Getting annoyed by treatment by online bike shop..
Discussion
Bit of a ramble here so..
I've had a bad experience from an online bike shop and I just thought I'd relay my experience here to see if it's just me, or if this does seem rather disappointing!
I purchased a Brooks B17 saddle for a friends birthday on Tuesday 10th of May. I arrived home on Friday 13th to find a package from the bike shop - this was good as my friends birthday was the 15th of May so just scraped it. However I was a bit suspicious as the package was the wrong size for a saddle and, as expected, when I opened it I found that it did not contain what I ordered.. instead contained some parts for someone else. I looked at the enclosed order sheet which had the name and address and order information of the intended recipient.
I firstly phoned the bike shop. The customer services section were not picking up (it was close to the end of the day on Friday) but I instead rang through to sales and someone picked up. They clearly didn't want to be there and were bordering on rude initially but seemed to mellow out as I remained calm and polite and explained what had happened. He asked that I return the items to them and they'd despatch me the correct item ASAP and refund me for the postage when I'd sent the items back.
I then phoned the people the order was supposed to go (as the phone number was on the invoice) and explained what had happened - they appreciated knowing what was going on!
I posted the package back on Tuesday, recorded delivery. I put (I thought) a nice polite note in the bag explaining the whole situation and said that essentially I wasn't bothered about refunding my postage and that I'd just appreciate a courtesy call to let me know they'd received the returned items OK, and also to confirm that my missing order has been dispatched again. And now we're getting to the end of the day on Thursday and not a peep.
Now I know for a fact this bike shop isn't especially busy - I've visited their premises before and every time I go in, it's empty. I'm starting to feel quite irritated at the whole situation and despite being polite and amenable.
Now I do appreciate they might only have received the package yesterday or today.. so.. how long do I wait before I phone up and start getting less polite?
Cheers.
I've had a bad experience from an online bike shop and I just thought I'd relay my experience here to see if it's just me, or if this does seem rather disappointing!
I purchased a Brooks B17 saddle for a friends birthday on Tuesday 10th of May. I arrived home on Friday 13th to find a package from the bike shop - this was good as my friends birthday was the 15th of May so just scraped it. However I was a bit suspicious as the package was the wrong size for a saddle and, as expected, when I opened it I found that it did not contain what I ordered.. instead contained some parts for someone else. I looked at the enclosed order sheet which had the name and address and order information of the intended recipient.
I firstly phoned the bike shop. The customer services section were not picking up (it was close to the end of the day on Friday) but I instead rang through to sales and someone picked up. They clearly didn't want to be there and were bordering on rude initially but seemed to mellow out as I remained calm and polite and explained what had happened. He asked that I return the items to them and they'd despatch me the correct item ASAP and refund me for the postage when I'd sent the items back.
I then phoned the people the order was supposed to go (as the phone number was on the invoice) and explained what had happened - they appreciated knowing what was going on!
I posted the package back on Tuesday, recorded delivery. I put (I thought) a nice polite note in the bag explaining the whole situation and said that essentially I wasn't bothered about refunding my postage and that I'd just appreciate a courtesy call to let me know they'd received the returned items OK, and also to confirm that my missing order has been dispatched again. And now we're getting to the end of the day on Thursday and not a peep.
Now I know for a fact this bike shop isn't especially busy - I've visited their premises before and every time I go in, it's empty. I'm starting to feel quite irritated at the whole situation and despite being polite and amenable.
Now I do appreciate they might only have received the package yesterday or today.. so.. how long do I wait before I phone up and start getting less polite?
Cheers.
Just call them up and ask for an update. Don't get 5hitty unless they clearly don't know what's going on.
FWIW I've almost given up on buying bike bits online now.
After the CRC business earlier in the year, the things sometimes turning up not exactly as they've been described and expecting a super prompt service and only getting normal/sub-par.
It's not the o/l bikeshops fault but the post where I live is awful so every order for anything over the size of a fag packet now involves an early trip on a saturday to the depot.
I just CBA'd. Unless it's amazingly cheaper or only avaiable from a distance I now just soak up the couple of £ here and there, go and hold what I want to buy in my hand and retain a bit of my sanity.
FWIW I've almost given up on buying bike bits online now.
After the CRC business earlier in the year, the things sometimes turning up not exactly as they've been described and expecting a super prompt service and only getting normal/sub-par.
It's not the o/l bikeshops fault but the post where I live is awful so every order for anything over the size of a fag packet now involves an early trip on a saturday to the depot.
I just CBA'd. Unless it's amazingly cheaper or only avaiable from a distance I now just soak up the couple of £ here and there, go and hold what I want to buy in my hand and retain a bit of my sanity.
we're doomed. first someone has a bad experience at their LBS, now you and the internet. there is no hope, we will have to use our current kit for the rest of our lives. who can you trust?
ok, being serious for a moment, and having worked in retail for a year or so, the shop and the warehouse are probaly seperate places, its highly unlikely that when you order something from the website it comes off the shelf in the shop so the people in the store are often not that clued up on the shop policy for stuff bought off the web. they will never let you call the warehouse though because warehouse staff are kept there for a reason...
its quite easy to get the wrong thing off the shelf and put it in a bag when your knuckles are dragging on the floor, then when the customer gets involved you are dealing with people who, as said, dont know the process and are taking the blame for someone elses mistake which after a while, can become a bit annoying.... that said, they represent the company and should be on their best behaviour at all times so the attitude you received was out of order but not, on the basis of my experience, common.
i had no idea how our warehouse operated regarding returns and quite frankly had no intention of finding out, someone from our store went their once and wouldnt speak about the incident for weeks.
ok, being serious for a moment, and having worked in retail for a year or so, the shop and the warehouse are probaly seperate places, its highly unlikely that when you order something from the website it comes off the shelf in the shop so the people in the store are often not that clued up on the shop policy for stuff bought off the web. they will never let you call the warehouse though because warehouse staff are kept there for a reason...
its quite easy to get the wrong thing off the shelf and put it in a bag when your knuckles are dragging on the floor, then when the customer gets involved you are dealing with people who, as said, dont know the process and are taking the blame for someone elses mistake which after a while, can become a bit annoying.... that said, they represent the company and should be on their best behaviour at all times so the attitude you received was out of order but not, on the basis of my experience, common.
i had no idea how our warehouse operated regarding returns and quite frankly had no intention of finding out, someone from our store went their once and wouldnt speak about the incident for weeks.
Unbelievable. I phoned up and spoke to them today. They vaguely acknowledged they had some items returned to them from me (so where was my courtesy phone call I politely asked for, in lieu of getting a refund for the postage?!) and they hadn't even processed getting a replacement saddle out to me. The guy checked stock, found they had none and said he'd have to get one ordered in for me so I wouldn't get it until next week at the earliest. I continued to be polite and by the end of the call he was sounding as if I should be grateful to him (I said thanks, and he says "That's quite alright!") and never actually apologised for the cock up at all!
My first and last order with these people - they'll never get my business ever again.
My first and last order with these people - they'll never get my business ever again.
Rob_T said:
on a more positive note, i have just had an excellent experience with a 'wizard' cycle shop (online order).
ordered part yesterday (camelbak rogue hydrapack)and it came today recorded delivery. no hassle.
dunno how that helps you, but i'm pleased!
Which one are you talking about? You are allowed to name & recommend the good guys you know!ordered part yesterday (camelbak rogue hydrapack)and it came today recorded delivery. no hassle.
dunno how that helps you, but i'm pleased!
I have had a few mixed experiences recently.
J E James = Excellent
Ordered a Raceface Atlas set of cranks, chainrings and bottom brackets - they turned up within a day but were not in original packing, plus the BB fixings showed signs of being fitted to a bike in the past. I contacted them via eMail to check the goods were new (as advertised) and received a reply within a couple of hours. They confirmed that the goods were new, but had been taken from a Kona Stinky that had been broken for the frame, they also apologised profusely for the advert and were going to set about changing it. They offered me the option of returning everything for a full refund or keeping the kit, and as a goodwill gesture offered a Royal Racing Jersey. Throughout the episode their customer service dept were excellent and the offer of the jersey was a nice sweetener.
Wiggle = not so good
I ordered an XT Shadow from Wiggle a couple of weeks ago, it showed as in stock and ready to ship with free shipping - 1st class royal mail. When I came to checkout the site automatically added a 'priority shipping' charge of about £4.00, deciding I did not need it the following day I opted to drop the £4.00 and go with the 'standard shipping - 3-5 days'. After a few days I realised that I had not received the mech and dropped them a mail asking where it was (given it showed as in stock). I had a response from their customer service department stating that as it was not a 'priority shipping' it was yet to be dispatched. I responded pointing out that the site said it was in stock and ready to ship, they in turn responded and more or less said 'tough, if you want a decent service from us you have to pay for it!'. Really upset with Wiggle, been using them for years and not happy with being treated like a Ryanair customer.
Merlin = excellent
I have bought loads from Merlin recently (including a Felt F75 in Feb) and have always found them excellent in terms of cost, shipping time and customer service.
discountcyclewear.co.uk - very good
A clunky looking site seemingly run by a bloke from his front room but excellent customer service and really low prices. Shipping can take a few days and stock can be a bit hit and miss but I have bought quite a bit from here and saved a packet.
J E James = Excellent
Ordered a Raceface Atlas set of cranks, chainrings and bottom brackets - they turned up within a day but were not in original packing, plus the BB fixings showed signs of being fitted to a bike in the past. I contacted them via eMail to check the goods were new (as advertised) and received a reply within a couple of hours. They confirmed that the goods were new, but had been taken from a Kona Stinky that had been broken for the frame, they also apologised profusely for the advert and were going to set about changing it. They offered me the option of returning everything for a full refund or keeping the kit, and as a goodwill gesture offered a Royal Racing Jersey. Throughout the episode their customer service dept were excellent and the offer of the jersey was a nice sweetener.
Wiggle = not so good
I ordered an XT Shadow from Wiggle a couple of weeks ago, it showed as in stock and ready to ship with free shipping - 1st class royal mail. When I came to checkout the site automatically added a 'priority shipping' charge of about £4.00, deciding I did not need it the following day I opted to drop the £4.00 and go with the 'standard shipping - 3-5 days'. After a few days I realised that I had not received the mech and dropped them a mail asking where it was (given it showed as in stock). I had a response from their customer service department stating that as it was not a 'priority shipping' it was yet to be dispatched. I responded pointing out that the site said it was in stock and ready to ship, they in turn responded and more or less said 'tough, if you want a decent service from us you have to pay for it!'. Really upset with Wiggle, been using them for years and not happy with being treated like a Ryanair customer.
Merlin = excellent
I have bought loads from Merlin recently (including a Felt F75 in Feb) and have always found them excellent in terms of cost, shipping time and customer service.
discountcyclewear.co.uk - very good
A clunky looking site seemingly run by a bloke from his front room but excellent customer service and really low prices. Shipping can take a few days and stock can be a bit hit and miss but I have bought quite a bit from here and saved a packet.
Merlin - excellent, some very good deals and have always shipped fast.
Wooly hat shop - delivery can take a few days, but some good deals. Once I ordered some SLX 9 speed shifters, got a 10 speed instead. Sent this back and the 9 speed shifter never turned up so phoned them up and they sent another the next day.
CRC - always been ok for me.
Wiggle - took a while for the order to come but otherwise ok.
Wooly hat shop - delivery can take a few days, but some good deals. Once I ordered some SLX 9 speed shifters, got a 10 speed instead. Sent this back and the 9 speed shifter never turned up so phoned them up and they sent another the next day.
CRC - always been ok for me.
Wiggle - took a while for the order to come but otherwise ok.
MadDad said:
I have had a few mixed experiences recently.
J E James = Excellent
I've spent hundreds with them, and they are absolutely great until something goes wrong. My experience was they they then treated me like I was a fraudster, despite the item in question having a bad batch that was reported all over the web (unbeknownst to me).J E James = Excellent
CRC - order before 2pm and the stuff arrives next day. Excellent.
Wiggle - ordered brake pads 10am Tues. Got email saying they were ready for the Postie on Thursday afternoon and they arrived Friday. I didnt want to pay £4 to have £9 of brake pads delivered next day but hadn't expected the £4 to mean my order would not sit on a shelf for two and a half days. Postie was next day, Wiggle were not. Disappointed.
Wiggle - ordered brake pads 10am Tues. Got email saying they were ready for the Postie on Thursday afternoon and they arrived Friday. I didnt want to pay £4 to have £9 of brake pads delivered next day but hadn't expected the £4 to mean my order would not sit on a shelf for two and a half days. Postie was next day, Wiggle were not. Disappointed.
I've had no issues with Wiggle, CRC, and so forth. Got my 105 5700 groupset for my Planet X Nanolight build earlier this year from Merlin and everything was fine.
These are a much smaller player than these companies! If I don't see / hear anything by the end of next week I think it's going to be a phone call and time for a lot of complaining.
These are a much smaller player than these companies! If I don't see / hear anything by the end of next week I think it's going to be a phone call and time for a lot of complaining.
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