14 Bike Co / 14 Bike Company / Shop Fourteen

http://www.trumanbrewery.com/cgi-bin/location.pl?

sorry for being a nurd!!, where is the shop, address plssssssssssss............

Number 14, Fourteen st, London, E14 41S

i like the shop, just two times now their customer service was rubbish.. When the manager isn't there (some guy with the beard) the staff just fail..
they shouldnt let anyone waiting at the counter for more then 2mins go unserved.

Ask!

Yes that would have been my reaction normally, but I felt a bit strange as they had been staring at me and didn't seem very friendly.. maybe a little old fashioned but I think if you are selling something it pays to be friendly/communicative.

Also on these bikes, I don't yet know what i'm talking about and had a (very rare) moment of not wanting to seem like an idiot!

Last time I was in there I was only checking out the porn and got asked if I needed help at least twice. If you want something then make it clear to staff, they probably want to give customers a bit of space and browse/shop at their own pace.

Cool, will definately go in again and have a chat about the bikes..
maybe I will swing by uniqlo first and buy some skinny jeans and a yellow hoodie en route

Yes that would have been my reaction normally, but I felt a bit strange as they had been staring at me and didn't seem very friendly.. maybe a little old fashioned but I think if you are selling something it pays to be friendly/communicative.

Also on these bikes, I don't yet know what i'm talking about and had a (very rare) moment of not wanting to seem like an idiot!

One of the first things i noticed about the shop was how friendly the staff were.
As i said...they have a lot of people in there wasting time asking about stuff they have no intention of buying....so if you want help...just ask and i'm sure you'll find them very polite.

Yeah what the fuck are you whinging about, stop being a numpty and just ask for what you want, people ain't telepathic and 14 is one of the most attitude free shops you will encounter, maybe if you actually spoke to them you would have seen that for yourself?
But like Scott said they get a lot of people mooching around looking at stuff who don't really want advice but just want to look at the pretty bikes and waste their time, so until you actually speak to them they might just leave you to browse as its not the type of shop or staff where they try and pressurize people into buying stuff, or give them a hard sell on something, I personally find that approach refreshing but don't go slagging off the staff when you were too scared to even talk to them lol.

Their unpretentious service has won my custom. Nice bits in there too.

There's probably a balance between ignoring someone, staring at them, and going over and ripping their arm off to buy something?
"what the fuck are you whinging about" don't get excited.. just saying I went in there and they didn't seem bothered..

Thankfully James isn't employed there! :)

I should add that I was helped magnificently by the staff this weekend just gone.

Had a stroll and a gaze for a bit, then approached someone for advice on getting some clips and straps. Was met with loads of information on what they had in stock, what was available from TFG and so forth, all delivered with enthusiasm and without a hint of sarcasm. And the girl who eventually took money off me was equally kind and chatty - even offered to let me leave my bike in the shop while I had a blitz round the markets...

There's probably a balance between ignoring someone, staring at them, and going over and ripping their arm off to buy something?
"what the fuck are you whinging about" don't get excited.. just saying I went in there and they didn't seem bothered..

Not meaning to come across as excited lol, thats just how I talk normally, difficult to put stuff into context on d'interweb, but yeah I like 14 and I like the staff in there, have a chat with them next time, they're a really friendly bunch :)

Will do!!

Maybe they were giving you a wide berth cos you looked like the kind of person who was going to go bitch about them on an internet forum later...

Not being negative.. but went in here last week at Lunchtime on a weekday (Tuesday I think).. was in a suit. 2 guys behind the counter, 1 guy chatting to them.. walked around looking at all the bikes for about 5-10 minutes and nobody came over. Was looking for some friendly advice as i'm thinking of building a steel fixed gear and wanted to talk about cranks, bb's etc.

They could have done with being a bit more friendly/proactive, I walked up to BLB and was testing out a couple of bikes within 5 minutes.

Maybe it's because most people...me at least anyway hate being pounced on as soon as you get into a shop....if you want help why not just ask?
They get a lot of tyre kickers and time wasters in there.

exactly if someone wants help they will generally ask for it, or attempt to make eye contact. 90% of the time you ask a customer if they need help they reply "no im just browsing" and then end up pissing off

I when yesterday for the first time to the shop, after a couple of minutes od me wondering around, a very polite girl ask me if I needed any help, I told her no, and she wnet on with hers things, no bothering any more
I call that a nice service

Was in there a few weeks back to buy some hubs. Was umming and aahing (as you do) about whether i could afford them, asked the owner straigh up to knock some cash off and for 15 quid less, they were mine. Was so chuffed I went back and built my new wheelset there. The service is awesome.

I was in there a while back looking at options on the cyclescheme and they were really great to talk to. Very enthusiastic. As it turned out I didnt buy my bike form there but I was very impressed and will definatly shop there as a matter of choice

htfu people. It's annoying being told, by irritated customers, that they don't need any help, and you soon learn that people who actually want to buy something will catch your eye. I'd suggest talking to them maybe?

Also, does anyone know if they do frame stuff like replacing vert dropouts with track? Just a quick q, i will probably drop in thurs anyhow.

dude the guys at 14 couldn't be nicer or less attitude-y. i mean granted a lot of them are mates with the people on the forum, but it's still one of the nicest shops to walk into and browse.

i took a mate there to buy white tyres (yeah i know...) and taught him how to change his tyres outside the shop one afternoon (he'd never even changed a flat on his bike before). it took him about an hour and a lot of mistakes to change over both tyres but we got there in the end. if i'd have been working there, i'd have taken the piss out of us. i was pretty impressed that it passed without a single comment. that's pretty classy.

saoron! it's even creepier when you go to reply cos all you get is those folded back ears and the eyes. haha!

I've always found it nice to be able to walk in there, have a look round and not get hounded for help. When I have needed help and have asked for it I've found all the staff super helpful and friendly.

In contrast went to BLB and was left waiting at the counter for 10 minutes, couldn't really have made it any more obvious that I wanted to buy the stem I was holding.

Tend to go in Condor more, because I can pop there at lunchtime and their prices are good, but I like 14. You generally have to go up to the counter and say hi to get served, but I'd rather that than get jumped on/feel I wasn't able to browse at my leisure. Have found after that's done they're very helpful, don't talk down to you, what most of you have been saying.