CRC

ugo.santalucia
ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,321
edited March 2012 in Road buying advice
Is it just my impression or Chain reaction cycles has become a lot worse recently?
Used to be the fastest at delivering goods, 1-2 days after the order... recently I had to wait a week for the order to arrive on three occasions. Prices are not as cheap as they used to be... are they becoming complacent?
left the forum March 2023

Comments

  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    Ordered from them once. Abysmal customer service when I had an issue with the item I had ordered. Second only to the chimps at Evans.

    I wont' buy from either now.
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    No issues for me - Service has always exceeded my expectation. Given that they are in Northern Ireland I have found the service they give excellent. I also reckon they are cheaper than Wiggle for a lot of stuff. Maybe its just what you have specifically been after.
  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    jordan_217 wrote:
    Ordered from them once. Abysmal customer service when I had an issue with the item I had ordered. Second only to the chimps at Evans.

    I wont' buy from either now.

    Ditto, similar issues with both.
  • raymondo60
    raymondo60 Posts: 735
    Nope - gotta provide the balanced view. Have never had a problem with them - recently ordered a new bike very late on a Thursday night, arrived Monday lunchtime. Quality bike at an extremely cheap price. Got a free Drinks Bottle, Pedal Spanner and Multi- Tool with it - not top quality kit but free - can't complain at that.
    Raymondo

    "Let's just all be really careful out there folks!"
  • journey_man_pro
    journey_man_pro Posts: 169
    ive been ordering alot recently and the longest ive waited for an order has been four days. being as the postage is free and prices more than fair i think they provide a good service.
  • 2Phat4Rapha
    2Phat4Rapha Posts: 238
    I used to find it a joy to order from them but I've now had two orders go bad. The first was a damaged rim that I didn't notice until too late but the second was horrendous and the customer support was appalling - polite but utterly useless. Cost me far more in time and phone calls than the measly £10 token they offered. I've downgraded them from AAA to junk status. Not saying I'll never use 'em again but I'll avoid doing so if I can.

    Wiggle have been great. Ribble fantastic.
    I may be a minority of one but that doesn't prevent me from being right.
    http://www.dalynchi.com
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    My experience has always been good - got the chance to use their free returns service last week and all went smoothly. Only frustration I see is when items aren't in stock as delivery times are often optimistic.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    I've bought far too much stuff from them in over the years and never once had an uissue with them. Even the stuff I've ordered recently has arrived next day.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    Calpol wrote:
    No issues for me - Service has always exceeded my expectation. Given that they are in Northern Ireland I have found the service they give excellent. I also reckon they are cheaper than Wiggle for a lot of stuff. Maybe its just what you have specifically been after.

    yep same here. my online bikey shop of choice.
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Happy with CRC & Ribble, occasionally Parkers

    Wiggle are extortionately expensive

    Used to buy from PBK but they have become expensive too
  • EarlyGo
    EarlyGo Posts: 281
    Just bought a jersey from CRC, was £20 cheaper than anywhere else and arrived within 48hrs (and I live in the North of Scotland). Can't get any better than that!

    EarlyGo
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    This is interesting as i was going to write a thread praising CRC. I live near gatwick so always tended to go to Evans and ask for a price match. Since evans changed their pricematch policy i started using CRC. What a revalation! Bought shoes and bars recently and i buy from them knowing the prices are cheap and that i can return items FOR FREE with a 365 days return policy!!!

    Best shop around if you ask me and if i have to wait a few days for the goods so what. Its worth the wait as the customer service is the best i have come across.
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    Really helpful, friendly.

    They even remembered to put the brake levers on the correct side (Drive on the RHS) on my new bike. One small criticism from me about spoke colour and they instantly took £20 off price.

    I ordered some shades and got them next afternoon in Portugal, didn't even know that was possible!
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • Bordersroadie
    Bordersroadie Posts: 1,052
    CRC: great prices and service.

    I tested their service a while back with an issue where due to my own stupidity I missed out on the £100 voucher by not taking an order up to the required amount. They had no need to bend over backwards just so that I could have my discount, but this they did, unhesitatingly, politely and prosessionally. They gave me a specific discount code to quote on the extra small order and the £100 refund came straight through.

    Bravo indeed, and they get my long term support.

    Seems to me that the bad tales are based on people dealing with the weak(est?) individual in CRC or any other company that gets a small percentage of bad reviews.
  • mr_sj
    mr_sj Posts: 507
    Delivery seems to be slower an it used to be but still barain prices and no complaints with customer service. Talking of delivery, planet x are lightning quick ! Ordered a new jersey yesterday and arrived 9am today, top service !
    summer bike - Kinesis KiC2

    winter bike - Planet x uncle john
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,321
    Yes, they have become too big and people at the customer service might have never seen a bike before...
    It's a bit different when you call Steve at Sdeals and he never stop talking about technical stuff

    Planet X are outrageously fast in delivery... packaging is also great, so great that I always reuse it
    left the forum March 2023
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    Ordered Sunday evening on my desk Tuesday morning. 50% off as well cannot complain at all.

    CRC are only 2nd to prendas in my book.
  • magliaceleste
    magliaceleste Posts: 748
    Got to agree with the original poster. I had to chase my last order even though it was in stock. Got an email reply apologising but no expected date of posting. Took the best part of two weeks in the end.
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    Cut out and keep thread summary to save you the trouble whenever these kind of threads crop up:

    OP: "Used to love wiggle/evans/CRC/whoever but now they're useless"
    Some posters: "Yeah, I've found that too"
    Other posters: "No, I've always found them fine"
    A few posters: "You should all be going to your LBS anyway"
    A few others: "I'd love to but they're too pricey"
    The occasional poster: "much better to go to Fred at SmallOutfit ltd, he's such a great guy"

    There we go, that should save a bit of bandwidth and server space

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