The Bare Naked..............Truth

Here is the bare-naked truth.

Mango Bikes is growing quickly.

A little bit quicker than I’d like, but so quickly in fact that some people have started trash talking and taking things too far.

Yes, our service has suffered because of the demand increases.
But we’ve recruited more staff and are assembling and shipping more bikes every day than ever before.

Yes, we could have reacted quicker.
But we’re now doing regular customer updates and now have better systems in place

Yes, lessons have been learnt.
The uplift was unprecedented, no one could have predicted it but it’s an opportunity for Mango Bikes to get even better

(We’re human and make mistakes sometimes. And we’re sorry for them and doing our best to sort them)

Mango Bikes is my baby. The staff, and their families, are my responsibility.

99% of you get what is happening and understand what is going on. The messages, reviews, calls and emails you’ve sent are magic and bring a smile to our faces. Thank you so much.

And it’s totally fine and understandable to be annoyed with us and voice concerns. As consumers ourselves we are acutely aware of how it feels.

But some of the messages and posts cross a lot of lines and boundaries.

“I’ll not stop until you go bust”
Posting links to personal social media profiles of staff members
Threatening to come pay us a visit.

That is trolling. Pure and simple. Keyboard warrior trolling. And it’s not on.

We’re struggling to keep up with demand and our supply chains are creaking a bit (the same as every other bike brand right now) but we’ve not caused a war, injured anyone or committed some heinous crime.

A wee touch of perspective please.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about various methods of attitude adjustment for the few members of the Mango Bikes Anti-Sales Department. But a couple of important things I’ve learnt whilst relaunching and nurturing Mango Bikes over the last 2.5 years is that time is precious, and needs focussed on the good stuff, and to approach from different perspectives.

And actually here’s the harsh reality which hurts and doesn’t sit too well.

These customers no longer see the value, see the full stops, see the brand or see all the things that made them buy a Mango Bike in the first place.

All they feel is anger and resentment.

My default MO in most situations is humour; making someone laugh (or at least trying to) seems a good approach but isn’t always suitable.

I’ve reigned it in a bit of late as we genuinely understand the frustration but a fun and feisty brand (and it’s owner) is hard to keep contained.

So to the 99% – thank you for sticking with us and supporting us.
To the 1% – thank you as well. You make us better too.

And, even better, the Mango Myths keep on rolling……………..

• We’ve been reported to Watchdog
  • Might possibly report ourselves soon based on some of the myths we keep reading
  • See below for further details

• Still selling 1000’s of Bikes per Week
  • {Face palm}
  • We’re not

• Bikes are built in a shed at the bottom of the garden
  • Ummmmm, an 8000sq ft shed with fields around it
  • It does have a dungeon room at the back where we put cheeky customers though

• No Orders are being sent out
  • Ask the courier drivers who look like they’re about to cry when the roller door opens and they are met by a wall of bikes to handball into the lorry (pretty sure they’re now drawing straws to see who goes to Mango Bikes HQ each day)
  • Or Geoff the Postie who fills half his van with boxes and postbags of accessory orders going out everyday
  • Apart from that, we’re not sending anything out

• All we need to do is recruit more staff
  • We have done
  • But remember when you started a new job?
    • It takes time to know how things work and where things go
    • It also takes time to understand processes and systems
  • And it’s also the middle of a pandemic
  • The team is shaping up nicely and I’m super proud of all they’ve done and continue to do (except Michael’s coffee making)

• Our bikes can warp time
  • Mulder and Scully dispatched to Ballyclare as evidence mounts
  • “I ordered bike over 3 weeks ago” (that’d be the 3 weeks that consisted of 6 days)
  • “It’s been over a month and still no bike” (the month with 15 days)
  • Generally explained by “well it feels like it” but I wouldn’t expect a new X-Files episode any time soon

So where are we actually at?

Lots of lovely containers are on the way and due to arrive soon. Our logistics providers are due to give updates this week so we can start to get a much clearer delivery schedule and therefore build dates. We’ll literally be unloading frames from the container straight into paint to get the ball rolling.
The warehouse shelves will soon start to look a bit less like Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.

It’s been frustrating getting to this point, but the inflows are some of the biggest we’ve ever done. But as a small brand, we still must be careful. Growth is a risky phase and we want Mango Bikes to be here long term.

There are all the bikes you know and love (even the haters still love their bikes), a few new smashers to be launched and a ripper clearance deal on some fab pre-built bikes on the way.

Once we get the schedules from the logistics guys we’ll quickly let you all know what’s what and what’s where.

The next few weeks will be tricky and full-on but it’s starting to look a little bit rosier every day.

Thanks again for your support

Stay safe

Happy Cycling

Mango Bikes // Andrew