[Closed] Waiting for a Pipedream...?

I was told that the new steel frames would be arriving this week, so they may well be very busy dealing with getting all the pre-orders out the door.
I hope thats the case, I would like to have mine by early next week for a planned trip the following week.

Emails have always been responded to promptly whenever I have contacted them (within 24 hours).

Hmm ok, perhaps it's just me he's ignoring then!

I'm very interested in a steel frame from them and have had excellent communication with emails and voice, all be it 2-3 weeks ago. Not ordered yet, but might well in a few weeks if they've got them in stock. Looking for a large size in black, I think the mediums were almost sold out.

Mate is waiting for a Ti....seems to have taken forever with very little/poor communications

Yeah I don't have a problem with long lead times (I was even considering going custom, 6+ months in some cases!), but being told 2 weeks & still no sign (or word) 6 weeks later is rather irritating.

I'm the mate. Frankly, I'm as mad as a cut snake, but ranting about it and spattering my screen with spittle will do no good.

As you've said, I'm quite happy to tolerate long lead times, but its the really quite poor communication that's the absolute pits. That and the '2 weeks' (but not really) thing.

Stuart has consistently failed to even confirm if my specific frame is in the batch that has just been done, didn't tell me when he ordered it with the manufacturer, didn't confirm if he was successful in getting it attached to an existing order, didn't tell me when the batch was complete and hasn't told me until asked that last week the batch was in Coventry with Customs.

Its like he scan reads emails and then doesn't answer the question properly. I've had to drive everything and I still get poor information.

Absolutely infuriating.

👿

Scienceofficer...drop me an email (in profile)

YGM.

I got one a couple of months ago, took about 6 to 8 weeks to arrive. Well worth it as i love it.

Thats handy to know. I think I'm in my 9th week now, so hopefully anytime soon.

Ordered on the 15th Feb! 🙁

It's a shame - they're certainly doing very good cost to retail pricing with that 853 model.

"A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve."

The irony of the name hadn't escaped me Brant!

Inquired about these when first advertised as a pre order but i wasn't swung with the then eta (couple of months)

I hung on until the delivery eta was down to two weeks then placed my order last week. Excellent phone and email customer service regarding the sale, spec etc.

Was told by Stu that he would be back in contact this week re the delivery of my black R853 Sirius.

Not heard anything yet but the week is still young - cannot wait for the frame 😛

Hope for confirmation soon

Stuart got back to me this afternoon about my Ti order. It's still not clear when these are going to turn up, though he mentioned the R853 shipment should "we hope" be delivered at the beginning of next week & has offered me one of those, though I'm waiting on details of that offer. Stuart was very good with communication during the original order process, but similar to Scienceofficer, I've had to chase for any updates as the weeks have rolled by and the original lead time came and went (a few times over). The frames look great, and the prices are certainly excellent, but communication is very poor and I'd really rather a company was up front with me from the start on a crucial issue like lead times. My suspicion is that Pipedream are probably at the mercy of the factory, and being low volume then perhaps they get shunted sometimes. I could be wrong, but 5 odd weeks to ship a batch of frames seems pretty crazy unless they're using a pedalo.

I didn't have problems when I bought from them, emails were answered on a Sunday afternoon/evening and always promptly.

5 weeks for a container from China is about right. Especially as it will be a LCL shipment which requires more handling at the sending and receiving ports.

Well, steady. They're not here yet.

What's an LCL shipment?

all the pre-orders

what's the difference between 'pre-ordering' and merely 'ordering'?

is that my coat? why thank you. the door? certainly.

Dropped Stu an email this evening and just got the following back:

Hi Mark,

The frames are still on the way to us. Once they land....we'll let you know. We had hoped they would be with us this week and we're still hoping they will.

I'd love to be more specific with the ETA but just can't because we are relying on the freight forwarding company.

As soon as they arrive we'll drop a post on Twitter so everyone knows, so keep an eye on our home page.

Cheers

If you read this Stu, thank you for the update.

Well, pedalhead and I have been in pretty regular communication about this.

Anyone for getting together a posse and hunting that Pipedream boy down? As far as I can tell he's in Caldicot, South Wales. What he needs to realise is this, don't **** with people and their money. It's not some sort of game after all.....

Nothing that plain old violence wouldn't sort out. 'A Clockwork Orange' and all that!!

Small up & coming business? cut them some slack for gods sake...

frames look nice actually

I'll cut him some slack when the frame and additional components have been delivered!!
They shouldn't have any cash flow issues that's for sure. All that money up front and no costs to meet.... This is business after all.

What's an LCL shipment?

'Less (than a) Container Load' - the goods are likely to be in a mixed shipment with other companies items as the order isn't big enough to fill the box and will have been consolidated.

LCL's are a total mare. It might be in with some food stuffs or crap that hasn't had the correct paperwork - the entire container can be held until one person sorts their stuff out.

The suggestion of violence is assumedly a joke.

Small up & coming business? cut them some slack for gods sake...

thebikechain - thanks. Makes sense.

I've received the first ever 'concrete' details from Stuart last night after emailing him yet again.

Apparently the sliders have been delayed in the factory for some unknown reason. Reading between the lines, it would seem that our assumption about low-volume and being allowed manufacturing time when the factory says so could be true.

There are 6 sliders on order for 'a few weeks' -as he puts it- and its claimed that he's been told they will all be shipped 'sometime this week'.

His email says that the frames (at least the RR853 frames) are shipped to Taiwan an then flown into the UK. The 853 stuff is apparently complete and in Taiwan waiting for collection.

I'd venture that its therefore going to be at least a couple of weeks before the R853 gets here, although Stuart doesn't commit to any delivery times, other than to say the sliders will probably be later than the R853.

i looked long at hard at one of these, starting back at pre order, mulled it over for a while then emailled again ealry last week, always got quick reposnses, however the responses i got gave clear indications of when frames would be here, i could check the emails but off my head it sounded fairly def that the 853 would be here this week. In the end i bought a 2nd hand frameon the forum that arrive 2 days after payment. There was not the colour left i fancied in the pipedream tbh i'm pleased as i would have been annaoyed if i had to wait a couple fo weeks longer than i was told.

I'll keep my eye out on the classifieds for them coming up ina few months time maybe

Yes of course the suggestion of violence was a joke, aided by a few too many glasses of wine!

However, the essential point remains that it's a reasonable expectation to be told the truth and be told that truth on a regular basis. I don't think people mind about delays (within reason) as long as they're kept informed. It's when you start to feel misled that issues develop. It's then very easy to lose faith in that person and/or product and that's exactly what's happening in this situation.

Let's be honest, this level of 'service' just wouldn't be tolerated in other walks of life so why should it be here? It's the same money after all.

If you're going to set yourself up in business then either do it properly or don't bother at all.

All fair and entirely reasonable points travellingman.

The whole situation has got the potential to annoy and disappoint alot of people IMO.

so, has the full price of the frames been taken from peoples cards, just a deposit or nothing at all.

I know cash flow for small businesses is difficult but it does look to me liek orders are not beign placed with suppliers until Pipedream have the money from customers to pay. This will inevitably lead to delay as they cannot 'pre-book' slots for production and have to wait for gaps to appear.

I was asked for 50% down (£340 in my case). I don't have a problem with that as I think you need to be understanding when dealing with a small business and this kind of niche product. It must be a nightmare for Stuart to have to manage a business when you're so reliant on another one on the other side of the world, BUT...it's all about expectations. If I'd been quoted 2 months, and it arrived in 7 weeks, I'd be happy. The standard message seems to be "2 weeks" though, when I think it's fairly obvious that's not achievable.

I've paid the full price of £305 including delivery for an R853 frame and believe it or not, extra for discounted finishing kit. I'm starting to feel like a mug! No hang on, make that 'I am a mug', plain and simple!

To be fair, as of today, my frame isn't technically delayed although I very much envisage it being so.

Moreover, I'm fighting other's corner, whilst firing a warning shot across Stuart's bows (if he happens to be on STW). Sounds a little dodgy but I'm sure you get my drift.

I'm pretty sure he's aware of this TBH.