Rutland BS

[Flog]

Anyone buying from Rutland at the mo? Just bought a few bits and it says 13 days, 9 and 8 days for three different items - are they really taking this long to deliver? Or what I'm hoping is this is automated and really will behest a few days - under promise / over deliver??
(I am an avid Amazon Prime boy so tell me if I'm just impatient!)

 

[simonk]

Usually means those things aren’t in stock but are in stock with the various suppliers.
Be patient!



NB I’m impatient too!

 

[NULevo]

I got my Levo from Rutland online, and it was a bit of an ordeal. They had it on at a great price and sent a delivery date of 7 days as soon as I paid online. 4 days later I got an email saying they were out of stock and wouldn't be supplying the bike. After the sh*t hit the fan they managed to find one.

Since then I've ordered 5-6 times from them, with one other problem, same thing, an email saying they can't supply after a few days.

After a 'conversation' with Rutland, it turns out they hold little stock at a warehouse and get stuff sent from a store if it's not at the warehouse. Also if they are expecting stock of an item, they will list it on the site and give the date it is due, so if it doesn't turn up there, you get an automated email saying they can't supply what you ordered.

The issue for us customers is that we can't tell if anything is actually in stock to send from the warehouse/store, or its an order that is expected and not physically there when you order.

It's a shame really, the customer service and 2 local stores are very good. I'll keep using them for things I want/need, but not if things are cheaper and quicker to get elsewhere.

Like yourself @Flog, I also am an Amazon Prime boy and inpatient, specially now I've seen they do 'same day' on some items!

 

[Flog]

@NULevo
I flippin' hate that - advertising stock that you haven't got and NOT telling you. As well as the few items, I also have the wife's Tron on order, ordered last Wednesday and due next Tuesday..... no email as yet ?
I only use as get 10% discount through BLC. Does get very boring though.... the waiting.

 

[NULevo]

@NULevo
I flippin' hate that - advertising stock that you haven't got and NOT telling you. As well as the few items, I also have the wife's Tron on order, ordered last Wednesday and due next Tuesday..... no email as yet ?
I only use as get 10% discount through BLC. Does get very boring though.... the waiting.

I know, but they do sort things out if you push.

The staff are as helpful as they can be on the phone and in store, they can only work with what they are given.

 

[AnthonyDouglas]

Anyone buying from Rutland at the mo? Just bought a few bits and it says 13 days, 9 and 8 days for three different items - are they really taking this long to deliver? Or what I'm hoping is this is automated and really will behest a few days - under promise / over deliver??
(I am an avid Amazon Prime boy so tell me if I'm just impatient!)

Hey Flog,

Our lead times are based off various factors - and all should lead to a realistic date being provided.

First of all, there is the standard lead time if an item is in our dispatch warehouse. That at the moment for bikes is around 8 days just due to the backlog of orders we have as it seems like every person in the UK has wanted to buy a bike over the past 3 months.

A couple of days are then added if we need to source that part from a store, again - this varies between which store it is between the 14.

And finally, about 7 days on average are added ontop of the above 2 date if we have to get that stock from the supplier. We do not currently show this stock for bikes, only Parts & Accessories.

On all of the product pages, if you click the check availability button below the drop-down menu then you can see where that product is located.

 

[Flog]

Hi Anthony. Thanks for explaining the length of lead time. I notice on many sites now there is a simple “in stock” filter that is very helpful. I may have missed the drop down box on yours.
The Thron2 that I ordered for my wife is due tomorrow so very excited to ride with the wife (snigger snigger) and this is 6 days EARLIER than expected so thank everyone for that please.

 

[steve_sordy]

This is not a problem restricted to Rutland Cycling, far from it. It will affect any retailer with low stock of the items in question.

In addition to the explanation for the varying lead times offered by Anthony, there is the problem actually caused by customers (those awkward sods!) They put stuff in the basket and then don't buy it for a while. That "while" may be minutes, hours, overnight, never. Unless the retailer has a routine that sweeps these up after "a while" then what the retailer observes is the last few of a stock item stuck in customers' baskets. The stock physically exists and the retailer is keen to sell it, but has it already been sold, has it been reserved, or has it been forgotten about? At what point does the retailer make a decision to take it from your basket and sell it to someone else? The customer could reasonably say that they were building a raft of linked items that they want to buy all together (fork upgrade damper, wiper seals, lube kit, etc). They place the order and it is accepted but someone else's finger was faster on the trigger and you get a Dear John several days later for one of the items. (It was the damper when it happened to me!)

The stock control procedures and the sales procedures will have been written separately and do quite different things. Eventually they have to be reconciled and this is usually done at intervals. The intervals may be daily, every 8 hours, every hour or even more frequently. That is when it is discovered that someone has just become unlucky. Unless the reconciliation is done continuously, and people stop leaving stuff in their basket for "a while", the problem of someone dipping into your basket will always happen.

But all of this only becomes noticeable in times of low stock! Then it becomes a matter of whose finger is fastest on the trigger!

 

[GrahamPaul]

and people stop leaving stuff in their basket for "a while",

That reminds me... I'd better go close out that EVOC backpack order... ?

 

[Nicho]

That reminds me... I'd better go close out that EVOC backpack order.

Good idea................. I got the Evoc FR Trail E-Ride for Christmas, and I have found it to be very comfortable and extremely well-made.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I only buy what's in front of me at Rutland ,I've bought 10 bikes over the yrs from them.
Lot's of accessories clothing ect
The Levo was a challenge ,but bought on day via other shop , they got it from one and I picked up from another .

I continually kept trying to buy a IN STOCK bike only to be told no we don't have any.
I now one of the managers , does his head in too.

Other than that annoyance I will use Rutland and recommend them to a anyone.

 

[Peaky Rider]

As someone who makes every effort to avoid putting money in the coffers of tax avoiding organisations who operate through questioned employment practices, I'm quite content to wait a few extra days to get my stuff from a reputable supplier.

 

[Flog]

Bike arrived yesterday from Rutland and as I said, 6 days earlier than stated when I ordered - all good, box a bit battered and opened but all in order - thank you.
I'm absolutely positive that walking in to a real store is a great experience and staff and product are the Best. Being in Dorset, we do not have a lot of larger shops and so pricing is quite high - I bought from Rutland due to the Best price and that it was in stock.
My comments on my next order with them was a moan at their e-commerce set up.
Anyway, off to ride me bike!

 

[Gavalar]

Anyone buying from Rutland at the mo? Just bought a few bits and it says 13 days, 9 and 8 days for three different items - are they really taking this long to deliver? Or what I'm hoping is this is automated and really will behest a few days - under promise / over deliver??
(I am an avid Amazon Prime boy so tell me if I'm just impatient!)

Just goes to show that Amazon don't sell everything otherwise you wouldn't be shopping at Rutland.

 

[Flog]

Hate to say it, I cancelled the 3 things from Rutland, then re-ordered at Tredz and again, all was in stock, 3 days later checked on the status of order and pedals are due in 9th August.... cancelled. Searched Amazon again and found the three things again, ordered at 10.20am yesterday and delivery is between 2.45 and 5.45 this afternoon. £5.98 more expensive in total.
If the LBS was within a quick cycle or commute, I would go in and see, touch and feel and benefit from the sound advice the staff can offer - from the real one man band to the likes of Rutland with multiple stores.... but geography and c-19 are against me at the mo, so Amazon as an e-commerce platform is hard to beat. (IMO)

 

[Fivetones]

Hate to say it, I cancelled the 3 things from Rutland, then re-ordered at Tredz and again, all was in stock, 3 days later checked on the status of order and pedals are due in 9th August.... cancelled. Searched Amazon again and found the three things again, ordered at 10.20am yesterday and delivery is between 2.45 and 5.45 this afternoon. £5.98 more expensive in total.
If the LBS was within a quick cycle or commute, I would go in and see, touch and feel and benefit from the sound advice the staff can offer - from the real one man band to the likes of Rutland with multiple stores.... but geography and c-19 are against me at the mo, so Amazon as an e-commerce platform is hard to beat. (IMO)

There’s just the ‘ethical cost’ of doing business via Amazon then. That may or may not be important to you. In the same way I don’t give my business to Mike Ashley’s companies either (Evans, Go Outdoors, Sports Direct). Both of these organisations are cheap as they avoid tax and/or treat their staff abysmally.

 

[Gavalar]

There’s just the ‘ethical cost’ of doing business via Amazon then. That may or may not be important to you. In the same way I don’t give my business to Mike Ashley’s companies either (Evans, Go Outdoors, Sports Direct). Both of these organisations are cheap as they avoid tax and/or treat their staff abysmally.

I agree with your points about the barrow boy Mike Ashley although JD Sports own Go-Outdoors, have done since 2016, Evans have gone down the pan since he bought it, sadly he owns too much, or has shares in, so it takes some thinking about when avoiding his business interests when making a purchase, I have 10 go-to online retailers I use regarding MTB related purchases and Amazon is most definitely not one of them.
With reference to Amazon, and especially if people own Alexa products, you can request your data from Amazon, only then will you realise just how much of your life they have recorded through electronic devices, every word, every topic, EVERYTHING!

 

[Fivetones]

Apparently he owns 20% of JD Sports too (as well as a big chunk of Blacks/Millets).

Mike Ashley (businessman) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Anyway, I’m not preaching here - more that it’s easy to avoid companies and still find what you need. Sometimes you might have to wait a few extra days but since when has that really made a material difference to your life?

 

[Gavalar]

Apparently he owns 20% of JD Sports too (as well as a big chunk of Blacks/Millets).

Mike Ashley (businessman) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Anyway, I’m not preaching here - more that it’s easy to avoid companies and still find what you need. Sometimes you might have to wait a few extra days but since when has that really made a material difference to your life?

No material difference, although the combinations of such are many, none of which relate to the aforementioned comments, but the material fact is that Evans Cycles in Leeds bares no resemblance to it's previous offerings, its been diluted, no doubt to appeal to the commuter rather than the enthusiast, it's a shame, as the customer service is excellent, but the offering no longer appeals to myself and my peer group as a shopping destination.