Cambria Bicycle Problems?



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Reese

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Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is limited,
but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one day (same
area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm thinking of
refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just ordering from
someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered from them
again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!
 
reese wrote:
> Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
> their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
> limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
> day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
> thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
> ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
> from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!
>

Seems typical of most of the online bike sites that I've dealt with. Most are polite, but not
terribly speedy. I've ordered from Cambria many times without problem, but I don't remember the lag
times. If I need something NOW, I get it locally. In fact, my LBS will always match the price of
places like Cambria or Performance -- they balk at JensonUSA prices :).

David
 
"reese" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> They are polite but SLOOOWWW.

A friend of mine ordered a derailleur from them on sunday for her boyfriend's birthday (how's that
for a romantic gift!) and got it second day air. She figured it would ship on monday and get here on
wedensday for his birthday. Looks like they didn't ship until tuesday, so it should get here
thursday. Not any big deal, but I suppose it really should have gone out the next day. Matt
 
Their web site does not list product availability, so in addition to the logistical delay you
experienced, there is delay if they do not have the product on hand. One must phone them to find out
if they have the product. I recently cancelled an order I placed on their website a week earlier
because they didn't have the product and didn't notify me of that fact. They are polite, but they
need to modernize.

"reese" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
> their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
> limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
> day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
> thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
> ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
> from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!
 
An anonymous poster wrote:

> Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
> their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
> limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
> day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
> thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
> ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
> from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!

Being in somewhat the same line of work, I'd like to stick up for Cambria a bit, even though they
are a competitor.

Those of us who do a lot of internet shopping are a bit spoiled by the likes of Amazon.com, CDnow,
ClubMac and the like. These very large companies have highly sophisticated, very expensive software
that they are able to amortize because of their high volume.

They are working with highly predictable products, all of similar size and shape, which can be filed
easily in a numerical-based warehousing system. Order filling for this sort of merchandise can be
highly automated.

Bicycle parts, by comparison, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some of them quite awkward to
inventory and package. They don't generally have SKU numbers and even if they did, it would be very
inefficient in terms of space usage to file them by the SKU numbers, because rims are much bigger
than derailers, and handlebars are bulky.

Selling bicycle parts by mail-order is MUCH more labor-intensive than dealing with simple
rectangular flat products, or even electronic equipment that comes already packaged in
shock-resistant boxes from the manufacturer.

Business is cyclical, there are busy times and slack times. If you have enough hands to provide
instant turnaround in the busy times, you have to lay people off in the slack times. If you follow
this practice, the folks that get hired back are not likely to be as competent as regular employees.

In my experience a 2 or 3 day delay in shipping should not be considered extraordinary, when dealing
with this sort of merchandise, unless special rush service was requested.

Sheldon "Small Business Isn't Easy" Brown +-------------------------------------+
| Natural laws have no pity. | --Robert A. Heinlein |
+-------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com
 
I placed my first order with Cambria for some shifters on a Thrusday afternoon. On the following
Monday nigh (2+ business days later plus the weekend), I get a message saying they're out of stock
for 10-14 days. Unacceptable.

I cancelled the order and went with my LBS. The only way I would even consider ordering from them in
the future was if I honestly didn't need the item for a good 1 1/2 weeks.

I routinely order from the other online vendors and none of them are even close to being this slow.

Kevin
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
>their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
>limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
>day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
>thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
>ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
>from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!

Unless they say they ship the same day you order, you have no reason to complain. Not all shops have
the personnel to ship the same day.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)
 
"reese" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
> their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
> limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
> day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
> thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
> ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
> from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!
>
>
>

I've ordered from CBO many times. Never had a problem, but then again, I don't order on-line. I pick
up the phone and, with catalog in hand, ask the CSR, "do you have this item?", if the answer is yes,
then I ask " when will it ship?" That way I have immediate feedback of the status of my order. No
guessing about it, or having some false expectations because it was ordered "on-line". Anyone who is
looking for a specific level of expectation, and who does not talk to a human being at the seller's
location, it wasting his time and fooling himself.

--
Doug
YMMV

"We have met the enemy, and they is us." - Pogo __o _`\<,_ (*)/ (*)
 
"David Kunz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Seems typical of most of the online bike sites that I've
dealt with.
> Most are polite, but not terribly speedy. I've ordered
from Cambria
> many times without problem, but I don't remember the lag
times. If I
> need something NOW, I get it locally. In fact, my LBS
will always match
> the price of places like Cambria or Performance -- they
balk at
> JensonUSA prices :).

I think a lot of those places don't actually have all that stuff in stock -- they take your order
and then order it themselves. If you're lucky they drop ship, otherwise you have to wait for them to
get it, unpack/pack it, and ship it to you.

FWIW, I've ordered a few things from Bike World in San Antonio, and everything arrived promptly --
even something that had to be special ordered. They're not cheap, but they're good. Price Point is
really good too -- I've been there and met them. Their deals are a given, so prompt service is their
main focus.

Matt O.
 
reese wrote:

> Has anyone had trouble with this outfit? I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but
> their shipping is the slowest I've encountered. I've only ordered twice so my experience is
> limited, but it takes 2-3 days before they ship. I am close enough that UPS ground takes only one
> day (same area code- but too far to drive). They are polite but SLOOOWWW. They take so long I'm
> thinking of refusing the order I'm waiting on now (should have been here 3 days ago) and just
> ordering from someone else out of spite. They were so nice the first time I went ahead and ordered
> from them again. Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me I guess!!!
>
>
>
>

Cambria's web site outpaces their ability to update it (not uncommon in web commerce, if you ask
me). I've ordered from them in the past but I've learned to call. It's free. As often as not a sale
item on the site is long gone.

I think also a web order sits until a human can process it; when you call they drop everything and
enter it right then, reserve the item from inventory, run your credit card, etc. I've visited them
in Cambria, Calif. and they are a set of shops, not a dedicated mail order biz.

OTOH, they've had things I didn't see on the site to offer me when they didn't have the parts I
requested on the phone. Sometimes I call them up with an oddball request and they have it -- like
13-28 7 speed HG70 cassettes.
 
This has happened to me too. Lesson? Ask if the item is in stock, not just by looking at a database
on a PC, but actually looking at the item on a shelf!

--
- Zilla (Remove XSPAM)

"Kevin Abbott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I placed my first order with Cambria for some shifters on a Thrusday afternoon. On the following
> Monday nigh (2+ business days later plus the weekend), I get a message saying they're out of stock
> for 10-14 days. Unacceptable.
>
> I cancelled the order and went with my LBS. The only way I would even consider ordering from them
> in the future was if I honestly didn't need the item for a good 1 1/2 weeks.
>
> I routinely order from the other online vendors and none of them are even close to being
> this slow.
>
> Kevin
 
A real bike shop like Cambria is good - but different from catalog houses like Nashbar. Bike shops
have more knowledge and personal attention and often serve niche markets.

Catalog houses have big inventory, extra-speedy shipping, web order tracking, low prices.

I like the catalogs, but bike shops have helped me with requests like: "Can I use a Shimano hub with
my Campy Ergo bike?" "Will my 9sp bar-ends work with an 8sp cassette?" "Please send parts I need to
convert my wheel from quick release to bolt-on" "White derailleur cable - I need 10 feet" "210 lb.
rider, commutes 20 miles/day. What wheel do you recommend? Can you build it before Monday?"

Special thanks to hubbub.com, harriscyclery.com, licktons.com, cambriabike.com,
kingsbicyclestore.com, branfordbike.com

> I've got very polite answers and semi-prompt emails but their shipping is the slowest I've
> encountered.
 
Doug-<< I've ordered from CBO many times. Never had a problem, but then again, I don't order
on-line. I pick up the phone and, with catalog in hand, ask the CSR, "do you have this item?"

Think this is key...the internet is just a passing fad, after-all.....

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
 
In article <[email protected]>, Doug Goodwin
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"reese" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

>I've ordered from CBO many times. Never had a problem, but then again, I don't order on-line. I
>pick up the phone and, with catalog in hand, ask the CSR, "do you have this item?", if the answer
>is yes, then I ask " when will it ship?" That way I have immediate feedback of the status of my
>order. No guessing about it, or having some false expectations because it was ordered "on-line".
>Anyone who is looking for a specific level of expectation, and who does not talk to a human being
>at the seller's location, it wasting his time and fooling himself.

I've had the same excellent service from Cambria, but like the above I call so I can ask lots of
questions and get some good advice (and they always try and save me money by offerring lower cost
alternatives.)

They have always let me know exactly what they have or don't have and when they can ship it. And
have followed up with back ordered items when finally they where available.
 
Excellent point, Peter. To paraphrase, "Do it well or skip it."

> I think if somebody(not us) decides to be mailorder and/or web based
re-seller,
> they must also decide to be efficient
 
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