Easton's customer service, or lack thereof

One would think quality manufacturers stand behind their products. That would include having spare parts when needed and offering assistance to customers. However, when I lost a small part of my Easton EC90 crank, I was surprised to find out that Easton had no spares and offered no help. Lousy.

The EC90 crank is a high end product. It sells for $699 and is said to be one of the lightest and stiffest cranks around. I have no qualms with those statements. The crank does seem to work as advertised. However, on Saturday I went on a ride and somehow the crank arm came loose. But what was even worse is that the end-cap (A), a piece Easton calls the preload adjuster nut fell out on the ride. Since I did not notice it happening there is no hope of ever finding such a small piece again.

So this morning I called Easton and to my surprise they answered right away. No endless holds and no machine voice options. A real person and quickly too. Unfortunately that real person was anything but helpful. After a long delay she returned and told me the only spare parts Easton has for the crank are called bottom brackets. All further attempts to get help were in vain. She was mute. She kept on repeating, each time with more emphasis, that the only spares we have for a crank are called bottom brackets.

Suggestions? None. No use whatsoever.

So here I am stuck with an almost-new $700 crank that won't work because a small part is missing! Can you believe it?