About bikes, cycling and cycle to work - Tredz Blog

To lube or not to lube?

Just got this e-mail from Marc:

Hi just taken arrival of my new bike from you, thanks.
Do I need to grease the chain and if so what do you recommend any brand etc

Ok, although we pre-grease everything that needs it before the bike leaves us, we reckon the chain should be greased after it's first ride.

Wipe the excess off, spin the chain for a minute and you're good for your next ride

With regards to which lube, there's a pretty big choice of very good bike lubes out there. We can narrow it down by telling you not to use your Dad's garden shed grease or that old bottle of WD-40 we've all got. They'll both attract more crud than keep off and in the long run do more damage than good.

Use a proper bike lube and you'll have started looking after your bike the right way from the off.

Commencal Absolut Maxmax customer

Thomas just bought a Commencal Absolut Maxmax jump bike from us:

Hi Simon

I received my bike yesterday and am very pleased with it.

Thank you for an excellent service.  I will recommend you to anyone who asks.
 
Kind regards
 
Thomas

Look at it! Not suprised he's happy. Hope you don't wreck that paintjob too quickly mate...

Customer feedback

We got a Giant Yukon sent to Andrew just in time for the bank holiday...

Hi, Just a quick message of thanks. My Giant Yukon arrived safely today. I haven't had a chance to go out on it yet, but have a ride planned for the w/end and can't wait! A hassle free and very professional experience - I've already ordered my next bike from you, and have recommended you to a friend who is looking to buy 2 bikes. Thanks again - I'll be back in touch soon for my next purchase!

Cheers Andrew! Hope you had a blast on the Giant last weekend.

How to make someone happy

Send them a Specialized Rockhopper Disc!

I received my Specialized Rockhopper Disc 2008 today. Just a quick thank you for your fast, friendly and efficient service, can't wait to try it out at the weekend now!

Regards,
Ben

No worries Ben, we promise you'll love that bike!

We love our customers

We received these messages recently:

Simon,
I just wanted to say thanks for the excellent service. The bike is excellent (couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else) and the rack is well designed and surprisingly easy to fit.
I will definitely be using Tredz again and will be recommending you to my friends.
Regards,
Nick lewis.

And

I just wanted to thank you ever so much for the brilliant quality and service I had. I ordered my bike yesterday and it came this morning even though I live in Norfolk (Ed: it's not that far off the beaten track!). Also it is such a beautiful bike for an amazing price. Thanks again, you have a very very happy customer and I shall definitely be recommending you! Lauren Barwis =]

My two new favourite customers!

We're on a roll

We don’t much like blowing our own trumpet here at Tredz (present company excluded), as such we don't usually like to post positive customer feedback too often. But how could I not post this from Colin in Birmingham:

"Could I thank you for assistance and guidance in purchasing the correct bike for me? Your staff who appears to prioritise technical advice over Sales, comforting when making purchase over Internet. Have continued to sing your praises on my experience and recommend you to all."

Aww shucks.

New year, good old customer care

Just received this message:

I just took delivery of a 14" Giant Rock, I would like to say thank you! Its hopefully what my daughter is after (I’ll find out on the 13th jan, her b'day). Rest assured I’ll be passing your www. to friends and family with the recommendation of giving you their business. To all at Tredz, best wishes for the new year!

Happy new year right back at you Mr Fielding and a very happy birthday to your daughter. Hope she likes her new bike!

Timely Night Vision Jacket

It's absolutely hammering down outside as I'm writing this and I'm desperately hoping that the rain will have passed by the time I cycle home. Yup, I forgot my jacket. So I can certainly empthasise with Mr Harrison who was happy to receive his Night Vision Jacket:

Hi there,
Just writing to say it arrived today, just in time as the rain is coming in over London.
Thanks
Mr Harrison

Enjoy your safe, dry and comfortable ride home Mr Harrison. Just spare a thought for the soaking dishevelled blogger...

Customer care down under

This is a story about a man called Neil, a Topeak Prepstand and freakishly good customer service from Tredz.

Neil received a Topeak Prepstand as a gift from a friend, before upping sticks and emigrating down under. Whilst in Australia he discovered that his bike stand suffered from a bad part.
Neil got in touch with us not knowing exactly what to suggest, more in hope than anything.
Hearing of his plight, our customer care people got in touch with some of our Ozzie friends and managed to get a replacement part sent out to our antipodean ex-pat, free of charge.

Hi Simon,
New part arrived in post and I have fitted it, so far so good... new piece has held and works nicely!
Thanks for all your help, greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Neil

So now Neil can enjoy working on his bike using his Topeak Prepstand in the height of Australian summer.
(You dunno what you're missing mate, there's a heatwave in Britain at the moment! Hottest November on record!).

How to please?

Great products and customer service:

    Hi,
    Just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks very much for the excellent service. I am really happy with my new bike, and especially happy to have only paid £201 for it!
    Cheers,
    Grant (Edinburgh)

Thanks Grant, we're only too happy to help. Enjoy the Globe, it's a great bike!

Happy customers

Our shiny new website has been up and running for a little while now. We've been paddling like the clappers to make sure that any niggles get sorted and our standard of customer care remains as high as ever (at the very least we’ll keep our IT related wrath to ourselves…).

So it’s nice to hear from people like Paul that we’re still headed in the right direction.   

Hello,
I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for you fast friendly efficient service and for supplying me with a bike that as stated on your web site that is ready to ride within minutes of unpacking.
All I did was to turn the handlebar and tighten the two bolts and screw in the pedals and off I went down the road.
I wish I had found your web site before buying from Amazon which after two attempts resulted in my sending the bike from them back as after two weeks I still could not ride it due to assembling problems!

Thanks again

Paul

Cheers Paul. More than happy to help!

Customer feedback

The days are getting darker and so is the Tredz office as our riding time is being curtailed, but we’re sucking it up and still providing the kind of customer satisfaction that generates comments like this:

Hello, thanks for the recent order, delivery was quick and I was impressed with the bike being already built. Thanks again. Matt

Happy to help Matt.

Service stars

Getting away for a holiday can be stressful, especially if things don't go according to plan. We're glad when we're able to help sort this out:

Hi Carl,
Just wanted to say a big thank you for the way you handled my problem. I have got my FOX Air 4.0 back from MOJO, I have installed it and my bike is packed in our car ready for the journey to the Alps. I am so thankful that I will be riding my new bike on this holiday! James

It's also fun when customers get their new toys sooner than they expected:

Dear Simon,

I received the bike on Wednesday morning and after ordering on Monday night, I have to say all your personalised service so far has been very impressive and I'd recommend you to my friends.
Many thanks,Lynton

and:

Ordered bike on Friday morning and delivered on Monday morning before 9am. Fantastic service. Please thank everybody concerned.
Regards Graeme

Saris rack in time for holiday

Time-critical, especially fitting in with lunch!

Simon,

Just a quick note to thank you for all your help yesterday - the rack has arrived in good time so that a) we can go on holiday with the bike (brownie points for me) and b) I can go out for my lunch today!
Thanks again, I will certainly recommend your company to others...

Kind regards
Stacy

There may be a lack of sunshine but we like the limelight:

Hi Tredz.

I received my Giant SCR 2.0 yesterday, and just wanted to say thanks for its fast delivery and set up - you even put my computer on for me!

Many thanks,
Suzanne

Ready built bikes

We do apologise to anyone who wanted a night of fiddling with chains, brake cables and other bits and especially to those fans of flatpack DIY:

Simon

The bike arrived in good nick this afternoon. Thanks for building it, I was expecting to spend my evening playing with spanners!

Regards
Ian

Good sales service

Thanks guys for making the effort to let us know you're happy with us:

Hi guys

I received my Giant SCR2 on Wednesday and just had to contact you to congratulate you on your sales service.
I ordered the bike on the website on Saturday night, received a phone call on Monday morning to confirm the size (really nice touch!) and bang... the Giant turned up on Wednesday morning! Can't argue with that.

Just desperate for some decent weather now, only managed a short ride on Wednesday evening, but I would have to agree with everyone who has said that making the switch from mountain bike to road bike has been the best thing they've done!

Thanks again for everything

cheers
Stuart

and

Many Thanks for your phone call and advice

The bike arrived on Friday 29/06/2007 in good condition and as stated

A very prompt and efficient service

 

Regards

Lynn

Happy cycling customers

I know we've said it before, but we're still impressed when customers make the effort to let us know they're happy with our products and service! Thanks Simon, Rob and Tom for letting us know.

Just thought I'd drop you a quick thank-you, my Giant 2007 XTC has been such an improvement on the heap I took back to a well known car spares supplier! I have been recommending you to friends.
simon

Bike turned up this morning in perfect condition. Just wanted to say thanks for a great service, I'm sure you'll be getting my custom again.
Kind regards
Rob

Hi, Just a wee thankyou, bike arrived as promised on Monday morning, perfect condition.... Cheers
Tom

Cardiff bike shop makes Scottish weekend

Our first bike-buying customer at our new Cardiff store emailed us to show her new Scott Scale wasn't a garage ornament:

"Hey All,

Thanks for all of your help last minute on Friday.  We finally left for Scotland (7 Stanes) at about 8.30pm and arrived at a truely evil 3.30am!

Armed with my new bike I found I actually enjoyed mtbing - I grinned whilst riding off road, something I thought I would never do! Steve was chuffed because usually he just gets abuse from me wishing I was on my road bike instead.  The bike made a huge difference, I can't believe the ride compared to my old Specialized - it was soooo much fun!

Anyway, I've attached a few photos, they're not brilliant, I think we were having too much fun to keep stopping to take piccies.  I'm not sure exactly where they were taken, over the four days we did the red routes at Dalbeattie, Mabie and Ae and the red and black (!!!) route at Kirroughtree.   

Thanks again for your help and patience last thing on a Friday, the bike made the weekend!" - Becky

Bike orders arriving fast

It's great to be able to still surprise customers with good service when high expectations are the norm:

The bike I ordered over the web on Sunday evening has just arrived (Tuesday morning). Your service is absolutely first class.

Thank you! Gavin

....even when the Allen key is supersized (oops!) we're worth recommending to friends:

Hello,
Just a quick note to thank for the wonderful service. I was very impressed by how professional the transaction was. The bike, and the surprise gift, arrived in perfect condition....and next day!

A little note about the included Allen key, though. Unfortunately, it seems to be  too  big  to use with the handlebars and so I was unable to tighten them  with it.

But once again, thank you very much and I'll be definitely recommending you to friends.

Ahmed

Posted by Caroline

The new Giant gets around

A happy customer - I wonder if the brewery has got anything to do with it? :-)

Hello Tredz

Thank-you for such a good service, very much appreciated. The Giant SCR 2 is great fun and I am clocking up the miles like never before.

All the best,

Mark

Attached picture; me with bike at Hook Norton brewery. Bliss.

Bargain Boulder

Recieved this email on Friday:

Hello,
I just wanted to say how pleased i was with the bike i ordered.

I ordered a Giant Boulder on offer at £160.The price was great and the free delivery was excellent. I was also really chuffed to get a free helmet with it too as well as all the leaflets etc! I have had no hesitation in recommending your website to a couple of friends who are looking to buy bikes.
Thanks,
Gareth B

A happy cyclist dropped us a line

I would like to thank you for your excellant service on our recent purchase. Telephone queries were quickly answered. The final product came with minimal final assembly and some unexpected extras. We will certainly recommend you to friends. Once again thank you.

Tony F

Praise indeed

I almost get bleary eyed reading stuff like this:

Hi Simon,
Just got your message, was out testing the new bike when you called! Nearly killed myself bombing down the waterfront for the afternoon (not because I nearly crashed or anything, but because I'm so unfit).
I'd like to extend my thanks for the first class service from Tredz. The price on the bike [Giant SCR 2.0] was fantastic and you have a great range of accessories to choose from. When you saw that I was local and you made a special delivery within a couple hours of me calling - that was just the icing on the cake. Hope I can return the favour with my future business (after my credit card cools off!) and recommendations to friends.
Many thanks,
Paul

Giant SCR is 'awesome'

Got a cracking email from a customer:

Guys,
Cheers. The bike [Giant SCR 2.0] got delivered today. Can't praise you enough, your service has been fantastic and the price of the bike is awesome.
Thanks
steve

Raleigh bikes hit the spot again

Finding this sort of thing in my inbox definitely makes that first cuppa taste nicer in the morning:

Hi
As per phone call just a short note to thank you for your fantastic service.  The bike [Raleigh~Mini X] arrived today and it was great to see it was put together and I had no work to do!!

Running my own online sales business I take a keen interest in how other companies deal with their customers and I must say you passed with flying colours.

A 5 star service that I would be only too happy to recommend.

Many thanks
W S S

Way too much time to kill

I got this in my inbox this morning. I can't help the feeling that Dangerous Dave is getting too much attention. Still I guess the Photoshop editing could've been worse - and un-publishable:

Hi from Holland,
Looking at the picture attached, don’t you think the game needs an update?
Sincerely,
Rolf.

More customer feedback

Hi Simon

Just want to say thanks for a speedy and efficient sale (or purchase on my part).  The bike [Giant SCR 2.0] arrived on Friday much to my surprise and im very happy with it.  Thanks again and I will pass on your details to any friends looking to purchase.

Rgds
David in Northern Ireland

Gloves come good in the end

Hi,
Just a note to say thank you very much for all your help [we swapped a pair of leaking gloves] - I really appreciate you keeping me up to date with everything. I will definitely recommend you to my friends and family as your customer service has been great.

Thanks again,
Giulia

Raleigh goes well

Just got some more nice customer feedback:

Hello Tredz, just to let you know that i received my bike today, Raleigh~Mini x '06 - Kids Bike (14''). It arrived in perfect condition & we are very pleased with it, thankyou for sending it out so quickly.
Mark

Excellent service

It's a nice start to the day when there's a thank you in your inbox:

Just to let you know the order arrived today - all good. Excellent service - thanks

Ross

Bike sale enquiry

Just had a sales enquiry land on my desk that was no such thing; it was even better...

Reason for contacting: Sales Enquiry
My comments are: Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent service I received from your company. Delighted with the bike. Hope to do further business with you in future. Regards, John

Bike orders go to plan

Thanks again for your excellent service. I know that this time of the year is extremely busy for you and appreciate it very much that you contact your customers directly and try to find a way to get orders processed quickly!
Best wishes,
Christian

Trek Mystics don't come from Santa

We have just taken delivery of a new Trek Mystic for my daughter - excellent service thanks - other than the delivery guy telling my daughter how lucky she was to be having a bike for Christmas as she met him at the door !!!
(He may as well have gone on to say there's no Santa and no point putting your loose teeth under the pillow - no harm intended I am sure).
Jeff

Trek bike highly recommended

A nice start to the week:

Hello,
I'd like to commend everyone at Tredz for a first class service - I am very pleased with the bike [Trek 7100] and will highly recommend you.
All the best,
Colin

Giants in perfect condition

Giant scr2 bike arrived to-day at 11.00hrs, bike in perfect condition, thank you.
Regards,
Dave

Raleighs go down well this week

Dear Tredz,
Just to let you know that we are really pleased with the Raleigh Hotrod and cycle helmet we purchased from you this week, I am sure our son will be thrilled when Santa brings it. So glad that we found your site cheaper than anywhere else and superb customer service. Best customer service that we have received for a long time. We will purchase from you again and would recommend you.
Thank you for being so helpful,
regards Alison

19 hours to complete

Nice email in today:

I'd just like to say how delighted we are with our order [Raleigh Crush]. It came within 19 hours!! There was a follow up call on our internet order to make sure all was ok. Product was exactly as promised. Very professional set-up - thanks.
CE

Bike delivery goes perfectly

Received a great email to close the week as well as it started:

Dear sirs
I ordered my son a bike for christmas on Wednesday 11am 8th Nov. and received it on Thursday morning 8.30am 9th Nov . considering this was being delivered to Ayrshire in Scotland i would say that this is excellent service. I would  also like to thank you for all your help giving to me with this purchase and would have no hesitation on recommending  your site to anyone.
Once again thanks for the excellent service
yours P. Burns

Giants still going down well

Hello tredz,
Many thanks for a brilliantly priced bike and excellent service - received my Giant SCR on Friday, under 24 hours after ordering it. Took it out his weekend and it's a great piece of kit! I shall be telling my friends.
Grant

Trek 4500 gets 10 out of 10

Who says Mondays have to be bad? Get a couple of these in your inbox to start the week well...

Guys,
Your service was spot-on: I had ordered the wrong size bike, but Simon's call put me on the right track. Delivery was next day, as ordered, and bike was packaged superbly. All the information I needed to get the bike on the road within 10 mins was included, as well as tools, bike info and other special stuff.
I have ordered a bike before, but the attention to detail in bike packaging and service here was way above my expectations. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Tredz. I gained much confidence from information on the website which told me I was dealing with people who know what they're talking about.
I ordered, and was nervous until my bike arrived. But I need not have been. Tredz filled my every expectation - and more! I would also like to say the Trek 4500 hardtail mountain bike is a cool-as-hell work of art!
Thank you,
Rick

Pleasing gloves

I got this mail yesterday from someone who liked their Sombrio Forensic gloves (and us):

Sombrio gloves received, thanks very much for your consistent high level of customer support.

Regards
Dave

Thanks Alan

Tis the week for praise me thinks:

First time customer (bought Cycle Ops Mag Trainer & block). Great price, great service and constant updates while order was processed. Well done. Shall be back!
Alan

Giant's Mr Over The Moon

I received a nice email from a customer via info@tredzblog.co.uk late yesterday. He ordered a Giant XTC SE from us on Tuesday and received it on Wednesday. He writes:

Hi guys,
just thot i would drop you a line to say thanks for all your help.  Ive now got my first proper mountain bike and i love it, took me 2 mins to put together once it got here and its perfect.  The staff i spoke to were very helpful and the price of the bike itself was superb.  Keep up the good work, I know where i'll be buying all the rest of my kit ;-)
thanks,
steven

Perhaps he watched our video to setup his bike. Either way, cheers Steven, you nearly brought a tear to my eye.

A happy chap indeed

Although we're only 'doing our jobs' it's always nice to get a thank you from customers. I am continually amazed at the amount of people willing to take time out of their busy lives to scribble words of praise to us, about our service/products/couriers. If I'm honest I think I've only ever writen such a letter once. I guess email makes it easier, but we appreciate it just the same.

Stuart B recently wrote: Hi guys, the giant scr 3.0 bikes that you sent up to Edinburgh are LOVELY. We are all enjoying them very much. They are the first road bikes that we have had and the difference is amazing! Every bit of pedalling effort makes you go quicker.

We must be doing something right - right?

Amazing Service

George from Belfast wrote to us mentioning how pleased he was with our service.

Gents,
bike arrived safely the day after I had ordered it. Amazing service. Many thanks.

George

Short and sweet

Adino .M left us this short and sweet email

Tredz,
My order arrived this morning in excellent condition.

Thanks,

Andino.

Happy customers despite a delayed

Sometimes at Tredz it cannot be helped if items are a little delayed. It is reassuring when customers give us good feedback regardless of a delay in the receipt of their order.

Thank you - I have now received and am entirely satisfied with the service and will recommend same.

Tony

Quicker then expected

Mike from Aviemore in Inverness-shire was surprised at the speed of our service.

Thank you! Package recieved in good order and quicker than I thought. Much appreciated.

Regards, Mike.

Prompt delivery

Nigel was extremely happy with our delivery service.

He wrote:

FANTASTIC SERVICE: thank you for very prompt delivery of My new Giant SCR3. -arrived within 48hr of order It looks superb and has to be a really good deal
Nigel

Smooth transaction and good service

Paul bought a Giant SCR 3.0 Roadbike from us and was very happy with our service and the transaction process.

He wrote:

Just received the 'Giant SCR' roadbike that I ordered off you. Very pleased with it and would also like to say very impressed with the service you provide. Quick and easy transaction, good price and delivered on time.. Will recommend you to others and will use you again in the future.

Thank you

Paul

Excellent service

David was so taken with our site and service, he recomended us to all his friends.

Thanks for your excellent service, will definitely be using your site in the future and will recommend you to friends

Dave

Knowledgeable customer service helps choosing the right bike

Tredz staff members have extensive knowledge of bikes and accessories so when a customer calls us and we do not have a bike or accessory in stock, we can advise on what alternatives there are and possibly get you riding as soon as possible.

Andy was so happy with our customer service he wrote the following:

It started with an e-mail to Tredz for some information on a bike for my son which unfortunately was no longer available, but this is when the staff (in this case Grant) really shone with suggestions on alternative bikes in our budget range and specifications required. When had made our minds up they even came back with a good deal on the bike which was very much appreciated.

We needed the bike in a hurry as it was for my sons birthday (and I had left it to the last minute for a change) and guess what, low and behold the next day it was there nicely and well packaged, how's that for service! I would recommend Tredz to anyone and everyone. Please don't let your standards drop, there are too many unreliable online stores which I will never shop with again.

Anyway thanks again, oh and please find a happy son on his well kept love of his life bike.

Cheers

Andy

And in case you wonder which bike Andy decided to buy: it's the Specialized FSR XC Medium.

Fast delivery and a good fit

We aim to get bikes to our customers as fast as possible, once you have ordered you don't want to have to wait longer than necessary. This is appreciated, as commented by this customer:

Congrats on a great delivery speed. Love my new bike, fits me well. If anyone i know is looking for a bike i will recommend you and not just for delivery speed.

Thanks, Al

Our first happy customer

Just one week since launching our new online bike store and we have positive feedback from a happy customer.

I have just received the bike lock I ordered with you, and I would just like to say thank you so much for all your help with it. It is great to have found a company so friendly and helpful.

Many thanks,

Laura K

She may be the first but we hope she's not the last