Halfords, hrm..

Narj

Narj

Narj

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2010
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Location
London
Anyone got any idea why these vary so wildy between stores? I went into one store and was told by the disinterested staff that what I wanted was "complicated" and was basically told to come back another day when someone "might" be able to help me... "best ring beforehand because I think the bloke might be off".

Head off to another Halfords a few miles down the road the next day (Dartford) and they couldn't do enough for me. Absolutely everything sorted/fitted within an hour and staff that obviously knew the store and all the products inside out.

Are these franchises or something or are some stores just full of plebs?
 
Its generally young guys that work in the shops with a mixture of older slightly more experienced staff. For many it will just be a job and the simply won't get what you're asking for or about no matter the training.

In other cases it'll be a bit of a hobby too so you're more likely to have some luck. The massive range of things they sell and so have to try and train the staff on doesn't help either.

....so basically its pot luck, really you need to be clued in on what you actually want/need to get the best out of the place. Tbh I mainly buy their own brand stuff with a trade card and little else
 
Kids are all off college at the moment so you have a higher chance of being served by mister minimum wage while I do media studies BTEC while mister knows his onions is sunning his er... onions on his annual holiday in Spain.
 
rodenal said:
In other cases it'll be a bit of a hobby too so you're more likely to have some luck. The massive range of things they sell and so have to try and train the staff on doesn't help either.

....so basically its pot luck, really you need to be clued in on what you actually want/need to get the best out of the place. Tbh I mainly buy their own brand stuff with a trade card and little else
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Yeah this was the idea I got. The guys in the second store were wannabe mechanics I think, really keen. The first store, I may as well have been in Primark. :/

Anyhow, for what it's worth, the Dartford store is excellent. I suppose it'd be bad form to name the awful one so I won't.
 
I shop at the Dartford one fairly often - never really thought about it, but now that I do, I did get excellent service off a guy when looking for a car battery. The guy knew much more than the smaller independent motorfactor I'd visited earlier in the day which was nice - usually they are much better for knowledge.
 
Narj said:
Anyhow, for what it's worth, the Dartford store is excellent. I suppose it'd be bad form to name the awful one so I won't.
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Wasn't blackfen by any chance was it? Because every time I've been there they've been utterly hopeless as opposed to dartford who are actually quite good
 
Was just about to say the exact same as geekman lol. The Blackfen one is terrible and the staff are all seriously miserable, in Dartford however there are definitely a good few staff who know what they're talking about and are able and very willing to help. End up getting most stuff from Dartford if I do go even though the Blackfen one is less than a mile away lol.
 
Narj said:
Anyone got any idea why these vary so wildy between stores? I went into one store and was told by the disinterested staff that what I wanted was "complicated" and was basically told to come back another day when someone "might" be able to help me... "best ring beforehand because I think the bloke might be off".

Head off to another Halfords a few miles down the road the next day (Dartford) and they couldn't do enough for me. Absolutely everything sorted/fitted within an hour and staff that obviously knew the store and all the products inside out.

Are these franchises or something or are some stores just full of plebs?
Click to expand...

Thread is pointless unless you tell us what you asked.
My local halfords is good. Have never not got good service there. I've also never asked them silly questions.
 
To be fair the last half a dozen times I've been in Halfords my question has been "er... can I redeem this O2 Priority Moment please?" and the answer has always been "Yes." so I'm perfectly happy with the service of the Great Yarmouth store :p

I mean who knows when I'll need a bike puncture repair kit... or three of them for that matter :o
 
Whenever I go to any big brand store (Maplins for some weird electric thing, the local tyre place etc) I just head for the oldest looking guy I can find!
 
It's the same with any store like this, the mentality and attitude of the staff can vary from store to store completely. I've seen myself this happen in places I've worked and it's often the attitude of the management that passes on to the rest of the staff.
 
Our Halfords is pretty good at picking staff, There is this one old boy who you go to see for anything hard to find but even the young dudes in there are helpful.
I don't suffer poor service though & will say something if I'm not happy, I am the person that embarrasses everybody by moaning out loud. :o + :D
 
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