Sunday 17 April 2011

Halfords

I have found that there is a certain amount of snobbishness concerning Halfords in some cycling circles. Certainly, I have experienced very different customer service in different branches. I haven't been in the Tottenham Hale branch for a while, so things may have changed, but the one time I went there last year I was met was majestic indifference to my questions, and so left and haven't returned.


The Halfords in Chingford, by the A406, by contrast, has always had polite staff who are helpful.


But  this store has absolutely no cycle parking. None. Nada. Zip. Isn't this strange for a shop with a large cycling department?


Even stranger is that every BikeHut department I have visited is upstairs. It didn't occur to me until I saw three people heaving their bikes up the stairs (presumably to get them repaired) quite how inconvenient the stores are set-up.


Why would a company set up cycle stores in this manner? Surely not all the people who visit the cycle section drive? 

5 comments:

  1. I went to Halfords at Byfleet to buy roof bars, I went by bike and took my CarryFreedom Y-frame large trailer. IIRC, the Sheffield stands were mounted too close to the building rendering them unusable in the intended manner.

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  2. The Sheffield stands at the Newark branch are too close to the building, too.

    However it does seem to have some keen and helpful staff in the bike repair department. I took an old wheel in because I needed the 2-prong type freewheel removing, as I didn't have the right tool. The bloke let me park my bike in the store as I'd forgotten my lock, took ten minutes finding the freewheel remover (he'd not used it in years, as you might imagine), then didn't even charge me for doing the job.

    I'd like to meet the people who decided to put a bike department upstairs though, and ask them exactly what they were thinking...

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  3. The Halfords in Leighton Buzzard doesn't have any cycle parking either. On the plus side it is all on one floor and it does have a wide range of bike related stuff part from bikes. It also isn't snobby like some bike shops. You know what I mean. Not like the HiFi shop sketch from Not the Nine O'Clock News
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSINO6MKtco&feature=player_detailpage

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  4. You're right about the Tottenham Hale Branch . I don't think it has changed much from last you visited. On a Sat recently as a fairly novice cyclist looking to buy some replacements there was total disinterest from them even when I wanted to actually pay for anything.
    And the bike dept is upstairs.

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  5. Anonymous,

    A shame since the Tottenham Hale branch has loads of high quality covered sheffield stands.

    I was "served" by two assistants who seemed to hold Beavis and Butthead as role-models. It was really quite disappointing.

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