Halfords & Pinarello. Oh my god!
Artattack
Posts: 4
Being one of he lucky ones i happen to live near one of only 3 Halfords currently stocking the new Pinarello range (Chingford). So i thought i would pop along and take a quick look.
The display looks good, but OH MY WORD! I experienced a talk between a spotty kid working in Halfords supposedly 'trained' on the new range and a middle-aged guy and his wife. The guy was looking to buy one of the ROKH bikes and what i heard made me shudder. For the sake of this convo the guy buying is MAN ( middle aged man ) and the young Halfords worker is HLF. Im seriously not making this up.
Man " so im looking at this but i notice this is Shimano and that bike there is Campag, what the difference?"
HLF " well with Shimano the gears, levers and cables, lets say..wear out over time, whereas with Campag they wear in and get better"
Man" oh so i would need to replace the Shimano stuff quicker than Campag?, so what sort of time? How many miles would i get out of it then?"
HLF " well i wouldnt like to say, but probably a thousand miles?"
Man " oh as little as that??"
Mans Wife (obviously worried about cost) " really? But thats not many miles, so you need to replace parts what? Every few months?"
Man: " apparently yeah, as they wear out"
Man: " so in terms of levels where is this...what is it...(looks at bike) Shimano 105 at in the range?"
HLF: " well Shimano starts off with Tiagra, then it goes to Ultegra, then this 105."
MAN " oh so its near the top?"
HLF " yes, there is anothere level on top that Wiggins rides (points to the big picture of Brad on the wall in the TDF) and thats Shimano D Twelve..." (He was obviously referring to Di2)
MAN " and how much is that to add? Is that the electronic stuff?"
HLF " its about two thousand pounds extra but we dont stock it...erm, i dont know if its electronic"
Man " so this bike is carbon yeah? Can i pick it up?"
HLF " yes sure..(unlocks bike) yes this is carbon, its their top of the range carbon, the same level as used on Wiggins bike, its the best carbon you can buy on a road bike"
MAN " what anywhere or just this make?"
HLF " no anywhere, Pinarello make the best carbon bikes...."
Man " so wat is it with this frame...er, this Asymetric stuff is it? What does that do?"
HLF " well, with these bikes they worked out that riders put power down differently with each leg, so they made one side of the bike different to the other so when you pedal your power in each leg puts power down differently each side so you pedal faster "
MAN: ( turns to wife) " thats pretty cool isnt it..."
Man " and what about frame size? How do i measure that?"
HLF " well we have a book of frame sizes and hey come in one inch steps, you have to get it spot on or you wont be able to ride it as well as you can, it has to be a perfect fit to the nearest inch"
MAN " oh right, how do i measure what i need then?
HLF " just take a tape measure, and measure your inside leg but make sure you measure right up, plus your height..thats how you know what frame size to get.."
MAN (turns to wife) " have we got a tape measure at home?...you can measure me for that if we do "
HLF " yes because it has to be spot on, if you get it wrong you cant change it and youre stuck with it.."
Man " right ok..thanks mate youve been very helpful"
HLF " thats ok, if you need anymore advice just say"
At this point the wife was looking at me with a slightly worried look on her face, as i couldnt contain my feelings. I felt totally gutted for this guy, he was about to part with over two grand and had took every word this kid said as gospel (why wouldnt he?) and i was in a dilema. Do i take him to one side and put him straight or do i not get involved? In the end i left it, bemused. Also, i didnt want to ruin this kids job. But oh my life....Halfords :shock:
The display looks good, but OH MY WORD! I experienced a talk between a spotty kid working in Halfords supposedly 'trained' on the new range and a middle-aged guy and his wife. The guy was looking to buy one of the ROKH bikes and what i heard made me shudder. For the sake of this convo the guy buying is MAN ( middle aged man ) and the young Halfords worker is HLF. Im seriously not making this up.
Man " so im looking at this but i notice this is Shimano and that bike there is Campag, what the difference?"
HLF " well with Shimano the gears, levers and cables, lets say..wear out over time, whereas with Campag they wear in and get better"
Man" oh so i would need to replace the Shimano stuff quicker than Campag?, so what sort of time? How many miles would i get out of it then?"
HLF " well i wouldnt like to say, but probably a thousand miles?"
Man " oh as little as that??"
Mans Wife (obviously worried about cost) " really? But thats not many miles, so you need to replace parts what? Every few months?"
Man: " apparently yeah, as they wear out"
Man: " so in terms of levels where is this...what is it...(looks at bike) Shimano 105 at in the range?"
HLF: " well Shimano starts off with Tiagra, then it goes to Ultegra, then this 105."
MAN " oh so its near the top?"
HLF " yes, there is anothere level on top that Wiggins rides (points to the big picture of Brad on the wall in the TDF) and thats Shimano D Twelve..." (He was obviously referring to Di2)
MAN " and how much is that to add? Is that the electronic stuff?"
HLF " its about two thousand pounds extra but we dont stock it...erm, i dont know if its electronic"
Man " so this bike is carbon yeah? Can i pick it up?"
HLF " yes sure..(unlocks bike) yes this is carbon, its their top of the range carbon, the same level as used on Wiggins bike, its the best carbon you can buy on a road bike"
MAN " what anywhere or just this make?"
HLF " no anywhere, Pinarello make the best carbon bikes...."
Man " so wat is it with this frame...er, this Asymetric stuff is it? What does that do?"
HLF " well, with these bikes they worked out that riders put power down differently with each leg, so they made one side of the bike different to the other so when you pedal your power in each leg puts power down differently each side so you pedal faster "
MAN: ( turns to wife) " thats pretty cool isnt it..."
Man " and what about frame size? How do i measure that?"
HLF " well we have a book of frame sizes and hey come in one inch steps, you have to get it spot on or you wont be able to ride it as well as you can, it has to be a perfect fit to the nearest inch"
MAN " oh right, how do i measure what i need then?
HLF " just take a tape measure, and measure your inside leg but make sure you measure right up, plus your height..thats how you know what frame size to get.."
MAN (turns to wife) " have we got a tape measure at home?...you can measure me for that if we do "
HLF " yes because it has to be spot on, if you get it wrong you cant change it and youre stuck with it.."
Man " right ok..thanks mate youve been very helpful"
HLF " thats ok, if you need anymore advice just say"
At this point the wife was looking at me with a slightly worried look on her face, as i couldnt contain my feelings. I felt totally gutted for this guy, he was about to part with over two grand and had took every word this kid said as gospel (why wouldnt he?) and i was in a dilema. Do i take him to one side and put him straight or do i not get involved? In the end i left it, bemused. Also, i didnt want to ruin this kids job. But oh my life....Halfords :shock:
0
Comments
-
Arguably, of course, anyone that is stupid enough to go into only one shop (any shop), and lash out a couple of £k on a bike, having taken only one person's advice, deserves everything they get.Artattack wrote:I felt totally gutted for this guy, he was about to part with over two grand and had took every word this kid said as gospel (why wouldnt he?) and i was in a dilema. Do i take him to one side and put him straight or do i not get involved? In the end i left it, bemused. Also, i didnt want to ruin this kids job. But oh my life....Halfords :shock:
So I wouldn't feel too bad about it. Personally I might have sidled up to the buyer and said something like "you might just want to do a little more research rather than taking everything you just heard at face value".Is the gorilla tired yet?0 -
I need to find a Halarello store near me. Sounds like there is some fun to be had
I am guessing the kid is on a big commission.
The customer would have kind of of deserved what he got if he bought one.
He would have got a nice bike (if they put it together properly) so its not such a bad thing.
He may have been 'baiting' the kid anyway.
Sounds like a good thing for 'Watchdog' or one of those programmes to do a hidden camera investigation on.0 -
Oh dear me thinks I need to make my way to that Halfords and 'look into buying a new bike' as a newbie roadie. And perhaps take a few bits of documentation with me, like the Shimano hierachy.Scott Speedster S20 Roadie for Speed
Specialized Hardrock MTB for Lumps
Specialized Langster SS for Ease
Cinelli Mash Bolt Fixed for Pain
n+1 is well and truly on track
Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/16088750 -
Where are the stores that keep them in ?
Sounds like a right laugh,But imo you should have said something to the guy0 -
If you had looked you would have already seen a blog on Halfords/Pinarello rather than starting another one :idea:0
-
nmt wrote:Where are the stores that keep them in ?
Sounds like a right laugh,But imo you should have said something to the guy
+1
I don't think I could let some guy and is wife be fed such bull and not step in after to put him right. Maybe not in front of the kid but I would feel the need to do something.
On that note, has anyone deliberately gone into a bike shop (or any other type) just to see what rubbish the assistants come out with, especially if you know more about the item in question than the guy trying to sell it to you.0 -
Cool - I have 105 on my bikes - only D12 (and slim shady) are better!!
To be fair to the guy buying - you would hope that people in the shop know their stuff! Really worrying that they not only don't but are so far off the mark.
I was in Halfords yesterday and none of the staff knew about the 10% off with British Cycling card. Made me wait for 10 mins while she served other people. Eventually I had to google it and show her on my phone! Really poor!0 -
TheFD wrote:I was in Halfords yesterday and none of the staff knew about the 10% off with British Cycling card. Made me wait for 10 mins while she served other people. Eventually I had to google it and show her on my phone! Really poor!
But Halfords only offer that if you have the voucher (which you can download...)
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... -Voucher-0
so it's not too surprising that the staff don't know.
At least it's better than the previous years where you had to buy vouchers...Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/0 -
Oh we'll there you go - I'm as bad as the staff. I didn't know that, I assumed you just flash your card. Thanks Jim!jibberjim wrote:TheFD wrote:I was in Halfords yesterday and none of the staff knew about the 10% off with British Cycling card. Made me wait for 10 mins while she served other people. Eventually I had to google it and show her on my phone! Really poor!
But Halfords only offer that if you have the voucher (which you can download...)
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... -Voucher-0
so it's not too surprising that the staff don't know.
At least it's better than the previous years where you had to buy vouchers...0 -
A fool and his money.....easily parted0
-
I would have jumped into that conversation straight away and corrected all those mistakes. At the end of the day hes not gonna get it right until hes told he is wrong.0
-
Artattack wrote:Being one of he lucky ones i happen to live near one of only 3 Halfords currently stocking the new Pinarello range (Chingford). So i thought i would pop along and take a quick look.
The display looks good, but OH MY WORD! I experienced a talk between a spotty kid working in Halfords supposedly 'trained' on the new range and a middle-aged guy and his wife. The guy was looking to buy one of the ROKH bikes and what i heard made me shudder. For the sake of this convo the guy buying is MAN ( middle aged man ) and the young Halfords worker is HLF. Im seriously not making this up.
Man " so im looking at this but i notice this is Shimano and that bike there is Campag, what the difference?"
HLF " well with Shimano the gears, levers and cables, lets say..wear out over time, whereas with Campag they wear in and get better"
Man" oh so i would need to replace the Shimano stuff quicker than Campag?, so what sort of time? How many miles would i get out of it then?"
HLF " well i wouldnt like to say, but probably a thousand miles?"
Man " oh as little as that??"
Mans Wife (obviously worried about cost) " really? But thats not many miles, so you need to replace parts what? Every few months?"
Man: " apparently yeah, as they wear out"
Man: " so in terms of levels where is this...what is it...(looks at bike) Shimano 105 at in the range?"
HLF: " well Shimano starts off with Tiagra, then it goes to Ultegra, then this 105."
MAN " oh so its near the top?"
HLF " yes, there is anothere level on top that Wiggins rides (points to the big picture of Brad on the wall in the TDF) and thats Shimano D Twelve..." (He was obviously referring to Di2)
MAN " and how much is that to add? Is that the electronic stuff?"
HLF " its about two thousand pounds extra but we dont stock it...erm, i dont know if its electronic"
Man " so this bike is carbon yeah? Can i pick it up?"
HLF " yes sure..(unlocks bike) yes this is carbon, its their top of the range carbon, the same level as used on Wiggins bike, its the best carbon you can buy on a road bike"
MAN " what anywhere or just this make?"
HLF " no anywhere, Pinarello make the best carbon bikes...."
Man " so wat is it with this frame...er, this Asymetric stuff is it? What does that do?"
HLF " well, with these bikes they worked out that riders put power down differently with each leg, so they made one side of the bike different to the other so when you pedal your power in each leg puts power down differently each side so you pedal faster "
MAN: ( turns to wife) " thats pretty cool isnt it..."
Man " and what about frame size? How do i measure that?"
HLF " well we have a book of frame sizes and hey come in one inch steps, you have to get it spot on or you wont be able to ride it as well as you can, it has to be a perfect fit to the nearest inch"
MAN " oh right, how do i measure what i need then?
HLF " just take a tape measure, and measure your inside leg but make sure you measure right up, plus your height..thats how you know what frame size to get.."
MAN (turns to wife) " have we got a tape measure at home?...you can measure me for that if we do "
HLF " yes because it has to be spot on, if you get it wrong you cant change it and youre stuck with it.."
Man " right ok..thanks mate youve been very helpful"
HLF " thats ok, if you need anymore advice just say"
At this point the wife was looking at me with a slightly worried look on her face, as i couldnt contain my feelings. I felt totally gutted for this guy, he was about to part with over two grand and had took every word this kid said as gospel (why wouldnt he?) and i was in a dilema. Do i take him to one side and put him straight or do i not get involved? In the end i left it, bemused. Also, i didnt want to ruin this kids job. But oh my life....Halfords :shock:
You should mail this to customer.services@halfords.co.uk0 -
bazzer2 wrote:You should mail this to customer.services@halfords.co.uk
I would not waste your time.
I emailed them nearly a week ago about trying to buy 2 Boardmans and not heard back :roll:0 -
To be fair he nailed the differences between Shimano and Campag
Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
You either carry a dictophone around with you, or you have one amazing memory to remember this conversation verbatimCube Attain SL Disc
Giant CRS 2.00 -
Hmmm one post - Sorry but I call bullshit!
0 -
Gazzetta67 wrote:If you had looked you would have already seen a blog on Halfords/Pinarello rather than starting another one :idea:
I think this was on another section at first.0 -
I did think it was a bit of an odd first post too 8)
Just add's to the need to go in and put them to the test 0 -
Artattack wrote:Being one of he lucky ones i happen to live near one of only 3 Halfords...
You've made that story up.0 -
I've heard similar conversations in most LBS'. Its sales patter. The kid got a few things wrong but nothing that bad really. I know nothing about mobile phones, but if I was going to go into a shop to buy a phone then I would do my own research first, rather than rely on the sales patter of the guy in there who is OBVIOUSLY going to be trying to sell me something.
The most surprising bit for me was that they were stocking a bike with Campag...0
