The Gooder, The Less Badder & The Getting There

Andyh / 26th May 2020

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers provide a pretty good introduction to this update…………..

“I’m learning to fly but I ain’t got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing”

ORDERS ARE SAFE, PAYMENTS SECURE AND BIKES WILL BE BUILT.

ALL BIKE ORDERS FROM APRIL ARE ALMOST COMPLETE
PLEASE BEAR WITH US; OUR SYSTEMS AND SERVICE LEVELS STRUGGLED TO COPE BUT WE’RE GETTING BETTER

The rest of this message is an expanded explanation of this. I just want to reassure you that we’re here.

Go straight to the end if you just want to know where we are at, when your bike is likely to be built and what info we’ll be updating soon.

(Not so) Awesome

8 weeks ago, right up until the end of March, Mango Bikes was awesome.
Our bikes are still awesome but our service level and communication with customers is rubbish.

Partly because it was impossible to deal with the influx, partly because it was impossible to add resource to all areas at the same time, but mostly, just my slow reaction and lack of direction for the team.

I’m sorry and hold my hands up for this. Kick me, don’t kick them.

Pretty soon after taking over Mango Bikes someone whose opinion and knowledge I value told me that entrepreneurship is a personal development journey.
I kind of understood this, but totally get it now.

Gently Back to the Future

Despite what it probably appears or feels like for our customers, and anyone else looking in, we’re getting better.

Please bear with us as we get the build queue sorted, customer service processes fixed and back on track.

Our April results were bonkers; biggest month in Mango Bikes 8 year existence, top 10 highest sales days recorded, new additions to the range selling fast and some bikes that had 5 months of stock gone in 3 weeks.
This is the fantastic bit and means we get to reinvest into new products and projects, at a time when many companies are struggling to see what happens short term, and create jobs, when, for many, the opposite is happening.

But just like Yin has Yang, the fantastic also has (good) problems.
Problems that we’re working hard to sort and overcome.

Extra resource has been added into the Operations and Customer Service teams. New team members have to be introduced carefully and then given time to understand Mango Bikes and the systems and processes

It's been pretty humbling reading the
messages and getting the phone calls
of support.
We're not delivering the full Mango Bikes
experience right now but
thank you so much for more blessings
than one brand/man deserves

Taking a quick peek over our shoulder now and again shows progress.
Mango Bikes is better than last week and it will be better next week too. And repeat.

Thanks for your patience with us and giving us space to catch up.

Our bikes are still awesome and we promise it’ll be worth the wait.
Service is improving, will continue to get better and back to where it used to be.

Apologies for being annoying and for any worry caused

Mango Bikes // Andrew

ORDER STATUS & UPDATE

ORDERS & BUILD QUEUE

April Orders are now almost all complete and will be dispatched by end of the week
Build queue is 3-4 week in most cases
The team are currently doing a full reconcile of all orders to update with accurate Estimated Dispatch Dates
Once completed (in the next 24 hours) dates will be updated
Where stock issues are identified we’ll be in contact to offer an update and alternatives (see next section about stock too)

STOCK LEVELS

A pretty healthy stock position in late March quickly turned on its head during April.

Check here to read more about how Mango Bikes works and why our supply chain is neither local or fast turnaround.
We work with factories in Europe and the Far East, buying container quantities.

These take time to be manufactured then delivered to Mango Bikes HQ.

Framesets
- Low stock across the range but more on the way due mid-end June
- Point Blank completely sold out
  - 5 months of stock used in April
  - More in production, estimate late July or August for delivery
- Original Single Speed / Moosher
  - Low or all assigned to orders
  - Some XSmall Moosher frames and XLarge Single Speed frames now available that are not currently on site
  - More stock on the way already and due at the end of June
- OG
  - Similar to OSS and Moosher
  - More on order and due end of June
- Single Speed Level2
  - Most sizes and colourways in stock but getting low

Wheels & Tyres
- Low stock on wheels across the range
- All on order and due end of June

Components
- Deliveries due in from the first week of June and beyond

MYTHS

There are various comments, accusations and statements coming our way at the minute.

Some of them totally true and deserved, some of them not untrue but not quite the whole story and then some of them are, well, Errr………….here’s a few:

“Incomplete Bikes are Being Shipped”
- MYTH LEVEL – MAX
- It’d be a fairly short-lived and failed tactic to do this
- To protect the 6 spoke wheels we send them separately but at the same time as the bike
- Usually, arrive all together but very occasionally they arrive a day earlier/later

It’s “Months & Months” to Get a Bike from Us
- MYTH LEVEL – Very Sightly
- 5 weeks has been the maximum lead time but it’s generally 3-4 weeks right now
- We’ve been poor at raising delays sooner but now addressing this
- Estimated dispatch dates will be updated on all orders very soon

“100’s of 1000’s” of Orders are being taken
- MYTH LEVEL – MAX
- The biggest online bike retailers are doing about 2,500 – 3,000 bikes per week
- Mango Bikes is not currently doing more than them (or anywhere close!)

“Slow Progress” is Being Made
- MYTH LEVEL – Fair to Middling
- There are more bikes being built, packed and dispatched from Mango Bikes HQ than ever before
- It’s fantastic and we’re keeping the pressure on
- Order levels are still high but we’re starting to reduce the backlog