support, they had taken no action unless I prompted them to do so. They had an excuse and someone else to blame in every instance.
At one point I considered upgrading to a larger set and asked if they would consider an additional discount given the poor way they handled this return. The response was "Why would we give you a discount? We are only human, people make mistakes..."
O.K. but people that take pride in themselves and their products take responsibility for and make an effort to fix their mistakes. And the discount I was hoping for was far less than the $60 it would have cost had I just gone to a locksmith.
Anyway, if you buy a product from this company and your bags arrive complete and intact, take them and run lest you fall victim to this quagmire of mediocrity.
By the way, the company is 300 miles from where I live although, the parent company Crorama is a Pakistan import company and they don't appear to take any more pride in their quality of service than Viking Bags.
Ultimately, it's mind over matter... they don't mind and you don't matter.
I have gotten half a dozen emails write a review... I will be surprised if this sees the light of day but at least I got to vent and I will steer as much business away from this company as I can...
Of course, bikers don't talk much about their gear do they?
I was pleased with their customer service Robert & Julio were very informative courteous, patient, knowledgeable, and professional. I have not received them yet just placed the order yesterday looking forward to Quality bags will give a post when I receive them.
I have no complaints with their customer service Robert, & Julio were very helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, and informative. I have yet to receive my bags just yet. I just ordered my bags yesterday but looking forward to quality bags.
Horrible customer service. Very slow to respond then asks idiotic questions that they should already have the answers to. Sent the wrong mounting kit, still not resolved. The quality of the bags are also questionable as I have only had them about two weeks and they have numerous threads unraveling. The bike is kept in a garage both at home and at work so it is not an elements issue. When I asked for assistance via e-mail I was asked "what model number" did you receive, it should be on the box or bag of the mounting kit". Guess what? The mounting kit was just thrown in the main box in clear plastic bags with no labeling.
I bought a set of Viking's hard sided bags. They arrived when they said the would. the construction was acceptable, although the mounts were not as ridgid as the factory bags on my Victory motorcycle. But they were half the cost. After riding in the rain for a short trip (20 miles) I noticed that one bag had quite a bit of water in it. I contacted the company to explain what was going on. They asked me to send photos of the bags, which I did (twice). Come to find out after finally being able to talk to someone that I could understand. There is a rubber seal around the lip of the bag (seals against the lid). One side was missing the seal, this is why it is leaking. After waiting a week for them to contact me as to repairing the bag. I called Viking back. I was told that the manager was reviewing my claim and that he would contact me. That was a week ago. I will call again tomorrow. It is a shame that their customer service is such crap. Because for the money they are not bad bags. But I will never buy them again until they improve their customer service.
Dmtjoy
I had the exact same problem. I talked to Robert when I ordered my bags and they would not fit because the cutout for shock was not there. He neglected to tell me when they were ordered. I complained and did get a return label to send them back. The ones that fit were twice as much but I needed bags and the quality was good. I ordered new bags and its been three weeks since my first order. Still have not received my bags. I dont know if I have been lied to about them being shipped last friday but today is tuesday and tracking # is available but USES does not have package. Im almost to the point that I am going to get a refund. I dont like the hassle I have gone through with them. It has been stressful to say the least. I buy products online all the time and have never ever had this much trouble. Nick is a nice guy but this company has a lot to learn about customer service.
I also had a bad experience with this company. After following the instructions on their web site and speaking to a rep via their live chat, I ordered the bags they specified for my motorcycle. They were shipped quickly and appeared nice. However, when getting ready to install I noticed that they could not be mounted due to interference from the shock absorbers. I called tech support, and they then informed me that I needed different bags with a cut out that would be almost double in price of the ones I purchased. I explained that the tech did not inform me of this when I ordered them, but they said they could do nothing for me. No "sorry, " no "here is a discount for your trouble, " nothing. I ended up shipping the bags back. Although they sent me a return label, they credited my account but kept the shipping cost, even though it was there mistake. Had customer service been more supportive and/ or considerate, I probably would have paid some additional cost for replacements, even though it was their fault. However, I can not recommend their product based on their poor customer service. Very frustrating company to deal with.
I have purchased two sets of Viking bags. The first set I bought for my 2005 XLC1200 Classic. Great bags and didn't have any problems. This past Jan, I bought another set for my 2011 Fat Bob. Installed the bags and 6-weeks later, I see large cracks so I call Nick. I send pictures on 3/17. Follow up with an e mail to Nick two days later. NOTHING! I call 3/23 and was told Nick will call me. Call 3/24 and am promised that Nick will call me by the end of the day. NOTHING! Call 3/26 and speak with Nick. Why haven 't you called? Nick- we are really busy, let me call you back. Tell him, " no, I want an answer now" and I want the owners name, which he refuses to give to me. Nick tells me the bags are beyond the 30 day warranty and he hangs up on me!
I won't give Viking Bags any more business because of Nick's incompetence.
I think that the bags themselves are solid. However, I think that the customer service and especially the atttitudes of their reps needs to be adjusted. They might not be in the right industry if they can't answer my questions regarding fitment for my bike. The bags do need a little love, you'll drill them and mount them yourself but after that it's unbeatable on the market. Hardware sucks, but if you know that in advance, you can buy the appropriate brackets ( quickrelease brackets in my case ). Not the worst, but definitely not the best.
Substandard quality leather bags. My 2012 Kawa V900 had new teardrop bags when I bought it used a year ago. Always garaged. Currently has less than 6, 000 miles. The plastic latch on one bag was already broken when I bought the bike at less than 2, 200 miles. As time has passed, the leather on the rear side of the lids has curled to present an ugly sight from the back. All efforts to get the material to lay flat have failed. Seems like a serious design flaw that could have been detected and corrected before production. Needless to say, I'm not happy.
WORST quality bags ever! Actually the bags are fine, but the mounting hardware is cheap as [censored]. Definitely not safe to ride with any kind of load. First of all, the mounting brackets are cheap and pieced together like Lincoln Logs. The brackets I received don't even fit the bags that they came with, but you don't find that out until you drill holes to mount the bags. Oops... once you drill the holes (as instructed in the directions) the company refuses to offer any customer support. Stand behind your product... Offer quality items MADE IN AMERICA, or be willing to receive returns when your items are DEFECTIVE!
Similar problem. After properly installing the bags and taking a 5 minute test drive, they cracked around the mounting hole. I wrote in to support and after three weeks and a half dozen emails I got the following response from Nick in support: “My supervisor said the crack is no big deal and the bags should be fine. Let me know if it gets worse.”
Ok. So I bought some bags that were made for my Fatboy. Not only did the bags not fit when I tried to mount them, but when I tried the throw over option with the cross members under them, the bars damaged my drive belt cover and sprocket. They lie when they say they are bike specific. This copmpany sucks and I doi not recommend thier bags. Now is gonna cost me around $600 to fix what these crapy baggs did to my bike!
I bought bags this year and ended up returning them as they would not open as they would hit the passenger seat. also the locks are not keyed the same so they require 2 keys that you must carry. All their bags are universal contrary to what they advertise ( check the model numbers on the custom fit bags they will be the same as the universal) and yes, the customer service is abysmal to say the least. ( And this is the year 2014). They will put you off, lie, and say anything to pacify you. And be prepared to sit on hold forever before someone answers the phone. The service reps have little to no training or experience on how to deal with the customers. They also were going to make me pay for return shipping after over charging for initial shipping until I argued that any company who stands behind their product provides a return shipping label. They have had the bags back for over a week and now I am fighting them to process the refund which for some reason they are having a problem doing. I have been told several times now I will see the refund in a day or two and that the issue was the previous person did not initiate the process. I have never delt with such a poor company. Guess I got spoiled by businesses who put customer service as a priority to see their customers are satisfied as opposed to "we got your money so screw you" attitude. ..NEVER AGAIN!
I too have experienced Viking Bags customer service where they've been somewhat lacking. I think they're going through growing pains as a company right now becdause their customer service is on and off. I was told that they're training 2 new people and currently very busy ( getting thousands of calls a day ) but that's no excuse. Fortunately, I was able to get through after the second attempt and have my issue taken care of. They promptly sent out the correct mounting hardware for me. I ordered the shock cut out saddlebags http://www.vikingbags.com/harley-sportster-1200-low-large-shock-cutout-slanted-motorcycle-saddlebags-8798-prd1.htm in there, the bags themselves are great A+++ quality.. but i see where everyone else is coming from when dealing with the rest of custioenmr service. Give them a chance to fix things... i dealth with nick through chat and phone.
stretched saddlebags
I'm happy that I found your blog while searching the internet for ideas and good content. It's very informative and the quality of your posts is excellent.
http://www.baggerbags.com/
I have never had any issues with them or their products. I have bought 2 pairs of saddlebags, one for myself and one for my wfie, and they worked fine. The instructions were clear and the mounting wasn't an issue. I understand that others may have had a bad experience but I can assure you that it is not all bad. As a matter of a fact, I might be getting some as a gift in the next few weeks. I also see that a lot of these reviews are not very recent. I bought both sets of bags this year follks, as recent as it can get.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I bought some saddle bags with them and was surprised. I didn't expect too much, so they over delivered. The package comes in a no frills box, but once inside you will find nice saddle bags. the bags are very sturdy and dont look like they'll sag or wear. I spoke with their customer service and didn't see any issues. They promptly sent me out replacement mounting hardware after I was missing a few washers and bolts.
I too ordered Viking Saddlebags and agree 100% with what others have stated. The bags themselves are nice but their customer service is lacking very heavily. One of the bags I received had a broken weld right out of the box. I emailed them with photo's, and then contacted them via phone. Roger Bogar stated that yes he could see the damage and that he then had to talk to a supervisor about my problem and stated that he would contact me shortly. Days later I finally sent them a email stating my disapproval, then they sent me a email stating that they needed photo's so they could help me out. I then resent the photo's and then they sent me another email stating that the photo's were to blurry to see what my complaint was. So i then took off of work and came home, I retook photo's and then sent them 21 of the best I had. I waited about 8-10 minutes ant then tried to call them. Even though I called between their "open" hours stated on their voice mail no one answered. After all this run around I would not recommend these bags to anyone! After waiting a week I am no further ahead than I was a week ago.
I too have dealt with this company. I posted a review of the bags I received which had both positive and negative aspects. I just want you to know that this company only posts 100% positive comments on their bags. Their customer service is rude. The bags are overall nice but were NOT waterproof and the handle tore off the first time I lifted the packed bag. The firm inner structure is nice but this is NOT a nice company to deal with. They are not people of their word and false advertising is not below them. USE EXTREME CAUTION!