In praise of...

[GrumpyGregry]

Carradice of Nelson

and Margaret who has repaired, free of charge, my green barley saddlebag and sent it back to me pronto.

I only sent it a week ago.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm a fan, I have 3!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm a fan, I have 3!

So do I. They're great.

 

[winjim]

Margaret's not real you know. She's just an avatar like the Churchill dog or Ronald McDonald.

 

[slowmotion]

There's something going on in Lancashire that I really like. Carradice are in Nelson, and Hope are a mere six miles away in Barnoldswick. Both have extremely good reputations for customer service. Thank you.

 

[ColinJ]

There's something going on in Lancashire that I really like. Carradice are in Nelson, and Hope are a mere six miles away in Barnoldswick. Both have extremely good reputations for customer service. Thank you.

And as for the cycling round there ... lumpy and beautiful!

 

[subaqua]

i have to add Altura onto this list.

thanks to a great tip off by @summerdays I did a bit of googling and after hitting the LBS " sell you a new pannier cant get the bits bullshoot" pinged a "contact us" from the website off to altura, fully expecting to hear jack all.

within 5 minutes i had an email asking for more details to ensure i get the correct bits as the pannier hangers have changed over the years.

I sent an email when i got home mid afternoon, and again within a few minutes another email from Sarah at Altura arrived with part number and price.

i called and as soon as i said name she reeled off the query and part and processed the order.

why cant more companies be like this. I had been looking at new panniers upwards of £50 notes each and all this is costing even with postage an stuff is £12.60

when they finally give up the ghost I Know what make i will be buying !

 

[subaqua]

the bits arrived 10 minutes ago . have been fitted and i have fully functioning panniers again. yaaay

 

[roadrash]

dont ya just love a happy ending, thats how customer service SHOULD be done .

 

[Andrew Br]

Margaret's not real you know. She's just an avatar like the Churchill dog or Ronald McDonald.

Margaret is real, I've met her and she's as nice IRL as she is on the 'phone or e-mail.
I doubt that she fixed the bag though.

I met her when I rode up there to get my bag repaired. It had been run over by a bus but only a couple of the plastic buckles had broken.
I left it with them, went to the nearby Subway for a coffee and sandwich and then collected it. No charge.
Bloody wonderful company.
David (the boss) is also a lovely bloke.

IIRC, on the way back to MCR, I rode along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to Blackburn, got the train to Entwistle and then enjoyed the downhills back to home.

I mentioned on YACF that we should organise a forum ride to Carradice and Hope.

 

[Mark Grant]

I contacted Hope to buy a new battery holder for my several years old Hope Vision One. They asked me to send them a photo with my address, a couple of days later I recieved a new one in the post FOC.
Brilliant!

 

[ColinJ]

I spotted a cyclist fiddling with his bike at the side of the road today, a long way from 'civilisation', so I slowed down and asked if he needed help. It turned out that he had a broken pannier fastening and he was making a better job of bodging a repair than I would have been able to so I wished him luck and carried on. He thanked me for at least asking!

I didn't notice what type of panniers they were.