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Chatting and stretchingIn the call centre of an online retailer

Henri Lesewitz

 · 27.06.2019

Chatting and stretching: In the call centre of an online retailerPhoto: Andreas Dobslaff
Chatting and stretching: In the call centre of an online retailer
The mail order business is booming, but little is known about the inner workings of the internet giants. Our reporter spent a day working in the Bike Components call centre - and doing gymnastics on the side.

Shopping at the click of a mouse, from the comfort of your sofa: Shopping at online retailers has long been the norm, even for bikers. According to our major market analysis, in which we surveyed more than 20,000 BIKE readers, around a third of all mountain bikes are now bought by mail order. The proportion of accessories is even higher - two thirds of survey participants order parts and equipment online. This is partly due to the favourable prices offered by mail order companies. On the other hand, this is due to the huge selection that a traditional shop can hardly offer, if only because of the limited storage space.

The mail order business is booming, but little is known about the inner workings of the internet giants. BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz spent a day working at Bike Components in Aachen. You can read his adventure report in BIKE 8/2019 - in stores from 2 July.
Photo: Andreas Dobslaff

For example, the web shop of Aachen-based mail-order giant Bike Components lists around 70,000 items, 72 per cent of which are immediately available. Almost 200 employees are busy pumping more than 5,000 parcels to customers all over the world every day. A highly complex process with sophisticated logistics. A gigantic MTB shop that no customer has ever entered.

How does a mail order company work? Who actually advises you on the hotline? How do you find the items you've ordered in a warehouse the size of several football pitches without searching? And what does back gymnastics have to do with customer service? Our reporter spent a day working in the call centre at Bike Components. The report can be found in BIKE 8/2019 - in stores from 2 July. A foretaste in the form of a photo gallery can be found here:

BIKE visits the online retailer Bike Components. The foyer gives an idea of the size of the company. Even the entrance area, which contains little more than a coffee counter, is as big as a handball court. The total company area of Bike Components is a gigantic 29,000 square metres.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff BIKE visits the online retailer Bike Components. The foyer gives an idea of the size of the company. Even the entrance area, which contains little more than a coffee counter, is as big as a handball court. The total company area of Bike Components is a gigantic 29,000 square metres. The call centre has 28 seats. Customers are telephoned, emailed and chatted to at four desk islands. However, almost 90 per cent of orders are received fully digitally via the web shop.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff The call centre has 28 seats. Customers are telephoned, emailed and chatted to at four desk islands. However, almost 90 per cent of orders are received fully digitally via the web shop.
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The customer centre is deliberately relaxed. If you're hungry, you can get something to eat, if you fancy a coffee, you can go to the coffee machine. The relaxed atmosphere should rub off on customer conversations and the call centre should convey a feeling of trust as well as advice. That's why customers are always on first-name terms.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff The customer centre is deliberately relaxed. If you're hungry, you can get something to eat, if you fancy a coffee, you can go to the coffee machine. The relaxed atmosphere should rub off on customer conversations and the call centre should convey a feeling of trust as well as advice. That's why customers are always on first-name terms. The dispatch area with warehouse, packing stations and delivery is as big as four football pitches. In total, the Bike Components webshop lists almost 70,000 items, 72 per cent of which are directly available. A sophisticated storage system ensures that the packers' walking distances are as short as possible. The shelves with the bestsellers, for example, are very close to the packing stations, while the slow sellers are stored at the very back.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff The dispatch area with warehouse, packing stations and delivery is as big as four football pitches. In total, the Bike Components webshop lists almost 70,000 items, 72 per cent of which are directly available. A sophisticated storage system ensures that the packers' walking distances are as short as possible. The shelves with the bestsellers, for example, are very close to the packing stations, while the slow sellers are stored at the very back. Fifteen years ago, MTB freak Philipp Simon (left) dropped his mechanical engineering studies to work at Bike Components. Today he is the boss of 196 employees. Here he explains the finer points of the warehouse to BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff Fifteen years ago, MTB freak Philipp Simon (left) dropped his mechanical engineering studies to work at Bike Components. Today he is the boss of 196 employees. Here he explains the finer points of the warehouse to BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz. Each order is first placed in a blue box. It then moves on to the packaging department.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff Each order is first placed in a blue box. It then moves on to the packaging department. To ensure that the lunch break is a time to relax and nobody has to drive around to get something to eat, the company building, which was newly occupied four years ago, has its own canteen.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff To ensure that the lunch break is a time to relax and nobody has to drive around to get something to eat, the company building, which was newly occupied four years ago, has its own canteen. No changing, hardly any time required: twice a week, a "mobility coach" comes to the company to get employees fit with a compact gymnastics programme. A fitness room has been set up especially for the courses. Well, what do you mean by set up? The shelf with the fascia rolls is the only item in the huge room. After all, the most important thing you need to loosen up your muscles is space to exercise. Our reporter also took part in a short gymnastics session. A few quick stretching exercises, then it was back to work.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff No changing, hardly any time required: twice a week, a "mobility coach" comes to the company to get employees fit with a compact gymnastics programme. A fitness room has been set up especially for the courses. Well, what do you mean by set up? The shelf with the fascia rolls is the only item in the huge room. After all, the most important thing you need to loosen up your muscles is space to exercise. Our reporter also took part in a short gymnastics session. A few quick stretching exercises, then it was back to work. Call centre veteran Rainer is the expert for complete bikes. Test rides are hardly possible with an online mail order company like Bike Components, especially if the customer lives far away. This means that advice has to be all the more thorough. It often takes days, sometimes even weeks or months, from the initial enquiry to the order. It can also be the case that a customer does not order at all after extensive consultation. "The consultation is hard work, but if the customer is happy in the end, then it's worth it," says Rainer.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff Call centre veteran Rainer is the expert for complete bikes. Test rides are hardly possible with an online mail order company like Bike Components, especially if the customer lives far away. This means that advice has to be all the more thorough. It often takes days, sometimes even weeks or months, from the initial enquiry to the order. It can also be the case that a customer does not order at all after extensive consultation. "The consultation is hard work, but if the customer is happy in the end, then it's worth it," says Rainer.
It all started with the shop in Aachen city centre. When the two bike enthusiasts Marcus Wenkel and Klaus Hoenig founded Bike Components twenty years ago, they still packed the shipping parcels themselves. The shop is the place to go for customers who want to try out their favourite part before buying it. Every day, a van shuttles between the shop and the company headquarters some 20 kilometres away. Goods ordered online can also be collected from the shop on request.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff It all started with the shop in Aachen city centre. When the two bike enthusiasts Marcus Wenkel and Klaus Hoenig founded Bike Components twenty years ago, they still packed the shipping parcels themselves. The shop is the place to go for customers who want to try out their favourite part before buying it. Every day, a van shuttles between the shop and the company headquarters some 20 kilometres away. Goods ordered online can also be collected from the shop on request. Sober, new shopping world: advice via monitor instead of on the shelf.Photo: Andreas Dobslaff Sober, new shopping world: advice via monitor instead of on the shelf. BIKE 8/2019 - in stores from 2 July. You can get the new BIKE at newsagents until 5 August and also in our <a href="https://www.delius-klasing.de/zeitschriften" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online shop</a> and as a digital edition for all devices - while stocks last. Here are the top topics of this issue:Photo: Delius Klasing Verlag BIKE 8/2019 - in stores from 2 July. You can get the new BIKE at newsagents until 5 August and also in our online shop and as a digital edition for all devices - while stocks last. Here are the top topics of this issue:


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