Are Halfords any better than they used to be.

HellsCyclist
HellsCyclist Posts: 122
edited July 2014 in The bottom bracket
Or are they still absolutely appalling? I read somewhere that they are improving lately with regards to customer service and product quality.
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Comments

  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Depends on the store and the staff on the day.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • oldbazza
    oldbazza Posts: 646
    The Cambridge store was having a particularly bad afternoon/evening by the sounds of it;a just bought Boardman mb with scratched stem/bars and a sticking rear brake,a Boardman roadbike with what sounded like a dodgy bb/crank bought back a second time and a just bought ladies bike with no basket and it took them a while to find the bb I ordered.To be fair previously I've had no problems picking up stuff.
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    Graham Weigh 105/Ultegra
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    TBH they are no better or worse than any other LBS apart from the fact that cycling "afficionados" think that they are too good for them.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,690
    The only thing I got from there recently was their 4-bike towbar-mounted bike rack - the assistant advised me not to waste money on the more expensive one, and for about a 3rd of the price of a Thule rack I've got a really good bit of kit. (And I've subsequently found out that the more expensive one really really isn't nearly as good.)

    Though I probably wouldn't buy a bike from them...
  • I just find them slow. If you book a bike to be worked they don't always work it on that day, you can be without your bike for a week. With an LBS they will at least work it on agreed date. I find some LBS in Watford try to get you to change components that are still fine, at least Halfords do not do that. So no I would not use them for repairs, I find their range of locks and lights quite good though.
  • HellsCyclist
    HellsCyclist Posts: 122
    I just find them slow. If you book a bike to be worked they don't always work it on that day, you can be without your bike for a week. With an LBS they will at least work it on agreed date. I find some LBS in Watford try to get you to change components that are still fine, at least Halfords do not do that. So no I would not use them for repairs, I find their range of locks and lights quite good though.

    I once purchased bike lights from a Halford. The headlight fell off on a dark road on the way to work. I wasnt very pleased. Nowadays I have 2 small headlights (non halfords) that seems much more secure. No problems. Do they sell kryptonite fahgettaboudit locks? They are highly rated.
  • It's a standing joke in my house that my attempts to use Halfords for anything cycling related are doomed. From ordering a kids bike to cable ends they have managed to totally balls up every order I've made on the internet on seven consecutive occasions. Either they are not ready, they are out of stock or they substitute inappropriate items. I ended up in an extended email exchange with their HQ customers services manager. I pointed out that their attempts to compete with Wiggle, Evans or even LBSs are doomed and that they do themselves no favours employing 16 year old kids and using a stock system from the dark ages. In a round about way he agreed and bunged me a £20 voucher which was nice but not what I wanted. As I said to him, it seems a shame that despite not being a business executive I could easily identify 20 things they were doing wrong if they want to appeal to "serious" cyclists.

    I could write pages about this company. Yes, I'll admit a certain degree of snobbishness on my part about having to wait in a queue behind people booking their four year olds bike in for a puncture repair but I'll trade that in for good customer service, value for money, efficiency and a passion for cycling. I'll admit they can have some good deals but that isn't enough to prosper. As far as I can see Boardman, Pendleton and British Cycling have sold their souls to the devil in being associated with this company. :twisted: :lol:
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    They're still shite. I've worked in Halfords and 3 smaller bikes shops and to be honest there is no customer relationships whatsoever at Halfords. At a much smaller bike shop (Primo cycles) the customers were much better looked after and even though I don't work there anymore I'm still friends with lots of the customers I met through the shop. Says it all I think!


    Is that because the smaller shops are, errrr, smaller and therefore don't have the staff/client turnover so they have a chance to build relationships?

    If you are dealing with maybe a hundred people a week or 30 people you may well get to know the 30 better. Especially if the 30 are really into what you're selling and will therefore take time to chat as opposed to harassed parent needing a kiddies bike while the sister/brother is having a meltdown.

    I'm sure that the Fat Duck knows its clients better than Maccy Ds.........

    Out of interest, are you friends with any of your old Halfords customers or build any relationships for them?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • Downward
    Downward Posts: 179
    I have been to the local Halfords a few times over the past week after various items.

    1st time needed a chain - none in stock but plenty of staff around so didn't wait more than a minute to ask.
    2nd time ordered in a cassette to collect the next day. Got to the store waited in the bike queue. Only 1 guy working at the time, I was in the store for 25 minutes waiting for him to find the part. In the end it was in the drawer on his worktop. In the 25 minutes there were 5 people with bikes around. 1st guy was buying tyres and asked for the guy to be fitted. Staff member said he couldn't as he had 2 bikes to build (It was 4.30pm) 2nd person came to collect a repaired bike, 3rd person came to book in a bike and the person behind, who knows.

    On the tills at the front were a couple of eye candy staff members. Seems the issue is with organisation. How you can have the mechanic having to build bikes, repair bikes while booking in bikes, booking out bikes and searching for orders that have come in is how mistakes are made.
  • Downward wrote:
    Seems the issue is with organisation.

    Organisation is only one of many, many issues I would suggest.

    Their target market used to be what I would call casual family cycling. That's fine. It's a market they have served for a long time. Then they decided they would target the more committed type of cyclist but without the knowledge, skills, logistical organisation or, I don't know, passion, which other companies seem to have. Simplistically, they want your money but not to work for it. They have jumped onto the whole cycling boom recently claiming to be things they are not and offering services they can't fulfil. I said as much in my email last year. The very pleasant manager guy agreed and said they were changing.The only changes I have seen so far are that the store fittings have changed. The mechanics are still trying to do six jobs at once, my orders aren't fulfilled and I'm at the LBS or online. Pretty shelving does not inspire my trust or loyalty.

    I have genuinely given them every opportunity to live up to their claims but they just don't seem able to do it.

    Shame.
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Ah, the incorrectly put together bike?

    Good, good, ta muchly.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • Monkeypump
    Monkeypump Posts: 1,528
    Ah, the incorrectly put together bike?

    Good, good, ta muchly.

    Yup, mechanic was an utter monkey but to be fair to him there's no man alive that could make bikes of that calibre perform adequately for any decent period of time.

    "Bikes of that calibre"? Like, um, the Boardman's that get consistently positive reviews? Or any of the other brands, which are actually pretty decent or their target market? Halfords sell very few real 'BSOs' these days, so your statement reeks of absolute tosh.

    I wonder, how would your ex-colleagues describe you if asked?
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Ah, the incorrectly put together bike?

    Good, good, ta muchly.

    Yup, mechanic was an utter monkey but to be fair to him there's no man alive that could make bikes of that calibre perform adequately for any decent period of time.


    And you didn't think of assisting him at all? That's nice of you. How kind.

    Any idea what he thought/thinks of you?

    Agree completely re comment re Boardmans and the other makes being consistently very well rated in tests and target market.

    Anyhow, if the bikes were jack I bet that every person you sold one to is grateful for your "assistance".

    Nice attitude, very nice ..........
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • nathancom
    nathancom Posts: 1,567
    I bought a ton of GT85 there dirt cheap. Makes the bike service so much easier just to slather the bike in that stuff.
  • I have always found the mechanics unfailingly polite and apologetic when I've had dealings with them. I've never used them to repair anything but when I've spoken to them about the bikes they sell there has always been an implied but unspoken acknowledgment that some of what they sell is not ideal. Boardman, Carerra and the Mongoose range are not bad, some excellent in fact. The Apollo and Trax range are awful. Pendleton sold out when she put her name to some of the stuff that sports her name. It's not that they are bad per se but pretty Dutch style bikes outside of East Anglia are unsuitable for most people yet they are still recommended by sales people. Add that to the fact they are usually bought by easily put off new entrants to cycling then they are likely to sit in sheds and garages unused for years to come.

    Now this is very unscientific! My employers are very bike friendly with a large cycle parking area and there are at least 70 regular bike commuters plus many more casual users. In the parking area are a number of gently rusting abandoned bikes and the vast majority are cheap Halfords jobbies, most of which are patently not suitable for commuting. There are also a couple of those Viking road bike things which look to be the work of Lucifer himself.

    I appreciate that people can buy what they want and have no doubt some Halfords sales people try but can't persuade people out of unsuitable purchases but I also know they don't seem able to give people the time to talk about and explore their purchases like other shops do.

    They also seem to have huge staff turnover problems which in itself is indicative of underlying issues. C'mon Halfords whistle blower, what's the story?
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380

    You literally are in no possession of any facts. You have no idea what it's like working there, you never met the mechanic in question or any of my previous managers. You have no idea how many bikes I sold and how good I was at my job, and quite clearly you have no idea how Halfords works and you have no inside knowledge.

    Go bite someone else, I'm sick of arguing with braindead trolls on the internet. :roll: :roll: :roll:


    But essentially because you continued to work there until you left/were sacked (as you say, I'm not in full possession of the facts so can't type one or the other definitively) you continued to sell these "BSO"s/bikes that were unfit for purpose and so, essentially, you failed in your duty of care to the customer - who, being that it was Halfords and not this "Primi" cycles that you mention, were maybe a bit short of money and had no other option - essentially you took money off someone who couldn't really afford it for something that (in your opinion) wasn't any good.

    Nice.

    I must admit that if I was offered a job at an organisation that I had no faith in I wouldn't take it. But that's just me.

    Anyhow, that aside, if Halfords was that low in your estimation (and you must have read about them/been in there) why did you take the job? Or, once you were in the job before leaving or being sacked, why did you not try to improve conditions/knowledge/staffing?

    I must admit to also being a bit reticent to visit this "Primi" cycles if I know that I am going to get sold something that may not be fit for purpose by someone who did the same at Halfords.

    Or is "Primi" better because it sold more expensive bicycles and had a self generated cachet from the staff?

    Not trolling, just discussing. Intrigued to know the psyche.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • junglist_matty
    junglist_matty Posts: 1,731
    these "BSO"s/bikes that were unfit for purpose

    I would imagine a lot of people that buy these cheap ~£100 bikes are people who don't ride very often, who are your typical let's go on holiday in the UK and take the bikes and ride around the resort / local area. Or people who buy bikes for their kids to use riding < 1 mile from home.

    I highly doubt many of these cheap bikes are used for long distance riding, or for any sort of trail *off road* riding. Maybe a couple of kids use them at local jumps. But then not everyone is blessed with a decent salary and buying a high quality bike isn't high on their list of priorities. Therefore, these cheap'o bikes are good enough.

    My neighbour bought a £80 bike (bright pink) from sports direct online about 2 years ago, she uses it to ride half a mile up the road most mornings/evenings to get to into town a bit quicker than walking. It's still going strong and there's nothing wrong with it, I don't see how something like that is not "fit for purpose" as so many *bike snobs* claim.
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    As someone who owns quite an expensive bike or two, I still find Halfords a decent shop if you know what you're looking for. I bought my Daughter's BSO from there, got a good deal with their sale discount, BC discount and my work discount and I reckon it was reasoanble value for money. I've got a second hand Boardman CX and I do get the odd bit of cycle stuff from there.

    There's nothing inhernetly wrong with the place, and certainly nothing wrong with the people that serve there. Its just that you need to have certain expectations - its not the knowledgable LBS selling high end gear, but more of a family shop selling stuff for families.
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
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  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    My son used to work in Halfords and to support madasahattersley when you are 16 and never had a job, you will take anything because it isn't that easy to find one.

    My son had a similar view, that the bike section weren't up to it and with my limited visits I would say the same, ask anyone a question in the bike section and get a look of dumfoundedness!

    The route of the problem seems partly training, and I mean not just training in bike mechanics, but in customer service, which has to be supported from the top and quite sadly isn't. The managers treat the part timers like something that has stuck to their shoes as they know that if the Saturday lad doesn't like it there are many others in the queue.

    The whole ethos of Halfords needs reviewing from the outside and major changes made to improve it.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    Velonutter wrote:
    The whole ethos of Halfords needs reviewing from the outside and major changes made to improve it.

    Halfords would make for an interesting episode of Undercover Boss :wink:
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    However, is it better or worse than any other LBS?

    Experience says no worse, no better.

    It alld epends who you is in eth shop, be it from 16 year old to 60 year old. As the saying goes, there's a difference being knowing your shyyt and knowing you're shyyt.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380

    I was 16 years old, I got payed £5 an hour. I was told to sell bikes, be nice to customers and deal with complaints, and that's what I did. It's hardly my place to go about telling managers what to do now is it? I was hardly going to say "no sorry I don't believe in the way this company operates, I'm leaving." I only took home £35-£40 per week and that was my only income. I come from a very poor household btw.

    The fact is that bikes that low end in the market are just not very good. If it's just for riding to the shops like Matt says then fine, and no I don't feel like I ripped any customers off. I could have told them they need to spend £400 to buy anything worth its salt, but then no doubt you'd be attacking me for trying to rip them off even more.

    Anyway, that's going to be my last reply to this topic. I still believe that Halfords is the worst place to go if you're actually a cyclist but if you want to go there then go ahead, I couldn't give a monkeys.

    Just out of interest, were there any female members of staff at "Primi"?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    Not had a single issue with my local halfords. Bought 2 bikes from them a few years back. Built fine and still going strong. Also use them for parts when I need them. Don't get free haribo though.....
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380

    I was 16 years old, I got payed £5 an hour. I was told to sell bikes, be nice to customers and deal with complaints, and that's what I did. It's hardly my place to go about telling managers what to do now is it? I was hardly going to say "no sorry I don't believe in the way this company operates, I'm leaving." I only took home £35-£40 per week and that was my only income. I come from a very poor household btw.

    The fact is that bikes that low end in the market are just not very good. If it's just for riding to the shops like Matt says then fine, and no I don't feel like I ripped any customers off. I could have told them they need to spend £400 to buy anything worth its salt, but then no doubt you'd be attacking me for trying to rip them off even more.

    Anyway, that's going to be my last reply to this topic. I still believe that Halfords is the worst place to go if you're actually a cyclist but if you want to go there then go ahead, I couldn't give a monkeys.

    Just out of interest, were there any female members of staff at "Primi"?

    We're there also any female members of staff your old branch of Halfords?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • HellsCyclist
    HellsCyclist Posts: 122
    However, is it better or worse than any other LBS?

    Experience says no worse, no better.

    It alld epends who you is in eth shop, be it from 16 year old to 60 year old. As the saying goes, there's a difference being knowing your shyyt and knowing you're shyyt.

    uh!?
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Lots of the usual bollox here. Halfords is a big box retailer, everything you get from a big box retailer, you get from halfords. If you want specialist service, go to a specialist and pay specialist prices. Big box retail is about convenience, a broad product range, branches everywhere, long opening hours and parking right outside. It's not my first choice of shop, but if I want to pick something up on the way home from work or on a Sunday, I have no qualms about going there.
    Some staff are good, some just getting a pay cheque and a small number are plain rubbish. I can apply this rule to almost any big name retailer.
    You can get a very good bike under £400. My daughters Giant cost £300 and is absolutely brilliant. She is 11, there is not a single aspect of the bike that has been economised on for the needs she has. It has been properly off road several times and she can ride it up cliffs it seems.
    Two of my bikes, the commuter and mtb were £500 new around 8 years ago (not from Halfords) Probably about £700 in todays money. Both have performed brilliantly for 1,000 of miles with no upgrades beyond consumables. Bikes do not need to cost £1,000s of pounds. That is snobbery, pure and simple. I would however avoid Apollo having had apoor experience with my teenage son. I bought him cheap because he wrecks everything. The apollo didn't even put up a fight.
  • morstar wrote:
    Lots of the usual bollox here.

    If you say so. Other would call it opinion, experience or anecdotal evidence. Such statements say more about you than they contribute to the discussion.

    You're right about them being big box however. Nothing wrong in that. My issue is that they advertise in specialist cycling magazines claiming they can provide services, products and a customer experience equal to more specialist retailers. In the majority of cases they can't. To me that's tantamount to dishonesty. Perhaps things will change. I don't think they will.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    morstar wrote:
    Lots of the usual bollox here.

    If you say so. Other would call it opinion, experience or anecdotal evidence. Such statements say more about you than they contribute to the discussion.

    You're probably right. There are some opinions I simply dismiss as irrelevant in all manner of topics so I can't argue with your challenge. In all fairness to me, I have tried to give some supporting evidence.

    Anyhow, major supermarkets advertise in food magazines. Does anybody go into tesco expecting to discuss the provenance of the beef they sell? Car supermarkets advertise in car magazines. Do you got to a car supermarket to gain specialist insight into piston head configuration? Do I go to Blacks to buy a portaledge?

    I'd suggest that the equivalent of Halfords for a sub-set of products you don't have a specialist interest in is fine for most people. However, when it comes to a subject you have specialist knowledge in, suddenly, big box retailers are all staffed by idiots. I'm afraid this is hypocrisy whichever way you cut it unless you can hand on your heart say the service is always worse at halfords than say Currys and you apply the same exacting standards to all retailers. If you don't like any big box retailer, brilliant, it's people like you who will help keep the high street vibrant if you don't use them.

    I spent many years in retail; both big box and specialist. Both have advantages and disadvantages for both the consumer and the staff. Some staff in specialist retailers look down on their customers, some customers look down on staff in non-specialist retailers. Both of these behaviours are very negative. There's lots of it in evidence in this thread. Apologies if my language offends!
  • :!: No worries.

    I think I get riled because in recent years I've made a determined effort to use local retailers rather than the monolithic internet ones. I know Halfords is a big company but at least they employ local people etc etc. As I posted earlier I gave them seven consecutive opportunities to provide a service to an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, if somewhat poor cyclist. I know the most extreme cases make the worst examples but they mucked it up seven times! I've used Wiggle etc hundreds of times and can hand on heart say not once have I been let down by them (Royal Mail have but that's a separate story)

    When I spoke to the guys in the shop they were on the whole apologetic but told me their stock systems ARE bollox and that the demand for basic services and a lack of staff mean that they can't provide the enhanced services that some of them aspire to and that Halfords pretends it can offer by way of its advertising. I have no problems with them advertising in the magazines we all read, it's their message that they are, at the moment, a viable alternative for the more "committed" cyclist which is false. They gave some plus points, price, geographical convenience and the majority of their products are of reasonable quality for the price but their stocking and service are key downs. IMO! :wink:
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380

    You're right about them being big box however. Nothing wrong in that. My issue is that they advertise in specialist cycling magazines claiming they can provide services, products and a customer experience equal to more specialist retailers. In the majority of cases they can't. To me that's tantamount to dishonesty. Perhaps things will change. I don't think they will.

    UKIP advertise saying that they are able to govern the country effectively. That's tantamount to dishonesty.

    Are the UKIP therefore the Halfords of politics?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
This discussion has been closed.