Wiggle let down.

[JohnW]

Doesn't anyone out there want to use and support their LBS?

[easyroller]

Doesn't anyone out there want to use and support their LBS?

I support my LBS for the little things like tubes, tyres, cables and such - but they don't carry a huge range of anything.

I browse an extensive online catalog and then order pretty much anything I want for cheaper from Wiggle, CycleStore, ChainReaction, etc and have it turn up in a nice little box at my office in around 48 hours. Unfortunately there's just no way a local store can match that sort of business...

[Russcoles]

Well I got my package from SJS this morning and guess what, instead of my rack they sent me the front part from a Bob yak trailer. The difference between the way SJS and Wiggle dealt with the same problem is where the difference lies. SJS can be contacted by phone, wiggle only have email. SJS didn't treat me as if I was lying about it and didn't care what they had sent me, they just told me to throw it away and they would send another rack to arrive Monday, they didn't waste a day and allow their last remaining rack to be sold in the meantime.
Incidentally, anyone need the front bit of a Bob trailer (not sure what size wheel its for)?
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bob-yak-fron ... prod21738/

[Tasker]

I'm awaiting the email asking for feedback on the item I ordered but didn't receive, should be with me in 2 weeks. There is a section at the bottom where you can rate Wiggle.

I honestly think that the new outfit that have simply brought out the Wiggle name (i.e. it would seem they just paid for the good name), haven't got the know how or the necessary experience of the cycling world as to how to carry on the good name they've paid out for.


I wonder (choosing my words carefully here), if they go looking around for choice items and then simply put them up on their website but with no actual stock just to gauge if there's going to be any demand before they actually place an order from the far east supplier and it's hapless workforce knocking said items out for pence. When in which case, after many emails to them we either get the item or a refund.

Poor, what was once, Wiggle.

Come on CTC! How about you carrying out a few 'consumer' type investigations on our behalf?

[DurableAce]

I've still received good service from Wiggle. Never had a problem with out-of-stock items, except when returning an item for replacement. In that instance I was offered alternatives including a refund and a voucher for the inconvenience.

I still receive despatch notification emails (last time I ordered was in January). Unless there's been a change since, I can't see how it would be practical to operate a policy that doesn't treat all customers the same.

I still use them, although I don't tend to use the CTC discount option because as a "usual" customer, my level of discount is the same as CTC members get. It's a shame because I believe CTC benefits from purchases through their shop.

Thumbs up from me.

[patricktaylor]

Doesn't anyone out there want to use and support their LBS?

This thread reminds me how much I disapprove of the CTC's association with one single retailer, regardless of whether it is online or not. I don't know how much the CTC benefits financially from the Wiggle connection but it isn't worth it IMO. I'd rather pay a higher sub in the interests of evenhandedness. To pick up on JohnW's question I'm happy to pay a little bit more sometimes for the pleasure of visiting my LBSs (plural) and the extra service they offer - discussing my needs, etc. I'm reluctant to buy anything from people I can't talk to (eg Wiggle).

[nez]

I try to order stuff from my local bike shop, but they usually haven't got what I want in stock, aren't very good at the 'hello we've got your part' phone call and have the charming habit of leaving you standing in line for half an hour while they deal with whoever was at the front of the queue in intimate detail. Actually I love their attitude towards selling but I don't always have 1/2 hr x2 (visits) available to buy some small object, so I have to be in the mood. I used to like Wiggle and have their merino tops and winter tights (x2) but these posts are putting me off. An enquiring email with a technical question sent in the evening to Rose Bikes or Spa or SJSC will receive a reply the next morning. An order gets despatched straight away. After that the question is just price and the courier company.

[Cotswolder]

Sorry to say I had a very similar experience with Wiggle at Christmas.

The order (a set of lights, a Christmas present for Mrs Cotswolder) took ages to come. Finally came on the final day before Christmas. Phew. I might not get divorced after all.

Unwrapped only to find that the wrong mounts had been included: two rear ones, no front. E-mail Wiggle. They promise they'll send a front mount out. It doesn't arrive. E-mail again. They seem to have no record of the previous e-mail. Sigh. Eventually it turns up.

So we finally get the chance to try the lights. Put them onto charge and... the front one won't take any charge. Works for two minutes then dies. Sigh again. E-mail Wiggle again. "Send it back with our returns slip", they say. So we do.

And that was the last we saw of it. Wiggle claim they never received it, which I guess is possible, but I haven't had anything lost in the post for years: given the incompetence we'd encountered until then, it seems much more likely to me that they misplaced it.

So we're £70 down. Eventually we went to the LBS which is probably what we should have done in the first place - but I was swayed by the seeming bargain on offer at Wiggle. Never again.

On the other hand, it did give me great joy, two months later, to go and buy my new bike from the LBS. Sorry Wiggle, that's £1k you missed out on.

[JohnW]

...........................................Wiggle claim they never received it, which I guess is possible, but I haven't had anything lost in the post for years: given the incompetence we'd encountered until then, it seems much more likely to me that they misplaced it.....................So we're £70 down.

.

From previous posts, this doesn't surprise me. Didn't you send the returned item by recorded delivery? Surely you have some comeback?.........£70 - that's dreadful!!!!

[JohnW]

Doesn't anyone out there want to use and support their LBS?

This thread reminds me how much I disapprove of the CTC's association with one single retailer, regardless of whether it is online or not. I don't know how much the CTC benefits financially from the Wiggle connection but it isn't worth it IMO. I'd rather pay a higher sub in the interests of evenhandedness. To pick up on JohnW's question I'm happy to pay a little bit more sometimes for the pleasure of visiting my LBSs (plural) and the extra service they offer - discussing my needs, etc. I'm reluctant to buy anything from people I can't talk to (eg Wiggle).

Absolutely Patrick - abso-flippin'-lutely.

[AndyK]

Doesn't anyone out there want to use and support their LBS?

This thread reminds me how much I disapprove of the CTC's association with one single retailer, regardless of whether it is online or not. I don't know how much the CTC benefits financially from the Wiggle connection but it isn't worth it IMO. I'd rather pay a higher sub in the interests of evenhandedness. To pick up on JohnW's question I'm happy to pay a little bit more sometimes for the pleasure of visiting my LBSs (plural) and the extra service they offer - discussing my needs, etc. I'm reluctant to buy anything from people I can't talk to (eg Wiggle).

Absolutely Patrick - abso-flippin'-lutely.

You must all be very lucky with your LBS's, that's all I can say. I'd trust Wiggle over 90% of the bike shops I've frequented over the years.

I agree about the pointlessness of CTC's deal with Wiggle though.

[Ricardo]

I've been close to using Wiggle on a number of occasions only for them to be beaten on price by other online shops (Chain Reaction being one). My main buy was my bike, which I got from an LBS that has an online presence - wasn't local to me, they were in Scotland (!) - and they were fairly good. I was taking a punt with the bike, knowing what frame size I needed and went for the features I wanted (mainly, disc brakes both ends - bad experience with v-brakes when I was a teenager put me off forever). That was a slower experience than a box-shifting site, so far as my transaction was concerned, mainly because - I assume - they made a special order to another box-shifter/warehouse on my behalf and that took time. A bigger box-shifter might have stock and get the delivery out of the door a bit sooner, the way Amazon does for all sorts of things these days.

Conversely my wife just got her new bike (I picked it up yesterday) from one of our proper LBSs (Cycology, Chippenham). I said we could probably find it online for less, but she felt a kind of obligation since she'd gone in there and been "fitted out" for a suitable bike. She does have a bit of a conscience about trying something in a shop and then going online to get it for less - something that doesn't trouble me as much (I buy online and feel bad about it for a couple of weeks). They were very quick, the right bike was there (with extras fitted) for me to wheel out of the door. I tend not to chat much and don't really browse in these places so, for me, it was like an online experience with added inconvenience (having to go somewhere to actually pick it up!). It was a nice enough transaction, though, and if we had any problems I've no doubt they'd pitch in. They didn't offer to help me get the bike into the car, which I managed okay and didn't need to ask for help. Frankly, for me, the sources are much of a muchness and the driving factor is price. Ryanair is very successful because millions of people are similarly inclined, and if we want to cycle at Ryanair rates, I guess we have to expect something similar in customer service.

Then again Ryanair don't take your money and fail to provide what you paid for (they fail to provide anything else either, but that is in the Ts&Cs), which I think can be a serious limitation on the online shopping experience. Its far easier for an online retailer to fold their arms and say "so what" - thank goodness for the consumer credit act and other protections such as the mandatory cooling-off period.

If you feel poorly treated you can always go to the CC issuer (assuming you used a credit card) and raise a dispute through them. They have far more energy to chase these things up (they're obliged to). We've had good experiences with them on a couple of occasions over the years. Some friends paid a deposit on double glazing (from a company that shares a name with a mountain) and the DG firm immediately processed the funds, which our friends discovered when they cooled off well within the cooling off period and were told they can't cancel. The CC company just told the vendor "VISA will withdraw their credit facility from your company if you don't comply" - and they came to heel pretty sharply, that possibility is far more persuasive than any law I can think of. Either way, no matter what Wiggle may say, the CC issuer can be much more persuasive than we can, if it comes to that point.

[JohnW]

Conversely my wife just got her new bike...........I said we could probably find it online for less.............She does have a bit of a conscience about trying something in a shop and then going online to get it for less - something that doesn't trouble me as much...................

That's the way of the world.

[patricktaylor]

Conversely my wife just got her new bike...........I said we could probably find it online for less.............She does have a bit of a conscience about trying something in a shop and then going online to get it for less - something that doesn't trouble me as much...................

That's the way of the world.

Perhaps it is but it's wrong in my view. The LBS is subsidising the online retailer. If you tell them you'd like to try one of their bikes before you buy it online they would probably refuse, but that would be the honest way to go about it.

[JohnW]

Conversely my wife just got her new bike...........I said we could probably find it online for less.............She does have a bit of a conscience about trying something in a shop and then going online to get it for less - something that doesn't trouble me as much...................

That's the way of the world.

Perhaps it is but it's wrong in my view. The LBS is subsidising the online retailer. If you tell them you'd like to try one of their bikes before you buy it online they would probably refuse, but that would be the honest way to go about it.

Mine too Patrick - and I agree with you absolutely.