Good service!

wafflycat said:

Ordered a few things from ProBikeKit yesterday. One of the items was
down as out of stock until beginning of March. The order (free postage)
arrived this morning, including the item supposed to be out of stock.
Excellent service once again. Plus, PBK use Royal Mail, which in my neck
of the woods is much better than using a courier service, which is what
Wiggle are unfortunately doing now. If I happen to be out when it's a
Royal Mail delivery, I simply have to go the five miles into town to
pick up the package. If it's a courier, I have a fifty-mile round trip
into Norwich to get the package. As much as I like Wiggle, it's a good
job I work from home so that usually there is someone in to take a
delivery. Otherwise I'd have to stop using Wiggle. I am using PBK more
these days - due to delivery & pricing matching & exceeding Wiggle's
service.

If we're naming and proclaiming, I'll put in a word for Expansys. I
ordered online a new mount for my Garmin Edge. Completed the order
about 5pm Tuesday and the postie brought the product at 3pm Wednesday
(yesterday). I was more than surprised because I really didn't expect to
see it until the end of the week.

--
Brian G
www.wetwo.co.uk

wafflycat said:

Ordered a few things from ProBikeKit yesterday. One of the items was down
as out of stock until beginning of March. The order (free postage) arrived
this morning, including the item supposed to be out of stock. Excellent
service once again. Plus, PBK use Royal Mail, which in my neck of the
woods is much better than using a courier service, which is what Wiggle
are unfortunately doing now. If I happen to be out when it's a Royal Mail
delivery, I simply have to go the five miles into town to pick up the
package. If it's a courier, I have a fifty-mile round trip into Norwich to
get the package. As much as I like Wiggle, it's a good job I work from
home so that usually
there is someone in to take a delivery. Otherwise I'd have to stop using
Wiggle. I am using PBK more these days - due to delivery & pricing
matching & exceeding Wiggle's service.

Got a new cassette through from Parkers today. They, too, give very good
service and use Royal Mail. But ProBikeKit are good, too, and Wiggle, and
Rose Versand, and...

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Ye hypocrites! are these your pranks? To murder men and give God thanks?
Desist, for shame! Proceed no further: God won't accept your thanks for
murther
-- Robert Burns, 'Thanksgiving For a National Victory'

wafflycat said:

Ordered a few things from ProBikeKit yesterday. One of the items was
down as out of stock until beginning of March. The order (free postage)
arrived this morning, including the item supposed to be out of stock.
Excellent service once again. Plus, PBK use Royal Mail, which in my neck
of the woods is much better than using a courier service, which is what
Wiggle are unfortunately doing now. If I happen to be out when it's a
Royal Mail delivery, I simply have to go the five miles into town to
pick up the package. If it's a courier, I have a fifty-mile round trip
into Norwich to get the package. As much as I like Wiggle, it's a good
job I work from home so that usually there is someone in to take a
delivery. Otherwise I'd have to stop using Wiggle. I am using PBK more
these days - due to delivery & pricing matching & exceeding Wiggle's
service.

Yes, most couriers a problem in that respect.

Are they bound to try again?

The last delivery I had from Wiggle, the courier (based 50 miles away,
AFAIK) arrived when I was out, but left a card with a mobile number on
it; he was still in the area and agreed to return.

Parcelforce are my favourite --- but only because the (same all the
time) driver knows my preferences and leaves the package where we know
it should be left; I think he's even prepared to ignore signature
requirements.

For me, Post Office are a problem; their depot is in the middle of town
where there is great difficulty parking; and when you get there, there
is one person handling a large queue and the returns store is a long
distance from the counter.

I have never understood why the online retailers don't all allow a small
line of delivery preferences / instructions. Dell used to, but from
memory, couriers ignored it --- even though it meant extra work for them.

The last delivery I had from M&S, I left a note on the door with a
mobile phone number. Pleasingly, the courier called me and followed my
instructions.

Best regards,

Jon C.

Jonathan Campbell said:

For me, Post Office are a problem; their depot is in the middle of town
where there is great difficulty parking;

In my experience it's rare to get something through the regular Post
Office that's too large to carry home on a bike.

Quoted message said:

and when you get there, there
is one person handling a large queue and the returns store is a long
distance from the counter.

Can be a problem. I also wish they'd open in the afternoons.

Quoted message said:

I have never understood why the online retailers don't all allow a small
line of delivery preferences / instructions. Dell used to, but from
memory, couriers ignored it --- even though it meant extra work for them.

Wiggle did, on my last order from them (came via citylink). Though it
was something daft like 40 characters max and required txtspk encoding
to convey any useful message

-dan

wafflycat said the following on 21/02/2008 09:48:

Quoted message said:

If I happen to be out when it's a
Royal Mail delivery, I simply have to go the five miles into town to
pick up the package. If it's a courier, I have a fifty-mile round trip
into Norwich to get the package

I'm in much the same position and have now virtually stopped using
wiggle for much the same reason. Because of my working hours I can only
get to the CityLink depot (about 50 mile round trip) late on Friday
afternoons. Having to drive into Bristol at that time - it was over 2.5
hours altogether last time I did that! There's a little sign in the
waiting area to tell you that you may have to wait for up to an hour
when you go to collect a parcel - this is when you've already managed to
get hold of a person to arrange collection!

My PO is only a mile away and opens early so I can pop in on the way to
work. Not many customers queuing at 7am!!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:43:40 +0000, Paul Boyd

usenet.is.worse@plusnet said:

wafflycat said the following on 21/02/2008 09:48:

Quoted message said:

If I happen to be out when it's a
Royal Mail delivery, I simply have to go the five miles into town to
pick up the package. If it's a courier, I have a fifty-mile round trip
into Norwich to get the package

I'm in much the same position and have now virtually stopped using
wiggle for much the same reason. Because of my working hours I can only
get to the CityLink depot (about 50 mile round trip) late on Friday
afternoons. Having to drive into Bristol at that time - it was over 2.5
hours altogether last time I did that! There's a little sign in the
waiting area to tell you that you may have to wait for up to an hour
when you go to collect a parcel - this is when you've already managed to
get hold of a person to arrange collection!

My PO is only a mile away and opens early so I can pop in on the way to
work. Not many customers queuing at 7am!!

I get round the delivery problem by choosing my work address as a
delivery address.

Jonathan Campbell said:

Parcelforce are my favourite --- but only because the (same all the
time) driver knows my preferences and leaves the package where we know
it should be left; I think he's even prepared to ignore signature
requirements.

Eek, that seems like a bad one to ignore.

I have been pleased to find that ParcelForce round here now seem to
automatically take parcels to my local sub Post Office if I'm out.
Unlike deliveries by Royal Mail, I can then collect the parcel at no
extra cost.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

Paul Boyd usenet.is.worse@plusnet said:

I'm in much the same position and have now virtually stopped using
wiggle for much the same reason.  Because of my working hours I can only
get to the CityLink depot (about 50 mile round trip) late on Friday
afternoons.  Having to drive into Bristol at that time - it was over 2.5
hours altogether last time I did that!  There's a little sign in the
waiting area to tell you that you may have to wait for up to an hour
when you go to collect a parcel - this is when you've already managed to
get hold of a person to arrange collection!

My PO is only a mile away and opens early so I can pop in on the way to
work.  Not many customers queuing at 7am!!

I had a real bad time with CityLink. Having had a card through the
door to say they'd tried to deliver and would try again the following
day I arranged to work at home. Half way through the morning I passed
the front door to get a coffee and found another card had been quietly
delivered, the driver hadn't bothered to knock or ring the bell. I
know I would have heard if he had because a couple of other folks had
called that morning. I then spent all day talking to the CityLink
controller trying to get in touch with the driver, who was not
answering his phone or returning the many messages (they said) they
left with him. Eventually had to make a 2 hour round trip to the
depot myself.

The only bright spot was that I told Wiggle about it and they sent me
a 20 quid voucher as an apology, even though it wasn't really their
fault.

I still use Wiggle as there's usually someone home to receive parcels,
but Chain Reaction use Parcel Force, which is better because they
leave undelivered items at the PO depot near my house. I like the
detailed tracking on the Parcel Force site too, you can get all
excited as your stuff makes its way from Ireland.

Just don't get me started about David Hinde and their lies about stuff
being shipped.

Tom Crispin said the following on 25/02/2008 19:07:

Quoted message said:

I get round the delivery problem by choosing my work address as a
delivery address.

Firstly, not everyone will send to an address that is different to the
cardholder's address (although wiggle do). Secondly, if it's something
lumpy I have to drive my car into work to be able to bring it home.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:08:59 +0000, Paul Boyd

usenet.is.worse@plusnet said:

Tom Crispin said the following on 25/02/2008 19:07:

Quoted message said:

I get round the delivery problem by choosing my work address as a
delivery address.

Firstly, not everyone will send to an address that is different to the
cardholder's address (although wiggle do). Secondly, if it's something
lumpy I have to drive my car into work to be able to bring it home.

I know that delivery to work is not an option for everyone, but it is
a solution that works for me. If you are ordering from the US they
will usually only deliver to the cardholders address: it has something
to do with liability for loss being with the merchant not the bank.
I've never (yet) had a problem with a UK reatailer.

As for lumpy items, you might be amazed at some of the things I've
carried on the back of my bike. A case of wine on one occasion, and a
BBQ on another... With a trailer the possibilities are even greater.

Here's one I snapped in Sanya, China a couple of years ago.
www.johnballcycling.org.uk/photos/longload

Tom Crispin said the following on 26/02/2008 17:20:

Quoted message said:

As for lumpy items, you might be amazed at some of the things I've
carried on the back of my bike. A case of wine on one occasion, and a
BBQ on another... With a trailer the possibilities are even greater.

I've seen your trailer ;-) Spare car bodyshell? No problem!!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Quoted message said:

Jonathan Campbell said:

For me, Post Office are a problem; their depot is in the middle of town
where there is great difficulty parking;

In my experience it's rare to get something through the regular Post
Office that's too large to carry home on a bike.

true for most part it's going to be carried on foot.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and when you get there, there
is one person handling a large queue and the returns store is a long
distance from the counter.

Can be a problem. I also wish they'd open in the afternoons.

some do. i was certinaly supprised at how the local depot to me only
opened from 9 to 12. the depot i worked at was open from 7ish to 5ish.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have never understood why the online retailers don't all allow a small
line of delivery preferences / instructions. Dell used to, but from
memory, couriers ignored it --- even though it meant extra work for them.

Wiggle did, on my last order from them (came via citylink). Though it
was something daft like 40 characters max and required txtspk encoding
to convey any useful message

Quoted message said:

-dan

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

Paul Boyd <usenet.is.worse@plusnet> wrote: [...]

Quoted message said:

My PO is only a mile away and opens early so I can pop in on the way to
work. Not many customers queuing at 7am!!

Not the same story for most people in this area. My three closest POs
by travel time (Royal Oak, Ebdon Road and Upper Church Road) are all
up for the axe, as well as the one opposite a supermarket I visit often
(Severn Road): www.savewestonpostoffices.org.uk
</hijack>

I think they'll say everyone should drive to the post office on the
edge-of-town retail park at Queensway soon. Never mind that the cycle
routes in that area are a mess of raised kerbs, hedges overgrowing sight
lines and cars that conflict with cyclists at most opportunities that
stop well short of the cycle parking. It's bad enough that I often use
Tamar Road and Tavistock Road instead, despite the terrible road surface,
awkward corners and zebra crossing.
--
MJ Ray http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html tel:+44-844-4437-237 -
Webmaster-developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop builder,
consumer and workers co-operative member http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ -
Writing on koha, debian, sat TV, Kewstoke http://mjr.towers.org.uk/

MJ Ray said the following on 27/02/2008 11:45:

Quoted message said:

Not the same story for most people in this area. My three closest POs
by travel time (Royal Oak, Ebdon Road and Upper Church Road) are all
up for the axe, as well as the one opposite a supermarket I visit often
(Severn Road): www.savewestonpostoffices.org.uk

I was really referring to the sorting office as we were talking about
collecting stuff. The PO I use for sending is the one in Tesco - the
one by the Codfather chippy.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/