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Hey Caren,
It’s clearly not secret as you know who replied. Though it wasn’t me (first I’m reading about this). And we aren’t throwing shade. If we had been, we would have been gossiping months ago when three of your customers all individually came to us for advice/bikes because they hadn’t heard from you in months. I actually reached out to you to give you the heads up about this situation but you never saw fit to respond. So I assumed everything was a-ok now, my opinion didn’t count and everyone got their bikes or their refunds.
Yes I do know how expensive babies are. We are a full-time framebuilding operation trying to stay afloat in a sea of shitty reputations that tarnish our own. Comments such as “at least I know I’ll get a specialized” don’t really help any of us. We’ve delivered all of our orders but still feel the sting of customer doubt and hesitation. So yes, babies are super expensive and we try to do everything in our power to quietly and honestly afford our own. Congratulations on yours, I hope it’s a joyful experience for you!
As for the mental health call-out. Can we take a minute to admit that it’s the people waiting on bicycles with zero contact that are probably suffering most? I’m sorry you feel as though our addition to this thread has caused anguish. I think the thread in it’s entirety is more of a concern than our ten pence-worth which literally and genuinely comes from us being contacted by your customers. We try to stay neutral, try to encourage patience and communication but when people come back to us multiple times just to moan, I’m afraid our mental health also becomes a priority. Because do you know what these people don’t do? They don’t don’t order bikes from us. They ask our advice, use us as sounding posts then say they’re burnt on the whole custom bike thing and buy off the peg. It’s a lose-lose for us all.
If you guys are working to make good on your orders, fucking fantastic. What you started together was fun, made great business sense and was cool. And I hope this is the case and that loads more Isens get made and the company goes from strength to strength.
Other than that, let’s leave it here because a public forum slanging match wouldn’t become or be interesting to either of us I’m sure? Gavin apologises for adding fuel to the Isen fire too.
RunRabbitRun-
Can confirm being ghosted for months sucks.
At the time Matt ghosted me I was suffering from severe burnout and unable to work for over a year. The order I had paid for all of a sudden was a chunk of money I really really couldn't afford. But also the mental toll of another person that didn't give a fuck plus a process that I had no agency to just resolve and/or pull out of just messed me up really hard and made the pit I had to dig myself out of mentally quite a bit deeper.
And yes, the Talbot probably was the very last time I ordered something that isn't just in stock.
pascalo
Hi @RunRabbitRun / August Bicycles, it's Caren here. I am selling a couple of the machines I own personally and that aren’t in daily use. Not that the reason I’m selling them should be of any interest to you, but I have found out I am having a baby and as you know they are very expensive.
As an ally of women and a framebuilder yourself, I’m sure you can understand the challenges faced being self employed in a physically and emotionally demanding job that uses a lot of toxic chemicals, whilst also balancing mine and the unborn babies health. Having seen how vocal you are about mental health on social media, I find it strange that you would post this in a public forum, rather than reaching out to one of your colleagues to see if everything is OK.
Also, if you want to try and throw shade at your fellow builders online, have the guts to not hide behind a ‘secret’ account.