Panda Bikes

[Andrew Wingrove]

Anyone have any news on this company, no reply from emails today, no answer on telephone, Facebook page not updated since March 2017 and Twitter since February.

Have they also gone out of business, or just not easy to contact?

 

[flecc]

They were still active in October, selling the Swytch kit via pre-order on Indiegogo, but it has to be said they were very difficult to contact or get sense out of at times.

Have a look at this forum Search Link to see all the recent Panda and Swytch posts.
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[Wander]

Which Panda e-bike company are you trying to contact? See this thread as there is (was) more than one of them:-
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/who-are-panda-leisure-bicycles-panda-xl.26233/

 

[Andrew Wingrove]

They were still active in October, selling the Swytch kit via pre-order on Indiegogo, but it has to be said they were very difficult to contact or get sense out of at times.

Have a look at this forum Search Link to see all the recent Panda and Swytch posts.
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Hi, I did have a look on the forums, but not much information on their recent customer service. Like to support UK business, but starting to think that ordering from Germany or Holland is better as they are easier to communicate with.


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[Andrew Wingrove]

Which Panda e-bike company are you trying to contact? See this thread as there is (was) more than one of them:-
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/who-are-panda-leisure-bicycles-panda-xl.26233/

Hi, it was https://www.pandaebikes.com

 

[infopete]

Anyone have any news on this company, no reply from emails today, no answer on telephone, Facebook page not updated since March 2017 and Twitter since February.

Have they also gone out of business, or just not easy to contact?

They are still around but very very very slow at responding. I'm not sure if the very very very slow bit was too fast for them. I've been waiting for two replacement sensors for weeks and nothing has arrived. Their message of "convert any bike" does not apply to modern(ish) carbon frames as the cheap pedal sensor does not fit. Also the quoted range of 25 miles or 50 miles from the respective battery packs is very optimistic.

It's a pity as the kit is light in weight and would be ideal for me if it worked.

So far I have two Brompton kits and two full sizew kits. One of the Brompton kits is very jerky and I have requested a replacement wheel but I am being ignored. The two full size kits do not fit the intended bikes as they are carbon and I'm waiting for the new sensors.

Finally I think the small team at Swytch did not anticipate how much work was involved in delivering so many kits and are currently overwhelmed.

Oh and they didn't test enough bikes before they released the kits.

 

[Andrew Wingrove]

After not being able to reach them by phone or emailing the support or sales email contacts on the website I managed to search through my old emails and found one for someone called Oliver. After being a bit critical of their responding back to the customer, he conceded that it was current a one man operation. A further email was received later to say that the item which had been shipped to me by courier had not been shipped as it was not available at the wharehouse. I would be refunded. If you take a look at the business at company house, the person I was talking to had resigned as a director a month ago. So if he was the one man show......... Berlin seems to be the best place to buy from if you want something sooner than ordering from China direct. Until Rees Mogg has his way.

 

[flecc]

Berlin seems to be the best place to buy from if you want something sooner than ordering from China direct. Until Rees Mogg has his way.

He does e-bike kits?

Is there any end to the man's talents!
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[wheeliepete]

Respect to you Andrew for trying to support UK business, but you would prob. have your parts by now if you had ordered from the often distrusted and slow Chinese. Not sure what that says about us as a business nation.

 

[Andrew Wingrove]

Replying to Pete, yes I always try and support local, and around York there are some brilliant small bike shops and engineering companies that restore my faith in the human race. As someone who has worked in the hospitality field for 35 years, I find sloppy customer service unacceptable, and do not find it surprising that the two companies I have had problems dealing with, are having difficulties. I run my own business, and thanks to technology I get my emails flash up on my watch, and I can dictate a quick response if needed straight back. Any how, my build is back on track again, and plenty of tea keeps it ticking along.


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[mike killay]

Many, many UK businesses just do not seem to understand customer service.
Last year, I bought some plans to build a boat from the USA. I emailed, received a reply within hours, was invoiced by paypal, paid and received the plans within a few days.
I then wanted to buy a basically home made book about how to build the boat. I emailed a woman in North Carolina who was selling the book.
Within 4 hours she replied that she was on her way to a 'vacation' in Louisiana and apologised that she would not be able to send the book for a week or so.
The book arrived in due course.
The lesson that Americans well know, if you want to sell something, the customer is King.
In the UK, as everywhere else, margins are thin and a business simply cannot afford to turn away trade, yet many do, they seem to consider customers a nuisance.
Over they years, I have had poor service from many companies.
All of them now bankrupt and gone.