Improving Cycling Express

[AUbicycles]

This is not about whether Cycling Express is Australian or not, they have moved payment and dispatch offshore but maintain a local office related to the store in Melbourne. (I would like some clarity as a staff member on the phone said it was still 100% Australian which however does not seem to be the case)


It is about ordering through Cycling Express and some things I have spotted which could be improved.

1. Wish List - seems to be limited to 3 items. At least a heap of things I added to easily access again were not added. The value of the wishlist is to collect and to be able to return without items being lost so essentially defeats the point if it doesn't work this way.... or you are limited to three wishes.

2. Shopping Cart removes items - if you don't purchase immediately, you get logged out and anything in your shopping cart is gone. Amazon, probably the worlds most successful online retailer (though not massive in Australia) would definatly never delete items or after a relatively short period require a login.

3. Navigation items with no content - the website doesn't seem to be the fastest and I occassionaly get loading issues though it generally sorts itself out. Because it is not the fastest website, when navigating through sections and waiting for the pages to load you ask "why?" when a page has no items/no content. It would be better for potential customers to disable menu items with no content.

4. Some of the sorting / categorisation is a bit curious. Perhaps a matter of taste.

5. The product descriptions seem to be copied and pasted - so in the case of a rear wheel I was looking at sometimes the image doesn't match (eg. front wheen not backwheel shown) and the description is about an entire wheelset and the specs are inconsistent.

6. It is bothersome to arrive at the website and to have to close the 'subscribe to newsletter' popup each time.


Not yet arrived at the purchasing yet - perhaps these issues would not prevent me completely but they certainly don't make it easy and could be improved. If Cycling Express do spot this, please accept this as constructive feedback.

[Mulger bill]

My first experience last weekend thanks to a gift voucher.

1, 2, 3 and 4 are spot on and frustrating as...

Did not notice 5 or 6.

7 Account creation was a rather trying process AND once I got to the checkout stage, actually inserting details became an exercise in patience, I forgot one detail got the red text and had to repeat the whole process.

8 Paypal now!

[defy1]

No notification emails when the status of the order is updated.
Also no size charts for most of the clothing.
Prefer the old site to be honest.

[thomashouseman]

9 Amended address details get wiped if you input a gift voucher.
10 Shipping choice defaults to the non-free version

Things that have improved since the site move:

* Shipping. Now pretty close to immediate via TNT from Taiwan. (Much faster than the old lets wait a week for the person in Melbourne to put in in a PostPak and then wait another 5 days for Aust. post to deliver from Melbourne.)

[open roader]

Old Website

A price match was requested and granted on 2 separate purchases, however, my CC was charged the full price on both occasions - subsequent direct email disscussions with Cycling Express management promised a store credit to the value of the difference on both purchases. Made a 3rd purchase and was unable to apply the credit. Broken promises and website discount application technical difficulties - simply not good enough.


New Website

Cannot unsubscribe my email address no matter which option I chose - always get the 'unsubscription failure' message (or words to that effect) so continually receiving unwanted email spam which does even less for my opinion of Cycling Express........

[Aushiker]

Cannot unsubscribe my email address no matter which option I chose - always get the 'unsubscription failure' message (or words to that effect) so continually receiving unwanted email spam which does even less for my opinion of Cycling Express........

A heads-up to http://www.acma.gov.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will get that fixed real smart

Andrew

[defy1]

Does Cyclingexpress even visit these forums?

[HiChris]

The website is a big fail, slow, broken links, search sucks. I gave them the flick a long time ago.

[ozzymac]

Why would we bother trying to get a site made better for a company that gave up caring about there customers ages ago?

cheers

[The 2nd Womble]

I doubt they'll be able to keep going for too much longer, and I buy NOTHING online without Paypal.

[scirocco]

Can I ask why the BNA admin continue to push the profile of Cycling Express? For a company that has had such a shocking amount of bad feedback here and obviously has lousy customer relations, is it just the advertising revenue that gets them your support? If it is, well fair enough I suppose.

But I bet I'm not the only poster here to be baffled by how CE seems to get a free pass from the mods and admins here despite being by far and away the worst-performing of the online stores with an Australian affiliation. Surely there are other more worthy contenders?

(Disclaimer: I don't work in the bike industry and have no affiliation with any bike retailing).

[MarkG]

Can I ask why the BNA admin continue to push the profile of Cycling Express? For a company that has had such a shocking amount of bad feedback here and obviously has lousy customer relations, is it just the advertising revenue that gets them your support? If it is, well fair enough I suppose.

But I bet I'm not the only poster here to be baffled by how CE seems to get a free pass from the mods and admins here despite being by far and away the worst-performing of the online stores with an Australian affiliation. Surely there are other more worthy contenders?

(Disclaimer: I don't work in the bike industry and have no affiliation with any bike retailing).

Agreed 100% ...

[im_no_pro]

OK, I cant speak for Christopher or MB other than to say I wouldnt necessarily agree their comments are a free pass. Not sure about advertising revenue but they arent in the list of click through links on the side of the page so unless they are advertising elsewhere on the site that I havent noticed then im not sure where you are getting that from. AFAIK none of the members here are from CE, if they are then I have no idea about it.

Personally, I had almost never used the CE website until recently. I found it was clunky, difficult to navigate (particularly on a mobile device) and things like the empty categories were a pain. As such, my last 2 orders were from Wiggle & T7, neither were overly large (<$200 and <$60 respectively). Both have superior websites, the prices were right, they had what I needed (which is hit and miss though when it comes to T7) and shipping was prompt. Happy days.

My latest purchase, done all of about an hour ago did go to CE though. They had the item I wanted, but at the wrong price (Around $55 dearer than Wiggle). I noted they offered a 10% price beat so lodged an enquiry. I had a response 5 hours later (3am my time) with a voucher code for the price beat. Pretty impressive given the Wiggle site was down when I sent the link through to prove their price. I had read about a number of people (here and elsewhere) having issues with the Wiggle price beat and ended up not getting it and missing out on the price elsewhere because Wiggle stuffed them around. Being a larger order (wheels), the price beat made a $50 difference to my back pocket over purchasing from Wiggle.

After reading openroaders post above I was a little hesitant but noted on the email they sent that there was specific instructions on how to apply the discount code to ensure it worked so I figured I would give it a crack. Followed their instructions to the letter and the discount has applied correctly both in my basket & order details on the website and the confirmation email once I submitted the order. If it gets charged at the full whack I will give them the opportunity to refund, if it doesnt happen in 48 hours I will simply dispute the transaction with my CC provider as I have the evidence in the form of screen dumps & emails to prove that wasnt the amount I authorised.

As for the paypal thing, im not a paypal fan so dont really care whether they have it or not. There are better ways of protecting yourself when online shopping IMHO. Account creation wasnt an issue for me either, I used the login via facebook option (although understand this, like avoiding paypal, isnt everyones cup of tea). The page where I had to submit my details was a pain in the butt as it dropped the shipping address contact details a couple of times. Also had a couple of loading issues but that is the case with a lot of websites on my laptop at the moment and I would attribute that to my browser and/or my employers overlord protection systems, not CE. The whole process took no more than a few minutes so really not worth moaning about.

Final verdict, I can deal with a slightly clunky website if it means a bargain. Holding off deciding on the whole experience until the CC is charged correctly and the items arrive in good nick and in a timely manner. If that all happens, then im reasonably happy with the transaction. They still wont be my first choice, but that primarily comes down to their smaller range, I daresay I will probably end up lumping them in a similar basket to T7, if they have something at a price to good to refuse then I will possibly shop there, but they wont be my primary destination. If you consider that a free pass, well thats your opinion which you are of course entitled to

P.S. - have you actually shopped at CE?

Disclaimer: I do have a (distant) affiliation with bike retailing in AUS, but it's not with CE.

[Ignoto]

P.S. - have you actually shopped at CE?

Personally I never have and I doubt I ever will due to the constant negative feedback it has received. The stories of bad shipping times, not being notified an item isn't in stock and in general poor service has tainted the brand in my opinion. Those coupled with prices not necessarily being better with a range smaller than Wiggle means I never ever venture there without something specifically directing me about a special.

At the end of the day, they may have changed a few things for the better, but a new coat of paint isn't going to win me over. Being based in Taiwan is fine, but I expect shipping to be on the Eastern side of Australia within 2-3 days.

[thomashouseman]

Not sure about advertising revenue but they arent in the list of click through links on the side of the page so unless they are advertising elsewhere on the site that I havent noticed then im not sure where you are getting that from. AFAIK none of the members here are from CE, if they are then I have no idea about it.

To be fair the forum did have an affiliate link when the old CE site was live.

As for the poor service, that's been documented widely, but I'm pretty sure the consensus is that they've improved markedly since the changeover. I know my recent order with them was seamless and delivered in 3 days from Taiwan. The only gripe I had with it is that they didn't provide a TNT tracking number even though they could have.

I think what AUbicycles is doing here is gathering ways they can improve and then I suspect he's probably going to let them know about the thread (if they haven't already spotted it). I know CE used to monitor this forum in the past but I don't think there has been a recent sighting. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

T.

[bianchi928]

Will there be an Improving Wiggle, PBK, Torpedo 7 or Chain Reaction thread?

Unless there is an interest for BNA to have a better CE website/service (income, so fairenough), I don't understand why we need to help them out. let the market decide, if it hasn't already.

My 2cents

[Ross]

P.S. - have you actually shopped at CE?

Personally I never have and I doubt I ever will due to the constant negative feedback it has received. The stories of bad shipping times, not being notified an item isn't in stock and in general poor service has tainted the brand in my opinion. Those coupled with prices not necessarily being better with a range smaller than Wiggle means I never ever venture there without something specifically directing me about a special.

At the end of the day, they may have changed a few things for the better, but a new coat of paint isn't going to win me over. Being based in Taiwan is fine, but I expect shipping to be on the Eastern side of Australia within 2-3 days.

I've only purchased once from CE since they've changed ownership/manegement and apart from a stuff up with the 10% discount deal my parts were dispatched promptly and arrived a couple of days later - faster than any other online retailer I've ever dealt with. Even with the discount stuff up my parts were still cheaper than anywhere else I could find. I paid Paypal so didn't have any foreign currency transaction fees to contend with.

I purchased previously from CE (old owner/manager) only maybe 3 times and prices were good but delivery was a bit slow, took over a week to arrive.

I've had both good and bad experiences with most online shops I've dealt with. The way I look at it you give them a chance and accept that sometimes !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! happens and they might get something wrong. We all occasionally make mistakes, that's part of being human.

[Mulger bill]

My 2c

No affiliation, tho' I did order a few things BITD when they were still plain ol' Learsport/Azzuri. No problem back then.

I doubt I would have tried them now except for the gift voucher. Should I have looked a gift horse in the mouth just because of neg reviews? If it all turns to custard I'll be a grand total of $19.47 out of pocket but the muck I'll spread will hurt them way more than that.

We did have one staffer from CE as a member when they started off who, IIRC worked hard to keep BNA members happy but no idea why he's no longer about.

If Christopher has any sort of arrangement with CE, it hasn't been disclosed to me. Why would it? I'm a BNA member first, a volunteer moderator second and have no financial stake in the brand beyond receiving a free BNA cycling cap as a thanks from the last clothing release. Big time schwagging eh?

The membership were asked for their opinion and I gave mine. Where it goes from there is up to CE.

[Mulger bill]

Ross, where did you find a Paypal option? I looked and I looked...

Shaun

[Ross]

Sorry Shaun, looks like I was mistaken, I just checked and you are right there is no Paypal option. I must of just paid with my Visa or Mastercard. But there were definitely no foreign currency fees.

[AUbicycles]

Can I ask why the BNA admin continue to push the profile of Cycling Express? For a company that has had such a shocking amount of bad feedback here and obviously has lousy customer relations, is it just the advertising revenue that gets them your support? If it is, well fair enough I suppose.

But I bet I'm not the only poster here to be baffled by how CE seems to get a free pass from the mods and admins here despite being by far and away the worst-performing of the online stores with an Australian affiliation. Surely there are other more worthy contenders?

A fair question which I probabably would have asked in a different way - but will answer anyway. Cycling Express were previously advertising and previously had an affiliate program which we integrated. Currently there is no arrangement. As mentioned, I have no clarity about how Australian they currently are. When they started (and before there was any advertising) I was keen on the concept as they were more Australian and were creating competition for the strong UK online retailers. They had a shakey start but I felt it better to encourage and be constructive because it is a positive to have a stronge local competitor.

I acknowledge the issues with Cycling Express, in our recent survey they had the poorest customer satisfaction among all of the online retailers. I have also asked them to get involved in the forum again as previously when they invoved, that is when they were doing the best. When participation then stopped it seems aligned with the growth of issues.

So why start this tread - well frustration. I work in the online industry and do consulting and project based work for businesses including online retailers and there are a lot of things that can be improved. This was my avenue for doing this and if you read through each of the points, they are not praise but things which should be improved. I am conscious of presenting this as constructive criticism rather than having a rant and rave. To the question "Can we start threads about improving other retailers?" - buy all means YES. With the biggest retailers you will find that they do many of these things right as it is about improving the conversion rate and eliminating hurdles for ordering.

[The 2nd Womble]

My 2c

No affiliation, tho' I did order a few things BITD when they were still plain ol' Learsport/Azzuri. No problem back then.

I doubt I would have tried them now except for the gift voucher. Should I have looked a gift horse in the mouth just because of neg reviews? If it all turns to custard I'll be a grand total of $19.47 out of pocket but the muck I'll spread will hurt them way more than that.

We did have one staffer from CE as a member when they started off who, IIRC worked hard to keep BNA members happy but no idea why he's no longer about.

If Christopher has any sort of arrangement with CE, it hasn't been disclosed to me. Why would it? I'm a BNA member first, a volunteer moderator second and have no financial stake in the brand beyond receiving a free BNA cycling cap as a thanks from the last clothing release. Big time schwagging eh?

The membership were asked for their opinion and I gave mine. Where it goes from there is up to CE.

All bilious drivel!

[Mulger bill]

Sorry Shaun, looks like I was mistaken, I just checked and you are right there is no Paypal option. I must of just paid with my Visa or Mastercard. But there were definitely no foreign currency fees.

No worries Ross, all good. Same thing re charging in AUD.

[Mulger bill]

My 2c

No affiliation, tho' I did order a few things BITD when they were still plain ol' Learsport/Azzuri. No problem back then.

I doubt I would have tried them now except for the gift voucher. Should I have looked a gift horse in the mouth just because of neg reviews? If it all turns to custard I'll be a grand total of $19.47 out of pocket but the muck I'll spread will hurt them way more than that.

We did have one staffer from CE as a member when they started off who, IIRC worked hard to keep BNA members happy but no idea why he's no longer about.

If Christopher has any sort of arrangement with CE, it hasn't been disclosed to me. Why would it? I'm a BNA member first, a volunteer moderator second and have no financial stake in the brand beyond receiving a free BNA cycling cap as a thanks from the last clothing release. Big time schwagging eh?

The membership were asked for their opinion and I gave mine. Where it goes from there is up to CE.

All bilious drivel!

Not surprised, ALL copypasta'd from your twitter account

For the good news...

My order which went in just after lunchtime Sunday the 29th September was sitting on my bed when I got home from work. All present and correct, methinks that's a pretty good turnaround.

[im_no_pro]

Was that standard shipping? I paid the extra tenner purely for tracking purposes given it was my first ce experience.