Halfords and snobbery

Drfabulous0

Why is it that everyone on this forum and others hate Halfords and claim that none of the staff there have a clue?
Do you honestly believe that everything I learned from years working in the independant sector and various bike related qualifications was instantly forgotten when I took a job at Halfords? All the other branches nearby have staff with similar skills and experience, of course there are some staff that don't know as much but that is the same in every LBS because everyone has to start somewhere. In the last week I have had customers who have been to other bike shops locally including:

Someone who had taken his bike to a specialist high end mountain bike shop for brakes to be bled and got them back worse than before and with the pads ruined by fluid.

A person who had been told by the LBS that a wheel with a 5mm buckle couldn't be trued.

Someone who had been for numerous puncture repairs at a different LBS who had failed to notice there was no rim tape on the wheel.

And best of all somebody who had taken a wheel with an XT hub to a certain well known chain of bike shops where they had attempted to remove the freehub body with a lump hammer.

All of these customers went away with their problems sorted and I doubt they will be posting on this forum that Halfords staff don't know what they are talking about.

I also see quite a lot of criticism aimed at us because we sell very cheap bikes of the kind that a lot of indepedant shops won't stock, what is the problem with that? there is clearly a demand for these, I don't believe for a minute that everyone here started out riding £1k bikes or for that matter that anyone needs one to ride the 1/2 mile back from the pub. The buyer of a budget bike has a choice to buy from a supermarket or website where they will get no advice and have to assemble it themselves, or they can come to me and have the bike properly built as well as be informed of the limitations of such a bike before parting with their money. We do sell better quality bikes as well you know. As a company Halfords is very customer service focused, whether you are spending £100 or £1000, that gives me a welcome oportunity to encourage people new to cycling and it is not an attitude I see in a lot of independant shops, I know if I turn up to an LBS where I am not known on my expensive mountain bike I will be greeted like an old friend, whereas if I am on my commuter hack (frame found in a bin) I will not receive the same treatment.

Sorry if this has turned into a bit of a rant, I'm not trying to advertise Halfords, or for that matter put down LBSs, I just can't understand this attitude that Halfords is inherently inferior to the LBS and that by working there I don't know what I'm doing. Fair enough if your local branch has poor staff but why would that mean that all the other hundreds of stores would be the same?

Random Vince

having been told by halfords that my rear differential was broken on my hardrock and also that the springs in my air forks had worn out (a month after buying the forks) i would describe the couple of employees as incompitant

I would hope (and assume from your post) that halfords have gotten their act together since then, I now have a couple of bike shops that are close and do me a good deal while stocking what i want.

I will admit i've been watching halfords range of kit grow and been impressed.

however i know a few people who have been mis-sold bikes lately by halfords

cntl

Obviously you've never been to Halfords in Woking

DavidTQ

I think the problem is the sheer number of people who's local stores do have clueless staff, not saying there arent gems out there, but an awefull lot of people have halfords stores near them with clueless staff, or have personal experience of bad staff at halfords. Myself included.

My sisters boyfriend is a "college qualified" mechanic who works for the local halfords, he calls me to change brake pads on his car... Ive heard way too many stories from him.

When I was looking for a road bike I did seriously consider the halfords range, although I wouldnt have used the local halfords staff for servicing and would have probably had the build checked over by a better LBS before any serious use. I do know people who have had bikes from halfords with very poor setup work done.

Its not just halfords, indivudal LBS's come in for flak on here as well where a shop gives consistantly bad service. There is a LBS near me which I refuse to use based on them manageing to misadjust my gears on two occaisions, I might have been unlucky and got the saturday boy each time, theres 5 mechanics at that shop, I probably got the same one each time, unfortunately due to the service I received both times the company has lost all respect from me. Such is the nature of business. Halfords doesnt seem that picky on staff although by chance they might take up some good ones they do get a lot of dross as well, every inept employee adds to halfrods "bad" reputation. Unfortunately I dont think they'd be able to staff their stores if they were that picky on staff. Halfords national reputation is the cumulative effect of peoples experiences with "bad" staff.

If Halfords were able to ensure that ALL their staff were knowledgable and well trained they wouldnt have the problems with image they do. (my sisters boyfriend would also be unemployed... )

Its not that ALL halfords stores are worse than ALL LBS, its just that halfords in general can be very hit and miss, (None of the 3 stores in my local area would I count as a "hit") Theres at least 1 LBS in my area that I would avoid even more than halfords. We learn quickly which LBS in our area to trust . If I was suggesting somewhere to go for work on a bike I think someone would stand a higher chance of quality work being done at a LBS than at a Halfords - without knowing the staff at their local branchs. There's no Guarantees though, theres bad LBS and no doubt stunning Halfords staff. Ive certainly experience bad LBS bike mechanics and as a result recommend against using the shop!

always_tyred

I think you may have a point.

Temporary loss of intelligence and eyesight is, lets' be honest, only really assocated with parents dropping their kids off at school.

Experience with bike shops generally is mixed and I am sure there is good advice to be had at Halfords. Personally, when the mechanic speaks to me and I can see that he's a cyclist, I tend to be happier. When he's a kid who thinks cycling is a gravity assisted sport, I am more concerned. And with the best will in the world, with the opening hours and number of shops they have, the odds are against meeting the same guy twice at a Halfords.

My experience with Halfords is that they never seem to have the small parts required to service even the bikes they sell, its a shop for people who ride occasionally and whose bikes don't wear out.

However, what Halfords do sell is cheaper than almost anywhere else.

Its also profoundly irritating to spend 10 minutes waiting to speak to someone because a certain item is locked away (like a £20 cassette - why?) and then have to go and queue again to pay for it along with all the people buying sat navs and arguing about returns.

Finally, unlike the proverbial LBS, ordering parts appears to be some peculiar adventure to Halfords. Whereas I can get something in overnight, or in 1-2 days elsewhere, its a week or so at Halfords and I've never figured out why. Because of the staff turnover, when the part does come in, no one knows who its for anyway, so I only tried that once. Consequently if its not in stock there and then I get whatever I need online and/or head into town to a LBS.

These things make the stores suitable for occasional cyclists - if I snap a brake cable, or need a certain something or other for my bike, I need it right now, becuase the seat is hardly cold the next time I get on it. And Halfords IS very good at making the concept of buying a bike for your kid painless, and higher end "shiny" bike shops can, I think, be a bit intimidating.

My final gripe, which Halfords excels at, is the impossibility of getting practical advice, because either the staff have never been asked before (in my experience the knowledgeable ones are in the back fixing things) or because of the liabilities associated with advice.

For example - I stripped a bolt on my crank set. What advice would you be able to give? New frame? Would you honestly be able to say - take it to somewhere with proper machining tools and get it drilled out? What if that person damaged the crank set and I came back and sued you?

What if I broke a rim - would you be able to advice simply re-stringing the new rim? Or would you have to tell me to get new spokes (which would take a week to come in, same as the rim)?

What about a stuck seat post? Would you tell me it was new bike time, or would you have a go at clamping the thing and cranking the sh,t out of it?

In fairness, all of this type of back-covering advice is common to big shiny bike shops too, but for a keen cyclist, its annoying.

But hey, if you go to watch an action movie and expect to be pleasantly surprised by the plot, then what does that make you? I have learned not to expect a good plot at Halfords.

niblue

I'm sure Halfords will have some competent and experienced staff - it's just that most of us have never encountered one.

MrGrumpy

well the two local hlafords next too me have fairly decent guys with knowledge about bikes and not just their own range ! My LBS however is also very knowledgeable and I also spend my money their however he is a miserable barstewerd at the best of times so sometimes think twice about going their !

redddraggon

I must admit I've had good service of Halfords when I've used them. I've got a Halfords bike that I use for commuting and I'm happy with it.

I've had problems with Decathlon though, there was a problem with my crankset, failed after 3 weeks got it replaced (fair enough). It then failed again took it back to them, and the monkey then said there was nothing wrong it when he put it on the stand. I told him I've got a stand and I could have done that myself rather than come 60miles down the motorway (they previously said they'd fix it, when I rang). I told them to put it on a turbo trainer (Halfords did when I had a problem with my commuting bike) to test it, but they refused - how could they find the fault then? It needed (real) power on the pedals to find the fault.

I could have fixed it myself - but that's not the point of a warranty is it? So I got my money back (for the principal of it). It wouldn't stop me buying a bike from them again, but I'd factor into the value that the monkeys won't fix it if it goes wrong.

dnsmiff

Regdragon, do you use the Wrexham branch? I get on really well with the chaps there and have had no problems - spent almost £3000 with them over the last 2 years (Carrera's, GT's and yes a little apolo for a 4 year old).

May see you out around Doddleston / Kinerton some time? No cycling this weekend as I'm taking the young-un to Halifax on Sunday for BSCA cyclocross race.

Got a lot of stick from some of the "roadies" in work when I got a Carrera Virago over a Focus or Planet-x despite the fact the Carrera is just as well speced. They have suggested removing the badges. Reminds me a bit of the 80's when people removed the 316i badges from their BMW's!

redddraggon

dnsmiff wrote:

Regdragon, do you use the Wrexham branch?

It was the Chester branch, though I've only dealt with one guy there, although he was only into expensive DH bikes, he knew the rest of the stuff aswell.

dnsmiff wrote:

May see you out around Doddleston / Kinerton some time?

I'm around now and again, currently spending time between Uni, Industrial Placement and home. Do you know any long(ish) rides in the area? (any on bikely?)

dnsmiff

Nice route to Llandegla http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Chester-Llandegla try looking for routes going out of Holt/Farndon and heading towards the peckforton hills.

Keiron Curtis

I take on board what you say, Halfords must be doing something right, and I've been struck by the bike snobbery, on this forum many times. Getting back to Halfords, though, the truth is like everything else in life, some are not very good and others are brilliant. I bought my first bike, from a Halfords store quite near to me, the support I got there was abyssmal, culminating in the staff there telling me I'd have to buy a complete new back wheel. Despite knowing next to nothing about bikes, maintenance etc., I couldn't believe it, so I took a second opinion, from another Halfords store 10 miles away. Here they replaced 4 spokes and retrued the wheel for a fiver?

The problem Halfords has, and I noticed this in the first Halfords I dealt with, is turnover of staff, caused probably by low pay, and I'm afraid by people who are just not interested in their work. Except for the bigger stores I believe the good staff move on quite quickly.

Random Vince

Keiron Curtis wrote:

The problem Halfords has, and I noticed this in the first Halfords I dealt with, is turnover of staff, caused probably by low pay, and I'm afraid by people who are just not interested in their work. Except for the bigger stores I believe the good staff move on quite quickly.

a lot of halfords staff are students who'll work part time at uni and then switch to their local store for the summer.

i know for a fact (as i was told) that i'd got more bike experience than anyone else who'd applied for a summer job at my local halfords, I didn't get it because the manager left and the person who picked up the bits and pieces employed the first person who came through the door, I've spoken to this guy and his knowlage of bikes is shocking.

alfablue

I don't think it is really snobbery, just the whole chain is tarred by the same brush. Undoubtedly this "brush" is deserved in some cases, but there are obviously islands of excellence in the chain (for example, in the Cheltenham branch I got great service, and the guy I dealt with was a true enthusiast). Unfortunately I still feel that I need a reason to use Halfords (usually that they have a particularly good bike at a bargain price, or it is the only place open), rather than them being an automatic first choice.

benjus

I'm not really one to blindly support an LBS over a chain store out of principal. My current bike came from Evans and most accessories are from either Evans or Decathlon. This is partly because there isn't an LBS near where I work, and I don't generally have time at weekends to seek one out.

I have, however, been put off Halfords after the experience with my previous bike. I was much less clued-up then about bikes in general, so I asked for some advice. After explaining that I wanted to use it for a daily commute, 6 miles each way, they sold me a cheap MTB with front suspension. It was fine at first, but things just kept going wrong with it - rear derailer went into the wheel, the back wheel buckled a little, the front wheel buckled beyond repair. Each time I took it in I was made to feel that it was somehow my fault, and that I should have to pay for the new parts etc. In the case of the front wheel buckling, the store manager actually implied that I was lying and that my bike had actually been involved in an RTA. I stood my ground each time and they reluctantly covered it under warranty each time.

After almost a year of having the bike, the second rear derailer also went into the back wheel. By this time I was completely fed up with the thing and went to my nearest Halfords (I had moved since buying the bike) and demanded a refund. At first they refused but eventually granted me the refund. The manager also admitted that the bike I had been sold wasn't suitable for daily use.

I then went on a tour of Evans, other bike shops and websites, and ended up with my current bike, which hasn't presented a single problem in almost a year.

I know that certain models sold by Halfords are well spoken of, and some of the Halfords staff did seem to be quite knowledgable. However, the poor quality of the bike I bought, combined with the general unhelpful and confrontational attitude I found when trying to resolve the problems, has put me off using them in future. So I don't see it as snobbery, but acting from experience.

jedster

I bought my wife a bike from Halfords (subway 1) which was great value for money as a collection of parts but was put together very badly by the mechanic. I phoned up to complain and book a time to bring it in to get sorted and they told me that they were to busy over the next month with the run up to Christmas! I got hold of the manager and gave him a piece of my mind and he agreed that they would deal with it immediately but in the end it was just easier to do the work myself.

I don't doubt that there are some very competent Halfords folks but clearly there are too many who are not.

alan_sherman

Halfords battersea - bike bought from there was very badly set up (brake blocks not tight and braking on the tyre, bottom bracket loose, headset loose, front wheel bearings loose). But Bikehut Putney has a guy that was very knowledgeable, and I've heard them giving some good advice to another customer when i was in there a different time. The 'specialist' bikehut places should be better, I hope the others are, and good luck to them.

Halfords is so variable - and that is the problem. People remember the bad experiences always more than the good ones. In retail there is a mantra that a customer who has a problem, but is solved successfully, is more likely to come back than someone that has an uneventful experience.

dirk_van_gently

I had one HORRENDOUS experience of Halfords.
I have also had many smaller good experiences of Halfords.
It's the Horrendous one that haunts me when I think of going there.

niblue

I quite happy to use Halfords for buying bits and pieces when they have them in stock however I wouldn't want to rely on them for servicing work or advice - especially bike buying advice.

While there might be one person in a branch who's enthusiastic and knows what they're talking about it can be a real problem if you get one of the others. My first mountain bike (a Carrera Kraken) was from Halfords and while it wasn't a bad bike for the cash I was sold the wrong size because the person "helping" me had less of a clue than I did. When I've been in buying bits I've overheard several people in the process of being sold stuff by clueless members of staff.

ESSEXMIRAGE

Well just been to Halfords in Sudbury and got a few bargain bits for my project commuter, namely 3x puncture proof inner tubes for £1 each, set of straight bars £1 and a set of 'dirty monkey' mudguards complete back and front for £5 all in the bargain bin ..... and the guy was more than helpful and in fact interested in the project, also had a good experience in Braintree when collecting my Carrera Vulcan the guy explained everything he'd done on comstructing the bike for me and advised me what to look out for and when to return for a service and wished me well on my new found hobbie and hoped I would stick with it !!!!!
So so far so good have no complaints....... just a few bargain finds

chewa

I've found halfords in Dunfermline to be ok. But it's not unique to Halfords - you can find the same in a lot of big bikeshops. For example in a very big one in edinburgh (no clues) most of the guys are ok, but you can end up with one of the Saturday guys who doesn't have a clue if it's non - shimano, non MTB stuff.

Generally i use my local bike shop (Sandy Wallace) because the guys know what they are talking about and are very helpful. Price is not much different either and they can order in just about anything.

Random Vince

there have been two occasions that i've been in my local bike shop and the guy i normally talk to has said "you want to speak to kev"

the guy i normally talk to is a mountain biker but knows what he's on about with any bikes, ask about cycle touring and specifying kit for that, he'll admit that there is someone else in the shop who knows more than he does.

captainchucky

Well i worked in halfords part time as a Saturday boy mostly as people have put it for a few years.

I had zero official training, although one of the full timers was a very good mechanic, so helped keep me right.

Im not sure how long it took me, but by the time i was leaving i would consider myself to be a pretty good mechanic. (I now build my own bikes, and race dh - and the bikes are still together so im doing something right). In saying that, in the time that i was learning ive no doubt that some of the bikes i built wern't up to the correct standard. But at the time, i didnt know any better.

With regards to how much i knew, well i could only tell people what i already knew.

Theres one thing worse than people who dont know about a problem. Its people who dont know about a problem, but still try and tell you the answer. If anyone had a question i didnt know i had no problem in sending them to a differant bike shop for their advice.

il_principe

It's not snobbery - it's their own fault for not giving a sh1te about training their staff. I'd never ever go there because the majority of them simply cannot be trusted to do the job properly.

Panter

This is the problem, isn't it.

Every branch has staff of varying expertise which, I guess, is an upper management issue if they aren't setting standards for new employees.
If you're lucky the guys will be passionate and knowledgeable, or they could just be there for beer money and not give 2 hoots about doing a good job.


My local branch are actually very good. I tend not to use them too much as I like to support my independant LBS but as he's 15 miles away and Halfords is 3 miles, its not always practical.

Cheers

Chris

beccalily

I work at halfords too.

But I don't do bike hut. 8)

simonali

My local one doesn't inspire confidence. I went in there a while ago to look at the Boardman hybrid range of bikes and the display ones were put together so badly that I didn't even contemplate a purchase!

Also the kit in there is overpriced when it should be cheap. They wanted 10 quid for a no name made in China crank extractor and nearly the same for a pedal spanner. I just went downstairs and bought a 15mm spanner from the car tool range which came with a lifetime warranty and for less dosh!

BigBlackShed

I bought my Kona Dr Dew from Halfords in Hereford. I got a great deal. Loads of money off the list price.

BUT.

The guys couldn't set the bike up correctly. Gears wouldn't index and the rear brake needed bleeding. The manager of the Bike Hut told me the brake was fine, even though I could feel the master cylinder in the lever "bottoming out". Eventually they agreed to bleed the brake. Then got fluid all over the bars, stem and forks. (Removing the paint) I got those replaced and took it to the LBS to get the gears sorted.

6 months on and the Truvitiv crank fell to peices. The bonded arm came off the axle. So I took it back under warranty. They screwed me around for 2 weeks, ending up with the manager threatening to "throw me and my bike down the stairs". I went up the management ladder to Head Office and got my crank set replaced. I ended up fitting it because I just don't trust them to do it.

Having said all that, there is 1 guy there who does know his "stuff" and has always been helpful and knowledgable. From the experiences I've had I will not use Halfords for anything. Even screen-wash for the car.