Merlin "Not so Wizard"

tim_wand

Having spunked £570 on a new Ultegra 6800 gruppo at Merlin and paying an extra £4 for next day delivery (ordered at 0800 on Friday)

I was somewhat perplexed (whilst out on my royal mail collections round) to receive a text from DPD at 16:30 hours on Friday confirming my delivery as between 15:31 and 16:31 today.

I rang Merlin but they all go home for the weekend except the shop side which (quite rightly wont discuss on line orders)

So I gets through today (My Birthday by the way which is probably why I am being such a tight bugger over £4)

To be told that it clearly states that Next day delivery is Next Working day delivery.

Fine but it also says this

Parcelforce, UPS and Royal Mail Special Delivery services DO NOT deliver on Saturdays.

No mention of DPD and wrong with regard to Royal Mail. I should know I ve taken plenty of Royal Mail before 9 am and 1300's out for domestic delivery on a Saturday Morning.

To make matters worse, I now find out I could have got the Gruppo for £499 off CRC this weekend.

And when I say to the lad , Look I m coming back for some Ksyriums this week, couldn't you at least refund the £4 as a matter of good will, the answer is a flat no.

Looks like I will be returning this (next day ) and ordering from C.R.C in future, groupset and wheels.

Happy Birthday to Me.

team47b

Happy Birthday you miserable (old) bugger

Nice prezzie BTW.

tim_wand

Knowing I'm not yet 60 is the only thing keeping a smile on my face.

Cheers Buddy hope your well.

Nairnster

You could return it and buy at the lower price.

tim_wand

Nairnster wrote:

You could return it and buy at the lower price.

I intend to, just don't know if I can get it back to Merlin and get re-credited before the 4th that's when the CRC offer ends.

Either way will be purchasing the wheels from elsewhere.

Nairnster

Possibly not.

May be an idea to ring Merlin, explain what you intend doing, and ask if they will refund the difference as a goodwill gesture.

Not sure they will as I don't think they have done anything wrong, but worth a try.

tim_wand

Nairnster wrote:

Possibly not.

May be an idea to ring Merlin, explain what you intend doing, and ask if they will refund the difference as a goodwill gesture.

Not sure they will as I don't think they have done anything wrong, but worth a try.

Already have, like you say (other than being ambiguous and not listing DPD as a carrier that doesn't operate on a Saturday and charging for a service they cannot provide) they don't seem to think that a £4 Good will refund on a £570 order is good customer service. Wont even give me a £4 discount on the £265 wheelset I am now going to order from C.R.C instead of them. So in total that's £835 they ve lost from me.

Any way I m off to enjoy my Birthday now and stop being such an old grumpy bugger. I m on Pis=ed off because the kit will now arrive when Mrs W is at home and need explaining, If it had come on Saturday she d have been none the wiser like last time.

slowbike

tim wand wrote:

Any way I m off to enjoy my Birthday now and stop being such an old grumpy bugger. I m on Pis=ed off because the kit will now arrive when Mrs W is at home and need explaining, If it had come on Saturday she d have been none the wiser like last time.

Ah - so you're only really peed off cos you're now going to have to explain your "birthday presents" to the powers that be ... and you're taking out on an innocent online retailer who've done nothing wrong ..

Happy Birthday - you're now in your 60th year (assuming your reference to not being 60 yet means you'll be 60 next year! )

tim_wand

Nah!!! The 60 reference was a dig at Team 47b who was on here last month whinging about being 60.

I m only 43 for christ's sake, I just go on like a miserable old sod, (and I still have to explain my spending to the wife, at my age)

team47b

I'm old enough to be your dad :shock:

slowbike

tim wand wrote:

I m only 43 for christ's sake, I just go on like a miserable old sod,

Just practising being 60 then ...

southdownswolf

I have to admit, I always regard next day as next business day....
Happy Birthday

tim_wand

Just to add ( I m a happy boy again, and Miracle of Miracles its HALFORDS, that have restored my glee)

I went into the shed this morning to transfer the old gruppo the 6800 has replaced onto my commuter bike, forgetting that it had a splined B/B and that I d bolloxed my splined B/B tool last time I attacked Mrs W's Bike.

Minus its handle I couldn't get enough purchase on it with the adjustable to get the old splined B/B out of the frame.

Off to Halfords (no L.B.S within 10 miles) to buy a new Splined B/B tool (which I wont need after this as all the bikes are now Hollowtech II or press fit) and Low and behold the boy in Halfords Newark removes the B/B for me for just a 50p charitable donation.

Happy Days, Oh what an exciting life I lead.

tim_wand

Ahh!!! They re mocking me now!!!

Merlin now have the exact groupset brought and received 4 days ago with RS81 11 speed wheelset (R.R.P £599)
for an additional £115 over the groupset price when brought together.

Worths a punt me thinks, As mine is still in its boxes (other than a delivery check).

I ring Merlin sales, anychance if I send you another £115 I can have the wheels as per the offer.

Girl on sales "Yes sir" unfortunately over ruled by her manager, so no deal.

Now do I spend £25 returning the original goods, to get a credit and then re-order hoping they still have stock on the deal?

Nairnster

I would ring again and tell them that's exactly what you intend to do, if they don't give you the deal.

So they either get another £115 pound out of you if they do the deal, or you reorder, or they lose all of the sale.

Sometimes you have to spell it out to sales advisors, especially the managers.

secretsam

new Ultegra is hideous, that 4-arm spider is heinously hideous

Should have got 6700 and saved a few bob, prettier.

Or got Campag, 'cos it's better <<RUNS>>

PS: Happy Birthday, for whenever, etc.

tim_wand

Subjective I suppose, I ve got a 6700 gruppo, I ve just transferred it to the communter bike. I prefer the look of the 6800.

I m going to give it another try on Monday, Ask to speak to the manager. I don't see how it makes any sense to anyone to send something back, to get it back again plus the wheels. when they could just send the wheels.

Hell its Christmas.. and my Birthday.

lemuppet

I think you might have misread the prices,
6800 groupset is £570
6800 groupset with Ultegra wheels is £675
6800 groupset with RS81 wheels is £790

Still a good deal mind, but you can see why Merlin might be reluctant to send you a pair of RS81 wheels for just £115.

tim_wand

Le Muppet I claim your moniker, you are right its £670 with 6800 wheelset (£100 More than I paid for the gruppo) and another £115 on top of the £670 so £785 for it with the RS 81's.

Therefore I should offer £215 for the RS 81's (drat!!!) too much birthday celebrating.

Still at least its made my mind up, off to get some Kysrium now.

Yellow Peril

Happy Birthday for the 2nd Wandy. BTW we share the same birthday!

manglier

DPD do work on Saturday but only to deliver Saturday parcels. i.e. those which have had a premium delivery charge applied. Next day is indeed next working day as previously noted.
The SMS you got advising of the 1 hour delivery window was produced when your DPD courier finished scanning and authorizing his load for that day. The DPD system calculates the delivery time for each parcel and sends out the SMS and/or email to the customer named on the parcel.
So if you got an SMS advising you of the 1 hour delivery window, that SMS was created the same day i.e. on Monday 2 Dec, not the Friday before. Your Friday SMS may have been from Merlin and it would not have given the 1 hour delivery window.
I am a contractor with a DPD sister company and use the same delivery system.

tim_wand

Got the text on Friday at about 16.30 (I placed my order with Merlin at 0810 on Friday morning). It stated it was from DPD and gave me 3 options.

1 . Delivery between 15.31 and 16.31 Monday
2. Re book
3. leave with a neighbour.

or something like that.

Paid £4 extra for the DPD next day service, but accept now that it was next working day. As I m a royal mail postie though I thought they d do deliveries on a Saturday (we do)

Any way its just an old man whinging about nothing really. ( I m being nice to them now so they ll let me have the discount wheels Please!!!!!)

Yellow Peril

Let's bombard ~Merlin with a "give Wandy the wheels (for the requisite discount)" campaign

tim_wand

Yellow Peril wrote:

Let's bombard ~Merlin with a "give Wandy the wheels (for the requisite discount)" campaign

Cheers mate. If I Get them first trips definitely around the Island for a beer with you in the Peel inn.

tim_wand

Oh well, no joy with Merlin, they called my bluff. (I thought Colin was Pokerface).

They must have known I couldn't resist the temptation and after finding out (Thanks le muppet) it got it slightly wrong I fitted the Gruppo to the bike over the weekend (checking the shed for bugs now)

Trying to get a discount code out of them now before pushing the button on some 11 speed wheels.

Decisions Decisions.

Ksyrium Elite Equipes at £260
Shimano Ultegra 6800 at £245
Kysrium Elite S at £450
or
The RS 81's at £389

I m just under 90kg and want strength and reliability over bling and light weight.

secretsam

tim wand wrote:

Decisions Decisions.

Ksyrium Elite Equipes at £260
Shimano Ultegra 6800 at £245
Kysrium Elite S at £450
or
The RS 81's at £389

I m just under 90kg and want strength and reliability over bling and light weight.

Bad luck on not beating them down.

Re: wheels: I'm similar weight. Go handbuilt (ask Ugo Salamander or whatever his name is)

tim_wand

Considered some Ultegra 6800 hubs with H sons, via Ugo, but I m very keen to get out riding and don't know what his kind of turn around is. I ll have to get the hubs, Post to him then get in a queue for the build.

Still I ll PM him later he might have hubs in stock and a short queue.

rolf_f

You're 43 and you still can't manage any patience at all?! Silly boy!

Never, ever bother with next day delivery.

1) try to be organised and order a day earlier than you would have otherwise and then it makes no difference (!)
2) if you don't order next day delivery, your order can't be soured by it not turning up next day. If you'd gone for free delivery, you probably wouldn't have noticed all these price changes etc.
3) chances are, a lot of the stuff you order will arrive at much the same time whether you pay for next day or not.
4) just keep ordering lots of things. That way, there's new stuff arriving all the time.
5) be patient. Order the handbuilts. Cycleclinic on here also builds wheels. Ask them both what their lead time is.

tim_wand

Rolf F. most of the money that has paid for this recent extravagance has come from the maturity of my late Mothers Pension fund (Don't ask me why? but It didn't pay out on her death and had to be left in trust and for some reason has now started to pay out dividends/ she passed 4 years ago).

I thought it would be fitting as she has effectively paid for the groupset and will be paying for the wheels to make my first ride out on the "New" rig to put the Xmas wreath on her grave (she is regrettably 50 miles from us)

So yer I am 43 and very impatient but I also want to say thanks this Saturday to me old Ma.

Yellow Peril

I've done all of my miles on my canyon on Kysrium S's and I'm 95kg

but that's only about 80 miles so far

tim_wand

I've done all of my miles on my canyon on Kysrium S's and I'm 95kg

By the S I take it you mean the Elites and not Equipes, to be honest, I think I am going for the Kysrium Equipes they are only 140g heavier but £180 cheaper, I m told (please tell me different) that Ksyrium Elite S can ride a little bit harsh and are really best suited to racing.