anyone tried to contact Alpkit lately?

Chatbot didn't work at all on Friday for me, but they were back in touch relatively quickly by email - 2 days I think it took.

Which tent ?. I only ask, though I don't think for a second its this reason, but at least one of the tents they do are for use with a walking pole. So effectively don't come with one.

To begin with they were responding to me pretty fast about a problem with my Camino fork but then they went silent for nearly a month and took 3 emails before they responded! Was getting pretty fed up with them tbh by the end.

Damn, about to order a tent from them. Don’t the stores have a phone number?

Yup - asked about pre-order arrangements, a week or so back, and got a quick reply. A few more back and forth emails resulted in an order, and a very swift delivery of an Ordos2 tent and footprint.

When I last contacted Alpkit, the chat bot function went to  a person stood behind a till in a shop - when they were dealing with a customer they disappeared for a bit!

I got the impression they don’t have back office staff…

I'm not buying off Alpkit following a poor communication issue - I just ended up posting the item back with a note recorded delivery.
I also tried to open up an account for staff uniform - it took 3 months to reply, by which stage we had ordered 14 sets of waterproofs and fleeces from Berghaus. The initial enquiry included the spreadsheet of what we needed to order.

Which tent ?. I only ask, though I don’t think for a second its this reason, but at least one of the tents they do are for use with a walking pole. So effectively don’t come with one.

That's why I ordered it separately

So you could source a pole else where and refund the Alpkit one when it shows up?

I think they’ve just had a big delivery as the soloist has gone from pre order to available. So I suspect they are very busy. No excuse really though

I've just enquired on the shock mount sizing for my sonder cortex, which i though would be the sort of thing i could have found out on the website but its not listed.

Its not like i'm inept at measuring this sort of thing, just that at the time of query i didn't have a battery for my digital calipers so making the judgement call on what could have been a 29.84 or a 30mm it seemed logical to ask.

Its been a couple of weeks and i've just got a reply stating its been forwarded to the bike designer.

So as an Alpkit shareholder and with the AGM coming up, i've started to make a constructive feedback list for them and will follow this thread with interest to populate further.

Currently on the list:

Bike details should include all component sizing information and historic versions of bikes should be able to be viewed (see cotic for an excellent example of this for what i imagine is less website upkeep costs).

Instructions if not included on paper with the item (which i'm fine with as it saves paper) need to be available online for full range and for older items.

Customer queries need to be dealt with in a timely manner (see feedback from Singletrack forum) risk of disfranchising potential repeat customers

Please consider making tent ground sheets from thinker materials, if a protector is needed then i would rather have 1 better fabric and have the longevity rather than 2 pieces

Fingers crossed

Just ordered a tent and mat. Big sale at the moment.  Well a Planet X style  jump to the in stock price

I was thinking of buying a Sonder Camino. I needed to know what height of spacers I could have on the fork steerer. I got the answer in about a minute on the phone

They were reasonably prompt in dealing with a jacket which the zip fell off of after less than a year. Originally tried to blame user error (my wife is 42, she knows how to use a zip) but then said they'd fix it for free. Still need to sort that out actually... The same week that happened one of the elasticey toggle things at the bottom of my Alpkit jacket made a break for freedom as well. Overall not 100% happy with the quality of two £100 jackets but at least they've offered to help.

Phone line been engaged since this morning 🤷‍♂️

So you could source a pole else where and refund the Alpkit one when it shows up?

I could, but I'd rather have the item I paid for and the shipping order says they've sent out and not have to pay twice. Really I'd just like to be able to communicate with someone who works for the mail order side

I'm having the same issue with the Nova rear wheel that came with my Camino. Quick initial response but then radio silence for about 3 weeks now. Bike rides lovely but the creaking is driving me insane!

Its been a couple of weeks and i’ve just got a reply stating its been forwarded to the bike designer.

Is he not too busy selling expensive trousers/knives/action blankets?

The bike designer isn't Brant, it's Neil Sutton I believe....

I’ve just enquired on the shock mount sizing for my sonder cortex, which i though would be the sort of thing i could have found out on the website but its not listed.

It's 25x8mm front, 30x8mm rear, 190x45 shock - I bought a frame only Cortex and had to source my own shock a while back (hopefully the mounts haven't changed!). HTH!

Update! I've received an automated email acknowledging the return of the item I haven't yet received!

🤦

Update! Contact with a real person. Apparently a return is generated when an item is missing. Tarp pole on its way 🤞

They were good for me when ordering my bike, answering queries etc. Then when the bike arrived with scratches, I had to really chase them to get any response.

My order has apparently arrived. However I could have saved a tenner  by ordering today

I was visiting friends in the Peak District last weekend and happened to pop into the Alpkit / Sonder shop in Hathersage, plenty of helpful staff in there.

Prior to having a wander around Hathersage I had no idea that Alpkit HQ was based there so it was nice to have a 10 minute bike shop mooch.

Prior to having a wander around Hathersage I had no idea that Alpkit HQ was based there so it was nice to have a 10 minute bike shop mooch.

Thought it was just a store? HQ is Eastwood/Moor Green way?