Agree with RJM, used to be great until they sold it. Now i find it more expensive than many and dont like the website. Their postage remains very good and reliable though.
Who do you work for Robbie if you don't mind me asking?
I work for an online retailer competing directly with Wiggle, so have a bit of insider info from the brands we sell.
On the business side they throw their weight around, and if things turn against them they just cut ties. Case in points is Brooks Running, they have restricted their sale terms so UK companies cannot sell in Australia (a hot topic right now), Wiggle sell a huge amount in Australia and they continued to do this, so Brooks closed their account. Would a retailer passionate about running decide to drop one of the largest running footwear brands? I think not.
The worst is they got rid of telephones, so no direct customer contact. Cutting customer experience to save costs is pretty poor.
And i have never liked the navigation of their website. Too many products, they are just too big to care.
+ As brilliantly easy and reliable as always was. Nice interface - uncluttered. Really quick. Really good prices most of the time. Feedback feature a good idea.
Awful "deals" - never seems to be anything worthwhile any more. The whole sportive sponsorship makes me think they're after a certain niche and not 'into' Club men/women. If it was a person, increasingly it would be like a cycling version of that Fast Show sketch, 'Roger Nouveau Football Fan'. - it's got no soul.
I agree with the points everyone has made, and I am against 'Big Business' corporate bullying aswell, however, I still use them.
I use the website because 1) the haribos / freebies they throw in 2) very reliable and fast free delivery . I can count on it arriving before the weekend if I order Tuesday/Wednesday 3) their prices are usually the same if not cheaper than other companies 4) I only buy my things when they are on sale. Their sales are amazing. For example, SIS energy gels, or my £200 tacx turbo for £95 ... 2x gp4000s + 5 tubes for £65 5) their website is the nicest to look at, functionally best and most intuitive to use.. The design is very clever; clearly they have spent a LOT of money on making the experience as good as it is. I use chain reaction cycles but don't enjoy using their site. Their order history bit is very clear to understand. I like the fact they have a 'watch list' feature that actually works, and I guarantee (good from their point of view) that feature makes me buy more.
365 return is nice, because I've bought something for winter before in the summer, and found it didn't fit as I wanted it to and they took it back no questions at all.
We 'Engine Group' are pitching to them in a few wks... this is top material to help build the picture. I know the MD personally, a top fella who took the role after the big sale. He wants to make it a 'good company'.
I use wiggle a lot (although not exclusively) and have to say on the whole I find it a very positive experience. The website is pretty good (why don't all online retailers have a wishlist...?) and you can't fault the service - superfast delivery, easy returns, etc.
Essentially I view them as the amazon of the bike world - they are trying to sell almost everything (although annoyingly don't stock some key brands) at very good prices with free fast delivery. Would you call amazon passionate about books or anything else they sell? No, but it doesn't really matter...the same with wiggle, if I want something I want it for the best price and and I want it now. I don't expect to be able to ring them up for advice or anything, but sure it would be great if you could do that...
I use Wiggle quite a lot and they are no worse than their competitors, other large online retailers such as Evans, Chain Reaction Cycles, Parker International etc.
The site can be quite tedious to navigate, but then so are other large sites which carry a huge inventory of cycling stuff.
I like the fact that they are fast and efficient, things come quickly and they have never got my order wrong. I like the freebies too, not just the Haribo, last time they sent a pack of PowerBar gel shots. I like the discount for regular customers and for members of British Cycling, although this only applies if the products are not already discounted above that offered.
One way in which they could improve is to give better tracking data for the delivery time. A couple of weeks ago I bought a wheelset from Evans and they could tell me the hour that they would be delivered at. Brilliant, because I didn't have to spend the whole day at home in case I missed them and could go out for a ride in the morning.
They don't always have what I want and if they do, it's not always at the lowest price that I can find. So, I shop around and buy from the reliable retailer with the lowest price. I always check out the comments others have given about online retailers on cycling forums if I haven't used them before and have avoided several that have received a lot of negative posts about their service in the past.
I've used Wiggle for years, never had any problems (obviously now that I've said that, the next time I order something it'll go belly up!!), good delivery, no comment about the return, coz never used it, their prices are good, and dont forget folks thats what it comes down too most of the time, the money.
Used Wiggle for many years and never had an issue with them. Deliverys have always been correct and on time.
12% discount is much appreciated. I do however wait for the sales for stock items like tubes and tyres.
They might not be the cheapest, but I used price match with them for the first time this year and they agreed to match the Parker International price for a pair of campag wheels with no quibbles. That saved me £75 and I knew that Wiggle would deliver on time and no muck me about with 'not in stock' etc.
I do use Evans, as I work in London and can check out the stuff first in store and buy later. Being able to talk to someone in person and return to a store, if necessary, is an advantage of the 'bricks and clicks' retail model.
ribble and others are cheaper but wiggle package everything decently (compared to the ribble plastic bag) and they provide a return label if you do have a problem. and when i have returned stuff to them (wrong size, my fault) their customer service was excellent. agree the website is dodgy though.
Comments
Because of their size now, they have are far greater corporate focus than a customer focus
I work for an online retailer competing directly with Wiggle, so have a bit of insider info from the brands we sell.
On the business side they throw their weight around, and if things turn against them they just cut ties. Case in points is Brooks Running, they have restricted their sale terms so UK companies cannot sell in Australia (a hot topic right now), Wiggle sell a huge amount in Australia and they continued to do this, so Brooks closed their account. Would a retailer passionate about running decide to drop one of the largest running footwear brands? I think not.
The worst is they got rid of telephones, so no direct customer contact. Cutting customer experience to save costs is pretty poor.
And i have never liked the navigation of their website. Too many products, they are just too big to care.
As brilliantly easy and reliable as always was.
Nice interface - uncluttered.
Really quick.
Really good prices most of the time.
Feedback feature a good idea.
Awful "deals" - never seems to be anything worthwhile any more.
The whole sportive sponsorship makes me think they're after a certain niche and not 'into' Club men/women.
If it was a person, increasingly it would be like a cycling version of that Fast Show sketch, 'Roger Nouveau Football Fan'. - it's got no soul.
I use the website because
1) the haribos / freebies they throw in
2) very reliable and fast free delivery . I can count on it arriving before the weekend if I order Tuesday/Wednesday
3) their prices are usually the same if not cheaper than other companies
4) I only buy my things when they are on sale. Their sales are amazing. For example, SIS energy gels, or my £200 tacx turbo for £95 ... 2x gp4000s + 5 tubes for £65
5) their website is the nicest to look at, functionally best and most intuitive to use.. The design is very clever; clearly they have spent a LOT of money on making the experience as good as it is. I use chain reaction cycles but don't enjoy using their site. Their order history bit is very clear to understand. I like the fact they have a 'watch list' feature that actually works, and I guarantee (good from their point of view) that feature makes me buy more.
365 return is nice, because I've bought something for winter before in the summer, and found it didn't fit as I wanted it to and they took it back no questions at all.
this is top material to help build the picture. I know the MD personally, a top fella who took the role after the big sale. He wants to make it a 'good company'.
Any more views most welcome. Cheers!
Essentially I view them as the amazon of the bike world - they are trying to sell almost everything (although annoyingly don't stock some key brands) at very good prices with free fast delivery. Would you call amazon passionate about books or anything else they sell? No, but it doesn't really matter...the same with wiggle, if I want something I want it for the best price and and I want it now. I don't expect to be able to ring them up for advice or anything, but sure it would be great if you could do that...
The site can be quite tedious to navigate, but then so are other large sites which carry a huge inventory of cycling stuff.
I like the fact that they are fast and efficient, things come quickly and they have never got my order wrong.
I like the freebies too, not just the Haribo, last time they sent a pack of PowerBar gel shots.
I like the discount for regular customers and for members of British Cycling, although this only applies if the products are not already discounted above that offered.
One way in which they could improve is to give better tracking data for the delivery time. A couple of weeks ago I bought a wheelset from Evans and they could tell me the hour that they would be delivered at. Brilliant, because I didn't have to spend the whole day at home in case I missed them and could go out for a ride in the morning.
They don't always have what I want and if they do, it's not always at the lowest price that I can find. So, I shop around and buy from the reliable retailer with the lowest price. I always check out the comments others have given about online retailers on cycling forums if I haven't used them before and have avoided several that have received a lot of negative posts about their service in the past.
12% discount is much appreciated. I do however wait for the sales for stock items like tubes and tyres.
They might not be the cheapest, but I used price match with them for the first time this year and they agreed to match the Parker International price for a pair of campag wheels with no quibbles. That saved me £75 and I knew that Wiggle would deliver on time and no muck me about with 'not in stock' etc.
I do use Evans, as I work in London and can check out the stuff first in store and buy later. Being able to talk to someone in person and return to a store, if necessary, is an advantage of the 'bricks and clicks' retail model.
but wiggle package everything decently (compared to the ribble plastic bag) and they provide a return label if you do have a problem.
and when i have returned stuff to them (wrong size, my fault) their customer service was excellent.
agree the website is dodgy though.