Victor & Liberty Reviews

[Robinson.Rachel11]

*Edited by King Boonen* You will wait forever but there will be an absolute "no-show". You keep speaking to their customer service, they keep mailing you tracking details with all the more fake information on your shipment you can imagine. They keep excusing themselves blaming you that the recipient was unavailable but surprisingly you receive no calls from the courier partners and you keep requesting for refunds but only in the form of store credits. You get no order, they get to keep you busy with their fine play for an year and get away smoothly with brainless fashion-bloggers (who give no thought to what they are associating their otherwise reputable name with) endorsing their no-at-all-real products. End of story.

I will not recommend Victor & Liberty anyone.


Edit: I've edited out the accusation.

 

[King Boonen]

I've moved this to general as I believe we are ok with complaints. However, if it's just someone spamming loads of cycling forums I'll likely lock it.

 

[King Boonen]

It would be helpful if you could tell us what you ordered?

I had a quick look on the website and they don't seem to have their own products, they are just a retail place. I checked the Cafe Du Cycliste website and Victor and Liberty are listed as an online retail partner. I have bought Cafe Du Cycliste clothing from a different online store and direct so I can confirm that these products are very much real, as are all the other brands on Victor and Liberty that I recognise.

As they are distributing other peoples products you could also approach the company that produced the product in the first place if you are dissatisfied with Victor and Liberty's service.

 

[Socrates]

I bought a Cafe du Cycliste rain jersey from them and they told me to try it and return it for a refund if not suitable. Unfortunately the fit was not what I found to my liking and the item was returned. Payment to my credit card was refunded within a couple of weeks. I also must say that they were more than helpful when I phoned them. Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[VictorLiberty]

*Edited by King Boonen* You will wait forever but there will be an absolute "no-show". You keep speaking to their customer service, they keep mailing you tracking details with all the more fake information on your shipment you can imagine. They keep excusing themselves blaming you that the recipient was unavailable but surprisingly you receive no calls from the courier partners and you keep requesting for refunds but only in the form of store credits. You get no order, they get to keep you busy with their fine play for an year and get away smoothly with brainless fashion-bloggers (who give no thought to what they are associating their otherwise reputable name with) endorsing their no-at-all-real products. End of story.

I will not recommend Victor & Liberty anyone.


Edit: I've edited out the accusation.

Hi, Marcus here... owner of Victor & Liberty. This is clearly and blatantly a fake review, and any seasoned forum-goer will see straight through it. It's disheartening to see that someone can post a fake review, and have it seen thousands of times. We are a small business - currently online only but with a physical store opening soon. A lot of investment (time, effort, and money) goes into running V&L I would urge all readers to take this review for what it is. I can assure you that everything we sell is genuine, directly from manufacturers and/or an authorised distributor. As for getting the run around and receiving fake information about shipping - again that simply isn't true.

"You get no order, they get to keep you busy with their fine play for an year and get away smoothly with brainless fashion-bloggers (who give no thought to what they are associating their otherwise reputable name with) endorsing their no-at-all-real products." - I don't really know what that means. We don't have fashion bloggers endorsing our products.

We welcome genuine constructive feedback, but this review is nonsense.

Thank you to everyone who has ever purchased from us.

Safe riding from all the team at V&L.

 

[Irondan]

It sounds to me like you too have some sort of personal squabble that has spilled onto the pages of this forum, or the OP had a legitimate bad experience at V&L. Otherwise, I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake" when being criticized rather than taking responsibility for a bad experience that they had on your website. That says a lot about what kind of service the website provides and almost confirms the OP's gripes.

 

[VictorLiberty]

Re:

It sounds to me like you too have some sort of personal squabble that has spilled onto the pages of this forum, or the OP had a legitimate bad experience at V&L. Otherwise, I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake" when being criticized rather than taking responsibility for a bad experience that they had on your website. That says a lot about what kind of service the website provides and almost confirms the OP's gripes.

There is no personal squabble. The situation simply did not occur. Like I said, I welcome constructive and genuine feedback. The OP made some pretty sweeping and potentially damaging allegations on a public forum and I am entitled to reply in defence, calling it out for what it is. As for using "fake" - it simply follows the language of the OP.

Marcus

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

It sounds to me like you too have some sort of personal squabble that has spilled onto the pages of this forum, or the OP had a legitimate bad experience at V&L. Otherwise, I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake" when being criticized rather than taking responsibility for a bad experience that they had on your website. That says a lot about what kind of service the website provides and almost confirms the OP's gripes.

There is no personal squabble. The situation simply did not occur. Like I said, I welcome constructive and genuine feedback. The OP made some pretty sweeping and potentially damaging allegations on a public forum and I am entitled to reply in defence, calling it out for what it is. As for using "fake" - it simply follows the language of the OP.

Marcus

The OP called the shipping information "fake" and you replied back that their entire review was "fake", which I took exception to as bad form from a business owner in response to a customer that had a bad experience. You should look a little deeper at the cause of the initial problem rather than going on the attack. Or not, it's entirely up to you but I hope you realize that your response to a customer complaint is not favorable and doesn't make me want to shop at your store. I'm not saying this to take sides or make you angry, I hope you take this as constructive criticism.

Cheers

Dan

 

[VictorLiberty]

Re: Re:

It sounds to me like you too have some sort of personal squabble that has spilled onto the pages of this forum, or the OP had a legitimate bad experience at V&L. Otherwise, I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake" when being criticized rather than taking responsibility for a bad experience that they had on your website. That says a lot about what kind of service the website provides and almost confirms the OP's gripes.

There is no personal squabble. The situation simply did not occur. Like I said, I welcome constructive and genuine feedback. The OP made some pretty sweeping and potentially damaging allegations on a public forum and I am entitled to reply in defence, calling it out for what it is. As for using "fake" - it simply follows the language of the OP.

Marcus

The OP called the shipping information "fake" and you replied back that their entire review was "fake", which I took exception to as bad form from a business owner in response to a customer that had a bad experience. You should look a little deeper at the cause of the initial problem rather than going on the attack. Or not, it's entirely up to you but I hope you realize that your response to a customer complaint is not favorable and doesn't make me want to shop at your store. I'm not saying this to take sides or make you angry, I hope you take this as constructive criticism.

Cheers

Dan

Thanks Dan but the review is fake. I stand by the fact it did not happen and I cannot try to get to the root of something that did not happen. Maybe there is a genuine customer behind the post who is disgruntled for some reason and has decided to post a negative review of our business. Maybe... But if that's the case then lying about us on a forum isn't the right way to go about things... why not post the real reason you're unhappy? The reality is that the situation described by the OP did not happen. We are small enough for me to see every order and every email that comes though. Any and every issue with a customer I will know about, especially something like what was described by the OP. We certainly do not give out fake shipping information. That's why I have taken exception. Forums are a great place to share experiences, ask questions, impart knowledge etc., but sadly it's all too easy to smear someone or a business with a dishonest review. Shame that.

Anyhow that's all I intend to say on the matter.

Marcus

 

[DFA123]

I think the point might be more that going on the offensive in a public place (i.e. a forum) isn't a great look for a business, even if it's justified. It's like when you're looking at a hotel on Tripadvisor and some owners have responded personally to all the negative reviews: arguing with them, calling them fake or attacking the reviewer. It really doesn't make you want to stay in that hotel, even if what they're saying is true. It's tough though, because understandably you want to defend your business, but I think perhaps it would be better to just humour the review and use it as a chance to publically demonstrate excellent customer service and interest in your customer's satisfaction. Rather than doing the opposite.

 

[VictorLiberty]

Re:

I think the point might be more that going on the offensive in a public place (i.e. a forum) isn't a great look for a business, even if it's justified. It's like when you're looking at a hotel on Tripadvisor and some owners have responded personally to all the negative reviews: arguing with them, calling them fake or attacking the reviewer. It really doesn't make you want to stay in that hotel, even if what they're saying is true. It's tough though, because understandably you want to defend your business, but I think perhaps it would be better to just humour the review and use it as a chance to publically demonstrate excellent customer service and interest in your customer's satisfaction. Rather than doing the opposite.

Definitely valid points. Thanks for the constructive feedback.

 

[King Boonen]

I hadn't realised you stock Walz caps, that's good to know!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re:

... It's tough though, because understandably you want to defend your business, but I think perhaps it would be better to just humour the review and use it as a chance to publically demonstrate excellent customer service and interest in your customer's satisfaction. Rather than doing the opposite.

I agree with this. I think VL is wise to respond, to keep active in social media to criticism, but coming off as blunt or defensive, or accusatory also doesn't do so well. Not that VL was that harsh here. Responding to criticism (fake or not) with a smile has been a successful tactic long before the internet has been along. It represents you as a merchant, a person, best.

The opposite of course has been true and seen as well. Where "fake" positive comments have been posted for any number of things. It's such a problem, Amazon and other sites have created algorithms to filter through them.

 

[Jacques de Molay]

Re:

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake"...

And I'm surprised (and more than discouraged) that the mods wouldn't have seen the bogus and disingenuous OP for what it is. It should've been deleted from the start. How many signs do you need?

A first-time poster appears with a poorly written and vague criticism.
The OP is from MAY, and yet four months later they offer not a single response or follow-up.

Are you kidding me? This has all the hallmarks of either an entirely fraudulent claim by this so-called customer, or the ramblings of an unstable individual just seeking attention.

Having spent decades in retail myself, I can see right through this. Easily.

What's even more bewildering to me is that the owner of the accused business then takes the effort to defend his reputation, does so in a totally appropriate way, only to have himself compared to Trump by one of the mods here. If the review is "fake," then how else should it have been described?

This is embarrassing for the forum. The more appropriate response, in my opinion. would've been to apologize to the owner of V&L for allowing this ridiculous thread to have grown any legs at all in the first place.

It's absurd to me that a mod would defend the OP in this instance (and the politically-associated reference to POTUS was nothing more than a cheap-shot that adds nothing whatsoever to the conversation).

But hey, that's just me. I can't even remember the last time I posted anything here, and this thread is a good example of why.

I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

You can't be serious.

Welcome to the Internet. This sort of thing happens all the time. There could be personal issues, it could be a lame attack from a competitor...or maybe just flat-out trolling. Go figure.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

I'm surprised that you, the owner of V&L decided to use Trumps tactic of calling this persons review "Fake"...

And I'm surprised (and more than discouraged) that the mods wouldn't have seen the bogus and disingenuous OP for what it is. It should've been deleted from the start. How many signs do you need?

A first-time poster appears with a poorly written and vague criticism.
The OP is from MAY, and yet four months later they offer not a single response or follow-up.

Are you kidding me? This has all the hallmarks of either an entirely fraudulent claim by this so-called customer, or the ramblings of an unstable individual just seeking attention.

Having spent decades in retail myself, I can see right through this. Easily.

What's even more bewildering to me is that the owner of the accused business then takes the effort to defend his reputation, does so in a totally appropriate way, only to have himself compared to Trump by one of the mods here. If the review is "fake," then how else should it have been described?

This is embarrassing for the forum. The more appropriate response, in my opinion. would've been to apologize to the owner of V&L for allowing this ridiculous thread to have grown any legs at all in the first place.

It's absurd to me that a mod would defend the OP in this instance (and the politically-associated reference to POTUS was nothing more than a cheap-shot that adds nothing whatsoever to the conversation).

But hey, that's just me. I can't even remember the last time I posted anything here, and this thread is a good example of why.

I don't know why someone would make up a review and pick V&L as a target, that just doesn't make any sense.

You can't be serious.

Welcome to the Internet. This sort of thing happens all the time. There could be personal issues, it could be a lame attack from a competitor...or maybe just flat-out trolling. Go figure.

I usually nuke these posts from first time posters, 99% of the time. This one snuck in under the radar, but I checked on the OP and it was really them, or at least a good imposter.

Either way, it doesn't matter if they responded 4 days or 4 months later. They responded, and you can take what they said as being true or not, it's just a review.

 

[Jacques de Molay]

Re: Re:

Either way, it doesn't matter if they responded 4 days or 4 months later. They responded...

No, they did not.

It is not my intention to argue just for the sake of argument, but we seem to be talking in circles here.

I was simply referring to the fact that the OP has not responded since the initial post (obviously, because their post count is still only at "1"). That is what I was referring to. They've provided nothing to further substantiate their questionable claims -- even when given the opportunity to directly, and publicly, engage with the owner of the company that they are casting aspersions towards.

That, to me, is even further proof that there is nothing credible about the complaint in the first place.

They were comfortable enough in starting a thread about their supposed grievance, but haven't the maturity or dignity to join the ensuing conversation? The OP is a a deliberate attack on a business and someone's reputation. If they aren't willing to stand by their claims, and reinforce their supposed side of the story, then they shouldn't be choosing a very public cycling forum as the place for that.

Conversation and exchanges between members should be the driving force in any forum setting. Not cowardly accusations flung from afar with no spine to back them up. This isn't Yelp, after all.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Either way, it doesn't matter if they responded 4 days or 4 months later. They responded...

No, they did not.

It is not my intention to argue just for the sake of argument, but we seem to be talking in circles here.

I was simply referring to the fact that the OP has not responded since the initial post (obviously, because their post count is still only at "1"). That is what I was referring to. They've provided nothing to further substantiate their questionable claims -- even when given the opportunity to directly, and publicly, engage with the owner of the company that they are casting aspersions towards.

That, to me, is even further proof that there is nothing credible about the complaint in the first place.

They were comfortable enough in starting a thread about their supposed grievance, but haven't the maturity or dignity to join the ensuing conversation? The OP is a a deliberate attack on a business and someone's reputation. If they aren't willing to stand by their claims, and reinforce their supposed side of the story, then they shouldn't be choosing a very public cycling forum as the place for that.

Conversation and exchanges between members should be the driving force in any forum setting. Not cowardly accusations flung from afar with no spine to back them up. This isn't Yelp, after all.

Yep, you're correct...

I feel stupid, thank you very much! :lol:

As I was writing my response I had 'marcus' from Victor & Liberty stuck in my lizard brain as being the OP. Obviously that's not the case and I've now spent way more time than I should have posting in this thread.

 

[james9772]

So far I've had no response from Victor & Liberty to a customer service issue.

I've tried twice using contact forms on their website and three times by email to the info@ address they publish on their website.

I'm hoping that bringing it to a forum may encourage a response before I raise my complaint publicly.

Please V&L give me a response.