Ribble New Sportive

demorider87

Who works for Ribble? What brings you to that conclusion? The fact he has read the website and sent you a link?
Customer service is very difficult to get right, particularly when people want something for nothing...
"For the sake of £20 they could chuck a Ultegra one on there, and be done with it" Yes I'm sure they could have done, but if they sell 500 bikes a month, that's a lot of cash to be chucking away just to cut delivery times by a few days!

I've had my Ribble now for 2 and a half years, and all my family ride Ribbles. We've never had any issues with them and Ive always found them to be polite and helpful, but maybe that's because I have a bit of patience, only expect what I've paid for, and accept the fact that in life, s**t can happen.

okgo

But it apparently is one in a million, so it wouldn't be often they were doing it would it. And I would have paid.

And as I said it was over a month late, not a few days.

I'll be honest I've never seen such a resounding support for something that most normal people, and indeed everyone I spoke to about it would find totally unacceptable. Just went back through my emails, ordered 28th of march dispatched 16th of may, delivered 20th of may. Nearly two months. Longer than I remember.

demorider87

Maybe you're right. Perhaps in your shoes I would have been a little more perturbed, it just winds me up when people go out of there way to slate a company just because they wouldn't bend over backwards to their demands, especially when at the end of it all they like the product. Live and let live is what i say.

okgo

you have to remember, when someone is spending 1500 with you, as a bike shop, when there are probably 3000 places else I could have spent it, you need to keep your customers happy, and if you can't even manage to do that with me, who let me tell you is a lot more forgiving and reasonable than a lot of other people would have been, you're doing it wrong.

Having sold cars and similar, if I turned round and said to a customer that their car that was meant for delivery 1st of March was being delayed till further notice and I couldn't tell them when, or where it was, and that part was a generic thing, like a tyre, I would expect them to laugh in my face and cancel the order. Nobody has to put up with bad service in this country, there are 10 other car dealerships within ten miles, there are also a few hundred bike shops in the UK. Sadly for retail outlets the customer is ALWAYS right, and in this case I wasn't even being a cnut, they were just wrong.

b16 b3n

okgo wrote:

SheldonBrownIsLegend wrote:

okgo wrote:

Rolf -

I dare say you are most places dream customer. A months delay for not having something (utter bullshit, they sell probably 500 bikes a month, they have every single part, and its not 105, put ultegra on it, whatever, don't wee-wee the customer off) as trivial as a 105 gear component, whatever it was, is utterly inexcuseable. And when I asked to let me know when they had it and it was going to be built I was told that they were too busy to let me know, and I would only know when I was getting my bike when it was built and the auto email came through. That kind of service has no place selling items of value, and I'll not give them my money again because of it.

The bike is fine, as I said, probably no better or worse than a planet x or whatever else, but be aware of their service, its renowned for the wrong reasons.

Do you own a bikeshop were free upgrades can be gained??? Ill have a bordman upgraded to a pinarello dogma and a sora group up to Di2. Please!!
I expect this would be no problem if your service is any good.

Of course not, but lets assume the article they didn't have was a cassette, the email chain I have is huge, they reply to my emails maybe on a 1 reply to my 3 chasing email ratio (email as they never answer the phone, and when they do its always not the right guy, yeh right) its clear I'm getting annoyed with their constant delays, and they are clearly fobbing me off. For the sake of £20 they could chuck a Ultegra one on there, and be done with it, I probably would have even paid for it at one point. Customer service is such an easy thing to get right, but sadly is going down the drain in this country. I remember when a bad meal in a resteraunt would automatically get taken off the bill without question, and you'd get the utmost apology, now not only will you pay for it, but you'd get some surley response with it.

When I was in my younger years, yeah I remember when customer service was brilliant too. You'd go to a cat house in Madrid, pay for the service you needed and 9/10 you'd be offered an after sex fag and a bit of a tickle.
Christ not now. If your lucky you get a female with all the correct parts and they make you wash your man hood in a manky sink. It's a bonus too if you walk out with your wallet in your pocket. Rule Britania.

As I've said before in my previous post Ribble Cycles customer service is A* for me and I've dealt with them for many years.

demorider87

I kind of feel sorry for richard36. he only came on here to ask our opinions on the Ribble and others' bikes, and he's been left with a battle of Spanish brothels and thick 'stars'.

richard36, I'm considering the New Sportive too, as my Sportive Racing has been second to none.
The frame is alleged to share its mould with the De Rosa, whether this is the case or not will never be known. Ribble won't be allowed to advertise the fact, and De Rosa won't want to!

I spoke to one of the guys who works there (by the way the guy on the phone told me they do have about 6 in the office these days, in attempts to respond to all the negative feedback they were getting on here), and he recommended the New Sportive to me. He said that it has been stiffened up compared to the old one, and the front end raised to give a more upright and comfy position for those long fast days in the saddle.
I'm ordering mine in the New Year. The new Ultegra grey group, ksyrium sl's, and ITM pathom finishing kit, not that's something that sounds like something that should be in b16 b3n's whore house!

My recommendation mate, come off here, get on ribble, and get it ordered while they're quiet

okgo

SheldonBrownIsLegend wrote:

Attitude Problem.

I did read the post, hence the response .... to the post.

Really no point in arguing. Really no point in trying to bash a company!! If you took a vote I think you would probably find most of Ribble customers are satisfied with the service, and happy with the prices.

One not great experience particularly to a person like you does not prove, or even suggest to any none pathetic individual, that the business will provide bad service!!

Type into google 'Ribble c' by the time you've got that far it suggests customer service, which then brings up page after page of complaints, just telling my story.

Your post above is totally ridiculous, I bought a Ribble because they offer good value, I am not a brand snob, I bought a Ribble.

Don't feel sorry for the OP, just making him aware.

richard36

Thanks demonrider. I'm hoping to call in in the new year and will have a chat with them about different components before making my mind up.

Cheers

rolf_f

okgo wrote:

Rolf -

I dare say you are most places dream customer.

I probably am. Whenever I have a problem, I am always (I think!) relentlessly polite and relentlessly patient. I never forget that I want the shop to do something for me. I never forget that whilst it might be my moral right to have it sorted out, it won't do me any favours if I get in a strop about it. I think if you are really nice to people, they are probably going to be nice back. And if they aren't - then you have something useful to take higher.

So far, it has always worked.

okgo wrote:

Type into google 'Ribble c' by the time you've got that far it suggests customer service, which then brings up page after page of complaints, just telling my story.

There is a lot of positive stuff in there as well. Google virtually any company and you'll find some customer service issues. I think Ribble are worse than average but that in itself breeds more similar comments. It doesn't mean though that the vast majority don't get good service.

bus_ter

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Richard36 wrote:

Thanks for the replies

I have looked at the Planet X but again it looks as though you are paying for the top end groupset whereas I'm more than happy to have a lower priced groupset and use the money elsewhere

Cheers

You get a full groupset and their brand new just released frame. A frame which will be used by their GURU race team and you think it's a cheap frame?

You'll not get a better bike for that money anywhere FACT!

Unfortunately you don't get a full groupset. You get a mix and match with some SRAM Red parts. A look at the specs shows the cassette/chain/gears/brakes etc are all lower end SRAM or unbranded. For example you get Planet-X's own in house brakes, which is a shame because SRAM Red brakes are the dogs! It's still a great deal, just don't make the mistake of thinking you're getting a full SRAM Red groupset.

At the moment I'm very tempted in either the New Sportive or the Planet-X RT-57. I'm not sure about the Ribble because of all the customer service nightmares (delayed bikes, poorly set-up groupsets, and non-existant aftersales) and I'm not sure about the Planet-X because of the weird geometry of the frame (see viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12826809 ) and that it's a new and unproven frame, plus I would like a complete groupset.

Scotxr

okgo wrote:

Rolf -

I dare say you are most places dream customer. A months delay for not having something (utter bullshit, they sell probably 500 bikes a month, they have every single part, and its not 105, put ultegra on it, whatever, don't wee-wee the customer off) as trivial as a 105 gear component, whatever it was, is utterly inexcuseable. And when I asked to let me know when they had it and it was going to be built I was told that they were too busy to let me know, and I would only know when I was getting my bike when it was built and the auto email came through. That kind of service has no place selling items of value, and I'll not give them my money again because of it.

The bike is fine, as I said, probably no better or worse than a planet x or whatever else, but be aware of their service, its renowned for the wrong reasons.

Got to agree with you here. Service seems like a hit or a miss.

I had a similar story. Ordered a bike, wait a couple of weeks to be told they dont have X in stock. I agreed for it to be replaced by Y. A week later they dont have Y in stock. I offered to pay extra to upgrade the groupset, they agreed and then a few days later say they couldnt do it because they didnt have the upgraded groupset in stock. Really unhelpful via e-mail, telling me they could do nothing for me other than cancel my order.


Blessing in disguise really as I love my Red Pro Carbon Planet X bike. Glad they got my money over Ribble.

Scotxr

bus_ter wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Richard36 wrote:

Thanks for the replies

I have looked at the Planet X but again it looks as though you are paying for the top end groupset whereas I'm more than happy to have a lower priced groupset and use the money elsewhere

Cheers

You get a full groupset and their brand new just released frame. A frame which will be used by their GURU race team and you think it's a cheap frame?

You'll not get a better bike for that money anywhere FACT!

Unfortunately you don't get a full groupset. You get a mix and match with some SRAM Red parts. A look at the specs shows the cassette/chain/gears/brakes etc are all lower end SRAM or unbranded. For example you get Planet-X's own in house brakes, which is a shame because SRAM Red brakes are the dogs! It's still a great deal, just don't make the mistake of thinking you're getting a full SRAM Red groupset.

At the moment I'm very tempted in either the New Sportive or the Planet-X RT-57. I'm not sure about the Ribble because of all the customer service nightmares (delayed bikes, poorly set-up groupsets, and non-existant aftersales) and I'm not sure about the Planet-X because of the weird geometry of the frame (see viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12826809 ) and that it's a new and unproven frame, plus I would like a complete groupset.

Their own brand brakes are really good and weigh less than the Red numbers.

Take this from someone who owns a Red version of the Pro Carbon.

Scotxr

okgo wrote:

SheldonBrownIsLegend wrote:

Attitude Problem.

I did read the post, hence the response .... to the post.

Really no point in arguing. Really no point in trying to bash a company!! If you took a vote I think you would probably find most of Ribble customers are satisfied with the service, and happy with the prices.

One not great experience particularly to a person like you does not prove, or even suggest to any none pathetic individual, that the business will provide bad service!!

Type into google 'Ribble c' by the time you've got that far it suggests customer service, which then brings up page after page of complaints, just telling my story.

Your post above is totally ridiculous, I bought a Ribble because they offer good value, I am not a brand snob, I bought a Ribble.

Don't feel sorry for the OP, just making him aware.

Mate you're getting a rough deal here. They were crap with me and another person I work with so you are not alone in your feelings. They might be good with selling smaller things but when it comes to bikes they seem to lack something.

I suppose the way to know is a poll on their service/attitude(which stunk with me).