Ribble customer service.

[accountantpete]

Try Dave Hinde if you want really excellent service!*



* NOT!

I think they are a bit better these days but http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/positive-dave-hinde-feedback is a cracking read

I particularly like the line for every 100 disgruntled customers, there will always be one or two with a tale of good service to tell

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I think they are a bit better these days buthttp://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/positive-dave-hinde-feedback is a cracking read

I particularly like the line for every 100 disgruntled customers, there will always be one or two with a tale of good service to tell

Like the first comment to a positive review - "are you Dave Hinde?"

 

[Archie_tect]

If only I'd known.... I just bought some of those from them, could have taken them off your hands. Packing was as you describe, but no instructions. So what ? easily downloaded off Shimano's website, and with the price siginificantly cheaper than elsewhere I can put up with doing that.
Have used Ribble many times for componentry & tools, never, ever, had a problem. Frankly I prefer their minimalist packing to CRC's hugely oversized cardboard boxes.
Would I buy a complete bike from them? Probably not, as there are too many horror stories of delay for various excuses, but I'm happier assembling my own anyway.

Mine were £51 with postage.
I downloaded the instructions easily too but doesn't the lack of original manufacturer's packaging make you wonder where they get their stuff from? - since the original packaging would have taken up less space and have been better protected than the foot long cardboard roll and brown tape disaster!

 

[ASC1951]

.... a very tall slim girl with model looks and figure-hugging dress ........ informed me that it was actually her boyfriend who was the cyclist.... walked out and found his car parked outside, only a brand new Ferrari F430.... feck.... I drove off in my Volkswagen. Ho hum.

Why would you want to waste time on a girl who is attracted to knobbers with knobber cars?

 

[Globalti]

Well I didn't know she was with the knobber when I started the conversation!

On Ribble, they gave up their shop a couple of years ago to concentrate on the mail order with a just grudgingly provided retail counter at the warehouse, just like Merlin and Winstanleys and so many others. If you want cheap parts, why complain? Go to a full-blown LBS and pay more but get some friendly banter and a coffee. It's your choice.

 

[Aspull Velo]

If you want cheap parts, why complain?

Well when they take a grand of my hard earned cash I think I've got the right to a service that at least doesn't border on total contempt for the customer. It's a lesson learned the hard way.

 

[Globalti]

It's an interesting question that comes up time and again on web fora. I've been in Sales for all my working life and I've learned that it's quite a subtle balancing act to build up a good rapport with all the different kinds of customers who you meet. With some, you spark instantly and with others it just doesn't happen. In the export context you've got to take account of all the cultural differences as well. In a shop environment it takes energy to make the effort with every customer who walks in and we've all met tired, hungry, grumpy shop assistants and vowed never to go back to that shop.

In the case of the big mostly internet sellers like Ribble and Merlin, staff are probably not recruited for their customer relations skills and generally when I go into an internet store like Ribble, Merlin or Winstanleys I find the sales staff lacklustre and uninterested. It doesn't bother me; that's what I expect.