Could Halfords care any less about their customers?

SkyBlueKangaroo

I'm guessing I might not get much sympathy for buying from a large retail chain rather than a local bike shop or at least a genuine cycling retailer, but I have recently experienced very poor (IMHO) customer service from Halfords and I would like to see if I am alone?

Last year before xmas I decided to get myself a bike to get fit and lose weight. As a complete novice Halfords was my first point of call, and I ended up spending 300 quid on a Kraken hardtail.

Since then I've taken the bike back seven times in all. First, the factory-fitted stem wouldn't tighten, so they replaced with a 3T one. Then, on my first ride, the left crank came off. OK, so I hadn't checked every single nut and bolt, but I was a newbie and followed the instruction manual. I didn't expect a brand new bike to be falling apart!

This crank has been a recurring problem, and I suspect it was damaged when it came off originally.

Took the bike in for a 6 week safety check early February and explained about the crank. They said obviously we will check everything before passing the bike out again. Less than a month later, on Monday and out on a ride, the crank came off again!

I check my bike at least once a week, so is it reasonable a crank should work loose after 15 hours riding (tops) since it was supposedly checked by Halfords?

Anyway, when I took the bike back (and by now I am recognised by staff having been in there a few times!) and started to express my concerns, the guy insisted it was all my fault for not checking before every ride, and not tightening with a torque wrench (again, news to me as a novice).

After I stood my ground and explained I am not a liar and do check my bike, the response was simply "OK, we will either change the crank, or you can have a full refund". This is all very well, but I have changed quite a few things (pedals, tyres, computer, etc) and to change and re-fit to another bike all amounts to hassle when all I want is a reliable bit of kit that I have paid a few quid for.

Halfords Head Office "Customer Service" (and I use the term loosely) only said the same thing, but at least they apologised that I felt badly treated. There was a certain amount of sincerity missing though.

Should I let them fix the problem, only for it to (possibly) re-occur, or should I take their money, and my future custom, elsewhere where it is appreciated?

If so, what should I spend my 300 quid refund, plus another 200 I am now prepared to spend to get a good bike and advice/service? 500 quid, what hardtail should I buy?

A long post I know, but I do feel better having vented my spleen...

mattfinch

I think you;d be mad to go back personally.. take the money and move on.

Its pot lukc really. the Halford Store in Telford (where i bought my GT as a novice) was really good. Clued up staff, guys that knew what they were doing.. i even got a decent discount.

But ive heard some horror stories (yours now added to the list)... i'd move on... but it sounds like you already have!

gthang

I'd get a refund and go to a LBS with out any hesitation.

OllyUK

I'd keep the kraken, but go to a LBS, it may be more pricey but well worth it. My bike is a Carrera (Fury) but I never use Halfords for repairs etc, I use Rutland Cycling, my LBS, who are fantastic.

And about the crank, have you checked the bottom bracket bolt?

SkyBlueKangaroo

It's a good point Olly, and I had thought about doing that. I've nothing against the bike per se, except this recurring crank problem. I'm no expert mechanically, so I feel completely vulnerable to being fobbed off by Halfords. Also, because they've made no attempt to pacify me and retain my custom - all the family bikes bought there, plus bike rack, accessories, etc - that is what has really got my goat, and my thoughts are *stuff them* I will take my money and give someone more deserving my custom.

If I took the repair to a LBS, Halfords would still have made a profit from me. As a matter of principle (Hark the grumpy old man) I would rather the bike sale profit and future custom went elsewhere.

Once I have my refund, I will also be advising that although they may not care to have lost one customer, they may like to know I have posted my opinion of their attitude on several popular cycling forums. If just one person decides to spend their hard-earned anywhere but Halfords then I will consider ying and yang to be playmates once again. What goes around....

supersonic

It seems they have done everything expected of them - offering a replacement or refund. It is a good bike, but unfortunately left hand cranks can be problematic. Ask for a new crank AND bottom bracket.

"I check my bike at least once a week, so is it reasonable a crank should work loose after 15 hours riding (tops) "

Thats too long wwithout a check after it being retorqued IMHO. It could be a faulty part, hence I would take a new crank, have it reinstalled, and check it after the first ride, then periodically as with ALL nuts and bolts.

SkyBlueKangaroo

You are right Supersonic, but if I hadn't stood my ground initially they wouldn't have offered to fix or refund. They only offered what one might reasonably expect AFTER I made a further fuss.

I shouldn't have to take my bike in for the umpteenth time, explain my problem, again, be patronized, object to being patronized, before getting an acceptable response. The guy stopped short of saying "what do you expect you idiot if you don't check your bike before every ride?"

The response I would have expected was "I am sorry to hear you are unhappy. We really would advise you check your cranks before each ride. Please let us thoroughly examine your bike and if necessary we will replace any damaged parts. On this occasion we will do this free of charge. Would you be happy with that?"

Notice the difference? Customer is always right even if he is a prat, etc.

Anyway, the decision has been made now. I'm picking up my refund on Saturday, so who will volunteer a bike up to £500? Bear in mind I could still go and buy another Halfords bike at another branch. THEY won't know if I do, and i will stll have made my point about treating customers with respect as ultimately they pay the wages....

supersonic

Maybe I didnt pick up on the tone of the staff with the original post. How many times has it fallen off then?

SkyBlueKangaroo

Just read through your sticky thread What Bike - you deserve a lot of thanks for spending the time to put that together.

I don't do any majorly technical riding, just hard and fast trails, bridleways, canal paths, etc to get fit. Which of those around £400 to £500 would you recommend? Having read some other threads as well as yours, I'm drawn to GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc and the Fury. I guess my priorities would be weight/speed and also a good base on which to build and upgrade.

Thanks again for a very useful thread.

stumpyjon

I'd definitely take the money and go elsewhere. As for cranks falling off, I've never had a crank fall off and I can honestly say whilst I do check my bike over after every ride, checking the cranks are secure has never occured to me.

I've had the cranks off my hard tail and put them back on a number of times and never had issues. I would think the crank / bottom bracket interface was damaged the first time it came off (it should have been correctly torqued before Halfords gave it to you but probaly wasn't). Can you trust them to fit a new crank arm and BB without making a mess of it? As I said quit now, sounds like you're ahead (you've got your money back and learn't a bit in the process).

supersonic

Both those bikes are excellent - I'd go and see them in the flesh and see if you like the geometry. The Fury is similar to the Kraken.

cunning-stunt

The crank thing is totally random IMO.
My old bike had cheapo Shimmy square taper BB and Icon cranks,and I never had a problem.
Upgraded to XT (octaspline?) BB and cranks and the left hand one would consistently come undone.

Bought a Marin (for £1,000,just to illustrate that it isn't cheaper bikes only that suffer) last year and the bolt for the left hand crank on the Truvativ Firex chainset keeps coming undone.Haven't had the crank fall off but every time I check the bolt has loosened despite threadlock being applied.
Vibration maybe :?:

As for Halfords...wouldn't touch them for bikes or repairs,but convenient to pick up components/clothing.

OllyUK

I enjoy riding my Fury, the fork is pretty much the best you are going to get for that price range. However I have upgraded it quite a bit with new wheels, handlebars, stem etc but considering I bought it at the time for £380 I think its turned out pretty nicely.

The GT avalance also seems to be well thought of.

Random Vince

supersonic wrote:

It seems they have done everything expected of them - offering a replacement or refund. It is a good bike, but unfortunately left hand cranks can be problematic. Ask for a new crank AND bottom bracket.

"I check my bike at least once a week, so is it reasonable a crank should work loose after 15 hours riding (tops) "

Thats too long wwithout a check after it being retorqued IMHO. It could be a faulty part, hence I would take a new crank, have it reinstalled, and check it after the first ride, then periodically as with ALL nuts and bolts.

not checked my bike's cranks since last christmas, i know they're not loose from how they feel when riding, they're one of the items that i'd expect to not have a problem with, i've never checked cranks on any bike i've owned, they've never come loose except the road bike when one of the cotter pins slipped.

so thats 7 bikes over the past 14 years that haven't had a problem with the cranks.

supersonic

Having worked as a mechanic, I have seen it dozens of times. Some cranks have design flaws, some have worn, most have not been tightened correctly. But you are right, you can feel them coming loose, which is the time to stop riding! Or you risk permanently damaging it. Prevention is better than the cure.

KonaMike

I think it just depends on the individual branch of Halfords,some are better than others but if you have a LBS then use them instead as you will get a better standard of service and they will value your custom and try to give you good prices/service to keep you coming back !

bikeperson45

My friend has a kraken and his crank fell off too. Well first his pedal fell off, then he noticed his front derailer(sorry about speling) was wobbling about. I think there good bikes, but halfords isnt good, it took a week to fix.

Fuzzyboy

I had an almost identical situation with the crank on my Fury.. the tw*t of a mechanic at HALFORDS, ROSE KILN LANE, READING told me I should check the crank before every ride!! He showed me the torque wrench and explained what it was.. he even tried to explain to me what 'Newtons' were (he meant NM!!)

I wasn't as persistant as you, and got my LBS to fit a HTII crank after 2 trips to Halfords. They were a sham, and he was a rude, patronising, arrogant nob (with a rubbish goatee).

norco forever

to be fair my halfords (leicester) is fantastic all the guys there are bikers and have always helped me even when i nearly destroyed my pro 2 rear for a whole fiver they completely rebuilt it, always go to same guys there now never had any work go wrong, they once spent 4 hours custom making an olive for new xtr brake and charged nothing. it must purely be dependant on he workers not the store.

SkyBlueKangaroo

It's the same with any large chain of retail outlets. Some branches are well run with great helpful staff, others not so great. Unluckily for me my local branch (Aylesbury is the place to avoid) wouldn't recognise a customer if one hit them in the face, and I wasn't far off doing just that!

More disturbing however, is the attitude from head office when you speak to them on the phone. When I called on Monday lunchtime to escalate my displeasure, I was perfectly calm, but explained I was feeling very undervalued as a customer. Still no "sorry you feel that way sir" or anything like that, but she did say see would investigate and when I asked when to expect a response, she promised to get back to me later that afternoon.

Nobody did. Nobody called the next day. I called again on Thursday morning and asked for the Customer Services Manager. Spoke to her to explain all that had gone before, and whether she felt I was more valued or now even less valued after her department failed to call me back. If I hadn't followed up, Halfords would have simply ignored my concerns.

The whole attitude was a shambles. Not even the so-called customer services manager over all Halfords had a clue how to deal with a customer.

Good customer service does not cost a company anything but a bit of training. The very first thing that should happen is a simple "sorry". Empathy costs nothing, but immediately shows you appreciate the customers business.

I'll climb down from my soap box now... thanks everyone for their contributions to this post.

KonaMike

There is one guy in my local Halfords that seems to know his stuff but he isnt always there so its just not worth chancing some other muppet working on my bike.Its not their fault I suppose as it comes down to getting the right training.

Mark_K

Skyblue you have a great bike shop in Tring !!!!!! Mountain Mania all the guys are riders and are allways willing to help they will get you the RIGHT bike for YOU give em a try !
they are in Misswell lane if i remember right ! I use em and so does the farther in-law and most off my mates !

Matt White

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Halfords, Mine in Brampton are great Only had 1 fault and that was my hanger on new bike snapped should have been £25 for the part but cliamed for it through warrenty. That was my fault though I dont do checks on the bike because I dont know how or what to check.

Matt

If i was having the problems you were having id get trading standards involved has Hafords should have checked the bike before you got it back and if you had injured yourself then I would have thought Halfords would be liable

supersonic

"I dont do checks on the bike because I dont know how or what to check"

Really does pay to learn the basics - the best few quid you can spen is on Zinns book and some tools. Now I am not suggesting this is the case for any scenario here, but you can invalidate your warranty if you dont maintain it. (basically increases wear and tear).

jaxurbody

I got a kraken for Christmas, and i know it seems a bit sad that I'm complaining about this, but the halfords people hadn't put the pedals in properly. i put a small percentage of my weight on it and the whole thing came off, taking the threads off of the pedal and the arm. it may sound minor, but if i stood up and put my whole weight on it, i could have been looking at a broken ankle. It wasn't a good experience for my first ride.

I also found out that the middle dérailleur (by the pedals, don't know if it has another name) wasn't working properly, and almost every time i went to top gear, the chain came off. It was a simple fix, but I must say that I am not to sure about their advertised "full safety check" Then later on, the same dérailleur slipped down the middle bar. Again not too difficult to sort out but it shouldn't be necessary if they had put it together properly.

So sorry about the rant, but I agree, and I hope that halfords does better next time, if there is a next time.

supersonic

Was the bike boxed, and you had to aadjust it yourself? Or did it come fully checked? Boxed bikes do not have any prior checks.

jaxurbody

the bike was bought at halfords, and put together at halfords, my dad then went to get it from them. It had the "full safety check" halfords advertises on the tv.

supersonic

You have grounds for complaint then.

As I've always said, some stores are good, some are bad - depends on the manager and his view of bikes. The Halfords framework isnt the best, with little scope for training, but a good manager can still implement some and get the right staff. Unfortunatley many Ha;fords are more interested in the staff cleaning shelves and making all the labels face the right way than working with bikes.

jaxurbody

I think a really good bike shop should have a track out the back for you to try out the bikes and decide which is the best for you. I find that the best shops are the bike specialists.

Halfords must spend a lot of time messing about with labels and stuff, because when you walk in, the first thing you see is lots of alloy wheels, and calenders, but not much care put into the bikes. They are all clustered together, with only some of the really expensive bikes put up on racks and shown off.

It's a bit of a do I care attitude. I'm sure some employees actually care about their job, but not many.

supersonic

Endless store changes - I cant believe they have meetings on where to put the bike tyres, and in what order, get the staff to spend all day changing it around, only for them to change their minds a month later ;-). The people at the top do need to get with it.

jaxurbody

I think they have an agenda from the head office or something which says that they have to make a certain amount of improvements to the store, and when they run out of ideas, they get lazy and waste some time on tyres. I think what they should do is get a member of the public to join the team for a week or something, and then report anything stupid like meetings on how to stack the alloy wheels and bike tyres in the right way, and stuff like that which no-one particularly cares about.