Have to vent a bit but also maybe warn others from the tri community.
Or tell me that I am the total exception and the screw up on multiple levels is a one time exception and you all had good experiences with Jenson. For me that place smells like it is short of going out of business.
Here is my experience with a recent order:
I am in the process of building up a bike and was planning to make my first ride last week. To finish the build I needed some parts (stem, tape, nuts and bolts, etc. ($280)) that I ordered online at Jenson USA on Sunday 4/7 since I am on the East Coast I paid $25 for expedited shipping to make sure I get the parts in time.
To keep it short:
Order placed on Sun 4/7.
Order confirmation received on Monday 4/8.
Quote from order conf: “your card will not be charged until your order has shipped”
CC charged on Mon 4/8 which I took as a sign that the order must have shipped
Order cancelled by me on Thu 4/11 after it hadn’t shipped yet by that time.
(order cannot be cancelled online and I literally spent 1 hour in the loop to get to talk to an agent on the phone. The agent was nice and apologized for the delay but did not offer any explanation).
4/15: shipment notification received by email
Now the phones are no longer being answered today (straight to messaging) and I did not receive any response on multiple messages (phone, email, contact form).
Same. Over the years I have ordered a buttload of MTB stuff from Jenson. The only issue I had was an order that as near as I can tell was accidentally delivered to a neighbor, who must have stolen it. After explaining the UPS description of where the package was left did not match where a package would be left at my place, Jenson sent me a replacement.
Of course I don’t order stuff online I need immediately then get pissy when it’s a few days late.
That sucks, but I too have had good luck with Jenson. I have had more problems with the cats from a big name shop in Jolly old England about sending half the stuff you ordered on time and the one thing you really wanted was no longer available. I hope you were the exception, but it still won’t make it better.
That sucks, but I too have had good luck with Jenson. I have had more problems with the cats from a big name shop in Jolly old England about sending half the stuff you ordered on time and the one thing you really wanted was no longer available. I hope you were the exception, but it still won’t make it better.
Something similar just happened to me at Cambria Bike. Drawn in by a Google search that showed a fantastic price for an item, I ended up ordering that and some other things I didn’t really need but, “Hey, as long as I am ordering stuff why not this and that and one of those…”. Cambria then emailed me to say what I was originally searching for was not available. It made me wonder whether it was a mispricing issue or some sort of scam. I cannot complain to much because I picked up a couple pairs of Pearl Izumi arm warmers for four bucks a piece, practically free.
BrickMick, wish I could say you’re the exception but unfortunately not. I have always had really good luck with Jenson up until my most recent order. I purchased a new bike from them after I was unable to find it locally. The buying process was fairly straight forward but it has completely gone the other way since then. Very poor communication, almost impossible to get ahold of their CS reps and no information on when and if my bike is actually going to ship (ordered late March, yet to ship). Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar for them because they will definitely lose a significant amount of business if others continue to experience the same type of thing. There are simply too many other really solid online retailers out there (i.e. competitive cyclist) for anyone to get away with poor service.
BrickMick, wish I could say you’re the exception but unfortunately not. I have always had really good luck with Jenson up until my most recent order. I purchased a new bike from them after I was unable to find it locally. The buying process was fairly straight forward but it has completely gone the other way since then. Very poor communication, almost impossible to get ahold of their CS reps and no information on when and if my bike is actually going to ship (ordered late March, yet to ship). Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar for them because they will definitely lose a significant amount of business if others continue to experience the same type of thing. There are simply too many other really solid online retailers out there (i.e. competitive cyclist) for anyone to get away with poor service.
I ordered a bike from them in January. It was shipped 2 days later. Maybe they’re just overloaded with spring-rush orders?
Weekend before Sea Otter! Probably not too many folks left in the warehouse or main office the weekend you ordered.
Still, if you paid (and allowed to do so in the order) for a rush, you should get a rush, no excuses.
I’ve ordered a lot from Jensen USA and it’s almost always my go to for ordering parts and supplies. I’ve never “rushed” an order, but they do arrive very timely to California.
There is certainly a chance of that. In this case it was a bike that needed to be ordered in from the supplier. It was instock at the supplier but I was still anticipating the wait. However, given the conversations I had with the reps (when I finally had them) it didn’t feel like I was getting the full story and it has taken quite a bit longer than it was supposed to. Interestingly, Jenson seems to be outsourcing some of their CS to guys working remotely; at least that was my experience. Unfortunately I think that contributes to a bit of the inconsistency.
Like I said, I have had good luck with Jenson in the past and I would probably continue to support them unless I had another, similar experience. Just figured this one was worth sharing in the context of the original post.
Sorry you had trouble, but Jenson has been awesome for me. Always quick (often one day to receive under normal shipping), always perfect. I’ve probably ordered from them 10-20 times and totally would again. Had no problem returning items as well.
They sent me the wrong part(s) for a drivetrain rebuild, returns were a bit of a hassle & I got into a phone loop too. However, in the end it all worked out & I took it as we all make mistakes & they may have been really busy. I did get my full refund, but in the end, I went with some company I had never heard of before called “Bike Closet” out of California (found them through Google on a helmet I was buying). I have now dealt with them 2x & while it odd they only answer via text (no phone), they were outstanding, fast, quick to communicate and ship all while having super low prices and availability of what I wanted.
I can’t say I’ll never use Jenson USA again, but I have to say minute for minute of ordering–Bike Closet was much easier, cheaper & faster.