Halfords experiences... (Boardman bikes)

Leodhasach

I've pasted this from a thread I started on another website:

Halfords - Poor Customer Service:

After going through the torture of dealing with their poor product knowledge and the staff's inability to string a coherent sentence together, I finally got my nice shiny new Boardman Team Carbon. It's great, except...

The muppet who put it together didn't set it up properly:

1.The bottom bracket wasn't greased. At all.
2.The gear cables weren't lubed.
3.The front brakes were fecked - brake block was loose on one side and the other block was rubbing against the rim.
4. The chain rubbed against the front mech when I bunged it on to the big cog.

I've taken it to a different shop (Halfords in Stirling) and they're taking it to bits and giving it a proper service. They found that the front mech was too close to the cog hence the reason the chain was rubbing. When they tried to loosen it and move it a bit higher up the frame they found that the bolts were stripped and they couldn't shift it! The front mech will need completely replaced.

I'm raging! Idiots!!!

alfablue

Jeez, muppets. At least you found a good branch to rectify things.

on 2. I don't think new cables should need lube.

akkers

Why on earth would you buy a bike from Halfrods in the first place?

Slow Downcp

akkers wrote:

Why on earth would you buy a bike from Halfrods in the first place?

Because it's the only place you can buy Boardman bikes, and if prejudices are put aside they are outstanding VFM (even after paying your LBS to check it over)

Leodhasach

akkers wrote:

Why on earth would you buy a bike from Halfrods in the first place?

My employers chose the Halfords C2W scheme. Couldn't afford a bike like the Boardman Team Carbon otherwise. I hasten to add the BIKE is not the issue so much as the folk building it. I'm convinced I would have the same issues regardless of the brand.

I've just got off the phone to the chap who's servicing it the mo'. He's struggling getting the pedals off and he's had to replace the chain too. Needless to say a long complaint email was sent to their customer services dept and I've been assured the manager will be phoning me directly.

galaxyboy

Who lets these muppets set up £1000 bikes :evil: . I'm very tempted to get the team carbon but very worried about who might be left to set it up. I think I'll call in to local store and have a crack with them first. :roll:

bigmat

Halfords seem very hit and miss. Maybe we need a "good Halfords/bad Halfords" thread. Balham Halfords are good in my experience. Bikehut are always an option as well.

cougie

There are muppets in normal bike shops too. I'm v interested in the Boardman bikes for my next one - but I do pretty much all of my own maintenance anyway - if it just needs fettling then its fine, but not if the bike has been trashed already !

didnothingfatal

Hideous service launched the front brake caliper after about 30 miles, gears were lousy set up from the shop. When I phoned regarding the front brake, and wrecked hadlebar tape advised two weeks to look at.

Took it to local Bikehut shop, great service I thought, they fitted new caliper and new bartape, also told me they serviced it fully. Test ride gears are still crap, but the brake seem bolted on this time.

Shame the service is so bad, the bike is nice. My concern is the brake caliper launched itself on an empty roundabout, thankfully I manged to stop before it jammed in the front wheel, etc and stopped me dead, face plant !!! Or I hit a car! They will kill someone sooner rather than later in my opinion!

robv1306

I work for halfords, and have built plenty of Boardman bikes, in addition to owning one myself - a Boardman Road Comp 08. Therefore, I am rather offended by the above comments about mechanics at Halfords being "idiots" who are "unable to string a sentence together".

My work for Halfords is on part time basis, while I study for a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to this, im also a team mechanic for a young race team, maintaining a Giant Glory Freeride and a Giant Glory DH. I am no moron.

While I accept that not everyone is of the same standard, I hate to be tarred with the same brush. In addition to this, I must say that its easier to help someone out when they arent insulting you and shouting at you.

My advice to you is to be patient with whoever is serving you, and bear in mind that the Boardman bikes are not built up from component parts in store. In an earlier thread, I heard that BB cups had not been greased and that cables had not been lubed. This is not the fault of whoever assembled the bike. BB's and cables are installed at the original manufacturer.

But please, if nothing else, please bear in mind that we are not all stupid and please help us to help you!

Rob

didnothingfatal

Unfortunately you sound like the minority! Too many people have horror stories of Halfords mechanic, want to know about the bike that Watford halfords sold my neighbour, shame the forks were facing backwards, and they even had V brakes on them. :shock:

What will the Halfords mechanic say when the poor bugger who has his front brake rip off the bike on a roundabout then face plants or hits a car, "sorry"?? I was lucky, the next person probably won't be!

Ever tried to contact Boardman bikes? They are a front for Halfords, a name put on their product, something that sells better than having Halfords on the frame

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/boardman/b ... ntact.html

here is the email address

customer.services@halfords.co.uk

wow, bet you'll get good service from a generic email like that?

I got my bike heavily discounted at the tale end of last year £440 for a road comp, seemed a good deal at the time, pleasure delivered from the bike is nowhere near £4.40 yet! They are good bikes, but the poor setup, mechanics and customer service taint the whole experience far too much :x

fast as fupp

didnothingfatal wrote:

Hideous service launched the front brake caliper after about 30 miles, gears were lousy set up from the shop. When I phoned regarding the front brake, and wrecked hadlebar tape advised two weeks to look at.

Took it to local Bikehut shop, great service I thought, they fitted new caliper and new bartape, also told me they serviced it fully. Test ride gears are still crap, but the brake seem bolted on this time.

Shame the service is so bad, the bike is nice. My concern is the brake caliper launched itself on an empty roundabout, thankfully I manged to stop before it jammed in the front wheel, etc and stopped me dead, face plant !!! Or I hit a car! They will kill someone sooner rather than later in my opinion!

so you didnt check it yourself after the service? :shock:

galaxyboy

robv1306 wrote:

I work for halfords, and have built plenty of Boardman bikes, in addition to owning one myself - a Boardman Road Comp 08. Therefore, I am rather offended by the above comments about mechanics at Halfords being "idiots" who are "unable to string a sentence together".

My work for Halfords is on part time basis, while I study for a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to this, im also a team mechanic for a young race team, maintaining a Giant Glory Freeride and a Giant Glory DH. I am no moron.

While I accept that not everyone is of the same standard, I hate to be tarred with the same brush. In addition to this, I must say that its easier to help someone out when they arent insulting you and shouting at you.

My advice to you is to be patient with whoever is serving you, and bear in mind that the Boardman bikes are not built up from component parts in store. In an earlier thread, I heard that BB cups had not been greased and that cables had not been lubed. This is not the fault of whoever assembled the bike. BB's and cables are installed at the original manufacturer.

But please, if nothing else, please bear in mind that we are not all stupid and please help us to help you!

Rob

I wish they had more like you Rob.

We all know 1 bad service will get more mentions than a hundred good ones, that's the way of the world. I intend on talking with the mechanics to guage their knowledge on the bike before i buy. How much cheaper do you think i could get it if i take it as parts and put it together myself - Ive never done as much before but if it all goes wrong i can blame halfords anyway.

I must add that the last new bike i bought went back to lbs 3 times to be set up before i gave up and done it myself.

didnothingfatal

fast as fupp wrote:

didnothingfatal wrote:

Hideous service launched the front brake caliper after about 30 miles, gears were lousy set up from the shop. When I phoned regarding the front brake, and wrecked hadlebar tape advised two weeks to look at.

Took it to local Bikehut shop, great service I thought, they fitted new caliper and new bartape, also told me they serviced it fully. Test ride gears are still crap, but the brake seem bolted on this time.

Shame the service is so bad, the bike is nice. My concern is the brake caliper launched itself on an empty roundabout, thankfully I manged to stop before it jammed in the front wheel, etc and stopped me dead, face plant !!! Or I hit a car! They will kill someone sooner rather than later in my opinion!

so you didnt check it yourself after the service? :shock:

Is that normal when buying a new bike or getting a bike serviced then? Get it home and check everything. Do you do this with your car??

This was a new bike that launched it's front brake that is bad service in my book.

dilemna

It's a little unfair to come on here and slate a company whilst they appear to be trying to sort out the problems with the bike you have bought from them. If there were as many faults with the bike as you claim why did you not insist on a replacement or a refund? On the few occasions I have bought stuff from them they have been helpful and if there has been a problem they have been keen to resolve it. It has not been hard to obtain a refund.

Admittedly like any large chain there are going to be good and not so good outlets. As the chap above who works at Halfords on a part time basis assembling bikes says you shouldn't tar all Halfords staff with the same brush. He is obviously some who knows how to build and service a bike.

Surely you would have test ridden and checked over the bike before you took it away with you? I have 2 Halfords local to me. They couldn't be more like chalk and cheese. The contrast is staggering. Whilst Halfords isn't exactly at the top of my bike shops list, I do go there from time to time just to check them out to see what they are doing. I have but bought some Topeak stuff - a bar bag from them and the odd piece of clothing. The Bikehut people in Peterborough are hopeless. However the guys in Huntingdon are excellent. They are enthusiastic and actually ride bikes and look as if they do, as opposed to having the dispositions of burger munching 22 stone spotty slobs, you can tell they cycle. And they actually know a thing or two about bikes and components even if their company does not stock the really decent stuff they still know about it and how to fit it and servicing tips. They even do wheel builds!!!! Not that I have had any handbuilt wheels from them mind you. This has surely got to be good. The Boardman bikes seem to have been an opportunity for them to start building a decent bike image for the company at last. They are not all idiots as you suggest. That's my 2p worth.

fast as fupp

didnothingfatal wrote:

fast as fupp wrote:

didnothingfatal wrote:

Hideous service launched the front brake caliper after about 30 miles, gears were lousy set up from the shop. When I phoned regarding the front brake, and wrecked hadlebar tape advised two weeks to look at.

Took it to local Bikehut shop, great service I thought, they fitted new caliper and new bartape, also told me they serviced it fully. Test ride gears are still crap, but the brake seem bolted on this time.

Shame the service is so bad, the bike is nice. My concern is the brake caliper launched itself on an empty roundabout, thankfully I manged to stop before it jammed in the front wheel, etc and stopped me dead, face plant !!! Or I hit a car! They will kill someone sooner rather than later in my opinion!

so you didnt check it yourself after the service? :shock:

Is that normal when buying a new bike or getting a bike serviced then? Get it home and check everything. Do you do this with your car??

This was a new bike that launched it's front brake that is bad service in my book.

so youre quite happy to put your safety in the (possible) hands of a 16 year old yts 'mechanic' who may be more interested in an early dart than putting your bike or car together properly?

i ALWAYS check work done on my car when its been done by someone else (i do my own bike maintenance)

andrewjoseph

didnothingfatal wrote:

...

Is that normal when buying a new bike or getting a bike serviced then? Get it home and check everything. Do you do this with your car??

This was a new bike that launched it's front brake that is bad service in my book.

As has been mentioned in another, very similar thread, you can't prove it's Anyone's fault if you didn't check it in the shop.

It would be very easy for me to try and claim damages from any bike shop after a service by loosening something and deliberately 'crashing' into a wall. However, I would have no basis for a claim. Once the bike is out of the shop, it is your responsibility.

Here's a tip for everyone: check your bike BEFORE EACH RIDE! And I don't mean pinching the tyres to see if they have enough air.

Leodhasach

robv1306 wrote:

I work for halfords, and have built plenty of Boardman bikes, in addition to owning one myself - a Boardman Road Comp 08. Therefore, I am rather offended by the above comments about mechanics at Halfords being "idiots" who are "unable to string a sentence together".

My work for Halfords is on part time basis, while I study for a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to this, im also a team mechanic for a young race team, maintaining a Giant Glory Freeride and a Giant Glory DH. I am no moron.

While I accept that not everyone is of the same standard, I hate to be tarred with the same brush. In addition to this, I must say that its easier to help someone out when they arent insulting you and shouting at you.

My advice to you is to be patient with whoever is serving you, and bear in mind that the Boardman bikes are not built up from component parts in store. In an earlier thread, I heard that BB cups had not been greased and that cables had not been lubed. This is not the fault of whoever assembled the bike. BB's and cables are installed at the original manufacturer.

But please, if nothing else, please bear in mind that we are not all stupid and please help us to help you!

Rob

I don't know where you're getting the impression that I was shouting at them.

I've worked in Customer Services/Public Facing jobs for many years and know a good bit about delivering effective customer service.

The staff in my local Halfords are awful. I apologise if that offends you but it's simply very true. They were rude, they didn't know anything about the bikes they could get or had in stock, one chap in particular was very dismissive and I watched him slag off another customer right in front of me. This was while he sold a KIDS bike from the shop floor without carrying out basic checks and without properly measuring it up to make sure it was a good size. The customer had to point out to him that the tyres needed to be inflated. I'm sorry to say that in general the majority of the staff in my local store were poorly turned out. They did seem to have some issues communicating in anything other than a mumble.

I've approached their customer services team and let them know about the problems I've had and they've assured me that they were taking steps to sort it. I'm also expecting a call from the manager. I've been nothing but polite and courteous every time I've been in the shop.

Bad service is simply not acceptable. This shop is guilty of consistently poor service over a length of time, so not a one off.

Leodhasach

dilemna wrote:

It's a little unfair to come on here and slate a company whilst they appear to be trying to sort out the problems with the bike you have bought from them. If there were as many faults with the bike as you claim why did you not insist on a replacement or a refund? On the few occasions I have bought stuff from them they have been helpful and if there has been a problem they have been keen to resolve it. It has not been hard to obtain a refund.

.

Rather than demanding a replacement I'm giving them the opportunity to sort it first. A common sense approach I think.

I gave the bike a quick check over, but apparently it's not 'company policy' to let you try the bike out before you buy it.

justresting

With so many people out of work you have to wonder why they need to employ these people? You would also think the staff would be making some sort of effort to hold on to the job they have.

fast as fupp

justresting wrote:

With so many people out of work you have to wonder why they need to employ these people? You would also think the staff would be making some sort of effort to hold on to the job they have.

fuppin hell its norman tebbit! :shock:

dilemna

Leodhasach wrote:

dilemna wrote:

It's a little unfair to come on here and slate a company whilst they appear to be trying to sort out the problems with the bike you have bought from them. If there were as many faults with the bike as you claim why did you not insist on a replacement or a refund? On the few occasions I have bought stuff from them they have been helpful and if there has been a problem they have been keen to resolve it. It has not been hard to obtain a refund.

.

Rather than demanding a replacement I'm giving them the opportunity to sort it first. A common sense approach I think.

I gave the bike a quick check over, but apparently it's not 'company policy' to let you try the bike out before you buy it.

Surely if this Halfords store has such poor customer service as you claim this would have been apparent to you when you were looking at the bike prior to purchase? Why did you go ahead? If any store or LBS didn't let me test ride a bike to see if it was right for me then I wouldn't buy however much I liked the look of a bike.

Leodhasach

Because as I've already said it was on the Cycle2Work scheme that my employers run with Halfords. No choice in the matter.

I'd take it to the LBS to get sorted but the way I see it, Halfords have a duty to fix it.

I've got a huge bike tour planned for next year and I needed a decent road bike to get ready for it.

Regardless, there's absolutely no excuse for how they've behaved and it seems to be symptomatic of many of the Halfords stores across the country.

dilemna

It's the case of the tail wagging the dog. If you felt that way about Halfords why use them only for the C2W scheme? There are plenty of other nice bikes around. I was in the same position as you with the C2W scheme with my employer last year. In the end quality of and setting up the bike and after service was just as important to me as the bike itself so I bought a bike elsewhere without Halfords and the C2W scheme. To be fair it wasn't really Halfords, although as I said whilst the Peterborough branch are indeed useless Huntingdon are pretty good, as I found the actual C2W scheme itself too restrictive. Elsewhere I got a good sale price £200 off list price, used interest free for 6 months and left my employer.

I hope you get your bike sorted out quickly so you can start enjoying it.
Best of luck.

woodford2barbican

The St Pauls /Paternoster Sq branch in London is excellent. The mechanic there is quite simply the friendliest, most competent individual I have ever found in a bike shop.

justresting

fast as fupp wrote:

justresting wrote:

With so many people out of work you have to wonder why they need to employ these people? You would also think the staff would be making some sort of effort to hold on to the job they have.

fuppin hell its norman tebbit! :shock:

Damn, my anonimity's been blown. My advice way back when was to get on yer bike ( like my dad ) now my advice to hellfords staff, based on most forum users experienceswould have to be ' keep off the bike ' !!!

fast as fupp

haha!

tbh if i was buying a boardman from halfords- and by all accounts they are great bikes- id ask them to sell it dissembled and put it together myself

andrewjoseph

fast as fupp wrote:

haha!

tbh if i was buying a boardman from halfords- and by all accounts they are great bikes- id ask them to sell it dissembled and put it together myself

This is what I insisted on when I bought mine.

galaxyboy

andrewjoseph wrote:

fast as fupp wrote:

haha!

tbh if i was buying a boardman from halfords- and by all accounts they are great bikes- id ask them to sell it dissembled and put it together myself

This is what I insisted on when I bought mine.

Did you get owt knocked off?

fast as fupp

andrewjoseph wrote:

fast as fupp wrote:

haha!

tbh if i was buying a boardman from halfords- and by all accounts they are great bikes- id ask them to sell it dissembled and put it together myself

This is what I insisted on when I bought mine.

good move

those photos are rather good btw

tackleberry

Halfords seeme to excite considerable extreme opinion and yet I can only go on my own expereince. I have got and am very pleased with a Boardman Road Comp (08). It represents outstanding value for money and after 2 1/2 weeks of commuting, I can't fault it. It was part assembled whenI got it, it needed a bit of setting up (gears weren't indexed properly, 10 mins by the mech on Carlisle and it's sweet.

I very much doubt that every single LBS can be as consitent in service as a multi national chain. Amongst the many great LBSs there are bound to be a fair share of lemons. Anyone who remembers the NOTN sketch about Hifi shops (......do you want Dolby wivvit?) will have had that expereince repeated in a bike shop that curls it lip if you mention Sturmey Archer.

Once again big up to the guy in Carlisle Halfords who did my gears.

And maybe, just maybe, it is about the bike!

T