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Comments:
Halfords Crewe store.
this is the first stage in letting the public know what they can expect from Halfords when "they" make an error.
I recently purchased (what I was told was a truck sat nav)until I tried to update it online ! ! !
The truck edition disappeared ! I contacted Halfords and they say I should speak to the manager of the store in question, The problem is I am a truck driver (from Ireland and live no more than 10 miles from a Halfords store) and it may be a while before I pass the store in Crewe where I purchased my product in August 2011. However I will do my best to return there before the yearly warranty expires, "joke"
I also tried to update my maps as the model I purchased had only 2010 maps, they would not update! I have since been informed by Halfords I should have done this within 30 days of purchase and I now have to pay for 2011 maps! "joke"
None of this was explained to me at the time of purchase, I was also told the Navman Tourer I purchased was a full working truck sat nav, "joke".
The emails I received form Halfords customer care and Mio were short and of no help other than stating I had to spend more money to upgrade a product I purchased in 2011 to receive the 2011 maps, "joke".
Halfords shame on your for this poor service. To all members here I would like to ask is there such thing as the small claims court in the UK or something similar? I have been sold a faulty product that does not do what I was told it would do and the company that sold it to me is in a round about way saying, though!
I am a bike builder for Halfords. halfords are mean with their payroll relying on unskilled part-timers who let down customers. No training is given. Staff who actually try are self taught. My store is some times only staffed by only two people. Halfords is run by inept chancers. The share holders should dismiss the Executives. Store managers need to able to run branches to meet local customer demand; not to please head-office morons. Trained full-time staff are needed to give customer service. Of course this is not going to happen so company will continue its downward spiral.
Order a bike online which in itself was fine. Contacted the store to make sure that the bike had been built and was ready to pick up as i was travelling some distance to pick up. The assistant confirmed that the bike had been assembled this morning and was ready to collect. I drove to the store to find a rather confused assistant who stated that the bike i had ordered was not new and was a customer return that had been in the store for some weeks. The bike was dirty and scratched!! I was then told that this is the only one left and the bike was now discontinued.
Overall i am extremely upset at this and the time i had spent in travelling to the store. This is not what i would of expected from Halfords and the reputation they have was the reason i decided to use Halfords for my purchase.
I am still waiting for the Store Manager to contact me to explain the reason i had a wasted 3 hour journey.
halfords are given payroll for 1 fitter only, on every department. Its not their problem if the fitter is off everyone needs some time off once in a while. Whats the point in getting a replacement for a week. Its useless.
And anyway babyseats, head units and others are not hard to fit at all!
And yes they do try to go the extra mile for customers, but why would they risk their job to do it, by going agaisnt policy's.
Half of them have to physically drive to other stores to get the stock in, which means a huge waste in petrol because some people can't wait for delivery to come.
At the end of the day Halfords is what it is you can't please everyone.
On Wednesday Jan 12th 2011 i tried three branches of Halfords to get i car stereo fitted,which i had purchased from a Halfords store at Christmas.
It was like pulling teeth,Sunday is the best day for me due to work and i appreciate it is the most popular day,but the laughable thing is that all stores told me they were very busy,and yet they all only have one person available to fit car radios. To add insult to injury two of the stores near me have given their one installer the week off next week, without anyone else to replace him-I have fitted the darn thing myself now -"we go the extra mile" yeah in the other direction..
ps. I dont think it very good when the person on the other end of the phone tells me to "ang on a minute mate i will try and the diary, cos this aint my department"
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction at the customer experience being
received at your Rhyl Branch, North Wales.
I have been a loyal customer of Halfords of many years and of
the Rhyl Store for over fifteen years.
In recent years the experience being experienced at the store is very poor and
now doubt related to a drive on efficiencies as the ratio of experienced staff
to customer requirements appears to be ill adjusted.
In recent times I have purchased a Car Battery, a Sat Nav, In Car Entertainment
System, C.D. / Radio amongst other things and on each occasion the company has
been unable to live up to its claim to be able to fit goods to customer
vehicles as 'nobody was available'. I have remained loyal due to other factors
and have purchased a family bicycle care plan.
On 25/110/2011 I brought my son' cycle to the store for a service and repair,
ref 8003251702. The staff member was dismissive telling me 'I'm just filling in
and I cannot deal with your bike'. After some discussion he accepted the bike
telling me that the repair would take approx ten days - 1/11/2010. I was
subsequently called by this staff member and informed the repair would be
delayed as he was awaiting parts, somewhat of a disappointment.
A week or so later having not had an update I called to the store and again
spoke to this staff member, he couldn't explain delay on parts. I repeated this
a week later this time telephoning the store in advance so not to waste further
journey - time and expense. I was put through to the repair department and
informed the cycle was ready. I traveled to the store only to be told that the
cycle was not only not ready but had not even been started upon and that the
man dealing with the job, had left the company (as if I was to be somehow
interested in this?). The staff member went into the rear of the store and came
back to tell me the manager stated ' we are still waiting on parts'. I was told
to call back in a few days which I did only to be told again the work had not
commenced and that the man dealing with the job 'was on holiday'!!!
I left the store having been told that the work would be completed as soon as
possible and when I ask when was told ' cant say as you can see we are very
busy'! I am glad to say that I received a call from 'Tim' who had just
commenced employment to do cycle repairs, he was most apologetic and resolved
to completed the work the same day.
In conclusion, I have not collected the cycle as I would like you to look into
the overall matter and let me know what you propose to do to regain my customer
confidence and satisfaction.
yours
G.L. Kelly
*************************************************
Dear Mr Kelly
Thank you for your email.
Halfords only compensate for actual losses and cannot consider your request for compensation. As a company, we feel that it more productive and beneficial to address the issue and deal with the matter internally.
It is important that we rectify any mistakes and learn from them moving forward, however I do not believe this warrants further gestures on our part on this occasion.
I appreciate this may not be the outcome you were expecting, however, please be assured that this matter has received my full attention and consideration.
Be assured that all correspondence that comes in to our Customer Service department, is made available for our Directors & Chief Executive to view. They do not respond personally to letters & emails but be assured details of your complaint will be passed to our Chief Executive for his information.
*************************************************
Julie
someone needs to take a customers perspective to these matters, you clearly do not, and Halfords policy then needs to be amended to reflect customer expectations.
The ripple effect of this matter will lose Halfords my custom and those around me or more. Does that balance out when measured against what it would have taken to look after my concerns, I think not. I didn't mention compensation.
This only goes to reflect what I have experienced in store, really poor Julie, really poor.
I purchased bike equipment at buy one get one half price deal. They informed me of a delay of two weeks for my discount half. They assured me that it was only a delay so I started using the received item. When the delay was up they canceled my discounted item as it what not in stock. A few days later it came back in stock.
Halfords would not let me return my part of the order despite being in breach of contract. After weeks of complaints they did offer to refund me the discount I should have received if I re ordered the discounted part of my order. After I placed the order Halfords customer services ignored any requests for the refund discount.
In short I am left £50 out of pocket from my initial order and my only available outcome is legal action.
I bought a footpump and left it in the boot of the car for emergency/occasional use. The first time I used it a few months after purchase was to blow up a small 8 inch tyre on boat launching trolley. The pump fell apart; the gauge fell off and rendered it useless. I returned it to Halfords in its original box in brand new condition (but not working). In was shocked when they refused a refund, offering only a replacement as i did not have the receipt. I pointed out that it was a Halfords own brand pump the same as the ones on sale but they were adamant, no receipt, no refund. Both the sales assistant and the manager would not budge, despite my protest that the pump was not fit for purpose and certainly not something I would want to depend on in an emergency. In my view this is really poor service.
I recently purchased a bike from the St.Pauls Bikehut on my company's Cycle2work scheme and with regret, have been entirely let down by the customer service of Halfords.
First, when browsing for a bike I visited both the Wandsworth Halfords and the St.Pauls Bikehut on two occasions - not once did a member of staff offer me any assistance, which was almost enough to make me not buy from Halfords but as I wanted to purchase a Boardman Bike I had little choice.
When I finally went into the St.Pauls Bikehut to purchase the bike on Thursday 17th June, a member of staff only asked if I wanted any assistance once I had placed three items on the counter. I was told I would have a two week wait (max) for my road shoes as they were out.
The staff member informed me the bike would need to be delivered to the store; as I was on holiday from Saturday 19th June to Saturday 26th June, I asked if it would be possible to collect the bike on Sunday 27th June. I was told this would not be a problem but when I returned from holiday and called (26/06/10) to check my bike had arrived and was available for collect on the 27th, I was told the store did not open on a Sunday and no one would have taken a collection date for this day. When I complained about this, the member of staff (Andrew Turner) became increasingly rude. I then asked if I would be able to collect it that afternoon instead and he said this would be fine but he would check the bike had been safety checked - when he returned on the phone he had obviously seen he was the staff member who had taken the order and became very sheepish and apologetic (after he had been incredibly rude!). He then went on to tell me I couldn't collect my bike because it had not been delivered to the store yet - because he manager was out of the shop on the Friday and no one had arranged the bike collection in the managers absence.
I agreed to collect my bike the following Thursday (24/06/10) and called prior to leaving Canary Wharf to ensure the bike was there along with all the accessories (bar the road shoes) - I was told everything was in order. When I arrived, the accessories (pedals etc) I have purchased had not been fitted and as I could not wait for them to be fitted then and there, I had to return to the store that evening to collect my bike, which was extremely inconvenient at the time.
I was told that my shoes would arrive within 10 days and they would call me as soon as they arrived - two weeks later, I had not heard anything and so called the shop and was told the supplier was still out of stock but they were expecting them within 7 days. Therefore I waited another two weeks - nothing. I decided to call the store today (23/07/2010) to find out what was going on and was forwarded to the Old Street Bikehut to be informed that the St.Pauls store had closed and all orders had been transferred to them. I was told the St.Pauls store attempted to contact all of their outstanding orders to inform them on the change, but I did not received any such call or any voicemail / letter explaining the situation. The manager was very apologetic but said the order hadn't been moved to their store but if he couldn't locate the whereabouts of my shoes, then he would order another pair.
I am sure you will agree this whole ordeal has been unnecessarily protracted and has highlighted poor customer service on more than one occasion.
to the last user, you have not received a reply to your letter as you didnt send any contact details.
the allegation also can't be looked into without more detail, like names, date and ideally time.
also, there is nothing in the terms and conditions of this site which forbids you posting people's names
you all have my sympathy.we had trouble finding staff too and when we did they were making rude comments and gestures to each other,not allowed to give there names so d.... and j....
my wife has written to complain but have yet to receive any reply and judging by the comments we've been reading won't,is a simple apology too much to expect?
on the plus side the warrington branch is the only one we have ever had a problem with,apart from not being able to find any staff.
Reserve and collect actually means NOT reserved AT ALL and probably won't collect it all. I reserved 9 items worth over £230. All showed "in stock" so I reserved for collection and allowed a couple of hours then drove the 35 min trip to Hereford. On arrival I went to the collection desk and nothing was picked ! The poor sales guy had to wander round the shelves picking my order. Half hour later 2 items missing. I cancelled the order and went home very angry at the timewasters. I have now ordered the kit from ScrewFix and Machine Mart. I just won't use Half Ords again.
South Ruislip Branch.
I went in looking for a Haynes manual for a 2006 Fiesta which they didn't have!!!!!
Two sales staff chatting behind a stand.
Deputy manager running around helping a customer on the parts desk while other customers waited with no other staff in sight.
I noticed bare shelves and shelves with widely spaced items to make them look full.
What is wrong with Halfords?
Is it just me?
I bet nobody from head office knows what goes on in the shops - or cares.
They have huge modern premises but somehow it just doesn't work.
Can't really blame the salespeople I suppose because these problems always start at the top - at director level. Probably paid too much.
Thumbs down Halfords.
As an update to my earlier post, at 10am this morning I spoke to the Halfords branch manager, and he was very upset to hear my story, and promised to sort things out as soon as possible.
Lo and behold, at 12.30 I received a phone call from Alan, the manager, informing me that the bike was now ready for collection and it would not cost me a penny. A job done in 2 hours that didn't get done in the previous five weeks.
I am extremely grateful for his service and glad that the issue was sorted out promptly by the branch manager without having to go any further.
This goes to show that you can't tar everyone with the same brush, and while I might not rush back to the Harrow branch for bike servicing, I would have no problem using them for purchases - for my car if not my bike!
I have been having unbelievable trouble with Bikehut in the Harrow branch of Halfords.
On the 30th June I took my mountain bike into the store for an overhaul. I explained to them exactly what I needed to be done in the minutest detail. I was told by the supervisor that they were busy and so it would be about a week before they could do the work. I asked if I could leave the bike with them and they kindly agreed. I was given a date of 9th July to pick up the bike.
On July 9th I called the store and asked if the bike would be ready for collection that evening. I was told that they needed parts and had had to order them in. While a quick inspection would have told them that on the day I took the bike in, I was willing to forgive that as they had told me they would not start the work until July 7th.
Over a week later - having heard nothing - I called to find out how they were getting on. I was told that the parts had arrived days earlier but they had not started the work as the bottom bracket also needed replacing and they needed my go-ahead for the work. When asked why they hadn't called me I was told they didn't have my contact details. This despite the fact that I gave them both my home and office numbers when I took the bike into the store.
They told me they would be starting the work the following day now they had the go-ahead.
Over a week later, once again having heard nothing (I'm a patient man) I called and asked how they were getting on. I was told that they had priced the work and it was going to come to over £100 so they wanted to get my go-ahead before doing the work. I was well aware at the outset it would be over £100 and for a bike that I ride every day, this does not concern me. Once again I asked why they had not contacted me to keep me in the picture and I was told that they had tried. This despite the fact I am in the office all day every day, and there are answer machines on my home and work phones. At this point I begged them to keep me updated and inform me early of any further problems. This was last Thursday (30th July).
On Monday I called once again and spoke to the Bikehut supervisor. He told me they hadn't started yet as a couple of urgent jobs had come in. I told him my job should be a priority at this point and told him I was expecting it to be started that day. He said it would be.
Yesterday afternoon I called and asked if it was finished (knowing the work is half a day max) and was told that they were half way through. I said I would be expecting a phone call at 5.30pm telling me it would be ready for collection otherwise I would be collecting the bike anyway. I was told they could not guarantee the work would be finished and I could collect the bike if I wished.
5.30pm came and went and no phone call. In fact in the five weeks that I have been waiting I haven't received a single phone call from them updating me on the situation. It is now 1.29pm on August 5th and still they haven't contacted me. I have now decided to wait until the store manager is back in (tomorrow) and make an official complaint to him (as well as head office). I have no intention of paying for the work carried out, even if they do finally complete the job.
what is it about the staff in my local halfords store? whenever i have gone in for something i find myself surrounded by unmanned tills and theres about 5 staff in the bicycle section who just ignore me when i want something for my car!! more customer service training required i think.
I purchased a bicycle rack for my car from halfords and after 2 uses one of the straps came off while I was on the motorway! This could have caused a serious accident. When i went to Halfords for a replacement they said it was my fault that the exhaust had melted it!!! They never informed me of the possibuility of this and it was they who installed it anyway!! not only is this poor customer service but it could have proved fatal!
We went to halfords to purchase a car seat for our forthcoming arrival. We had decided to go for a seat suitable from birth to 4 years as we couldn't have the 0-13KG without an isofix base which made it expensive. We looked at the only one in this range that they had which was a Britax. On asking for advice and informing that we had 2 cars (a Mazda 2 and a Honda Civic) the young assistant proceeded to tell us that they didn't really recommend this seat from birth despite labelling to the contrary. When we argued about this he then claimed that it wasn't suitable rearward facing in most cars as the seatbelts tended to be too short.
We then asked about the Maxi-cosi (0-13kg) and asked if he could possibly try fitting it into the Mazda without the base to get a 2nd opinion on whether the seat belts were too short. He claimed that the baby seats were unsuitable to be used without a base (an extra £100). We informed him that a fitter at Mothercare had tried to fit it without the base so it must be possible. He again reiterated that they weren't suitable without a base and implied that they wouldn't sell it without a base.
At this point both my wife and I were biting our lips not to tell him he was talking "nonsense". We left the shop at this point.
After thinking about the conversation we realised that Silver Cross make a car seat that does not have a base available so they must be able to be fitted without.
We are most disgusted with the attitude of the salesperson who seemed to want an argument and to make as much money as possible by selling us an unecessary base.
HI,
After reading about Halfords on here I would like to add that the Hitchin Herts branch has the rudest man in retail working there absolutly no customer service skills and I will never ever go in there again.The repair on my bike was useless and I had to go to an independant shop to get it done properly( should have done first time round!)
i have just had a bad experience with halfords i wont use bad /offensive comments but the words i can use are not strong enough .
they sell rubbish wont answer emails all you get is an automated response wont go back there in a hurry
would advise every one to avoid trax bikes they are not fit for the purpose intended ordered one over the net to pick it up at the fort manchester
got there to be told by a kid who seemed to be running the place we dont make that bike any more in that colour and have not done so for ages
yet even today its stil advertised on the web site ?
i was offered a different trax bike young kid got it up on a stand to check it out spun the back wheel it was buckled .
he didn't see or didn't want to see it so i pointed it out he went to several other bikes and low and behold the same problem .
asked now what and got a shrug of the shoulders walked out and emailed them but no reply so emailed em again and still no reply .
advise you avoid halfords like the plague they are a waste of time go to the little man who will give you good advise perhaps not such a good deal but will take the time and effort to be helpful so you will come back
below is the message i sent to halfords regarding the poor service in te andover halfords. i have not had any responce. its pretty long but they have caused me a lot of hassle.
i am emailing to make a complaint about the poor service and quality of products i have received from your store in andover.
back in november 2008 i bought a trax mountain bike that was in the sale for £150, the original price was £250.
within the first few days i was having problems with the bike, the brakes had not been set up correctly, the front disk brake completely locked up and the rear brake would hardly even slow the bike down.
the gears had not been set up properly and they would regularly slip from one gear to another, also when the bike was on the 2 smallest cogs on the back wheel it was making a strange grinding noise. the nature of these faults made me question the safety check that had been done prior to me receiving the bike.
over the next 2 weeks i was back in the shop several times having these faults looked at and if they managed to fix one another would start. not at any time of me having this bike did the brakes work as they should and every time it was returned to the shop they would play with them for a while and i would be sent on my way on a bike that either wouldn’t stop or with brakes would be completely seized up. one day when i had given up keeping going back to the shop i attempted to fix it myself. the first thing i looked at was the grinding noise coming from the bottom 2 cog’s (that i had mentioned every time the bike had been returned) and i found that the chain was rubbing on the frame and had cut into the metalwork. i returned the bike and i was given a replacement which i was more than happy with.
the replacement was an apollo fs26s, which seemed to be a good bike although the brakes did need to be adjusted on the first day apart from that it seemed ok. after 2 weeks the front suspension was making a very loud squeaking noise and when i had a closer look at it the spring inside was rubbing on the fork and it had started wearing away the metal. i returned this bike and i was given the choice to wait 2 weeks for a replacement suspension or have a completely new bike, i’m sure you can guess what i went for.
so bike number 3, i got the apollo bike fs26s, and again it was poorly set up. i had adjusted the brakes on the first day because they were constantly rubbing and the front wheel wouldn’t spin freely and they also would not stop the bike because they wouldn’t shut tight enough. i managed to fix this in 5 minutes, and although it wasn’t a big problem i think its something that should have been spotted before it was given to me and again makes me question the quality of the safety checks.
after just over a week the chain was covered in rust from where it had not been lubricated when it had been fitted and also the gears were slipping. i thought the gear slipping was down to the rusty chain so i cleaned the chain and lubricated it but this didn’t solve the slipping chain problem so for the next couple of months i found what gears slipped the most and just avoided using them.
whilst on my way to work i noticed the gripshift for the gears on the back wheel had become very stiff, the cable had a few broken strands on it and these had become clogged up and was causing the cable not to move freely.
i managed to make the bike ride-able and when i returned the bike to your shop in andover i was told they were to busy to fix it there and then so could i bring it back in 3 or 4 days time which i said was ok.
i did not have time to drop the bike off that week so i took it in the following sunday where i was told again to come back later in the week. i said i would leave the bike and the boy i spoke to said it would be done by tuesday and they would call me. i had not heard anything by wednesday so i called the shop incase they didn’t have my number written down correctly but it had not been done i was told they would call when it was. it’s now thursday and i still have not heard anything,
i can understand that faults are going to occur and that doesn’t bother me because we all know these things happen but 3 bikes in just a couple of months is not acceptable.
if i was going down mountains on these bikes and mistreating them i wouldn’t mind so much having these problems because i’ve bought a lower priced bike and at the end of the day you get what you pay for, but i have stored the bikes inside every night and they have been used to do a 4 mile round trip to work 5 days a week and the occasional trip around town so i’m sure you’ll agree you would expect even a bottom range bike to be able to cope with that.
so far every time i have been in your shop the staff are generally helpful and do try to help sort which ever problem i have had with the bikes but i think the problem lies with a mixture of poor training and poor products.
in my day to day job i deal with quality issues and i help with customer’s problems try to find ways to resolve these as quickly and hassle free as possible. i also deal with our suppliers regarding the quality products they send to us and if the service from them was half as bad as the service i had from halfords i would not use them.
i am sure you have many satisfied customers all over but i certainly am not one of them and i would not recommend buying a bike from halfords.
What a joke
Everyone else is cutting their own throats to keep buisness running offering good sale prices, what do halfords do..................... Put their prices up!
Thule 9503 bike carrier up from £109.99 to a massive £169.99.
Halfords 4x4 spare wheel bike carrier up from £86.99 to £129.99!
Now this isnt because their suppliers have put their prices up, it cant be because the same carriers have been in my local halfords for the last couple of months!
So old stock at old prices.
As for returning items for refund as long as its faulty and as long as its before 28 days then law states that the contract is with the supplier not the manufacturer, no matter what the item is. law states it has to be fit for purpose for anything upto 5 years, which is the max time period in which a personal prosecution can be taken out.
Add a comment about this blagger
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Comments:
this is the first stage in letting the public know what they can expect from Halfords when "they" make an error.
I recently purchased (what I was told was a truck sat nav)until I tried to update it online ! ! !
The truck edition disappeared ! I contacted Halfords and they say I should speak to the manager of the store in question, The problem is I am a truck driver (from Ireland and live no more than 10 miles from a Halfords store) and it may be a while before I pass the store in Crewe where I purchased my product in August 2011. However I will do my best to return there before the yearly warranty expires, "joke"
I also tried to update my maps as the model I purchased had only 2010 maps, they would not update! I have since been informed by Halfords I should have done this within 30 days of purchase and I now have to pay for 2011 maps! "joke"
None of this was explained to me at the time of purchase, I was also told the Navman Tourer I purchased was a full working truck sat nav, "joke".
The emails I received form Halfords customer care and Mio were short and of no help other than stating I had to spend more money to upgrade a product I purchased in 2011 to receive the 2011 maps, "joke".
Halfords shame on your for this poor service. To all members here I would like to ask is there such thing as the small claims court in the UK or something similar? I have been sold a faulty product that does not do what I was told it would do and the company that sold it to me is in a round about way saying, though!
Any help or comments greatly accepted.
Overall i am extremely upset at this and the time i had spent in travelling to the store. This is not what i would of expected from Halfords and the reputation they have was the reason i decided to use Halfords for my purchase.
I am still waiting for the Store Manager to contact me to explain the reason i had a wasted 3 hour journey.
And anyway babyseats, head units and others are not hard to fit at all!
And yes they do try to go the extra mile for customers, but why would they risk their job to do it, by going agaisnt policy's.
Half of them have to physically drive to other stores to get the stock in, which means a huge waste in petrol because some people can't wait for delivery to come.
At the end of the day Halfords is what it is you can't please everyone.
1a2b3c4d at 15th Mar 2011, 07:30PM
It was like pulling teeth,Sunday is the best day for me due to work and i appreciate it is the most popular day,but the laughable thing is that all stores told me they were very busy,and yet they all only have one person available to fit car radios. To add insult to injury two of the stores near me have given their one installer the week off next week, without anyone else to replace him-I have fitted the darn thing myself now -"we go the extra mile" yeah in the other direction..
ps. I dont think it very good when the person on the other end of the phone tells me to "ang on a minute mate i will try and the diary, cos this aint my department"
Dear Mr. Wild
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction at the customer experience being
received at your Rhyl Branch, North Wales.
I have been a loyal customer of Halfords of many years and of
the Rhyl Store for over fifteen years.
In recent years the experience being experienced at the store is very poor and
now doubt related to a drive on efficiencies as the ratio of experienced staff
to customer requirements appears to be ill adjusted.
In recent times I have purchased a Car Battery, a Sat Nav, In Car Entertainment
System, C.D. / Radio amongst other things and on each occasion the company has
been unable to live up to its claim to be able to fit goods to customer
vehicles as 'nobody was available'. I have remained loyal due to other factors
and have purchased a family bicycle care plan.
On 25/110/2011 I brought my son' cycle to the store for a service and repair,
ref 8003251702. The staff member was dismissive telling me 'I'm just filling in
and I cannot deal with your bike'. After some discussion he accepted the bike
telling me that the repair would take approx ten days - 1/11/2010. I was
subsequently called by this staff member and informed the repair would be
delayed as he was awaiting parts, somewhat of a disappointment.
A week or so later having not had an update I called to the store and again
spoke to this staff member, he couldn't explain delay on parts. I repeated this
a week later this time telephoning the store in advance so not to waste further
journey - time and expense. I was put through to the repair department and
informed the cycle was ready. I traveled to the store only to be told that the
cycle was not only not ready but had not even been started upon and that the
man dealing with the job, had left the company (as if I was to be somehow
interested in this?). The staff member went into the rear of the store and came
back to tell me the manager stated ' we are still waiting on parts'. I was told
to call back in a few days which I did only to be told again the work had not
commenced and that the man dealing with the job 'was on holiday'!!!
I left the store having been told that the work would be completed as soon as
possible and when I ask when was told ' cant say as you can see we are very
busy'! I am glad to say that I received a call from 'Tim' who had just
commenced employment to do cycle repairs, he was most apologetic and resolved
to completed the work the same day.
In conclusion, I have not collected the cycle as I would like you to look into
the overall matter and let me know what you propose to do to regain my customer
confidence and satisfaction.
yours
G.L. Kelly
*************************************************
Dear Mr Kelly
Thank you for your email.
Halfords only compensate for actual losses and cannot consider your request for compensation. As a company, we feel that it more productive and beneficial to address the issue and deal with the matter internally.
It is important that we rectify any mistakes and learn from them moving forward, however I do not believe this warrants further gestures on our part on this occasion.
I appreciate this may not be the outcome you were expecting, however, please be assured that this matter has received my full attention and consideration.
Be assured that all correspondence that comes in to our Customer Service department, is made available for our Directors & Chief Executive to view. They do not respond personally to letters & emails but be assured details of your complaint will be passed to our Chief Executive for his information.
*************************************************
Julie
someone needs to take a customers perspective to these matters, you clearly do not, and Halfords policy then needs to be amended to reflect customer expectations.
The ripple effect of this matter will lose Halfords my custom and those around me or more. Does that balance out when measured against what it would have taken to look after my concerns, I think not. I didn't mention compensation.
This only goes to reflect what I have experienced in store, really poor Julie, really poor.
Gary
Halfords would not let me return my part of the order despite being in breach of contract. After weeks of complaints they did offer to refund me the discount I should have received if I re ordered the discounted part of my order. After I placed the order Halfords customer services ignored any requests for the refund discount.
In short I am left £50 out of pocket from my initial order and my only available outcome is legal action.
First, when browsing for a bike I visited both the Wandsworth Halfords and the St.Pauls Bikehut on two occasions - not once did a member of staff offer me any assistance, which was almost enough to make me not buy from Halfords but as I wanted to purchase a Boardman Bike I had little choice.
When I finally went into the St.Pauls Bikehut to purchase the bike on Thursday 17th June, a member of staff only asked if I wanted any assistance once I had placed three items on the counter. I was told I would have a two week wait (max) for my road shoes as they were out.
The staff member informed me the bike would need to be delivered to the store; as I was on holiday from Saturday 19th June to Saturday 26th June, I asked if it would be possible to collect the bike on Sunday 27th June. I was told this would not be a problem but when I returned from holiday and called (26/06/10) to check my bike had arrived and was available for collect on the 27th, I was told the store did not open on a Sunday and no one would have taken a collection date for this day. When I complained about this, the member of staff (Andrew Turner) became increasingly rude. I then asked if I would be able to collect it that afternoon instead and he said this would be fine but he would check the bike had been safety checked - when he returned on the phone he had obviously seen he was the staff member who had taken the order and became very sheepish and apologetic (after he had been incredibly rude!). He then went on to tell me I couldn't collect my bike because it had not been delivered to the store yet - because he manager was out of the shop on the Friday and no one had arranged the bike collection in the managers absence.
I agreed to collect my bike the following Thursday (24/06/10) and called prior to leaving Canary Wharf to ensure the bike was there along with all the accessories (bar the road shoes) - I was told everything was in order. When I arrived, the accessories (pedals etc) I have purchased had not been fitted and as I could not wait for them to be fitted then and there, I had to return to the store that evening to collect my bike, which was extremely inconvenient at the time.
I was told that my shoes would arrive within 10 days and they would call me as soon as they arrived - two weeks later, I had not heard anything and so called the shop and was told the supplier was still out of stock but they were expecting them within 7 days. Therefore I waited another two weeks - nothing. I decided to call the store today (23/07/2010) to find out what was going on and was forwarded to the Old Street Bikehut to be informed that the St.Pauls store had closed and all orders had been transferred to them. I was told the St.Pauls store attempted to contact all of their outstanding orders to inform them on the change, but I did not received any such call or any voicemail / letter explaining the situation. The manager was very apologetic but said the order hadn't been moved to their store but if he couldn't locate the whereabouts of my shoes, then he would order another pair.
I am sure you will agree this whole ordeal has been unnecessarily protracted and has highlighted poor customer service on more than one occasion.
the allegation also can't be looked into without more detail, like names, date and ideally time.
also, there is nothing in the terms and conditions of this site which forbids you posting people's names
you all have my sympathy.we had trouble finding staff too and when we did they were making rude comments and gestures to each other,not allowed to give there names so d.... and j....
my wife has written to complain but have yet to receive any reply and judging by the comments we've been reading won't,is a simple apology too much to expect?
on the plus side the warrington branch is the only one we have ever had a problem with,apart from not being able to find any staff.
Reserve and collect actually means NOT reserved AT ALL and probably won't collect it all. I reserved 9 items worth over £230. All showed "in stock" so I reserved for collection and allowed a couple of hours then drove the 35 min trip to Hereford. On arrival I went to the collection desk and nothing was picked ! The poor sales guy had to wander round the shelves picking my order. Half hour later 2 items missing. I cancelled the order and went home very angry at the timewasters. I have now ordered the kit from ScrewFix and Machine Mart. I just won't use Half Ords again.
I went in looking for a Haynes manual for a 2006 Fiesta which they didn't have!!!!!
Two sales staff chatting behind a stand.
Deputy manager running around helping a customer on the parts desk while other customers waited with no other staff in sight.
I noticed bare shelves and shelves with widely spaced items to make them look full.
What is wrong with Halfords?
Is it just me?
I bet nobody from head office knows what goes on in the shops - or cares.
They have huge modern premises but somehow it just doesn't work.
Can't really blame the salespeople I suppose because these problems always start at the top - at director level. Probably paid too much.
Thumbs down Halfords.
Lo and behold, at 12.30 I received a phone call from Alan, the manager, informing me that the bike was now ready for collection and it would not cost me a penny. A job done in 2 hours that didn't get done in the previous five weeks.
I am extremely grateful for his service and glad that the issue was sorted out promptly by the branch manager without having to go any further.
This goes to show that you can't tar everyone with the same brush, and while I might not rush back to the Harrow branch for bike servicing, I would have no problem using them for purchases - for my car if not my bike!
On the 30th June I took my mountain bike into the store for an overhaul. I explained to them exactly what I needed to be done in the minutest detail. I was told by the supervisor that they were busy and so it would be about a week before they could do the work. I asked if I could leave the bike with them and they kindly agreed. I was given a date of 9th July to pick up the bike.
On July 9th I called the store and asked if the bike would be ready for collection that evening. I was told that they needed parts and had had to order them in. While a quick inspection would have told them that on the day I took the bike in, I was willing to forgive that as they had told me they would not start the work until July 7th.
Over a week later - having heard nothing - I called to find out how they were getting on. I was told that the parts had arrived days earlier but they had not started the work as the bottom bracket also needed replacing and they needed my go-ahead for the work. When asked why they hadn't called me I was told they didn't have my contact details. This despite the fact that I gave them both my home and office numbers when I took the bike into the store.
They told me they would be starting the work the following day now they had the go-ahead.
Over a week later, once again having heard nothing (I'm a patient man) I called and asked how they were getting on. I was told that they had priced the work and it was going to come to over £100 so they wanted to get my go-ahead before doing the work. I was well aware at the outset it would be over £100 and for a bike that I ride every day, this does not concern me. Once again I asked why they had not contacted me to keep me in the picture and I was told that they had tried. This despite the fact I am in the office all day every day, and there are answer machines on my home and work phones. At this point I begged them to keep me updated and inform me early of any further problems. This was last Thursday (30th July).
On Monday I called once again and spoke to the Bikehut supervisor. He told me they hadn't started yet as a couple of urgent jobs had come in. I told him my job should be a priority at this point and told him I was expecting it to be started that day. He said it would be.
Yesterday afternoon I called and asked if it was finished (knowing the work is half a day max) and was told that they were half way through. I said I would be expecting a phone call at 5.30pm telling me it would be ready for collection otherwise I would be collecting the bike anyway. I was told they could not guarantee the work would be finished and I could collect the bike if I wished.
5.30pm came and went and no phone call. In fact in the five weeks that I have been waiting I haven't received a single phone call from them updating me on the situation. It is now 1.29pm on August 5th and still they haven't contacted me. I have now decided to wait until the store manager is back in (tomorrow) and make an official complaint to him (as well as head office). I have no intention of paying for the work carried out, even if they do finally complete the job.
We then asked about the Maxi-cosi (0-13kg) and asked if he could possibly try fitting it into the Mazda without the base to get a 2nd opinion on whether the seat belts were too short. He claimed that the baby seats were unsuitable to be used without a base (an extra £100). We informed him that a fitter at Mothercare had tried to fit it without the base so it must be possible. He again reiterated that they weren't suitable without a base and implied that they wouldn't sell it without a base.
At this point both my wife and I were biting our lips not to tell him he was talking "nonsense". We left the shop at this point.
After thinking about the conversation we realised that Silver Cross make a car seat that does not have a base available so they must be able to be fitted without.
We are most disgusted with the attitude of the salesperson who seemed to want an argument and to make as much money as possible by selling us an unecessary base.
After reading about Halfords on here I would like to add that the Hitchin Herts branch has the rudest man in retail working there absolutly no customer service skills and I will never ever go in there again.The repair on my bike was useless and I had to go to an independant shop to get it done properly( should have done first time round!)
they sell rubbish wont answer emails all you get is an automated response wont go back there in a hurry
would advise every one to avoid trax bikes they are not fit for the purpose intended ordered one over the net to pick it up at the fort manchester
got there to be told by a kid who seemed to be running the place we dont make that bike any more in that colour and have not done so for ages
yet even today its stil advertised on the web site ?
i was offered a different trax bike young kid got it up on a stand to check it out spun the back wheel it was buckled .
he didn't see or didn't want to see it so i pointed it out he went to several other bikes and low and behold the same problem .
asked now what and got a shrug of the shoulders walked out and emailed them but no reply so emailed em again and still no reply .
advise you avoid halfords like the plague they are a waste of time go to the little man who will give you good advise perhaps not such a good deal but will take the time and effort to be helpful so you will come back
i am emailing to make a complaint about the poor service and quality of products i have received from your store in andover.
back in november 2008 i bought a trax mountain bike that was in the sale for £150, the original price was £250.
within the first few days i was having problems with the bike, the brakes had not been set up correctly, the front disk brake completely locked up and the rear brake would hardly even slow the bike down.
the gears had not been set up properly and they would regularly slip from one gear to another, also when the bike was on the 2 smallest cogs on the back wheel it was making a strange grinding noise. the nature of these faults made me question the safety check that had been done prior to me receiving the bike.
over the next 2 weeks i was back in the shop several times having these faults looked at and if they managed to fix one another would start. not at any time of me having this bike did the brakes work as they should and every time it was returned to the shop they would play with them for a while and i would be sent on my way on a bike that either wouldn’t stop or with brakes would be completely seized up. one day when i had given up keeping going back to the shop i attempted to fix it myself. the first thing i looked at was the grinding noise coming from the bottom 2 cog’s (that i had mentioned every time the bike had been returned) and i found that the chain was rubbing on the frame and had cut into the metalwork. i returned the bike and i was given a replacement which i was more than happy with.
the replacement was an apollo fs26s, which seemed to be a good bike although the brakes did need to be adjusted on the first day apart from that it seemed ok. after 2 weeks the front suspension was making a very loud squeaking noise and when i had a closer look at it the spring inside was rubbing on the fork and it had started wearing away the metal. i returned this bike and i was given the choice to wait 2 weeks for a replacement suspension or have a completely new bike, i’m sure you can guess what i went for.
so bike number 3, i got the apollo bike fs26s, and again it was poorly set up. i had adjusted the brakes on the first day because they were constantly rubbing and the front wheel wouldn’t spin freely and they also would not stop the bike because they wouldn’t shut tight enough. i managed to fix this in 5 minutes, and although it wasn’t a big problem i think its something that should have been spotted before it was given to me and again makes me question the quality of the safety checks.
after just over a week the chain was covered in rust from where it had not been lubricated when it had been fitted and also the gears were slipping. i thought the gear slipping was down to the rusty chain so i cleaned the chain and lubricated it but this didn’t solve the slipping chain problem so for the next couple of months i found what gears slipped the most and just avoided using them.
whilst on my way to work i noticed the gripshift for the gears on the back wheel had become very stiff, the cable had a few broken strands on it and these had become clogged up and was causing the cable not to move freely.
i managed to make the bike ride-able and when i returned the bike to your shop in andover i was told they were to busy to fix it there and then so could i bring it back in 3 or 4 days time which i said was ok.
i did not have time to drop the bike off that week so i took it in the following sunday where i was told again to come back later in the week. i said i would leave the bike and the boy i spoke to said it would be done by tuesday and they would call me. i had not heard anything by wednesday so i called the shop incase they didn’t have my number written down correctly but it had not been done i was told they would call when it was. it’s now thursday and i still have not heard anything,
i can understand that faults are going to occur and that doesn’t bother me because we all know these things happen but 3 bikes in just a couple of months is not acceptable.
if i was going down mountains on these bikes and mistreating them i wouldn’t mind so much having these problems because i’ve bought a lower priced bike and at the end of the day you get what you pay for, but i have stored the bikes inside every night and they have been used to do a 4 mile round trip to work 5 days a week and the occasional trip around town so i’m sure you’ll agree you would expect even a bottom range bike to be able to cope with that.
so far every time i have been in your shop the staff are generally helpful and do try to help sort which ever problem i have had with the bikes but i think the problem lies with a mixture of poor training and poor products.
in my day to day job i deal with quality issues and i help with customer’s problems try to find ways to resolve these as quickly and hassle free as possible. i also deal with our suppliers regarding the quality products they send to us and if the service from them was half as bad as the service i had from halfords i would not use them.
i am sure you have many satisfied customers all over but i certainly am not one of them and i would not recommend buying a bike from halfords.
i look forward to hearing your response
regards
Everyone else is cutting their own throats to keep buisness running offering good sale prices, what do halfords do..................... Put their prices up!
Thule 9503 bike carrier up from £109.99 to a massive £169.99.
Halfords 4x4 spare wheel bike carrier up from £86.99 to £129.99!
Now this isnt because their suppliers have put their prices up, it cant be because the same carriers have been in my local halfords for the last couple of months!
So old stock at old prices.
As for returning items for refund as long as its faulty and as long as its before 28 days then law states that the contract is with the supplier not the manufacturer, no matter what the item is. law states it has to be fit for purpose for anything upto 5 years, which is the max time period in which a personal prosecution can be taken out.
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