Evans. grr

[Salsprocket]

I'm feeling just slightly blummin cross. :evil:
I placed an order with Evans on the 8th March for two items. They took payment for both and sent one item. I contacted them yesterday to ask when the other one would be sent and they say they are expecting a delivery from their supplier on 1st MAY!
I wanted the - err- item for Andy's birthday which is in 3 weeks and clearly this thing won't be here in time (and there was me being all smug cos I wasn't doing a last minute panic buy like normal).
They've said I can have a refund but I need to phone up to arrange this as they don't keep card details (or is this a ploy in the hope I won't cancel the order :roll: ).
Should they not have warned me the item was out of stock or at least advised there would be a lengthy delay (over 7 weeks)?
Over the last couple of years I've ordered a small number of things from Evans and they are either very good or very bad (eg a turbo trainer that was very clearly second hand and had been previously returned as defective).

Rant over.
Possibly.

 

[daj]

Re:

Funny enough I rang our local one earlier as round the corner from us at work ...I get aggravated with the massive website yet the shops hold virtually zero stock. "We can order them in for you" I can that myself from chain reactions thanks :facepalm:

 

[NeilM]

Re:

It is one of my pet hates with internet shopping, items that you can order, but which are out of stock.

I have had two occasions, one with Tredz and one with UK bikestore, where items were out of stock. Both contacted me immediately, advised me on delivery dates and asked if I wanted to cancel due to the delay.

I thought that this was a good professional approach, but wouldn't it just be better if the system showed when an item was out of stock, after all Wiggle and CRC manage it.

I don't ever deal with Evans, they are not easy shops to visit, as the two nearest stores are right in the centre of cities, where I very rarely am, and they are off my radar as an internet supplier.

 

[legrandefromage]

Slightly off topic but still with Evans - I asked why there was a £7 cheap and nasty steel headset on a £2.5k tourer ''...its a handbuilt steel frame sir, they are very expensive...''

So why is there a cheap and nasty headset? I was genuinely interested in the bike and their payment options but put off by the sales guy. I've seen better headsets in Argos.

 

[NeilM]

Re:

That is the reason I don't visit 'cycle stores'.

People moan like mad about Halfords, but I have experienced similar levels of ignorance (a lack of training) in many stores. It's not entirely the employees fault, if they are not brought up to speed on the product, or have limited interest in cycling, then they are not going to be able to answer legitimate customer questions.

 

[bugloss]

I don't go into Evans because the staff laughed at my funny old metal bike

 

[REKIBorter]

Re:

I am currently sourcing lots of new kit for my latest build. Using many different suppliers as not all have everything I am after in stock or at the right price.

So far Evans have been by far the best - items I wanted in stock and delivered the next day. Merlin Cycles are a close second followed by Rose and CRC. Two other big internet shops have been a hassle - they both advertised as having items in stock but then say they there will be a delay getting the stock from suppliers. Waiting a week so far, have given them a deadline to meet, if not, I will go elsewhere.

 

[Barneyballbags]

Re: Re:

Funny enough I rang our local one earlier as round the corner from us at work ...I get aggravated with the massive website yet the shops hold virtually zero stock. "We can order them in for you" I can that myself from chain reactions thanks :facepalm:

Aaaargh I hate that! I rang Evans in Cardiff the other day to try to get a 26" Black Mavic V Brake rim, only to be told that they haven't got any 26" V Brake rims in stock whatsoever. The salesman (I refuse to call them anything else, because that's all they are in the large chain stores) then thought he was being helpful by telling me that they had 26" disc only rims in stock but "they wouldn't be compatible with V Brakes" :roll:. He did the whole "we can order it in for you" spiel too. No thanks. I'll get it from CRC where it's a couple of quid cheaper - I just rung you on the offchance, because it would have been more convenient!

All of the larger stores now basically treat 26" and anything non-disc as obsolete, and forget that a very large percentage of the cycling population still use this combination.

I also rang another store (Tredz Cardiff) to try to get a 26.8 seatpost (which they didn't have in stock), only to be told that they had 27.0 and 27.2, but "you need to be very precise with things like seatposts". Yeah thanks for that, I've only been building my own bikes for the best part of 20 years :facepalm:

 

[Barneyballbags]

I don't go into Evans because the staff laughed at my funny old metal bike

I had a similar experience in Tredz Cardiff. I took my front wheel in there (blue Hope Ti hub) and the salesman asked me whether it was a genuine Hope hub or not because he'd never seen one like it! :roll:

 

[legrandefromage]

They are only interested in selling as much stuff as possible to a shrinking market. There are too many halfwits like us who can actually fix a bicycle and maintain one over decades rather than replace one every 3 years like some.