watch out for cajees fourways!

[Big J-WP]

.

[swartpiet]

Guys, I also gave my 5cents earlier on this post about Cajees, but now that I think of it. Shouldn't we maybe tell shops like these that their really suck and that their bad reputation spreads like wild fire. Tell the what they can do to improve, in other word do our bit to help these dudes and give them a chance.

 

I will take the lead and drive to Cajees Centurion this week just to tell them that their are some bad rumors doing the round about them and its mostly about their bike servicing and their awful lack of knowledge in ther sales dept. I will then monitor a few weeks later to see if it improves.

 

This will be my little project and it wont even take a lot of time.

 

I challenge all of you to do the same!

[RooiWillie]

SwartPiet actually has a point, tell the guys that they suck, and give them some tips... Now you bitch like a couple of girls about the jock in school on the hub.

 

Either that, or learn to fix your bike yourself...

 

In both scenarios something good may actually come from it...

[Jamara]

watch out! these guys are sharks, dont have a clue what they are doing when it comes to working on bikes, and the service is poor.

 

incident no. 1

a while ago i took a wheel to them to get trued and have the cones tightened. not only did they take about 2 days longer than promised, but the wheel came apart within days of the repairs.

the cones came loose and not long afterwards the spokes.

upon confronting them they argued that the hub had to be replaced as it was apparently damaged ( which wouldn't have happened if they tightened it in the 1st place).

i refused to buy a hub from them and ordered them to re-tighten everything. it is now months later the hub is still fine.

 

incident no. 2

the other day i went in there to browse around.

i saw a very old model LX rear derailieur and asked how much it was, thinking that seeing as it is very old and almost out-dated it might be discounted. ha ha ha! not so. they told me it was R950. i laughed at them and pointed out the fact that it was an old model. suddenly the calculators came out and magically the price dropped by R300.

i entertained it for a second but then noticed the derailieur had scratches and oil on it, almost as if it was used. i told them that it looked used, but they flat out denied it. i then inspected it closer and noticed the mounting bracket was bent and some of the screws were bent as well. i noticed more scratches and worn pulley wheels.

 

i left.

 

 

incident no. 3

after the firs two incidents i vowed never to set foot in that amateur shop ever again. with cycle lab is just around the corner and fritz pienaar just down the road, i never have to go to cajees. both shops are cheaper than cajees and their service is WAY better.

i'm building a bike, and unfortunately the above two shops didnt have the part i was looking for so out of of pure desperation i was forced to use the clowns at cajees again.

 

i reluctantly left my bike there to have a casette and chain fitted, and also to have shifter cables fitted and the gears set. they promised to have the work done by 2:30 the next day (friday). on friday, before driving out there, i phoned to make sure that the work had been done. i was surprised when they told me at 11;30 that they had not even started yet, and weren't going to either as apparently they close "for prayer" on fridays between 12 and two.

i was then promised that i could fetch it at 2:45.

 

at 2:30 i phoned again to avoid driving out there and having to wait. again, they STILL had not started on my bike yet and i was told that the mechanic was "still eating lunch". they told me that i could fetch it at 4:30.

i freaked and told them to have it done by 2:45 as i was on my way and not prepared to wait any longer.

 

i got there at 3:00 and surprise surprise.... they were not done yet!

 

after waiting around for 15 minutes they brought the bike out and told me that the front derailieur was the wrong model and that i must buy a different model in order to get it to work.

ofcourse they didnt have the cheaper model i needed, but only had the more expensive one which they would be willing sell to me.

i didnt fall for their trap, and decided to go home and fiddle with it myself. once at home i got the front derailieur to work by adjusting ONE screw....ONE srew!!!

 

whilst test riding the bike in my complex the casette came loose after 5 minutes of slow riding!!

so then i was faced with getting back in my car and driving back there again, which i then did!

 

their reaction to my complaint was extremely mediocre. no "sorry for having to drive back out here" or "may we refund the labour? seeing as YOU ended up doing the work on the derailier yourself, and the rest of the work that WE did came apart"

nothing. zip. nada. just a blank stare, as if to say - "and the problem is what???

 

poor service!!!!

 

clearly whoever works in the workshop at cajees has NO clue how to work on bikes. the sales staff are ill trained, and the management have a "couldn't care" attitude.

 

i forgot to add that the cables are routed the wrong way, but i'll do that myself as i am NOT letting those clowns touch my ride ever again!

 

this is a warning, use cajees fourways at your own peril!

 

 

 

 

[Jamara]

I think you shoud invest in a Bike Maintainance Course, will cost you much less in the Long Run

[nolipoli]

In defence of Cajees, they have a great range of entry level to mid-range bikes, and if you ask, you can get great deals on bicycles. Accessories and spares, you are going to pay more for.

 

I have bought three bikes and taken a few friends there to buy bikes. On each occasion, I shopped around and was able to get the best deal from Cajees. In some cases, saving a few thousand Rand.

 

I don't send my bikes there for servicing, that's just not what they are good at.

 

I reckon that Cajees have put more people on bicycles than pretty much all the other specialist cycling shops around. If this isn't doing something for the sport, then I don't know what is.

 

Another thing, while I am on my soap box. Cajees are the least judgemental (read snobbish) out of all the Northern Suburbs bike shops, bar none. For anyone that cannot afford to buy anything above entry level, shops like FPC, Cycle Lab etc, seem to treat you like a second class citizen, because you are not seriously considering the latest Cervelo or whatever.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Hmm, do's sound like a horror show, but I guess its like anything in life, you have to look around and find what works best for you.

 

I have the time (I am retired) but not the inclination to work on my bike, car, motorbike, roller skates, lawnmower,fridge, freezer,weed eater,leaf blower,pool pump,filter or anything else, so I have to find folk to do it for me,- Yeah, I have had some bad experiences, yeah some cost me money,most cost me time, but I just look till I find someone who shares my vision on service and I use them - there are shops who gave me really bad sevice, but others swear by them,they all have a place,dont let it worry you, look for someone else and move on, its not worth the agro.

[kamikaze]

SwartPiet actually has a point, tell the guys that they suck, and give them some tips... Now you bitch like a couple of girls about the jock in school on the hub.

 

for starters, it's not my job to go to cajees and tell them what customer service is, how to price their stock competitively, and how to work on bikes.

i DID however give them a chance to respond to my unhappiness, and also inform them in person and in no uncertain terms that their mechanic is ill qualified to work on bikes - they didn't seem to really care.

 

read the post. no one is bitching like a girl. this serves as a warning to others who dont yet know that cajees;

1. should be avoided like the plague,

2. dont deserve a second chance because they will cock it up again and again

 

if cajees did give a damn about improving their service and attitude, they deserved a kind word of encouragement and a heads-up about their bad reputation. but they dont give a damn.

 

plus, time to wake up!

this is the technological era, if you have a bike shop, perhaps you should monitor the major bike forums like this one from time to time and see what's happening in the cycling community.

if you do that then you would see what your customers' needs are, and you would also pick up on threads like this one and be able to improve your service.

but i doubt cajees gives a proverbial rats-ass about what the needs of the greater cycling community are. there are enough 1st time buyers out there to keep them going.

 

i seriously doubt that they read this forum. if they did, this should serve as a huge sign of unhappy clientèle because i am clearly not the only one who feels that way.

 

 

or learn to fix your bike yourself...

 

i can. i dont always feel like, or have the time to do it myself.

[Eldron]

I do love the hub. It's great fun watching hubbers turn on each other reducing a potentially useful thread to meaningless drivel.

 

My 2c on Cajees:

If you know exactly what you want and how much it normally costs hit Cajees for discount and walk away with cash in your pocket - if you need ANYTHING serviced on your bike steer well clear of cajees.

 

Like other have said - fix your own bike - it saves money, frustration and time (if you factor in all the driving back and forth).

[Mr. G]

Guys, I also gave my 5cents earlier on this post about Cajees, but now that I think of it. Shouldn't we maybe tell shops like these that their really suck and that their bad reputation spreads like wild fire. Tell the what they can do to improve, in other word do our bit to help these dudes and give them a chance.

 

I will take the lead and drive to Cajees Centurion this week just to tell them that their are some bad rumors doing the round about them and its mostly about their bike servicing and their awful lack of knowledge in ther sales dept. I will then monitor a few weeks later to see if it improves.

 

This will be my little project and it wont even take a lot of time.

 

I challenge all of you to do the same!

It is the better option to give the shop feedback in the case where the owner/manager might not know what his staff are doing, but my friend was told by the manager a cajees 4ways that there is no such a thing a slime tubes-of course because he had none at the time and only had bottles of slime!Cajees fourways has never been good on service or price, haggle with good bike shops for price and still get good service!

[pastapouch]

In defence of Cajees, they have a great range of entry level to mid-range bikes, and if you ask, you can get great deals on bicycles.

 

 

ya, sure you get great deals on bicycles... have heard and had the same experience of people buying bikes there and they're the wrong size... two words for Cajees, and they're not Bon voyage..

[Wheelsuck]

Its not just the bad service its the fact that they rip people off, I had my incident with them last year and will not set foot in Cajees even though their Retail Crossing branch is less than 2km away from me.

[Stryder]

I wonder if there is a Cajees in Cape Town I should avoid?

[mallo]

Is it not strange that after five years of complaints about Cajees on the hub they seem to do better and open more stores. Last year they opened three and two more in the pipeline. Who then is making them rich if all you hubbers are consistantly complaining about them.

 

By the way they do help in the cycling world as well. They sponsored my club for three years and currently sponsor another club on the West Rand.

[Sloggy]

I dont often comment on this type of stuff but must say I got my stuff (bike scott) from cajees in Eastgate (park meadows)

The guy who runs it (mukaran) has been nothing but a gentleman. He gave me a price that was far lower than any-ware

else and believe me i researched. After sale service has been great and I find with my limited knowledge

of servicing and stuff his service guy to be great (mike)

That is not to say I dont still buy online (cwc and what not)

Dont know much about fourways but i have to say thumbs up to cayees parkmeadows

[Vroetelvarkie]

For anyone that cannot afford to buy anything above entry level, shops like FPC, Cycle Lab etc, seem to treat you like a second class citizen, because you are not seriously considering the latest Cervelo or whatever.

 

I'm with you on this one!!