Hi everyone
I have read with interest the recent comments posted here. You may or may not be aware that approximately six months ago, we had a change of management structure at the Sheffield store, with an associated change of culture and mindset. We were very aware of our poor reputation amongst a significant proportion of the local cycling community, and it is our determination to re-engage with all cyclists in the city, from complete beginners to veteran racing whippets!
The problems with stock and orders that we have had in recent years, due to our un-preparedness for the huge expansion in our online mail order business, are now reduced to a bearable level. We are by no means perfect, and any organisation that has human beings at its heart will always suffer from flaws, but you can be assured that we are in a daily battle to improve our standards of service and the physical layout and product availability in our store.
We now have a long term, established staff team with huge experience in the industry - most of whom are passionate cyclists themselves. There will always be somebody in-store who has the background knowledge to answer your queries or problems - just ask and we will take you to the most appropriate staff member. It will always be unrealistic to to expect someone to be an expert on both full sus D/H bikes and traditional steel-frame tourers, although we have some folk who are!
We are making an effort to support local cycle events through sponsorship, tech support etc, and it is our hope that this will grow over the coming years. We have equipped ourselves with eazi-ups and other kit to facilitate this, and we are now supporting several local road and MTB teams.
These are difficult times in retailing generally - we are very aware that every customer is precious, and that our competition locally has grown in recent times, but we also believe that cycling has a key role to play in the future of urban transportation, and in keeping us all healthy and fit in an increasingly sedentary world. To those of you who may have had poor service in the past, please do not write us off because of previous experience - we are trying very hard to be the LBS that you would want - a local business selling what you want at the right price, with friendly, efficient service (although we still may struggle with five to nine on a Monday morning...)