CRC and Wiggle voted best online shops in UK.

Buckled_Rims
Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
edited October 2010 in The bottom bracket
Like them or loathe them, CRC and Wiggle were voted by readers of Which magazine in the top 5 online shops in the UK. That's quite a feat considering all that competition from seriously big companies.

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/10/best-and-worst-online-shops-revealed-by-which-231475/



.....Maybe I shouldn't have voted that 297 times under a proxy server :wink:
CAAD9
Kona Jake the Snake
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Comments

  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    Yup - they may not always have the best prices - but their service is usually the best. I prefer Wiggle as their free delivery is usually next day and they make it incredibly easy to return stuff if you need to. Never had a problem with them.


    P.S. Someone better track down Speed King and let him know Wiggle is the (second) best after all!
  • Ollieda
    Ollieda Posts: 1,010
    not too surprising that its specialist stores that top the polls. bigger stores simply have more customers and more things to go wrong. I work for a major nationwide store and their website has been rated very low.....the website itself is very easy to use with some good features but having delt with some of the customers comming into store with complaints about the website not working properly you quickly work out why some of them were finding it so hard and many times you wonder if they could even use google without having problems!

    good to see that crc got so high overall, they do offer a very good service (at least whenever i've used them!)
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    Ollieda wrote:
    not too surprising that its specialist stores that top the polls.


    I wouldn't really call Amazon a specialist store/site
  • qwerty1982
    qwerty1982 Posts: 232
    Pokerface wrote:
    P.S. Someone better track down Speed King and let him know Wiggle is the (second) best after all!

    pmsl!!!
    Read My race reports from the Whyte Winter Series
  • plankton
    plankton Posts: 78
    edited October 2010
    I'm gobsmacked!!!

    I've found CRC to be the biggest shower of P**s there are. I've never experienced a worse service from any other online shop. Deliveries far too late, broken bits sent out, having to chace refunds, not responding to emails.......
    I wonder how they came to those results?

    Still Wiggle are very good along with so many other smaller better online shops too.
  • Pretre
    Pretre Posts: 355
    plankton wrote:
    I wonder how they come to those results?

    May not have occurred to you but not everyone has had bad experiences! :wink:
  • plankton
    plankton Posts: 78
    May not have occurred to you but not everyone has had bad experiences! Wink
    No I think I'm the only customer they have ever ballsed up the entire shoddy shopping experience.
    Still doesn't explain how Which got those results though does it?
    :wink:
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Buckled_Rims wrote:
    That's quite a feat considering all that competition from seriously big companies.
    I personally have never yet had a single bad experience shopping online although I have probably only purchased 50 items or so over 6 or 7 years. I have used both small and large companies to buy from but funnily enough the purchases I remember most are those to which I have an emotional attachment e.g. Sports goods. Therefore I remember Wiggle and Ribble ( my experience) as being fantastic but don't really remember the purchase of rechargeable batteries, I can't remember where I got those from and I do want to buy some more.

    Personally, I think Wiggle are great but they do have an advantage in this sort of survey.
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    I agree to find CRC in there is surprising.

    Wiggle on the other hand are by far the best online cycle shop for me. Very professional and their customer service is second to none.
  • kettrinboy
    kettrinboy Posts: 613
    Wiggle are brilliant and deserve to be at the top but ive had hassles with CRC in the past particularly with them never answering the phone when you ring them about a problem, and very late delivery, i;d put Parkers in second place, very good service and delivery times.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Headhuunter wrote:
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.
    Oh dear how long you been riding son? Five minutes by all accounts ....
  • mr_poll
    mr_poll Posts: 1,547
    For the record I have used both Wiggle and CRC and found them to be top notch, however never had any issues and I wasn't in a rush for stuff (although they did arrive promptly).

    However I wouldnt exactly give this survey much credence, the sample size was pathetic - 40 people gave feedback on CRC - about as reliable as those ad's for wrinkle reducing cream. 40 customers is not enough to draw a reliable conclusions, thought Which were better than that.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,479
    Headhuunter wrote:
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.

    They're the 3/4 length things. I never know what to call them as that name is even worse than bib tights!
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Pross wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.

    They're the 3/4 length things. I never know what to call them as that name is even worse than bib tights!

    I agree, I think I'll call them bib 3/4 shorts or something...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    It's not until Which turn their attention to your own products that you realise how unscientific many of their methods are. Inappropriate tests, tiny sample sizes, drawing conclusions which are not supported by data etc etc.

    Allegedly.
  • natrix
    natrix Posts: 1,111
    I've always had fantastic service from CRC, their free delivery stuff normally turns up the next day and they've dealt with any problems really quickly. To be honest, I don't know how they do it, they're the best retailer (bike or not) that I've ever dealt with. :D

    I don't use Wiggle as much, but never had any problems with them either.

    I've had some terrible experiences with some other online retailers - one left a parcel hidden in the compost in the garden and didn't even put a card through the door!! Others have taken months over simple orders etc etc
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  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    barnesr wrote:
    I've always had fantastic service from CRC, their free delivery stuff normally turns up the next day and they've dealt with any problems really quickly. To be honest, I don't know how they do it, they're the best retailer (bike or not) that I've ever dealt with. :D

    I don't use Wiggle as much, but never had any problems with them either.

    I've had some terrible experiences with some other online retailers - one left a parcel hidden in the compost in the garden and didn't even put a card through the door!! Others have taken months over simple orders etc etc

    Yes we are blessed with good online retailers in the bike world it seems, although I've only had good experiences ordering through Amazon and ebay too.

    The one bad experience I had was with Dell. I ordered a Wii Fit as a birthday present for someone, they said they had it in stock but they didn't and it took them weeks and weeks without explanation to deliver it. I missed the birthday and when I called to complain the staff were generally unsympathetic and useless. I'll never use them again.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    Pross wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.

    They're the 3/4 length things. I never know what to call them as that name is even worse than bib tights!


    Believe it or not, outside the UK words such as tights and knickers don't relate to underwear. (And a fanny is your butt ) :oops:
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    Pokerface wrote:
    Believe it or not, outside the UK words such as tights and knickers don't relate to underwear. (And a fanny is your butt ) :oops:

    He said fanny

    bevis2.jpg
  • disquieting_museeuws
    disquieting_museeuws Posts: 601
    Re: knickers - I call 3/4 tights knickers as well. To avoid confusion, this is how I specify the ladies' undergarments when purchasing lingerie:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZFM9rsPfLI

    Re: Which? - I lost some confidence in them after my parents bought a TV on a Which? recommendation from a shop / internet site that turned out to be run by crooks who've now been closed down & prosecuted. I'd spotted the site looked dodgy before the police moved in, Which? should really have spotted it too I think, as it's what they do after all.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Pokerface wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    giant mancp wrote:
    Well when you order something (bib knickers) at 2.30pm one day and it's with me 10.30am the next day I'm not surprised Wiggle are up there. I don't ask any more than that .....

    What are bib KNICKERS? Sounds like some kind of baby clothing....

    I've never had any problems with Wiggle or CRC but then I'm not exactly their biggest customer. Ribble never answer their phone but they do respond to emails eventually.

    They're the 3/4 length things. I never know what to call them as that name is even worse than bib tights!


    Believe it or not, outside the UK words such as tights and knickers don't relate to underwear. (And a fanny is your butt ) :oops:

    Yes but we live in the UK and just as a tire is in fact a tyre, fannies and knickers are sources of extreme amusement... :lol:
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    For sure Wiggle is excellent. They well deserve a No.1 placing. Items well packaged and very quick despatch. Some times they are not the cheapest but not far off if you can manage to get a discount voucher to bring the cost down. J'aime les Haribo :wink: .

    CRC used to be excellent but in the last couple of years delivery times have started to slip and recently stuff that I have ordered has arrived with marks on (Montane jacket black mark on red sleeve), Ultegra STI double lever set which was minus all cables, ferrules and the levers were actually triple STI levers. The Shimano box in which they came was trashed as well. I've ordered deraillieurs and chainsets (Ultegra) with marks and dints on the polished surfaces. Not good. I think basically they have got too big too quickly. They were really sh1tty giving me a refund of my return postage costs for the wrongly supplied and incomplete STI levers. That episode was a nightmare. However some of their prices are really competitive, eg lights and tyres, and you can't go wrong. Just be prepared to wait a week for your stuff! When I started using them I used to get it within 2 days. However CRC has by far the best website for browsing right through to ordering IMHO. If you are reading this CRC it's pretty much spot don't change it. I like their recent adverts as well.

    Other people who are good is Merlin although their new website is not a patch on their old one. A very quick service. Also good is Geoffrey Butler in Croydon and HighonBikes.

    Both Ribble and Jejames don't have secure encrypted padlock secure initial registration pages that require input of personal details so I don't use them. I have emailed both about this, but they said they have not had a problem before, so basically feck off. Ok it's their loss as they don't get my business.

    Don't start me on Parkers. I bought one item from them a few years ago as a test. All was fine. Used them a few months later and it was a nightmare as the items had to go back and they took 7 weeks to refund. They ignored emails, blaming their system, they were really busy etc. Though not too busy to take my money !!!! Basically were crap, so have never used them since. Clowns.
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • AndyRubio
    AndyRubio Posts: 880
    +1 for Wiggle. Convenience, no surprises, top customer service.

    (I've even forgotten about the time my credit card got hacked each time I used them.)
    My hour on the plinth

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