Cautionary Tales about Seth Laam!

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No need to remove it. It is what it is. I'm glad you got it all resolved. It's too bad it took so long in the first place, and only after having to resort to more extreme measures. With as much folks around here who love his seats, I hope Seth can get the business part squared away.

 
In my personal dealings with Seth I always found him to be a stand up guy. When he built my first seat there was no mention of him on either ST1300 forum and only one uncredited pic on this forum. I posted a glowing review of his seat on both ST1300 forums. My ST1300 seat pics still pop up when you Google Images of Laam Custom Seats.

About 2 weeks later Seth called me. He thanked me over and over. He told me that the floodgates had opened and his phone was ringing off the hook. He told me that he would not forget. He was as good as his word. I had him build my father a seat. I had him building the seat for my '15 ES before I made the first payment. I recommended him to some very close friends. He never failed me.

The power of the internet forum to make or break a business is huge. We often forget that when we post something on the internet, especially on a forum as respected and powerful as this one, we become The Experts. We become The Truth. Let's not take that responsibility lightly.

 
I just received a call from Seth Laam. My bike was scheduled to be built this week, he called to ask a few questions, and will be cutting today...on the truck tomorrow or soon thereafter. Will charge the CC when he is finished with the build. Will send photos after he is done with the build as I wait for the delivery service to bring it to me.

I have been a past critic of Laam's customer service, based on what I've heard from others.

All I can say is, it looks like he will be doing right by me.

I just recommend that, like me, you pick up a cheap stock seat while you are waiting, to ensure you are not deprived of ride time.

PS - I will have a stock set of seats For Sale when my Laams come home to roost.
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Edit: To the OP...the title of your thread is a permanent slam against Seth Laam.

 
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Redfish Hunter said:
The power of the internet forum to make or break a business is huge. We often forget that when we post something on the internet, especially on a forum as respected and powerful as this one, we become The Experts. We become The Truth. Let's not take that responsibility lightly.
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Yet we are a forum whose purpose is the exchange of ideas and information. So just as folks can post positive experiences or endorsements, folks can also post their negative experiences or critical reviews. All information is a good thing. Let the reader decide.

Your loyalty to Seth Laam is clouding your judgement on this one a bit my friend. But no worries, you still have a hideously ugly and titanicly huge wife to go home to. Even if she really doesn't like you.

 
SkooterG said:
Redfish Hunter said:
The power of the internet forum to make or break a business is huge. We often forget that when we post something on the internet, especially on a forum as respected and powerful as this one, we become The Experts. We become The Truth. Let's not take that responsibility lightly.
Click to expand...
Yet we are a forum whose purpose is the exchange of ideas and information. So just as folks can post positive experiences or endorsements, folks can also post their negative experiences or critical reviews. All information is a good thing. Let the reader decide.

Your loyalty to Seth Laam is clouding your judgement on this one a bit my friend. But no worries, you still have a hideously ugly and titanicly huge wife to go home to. Even if she really doesn't like you.
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I do not know that my judgement is "clouded." I am positive that there have been some issues with Laam's customer service, there are simply too many reports for it to be a work of fiction. I can only report my own experiences as Truth.

As I hope you know, my loyalty to my friends is probably my Fatal Flaw. And I consider you to be my friend. Of course, poor judgment is another of my character flaws.

As for my "hideously ugly and titanicly huge wife", she will be wonderfully pleased to see me tomorrow morning. It will be payday Friday.
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kampod said:
Since my issue was resolved I would like to remove this post now, and I'll ask forum administration to help me, as I certainly don't want to hurt this guy business and he was very apologetic and genuine.
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Maybe just edit your first post with the resolution to the issue. Glad it worked out for all concerned. B)

 
RFH, that's the thing. The very thing that improved his business (internet forums) can very well break his business.

There's two ways things go wrong for guys like Seth that can ruin their business through forums such as these.

1. Poor Communication.

2. Not making things right when screwups eventually happen.

You can totally botch things up and as long as you are on top of your game with communicating with the customer and making it right, you can still end up with glowing reviews. But if you shut down the communication thing, it can end you. Unfortunately for some folks, they are mad good at their craft and have excellent skills at what they do, but the communication thing goes on the back burner as it isn't their forte. Here's hoping Seth learns from this and keeps communication on the forefront.

I'm still planning on sending him my seats. Already have a second set. And since I have a second set, I'll be sending mine off during the peak of the opening of riding season, the time when no one will be sending him seats to do.
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Winter must be a busy time for him I'm sure as everyone wants to get the work done now before spring arrives. Those of us in the south though know no winterizing season so it doesn't matter when we ship our seats, as long as we have backups.

 
I have a backup set of seats. My riding season never ends, the wardrobe just changes. I sent my seats to Seth last winter and kept riding on the Top Sellerie. I was not taking any long trips then.

At any rate, I am pleased that the OP is getting satisfaction with his seats. I sincerely hope that they are comfortable and serve him well for many years. I am very happy to hear that Seth is Doing the Right Thing.

 
Thanks everyone for kind responses. I have another set of seats too, that was my plan all along, to never stop riding.

I wasn't worried about how long it takes Seth to make me a set, my issue was solely and ONLY in the lack of communication.

BTW, I asked Seth to take off the leather and replace with vinyl. As good as it leather looks it had my butt sliding on it like it was oiled. I was flying back and forth on every stop and start. The only time I got good friction (of course -haha) is when my butt got wet in the rain. The things would get particularly bad when I wore overpaints (vs jeans). Now I ride on the stock seat, and while my ass hurts after an hour at least it stays put. Seth offered some sort of carbon-like looking vinyl, hope it will hold me in place.

 
kampod said:
*snip*

BTW, I asked Seth to take off the leather and replace with vinyl. As good as it leather looks it had my butt sliding on it like it was oiled. I was flying back and forth on every stop and start. The only time I got good friction (of course -haha) is when my butt got wet in the rain. The things would get particularly bad when I wore overpaints (vs jeans). Now I ride on the stock seat, and while my ass hurts after an hour at least it stays put. Seth offered some sort of carbon-like looking vinyl, hope it will hold me in place.
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Was this a rework job?

 
Sounds like a fairly happy ending. I've never had a Lamm seat--or even sat on one--but the reputation is pretty good. And I have never before heard about any of these problems before. If they were out there, I don't think they came up here. Could be wrong. So I'm saying all the information here about this vendor is new to me, and I'd guess it is for most of us on the forum.

So I consider this a very valuable thread, just adding to the pool of knowledge this place offers. If I was considering a new seat now, I'd be glad I saw all this. Not that I would necessarily NOT use this vendor, just that I'd go in aware of a potential issue. I'd arrange for a back-up seat, and I think I'd maybe try to hold back the final payment until I knew the seat was done and ready to ship. ("Knew?" Guess I'd have to take his word for that, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to have him give me that final confirmation before sending off the last half/third/quarter of the total cost.) It IS kind of a buyer beware world out there. (And yeh, I read all 35 or so pages of the famous "Skyway" thread years ago too.)

 
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I glad to read this is working out and I trust Seth may have learned a bit about communication with the customer. I am in the service business and learned many years ago to stay in touch with your customers, make that phone call / e mail before you go home. Trouble begins when communication breaks down and never take on more work than you can handle.

 
Bought a second hand Russell, it worked ok for me, but I didn't think it was great for me... specs were built for close to me.....

When I ordered my new 15, I bought a set of seats to send to LAAM... had him build me a seat to my specs, I couldn't be happier - called me a few weeks after getting the seat and had it built before I got the new machine. It was winter and I had no delay, nor was I really in any hurry... Maybe I got lucky in the time frame - but he was kind, courteous, and generally cared about getting me what I wanted...

Almost a year later, got an FZ-09 - got a trashed seat off ebay, had it sent directly to him, about a month later - got the same treatment.... bit longer time frame, but I didn't care, am very happy with his product...

Sorry the OP is going through this, but I do think the way to go with LAAM is get an extra seat and wait in line.

Worked great for me.

 

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