Fred D Mentor Group Part III (Page 53)

Did you guys get your order approved right away?  I placed the order today and got a message saying it needed to be reviewed.

I chose to ship to Buffalo instead when I saw they were using UPS. 

I also got a call from the LBS saying Trek wants more photos of my frame.  To quote the guy from the LBS "our new warranty person at Trek is a bit of a dink"...

Yeah, my order went through immediately.  I put it in around midnight Pacific time (Arts seems like it's in CA), and it shipped out the next morning.  UPS says it will arrive tomorrow.

How far away is Buffalo from your billing address?  I'm wondering if that's the snag.  I did not have the watch shipped to my billing address, but it's within 20 miles.  Maybe there is some sort of filter that suspends the transaction for further review if the shipping address is too far from the billing address?

There is some type of shipping/billing thing.

I did it by phone. My billing addr was Ontario and shipping Quebec. They told me there would be a delay so i told them to ship it to the billing addr. They took down my credit card wrong so got an email this morning. I called and we fixed it.

They use UPS worldwide saver which apparently has no brokerage fees. I am anxious to see that.

I did it all by phone and spoke to Matt

Really good to hear from you, Kim. Sorry it's such a mess over there. Your attitude is amazing. I really hope you can get some power and heat soon. My prayers are with you and all those affected. One of my friends on Long Island (with a baby and a toddler) has lost everything--house, cars, etc. It's all insured but what a bitter blow. Please let us know if there's anything we can do for you.

Glad to hear you are "relatively" okay.

We've had some minor issues on Oahu the past few days that have made traffic a nightmare (people moving only 3 blocks in 3 hours), or gas stations running out of gas in the tsunami warning craze.  Makes me glad I have a bike and am capable of riding around to survive.  16 mile commute to work...no problem if I had to.  Many of my coworkers would be SOL.

So part of the delay was the fact that they needed to verify the CC since shipping and billing were different.  I had to call Mastercard, etc., to get the verification details.  Then they dropped the bomb and said that my order and another got placed at the same time for the last 910 without HRM - I lost, and they wouldn't have anymore for a week or so. 

I explained I didn't want to ship UPS to Canada because I've run into their hidden broker fees before (fingers crossed for Marc - you may want to call UPS so they don't ding you at least 2.7% for clearing the goods).  The CSR said they did have the 910 with HRM in stock, but I told him my budget didn't really cover the extra cost, and could he do anything.  Not at his approval level, but he'll talk to his manager.  A minute later, I'm getting a 25% discount and the 910 with HRM for $335.  Sold.

I picked Buffalo (just over an hour away) because my wife and I are heading across for a day next week to do some early Xmas shopping.  Anyone not familiar with Cdn retail pricing has no idea how much more we have to pay north of the border.  This will actually be my first time going.

Please report back, I avoid UPS like the plague!

Wow - I can only imagine.  Hope things improve faster than currently anticiapted for you.

Wow, glad to hear things are mostly ok!  7-10 days is a long time to have to wait.  We had to wait about 2.5 days once and that was long enough!

Nice...brand new HRM on CL should be an easy sell, if not, never hurts to have a back up for $15 bucks.

All I got to say is I have not lost power since moving to AZ.  Just saying...

Yes, I am on strict orders to never things home via UPS. 

Kim - glad you are relatively OK.

Yanti - so sorry to hear about your friends.  I just heard from a good friend of mine in Connecticut who said that they also lost everything.  Their house was apparently a good distance from where it is supposed to be.  Pretty traumatic for their young children.  I remember working as a volunteer after Hugo hit SC many years ago.  It's just staggering what these storms can do.

On a happy and tri-related note, I had a really cool experience yesterday, though only completely pieced it together today.  Look at my blog if you want the details.  The short version is that I had a conversation (at the track) with a guy who turned out to be a retired running coach who worked a good bit with Jack Daniels.  I have a real soft spot for Daniels because his book first showed me that there is such a thing as a 'plan' for running, and I really respect his soft-spoken tone.  The guy I met yesterday was very similar -- extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic but also very approachable, friendly, and soft-spoken.  That's especially attractive to me right now since I'm being yelled at in my job.  (Had an experience today that I could probably take to court, though I won't.  Ugh.  I need to get away!)  His last words to me yesterday were 'see you around' -- I hope so!  I've got a million questions...

I know it's not much, but prayers from Kansas are being lifted up for you and your community. I live in tornado alley (40 minutes from Greensburg), but hurricanes frighten me much more than tornadoes. It's the magnitude and the power -- hurricanes are overwhelming.

I have a trainer question for you'all.

I have 650cc tires. I bought a Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer a year ago, not really thinking about the size of my tires.

I'm bending my L bolt out of shape beyond recognition. My husband has had to bend it back into shape three times now. He told me this last time that he won't be able to bend it back again.

I've read their material and looked at their instructional videos, and I haven't found anything that mentions a size requirement for the tires. Nevertheless, I think the problem is the small size of my tire. I really have to crank the resistance to get it tight enough.

I saw that the Kinetic has an adapter for their trainer for 650 tires. But I've found nothing for the Cycleops. I can't find 650 training tires.

So, what do I do? If anyone can point me in the direction of a solution, I'd appreciate it.

(Sorry if my cycling vocabulary is wrong -- I did the best I could to explain my problem. )

x2. I've had great customer service from them. I hope you have the same.

Agreed, great customer service.