# JE James Cycles Sheffield



## Paul_L (28 Mar 2011)

I'm about to buy a bike from JE James in Sheffield and there are some shocking reviews about the internet for them.

Mainly poor mail order or internet purchase problems, but also the odd in store problem as well.

That said there are inevitably good reviews as well, but there are enough bad ones to make me worried.

I've spoken to them today and first impressions are good. They are building the bike i'm interested in this week for me to try this coming saturday, and if i sort the finance deal out then, i can take it away with me.

As i'm in Braford, unless there are any problems with the bike that occur straight away, i've no need to go back to them, so my interaction with them should be fairly limited.

Any good, bad or even horror stories anyone wants to share?


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## Moodyman (28 Mar 2011)

Another Bradfordian here.

I used them for a couple of purchases and they were quite good. They're a local bike shop with three local stores in South Yorks. They just happen to have an internet operation too.

I got good honest advice, I rang for something and they asked me for my requirements and suggested something better that was not on their website, but which they had lurking in the store for less money.

Sheffield is just about manageable if you had to take something to them under warranty.


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## johnr (28 Mar 2011)

I've only used them once, but the people on the phones were very helpful and the goods arrived promptly.


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## tubbycyclist (28 Mar 2011)

I had a problem with a cracked frame around 2 years after I bought a folder from them, and they did their best to sort it with Dahon. There were extensive delays in getting me a new bike as a replacement but those delays were the responsibility of Dahon.

Although there were a few times communication could have been better they did offer to pursue my warranty claim straight away and successfully resolved the problem. It is usually said how a firm treats its customers when things go wrong is what is important and, in my case, they came up with the goods.


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## mcshroom (28 Mar 2011)

Used them (Rotherham store) a few times when I've been back at my parents. They have always seemed capable and friendly enough but I've not bought anything major from them.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (28 Mar 2011)

No problems here

Well, one minor one when a rack didn't arrive on the inter-depot order to be fitted to a bike I was picking up, but these things happen sometimes anywhere, I drove over to Rotherham and picked the rack up myself - didn't NEED it fitting for me but the Sheffield branch insisted on fitting it anyway

Most people l;eave reviews for poor service - some leave reviews for excellent "over and above" service, but few leave reviews for just what should be "standard" service - i.e what you want at an agreed price with no surprises good or bad.


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## Landslide (28 Mar 2011)

I use them on a semi-regular basis. 

If they've got it in stock, great. If not, then I'll look elsewhere.
I've never got the impression they're trying to bullshit me.


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## marinyork (29 Mar 2011)

They are generally regarded as a joke by locals (not in a malicous way) and there have been plenty of 'horror stories' - it is very far from just being the internet that's wrong with them. If you talk to enough people and add up the cumulative stories and your own experiences you soon realise why, it's just that most people shrug and laugh it off. What tends to keep people interested is that for a LBS in theory they have an excellent stock range and cheap prices. They are also one of the few companies knocking around that have 0% finance available to them. Their status as a brompton dealer and C2W also keeps business for them. I don't trust their Sheffield workshop so my bike never goes in there. They could be such a fantastic LBS if they wanted to be and really upped their game. 

I and many people I know have used them many times. The only really positive experience I've had myself was when a bolt went off my brompton and I was desperate to get it fixed and as a last resort grudgingly called in to the MTB dept in Sheffield expecting some snotty reply as you usually get and much to my surprise they did an ad hoc repair on the spot. When I've had to order stuff in it's always been very disorganised. More picky customers who are less chilled out would be driven up the wall by this. I use them because I've more or less had to, I wouldn't recommend either the Sheffield or Rotherham branches, but Chesterfield is better, a lot better. The Sheffield branch has a couple of people that really know what they are doing dragged down by everyone else and a poor system. 

I think you'll be fine buying a bike off them, just I would heavily advise dealing with Chesterfield and not Sheffield.


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## jmattley (29 Mar 2011)

I live literally down the road them, its a 2 minute walk. I've found they're a great shop, really helpful and didn't take long at all to reassemble the bits of my road bike that I didn't have the tools to do myself. I've never ordered owt from them online for obvious reasons though so couldn't comment on that. Something I noticed was that the expensive bikes section (across the road from the kids and cheapies) has more enthusiastic staff who know their stuff whereas the cheap part has sales staff who know less than me on occasion!!

In my opinion, you should go to the expensive bikes side but they seem good.


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## marinyork (29 Mar 2011)

jmattley said:


> Something I noticed was that the expensive bikes section (across the road from the kids and cheapies) has more enthusiastic staff who know their stuff whereas the cheap part has sales staff who know less than me on occasion!!
> 
> In my opinion, you should go to the expensive bikes side but they seem good.



If you did a poll of two or three hundred local cyclists they'd probably disagree with that.


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## Paul_L (29 Mar 2011)

marinyork said:


> They are also one of the few companies knocking around that have 0% finance available to them.



And that's exactly why i am using them. They have the same bike available in Evans. Evans do 0 % over 12 months which i can't afford. JE James do 0% over 24 months which i can.


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## johnr (29 Mar 2011)

Paul_L said:


> And that's exactly why i am using them. They have the same bike available in Evans. Evans do 0 % over 12 months which i can't afford. JE James do 0% over 24 months which i can.




Tell them there's a debate on CC... that should up their game


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## marinyork (29 Mar 2011)

johnr said:


> Tell them there's a debate on CC... that should up their game



They are very aware of the, shall we call it, mixed reputation they have. They are simply completely uninterested because of what I outlined earlier.


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## pshore (30 Mar 2011)

You can't judge a shop by a few irate customers. There will always be some even for the good shops. Read between the lines and see if there is a pattern.


My experience was an online sale a couple of years ago. You only find out how good a shop is when something goes wrong ......

I bought some sealskinz gloves (£20), wore them twice and found they were not breathable as claimed by the manufacturer (I must admit to sweating a lot !) so I tried phoned to arrange sending them back. I got loads of grief about not being able to send them back because I'd worn them, then the next excuse was we'll have to send them back to SealSkinz for testing (more BS, that test is for leaky gloves). 

In the end I had to write quite a detailed letter and sent them back. They sat on it for a couple of months until I phoned up, and after finally talking to a manger he gave me my money back because they had failed to do anything with my letter for so long. Utter incompetence.

The above smacks of a small-time shop. When you go to a well run shop, you get your money back no problem or get something resolved easily and it makes you want to go back. It's builds customer loyalty.


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## upsidedown (30 Mar 2011)

I bought a folder from the Chesterfield branch When it fell to pieces i tried ringing but could never get an answer. I emailled several times, again no reply. When i finally got through i was advised to contact the Dahon distributor, even though it should still have been under warranty. 
I ended up selling the bike as it was just too much hassle trying to get through to them, and the round trip from Birmingham would have been a waste of money if they had not sorted it there and then. Suffice to say i've never used them again.


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## marinyork (30 Mar 2011)

pshore said:


> You can't judge a shop by a few irate customers. There will always be some even for the good shops. Read between the lines and see if there is a pattern.



It's not the view of a few irate customers, it's based on dozens of conversations with other locals, friends and my own experiences. The shop is not very far from where I live and would be my LBS if they suited. There are plenty of reasons to shop there as I outlined, in fact some would view the reasons I outlined as to why they stay in business. To brush off very well documented problems as a few irate customers is silly.


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## PpPete (30 Mar 2011)

Tried their internet operation 3 times.

Once for Shimano hub (an older model that I preferred the look of to the newer ones) that they claimed to have in stock.... and unobtainable elsewhere.
Chased after a week - oh we have no stock. Cancelled order. Two days later still showing as in stock on website, so re-ordered (thinking they must have found their lost stock) - still no joy. Wrote them a snotty letter - hoping I might get a voucher or something.... no such luck.

Second occasion, ordered a couple of rims - on which they showed Low Stock. Didn't need them in a hurry, so not fussed if turned out to be not available. 
They arrived on second working day after order.

Most recently
Ordered a Giant MTB for sprog #3 2010 model RRP £299 reduced to £199 
Chased after a week ... oh the branch that showed it in stock doesn't actually have it - should we cancel order or suggest replacement? Please suggest replacement. They suggested a Raleigh which apparently has RRP 269, that they offer at £229 - and to price match it down to £199.	Fair enough... but the website description is so poor that I really cant judge whether it's as good a bargain as the Giant (I suspect not). Asked them some really basic questions about the drive train... web department can't answer that directly... they have to ask the branch where the stock is. Just waiting for the answer now. Meanwhile have spotted a better bargain elsewhere....

So ... 2 out of 3 failures for me.

Other forums have threads (linky) about their poor stock control system and patchy online service, so I think my experience is not unique.


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## perplexed (30 Mar 2011)

JE James have a very mixed reputation. It really is a bit of a lucky dip on the day I guess.

Some of the staff are really excellent, and I mean excellent. Some are...not.

Some days its a joy to go in, others its just hard work.

I've used the website a handful of times, with no real problems apart from it being a bit sluggish on the delivery speed compared to others. But I've had some cracking bargains, so no grumbles really.


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## pshore (1 Apr 2011)

marinyork said:


> It's not the view of a few irate customers, it's based on dozens of conversations with other locals, friends and my own experiences. The shop is not very far from where I live and would be my LBS if they suited. There are plenty of reasons to shop there as I outlined, in fact some would view the reasons I outlined as to why they stay in business. To brush off very well documented problems as a few irate customers is silly.



Marin, I wasn't brushing off the problems or criticising what you said, I was just making a general statement. My experience is that with any shop some people will get good service, some bad, and some will be unhappy as their expectations for a product or service will not have been met. Apologies if it came across badly.


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## je james sheffield (19 Apr 2011)

Hi everyone

I have read with interest the recent comments posted here. You may or may not be aware that approximately six months ago, we had a change of management structure at the Sheffield store, with an associated change of culture and mindset. We were very aware of our poor reputation amongst a significant proportion of the local cycling community, and it is our determination to re-engage with all cyclists in the city, from complete beginners to veteran racing whippets!

The problems with stock and orders that we have had in recent years, due to our un-preparedness for the huge expansion in our online mail order business, are now reduced to a bearable level. We are by no means perfect, and any organisation that has human beings at its heart will always suffer from flaws, but you can be assured that we are in a daily battle to improve our standards of service and the physical layout and product availability in our store.

We now have a long term, established staff team with huge experience in the industry - most of whom are passionate cyclists themselves. There will always be somebody in-store who has the background knowledge to answer your queries or problems - just ask and we will take you to the most appropriate staff member. It will always be unrealistic to to expect someone to be an expert on both full sus D/H bikes and traditional steel-frame tourers, although we have some folk who are!

We are making an effort to support local cycle events through sponsorship, tech support etc, and it is our hope that this will grow over the coming years. We have equipped ourselves with eazi-ups and other kit to facilitate this, and we are now supporting several local road and MTB teams.

These are difficult times in retailing generally - we are very aware that every customer is precious, and that our competition locally has grown in recent times, but we also believe that cycling has a key role to play in the future of urban transportation, and in keeping us all healthy and fit in an increasingly sedentary world. To those of you who may have had poor service in the past, please do not write us off because of previous experience - we are trying very hard to be the LBS that you would want - a local business selling what you want at the right price, with friendly, efficient service (although we still may struggle with five to nine on a Monday morning...)


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## 23ERIEROAS (7 Jan 2013)

never bought from them online.but je james ,unlike edinburgh bikes,evans,halfords etc, is a proper bike shop .and one of the better ones.


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## Buck (10 Jan 2013)

I bought my eldest a bike on Saturday.bothmy LBS had very poor stock levels due to Christmas sales so, after checking the Internet we ventured 30 mins away to Sheffield. 

JE James were very keenly priced and had all 3 bikes on our short list in stock and my son was able to try all three. 

The Sheffield store was very busy and the staff were working hard to keep everyone happy and deal with queries. 

We decided on the bike and they set it up whilst we waited. I used the time to look at and try bikes for me and they were able to answer all my questions and give advice. 

All in all 8 out of 10.


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## bainy16 (11 Jan 2013)

Buck said:


> I bought my eldest a bike on Saturday.bothmy LBS had very poor stock levels due to Christmas sales so, after checking the Internet we ventured 30 mins away to Sheffield.
> 
> JE James were very keenly priced and had all 3 bikes on our short list in stock and my son was able to try all three.
> 
> ...


they also price match so check online first great bike shop IMO......but each to there own i got my bike from them last year £200 cheaper else where so they matched it (rotherham branch)


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## I like Skol (11 Jan 2013)

I know this is an old thread but just to add my tu'pence. I bought a bike from the Chesterfield branch in autumn 2010. I found the deal online but called into the store for the touchy-feely bit. Although I had some problems with wheels failing after about 10 months, which was never properly resolved, I still feel the store bent over backwards to try and fix the problem. In the end I built my own wheels but this was due to me being fed up with travelling across the Pennines than any lack of willingness from the shop.

IMO I got good customer service at a great, competitive price. The unfortunate fact is that you can't beat conducting a deal in person. That way you know you only hand over the cash when the goods are in stock and you have had a good squeeze!

Edit: I bought another bike about a year later and decided it would be more convienient to buy 'local' in case I had any similar problems. Ironically, despite spending £60-£70 more than the Wiggle online price, this new bike never missed a beat and has never revisted the sellers premises.


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## Dave 123 (12 Jan 2013)

Internet reviews-can you trust them 100%?
Some irate, twisted individual sat at home (a bit like me!)
My father in law owns a caravan park, he has some shocking reviews online. He knows who has made them, and says that they're the type of customer who is out for discount, out to catch you out and generally be spiteful, unlike 99% of decent customers.
And the big trouble is that the business has NO editorial control on these comments. Maybe JEJ should set up a website rating local cyclists on manners, dress sense,riding prowess, mechanical prowess, how big their "thingy" is........
I ordered 2 tyres From JEJ on Thursday. they were at my house at 10am yesterday- I certainly can't complain!


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## Herzog (12 Jan 2013)

Dave 123 said:


> Internet reviews-can you trust them 100%?
> Some irate, twisted individual sat at home (a bit like me!)
> My father in law owns a caravan park, he has some shocking reviews online. He knows who has made them, and says that they're the type of customer who is out for discount, out to catch you out and generally be spiteful, unlike 99% of decent customers.
> And the big trouble is that the business has NO editorial control on these comments. Maybe JEJ should set up a website rating local cyclists on manners, dress sense,riding prowess, mechanical prowess, how big their "thingy" is........
> I ordered 2 tyres From JEJ on Thursday. they were at my house at 10am yesterday- I certainly can't complain!


 
People who suffer bad service are more likely to feel compelled to write a review than those receiving good service. I know there was a study published showing this, but can't remember where/when, so there's a bit of statistical bias going on.


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## Servicemycycle (12 Jan 2013)

I've used them for mail order delivered the bike the next day, when a shifter failed they sent a replacement without quibble, if I didn't have the trade access I have now I would 100% use again.


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## Muscleflex (25 Feb 2013)

I'll update as well. I placed my first order with them for a kids' bike rear wheel on the 18th. a week later and still nothing.
I've just sent them an email now to chase up any updates but this is stupid. I should have stuck with CRC.
I only wish I had seen this thread first before I ordered.


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