Halfords Cycle care plan opinion

[FrankCrank]

I remember buying a TV from Richer Sounds, a rather good shop overall, and the guy mentioned extended warranty as he was doubtless required to by management, and I was about to politely decline but may have accidentally snorted out loud and he said "I don't blame you mate" and no more was said. Great service though as the shop guy helped me carry it home to my flat - admittedly it wasn't far but still above and beyond the call of duty

I think the Richer Sounds in Reading is still going - great shop. I've got here some of the stuff I bought there nearly 30 years back, and still performing well. Proper gear from a proper shop

 

[Lovacott]

I think the Richer Sounds in Reading is still going - great shop. I've got here some of the stuff I bought there nearly 30 years back, and still performing well. Proper gear from a proper shop

Hi fi retail is something which has been properly screwed over by online trading. People go into Richer Sounds, touch the stuff, get a demo and then buy the kit from Amazon for £20 less. Camera shops have suffered the same fate.

 

[mjr]

Hi fi retail is something which has been properly screwed over by online trading. People go into Richer Sounds, touch the stuff, get a demo and then buy the kit from Amazon for £20 less. Camera shops have suffered the same fate.

Did the unpleasant sales experience with care plan pushy selling also contribute to that?

 

[Lovacott]

Did the unpleasant sales experience with care plan pushy selling also contribute to that?

I suppose if your margins have been driven down by online competition, you have to try and claw them back somehow or another?

Fact is though, faulty manufacturing tends to show up within the first months of use so buying extended warranties is just a waste of money.

I feel sorry for the spotty kids who are judged on how many of these plans they sell.

 

[DRM]

Not being nit picky, but in the UK, there is no such thing as a fork lift licence. It's simply a requirement that staff are trained and a record of training is kept. Commonly referred to as a "forklift ticket". It's a record of formal training but it isn't a legal requirement to have one.

In Australia, they went way from this system in 2008 and actually made it an offence to operate a forklift on private property without a full forklift licence. It's linked to your driving licence and can be checked online by any prospective employer.

It’s actually referred to as a fork truck licence, even though it’s just a training course, with a bit of paper at the end of it, despite people passing the training the lunatics then treat them like a cross between a racing car and a battering ram, then when it all goes wrong, it’s the truck that’s faulty, the damage I’ve seen over the years must be in to millions to get rectified, it doesn’t help that those in charge let them get away with it, but when they bite people get badly hurt, it doesn’t help that some places have in house training, but you can’t take it with you, if you go to an external provider it’s yours until it expires.

 

[simongt]

And the best part is that at 68, I'm nearly twice the age of many of the staff I'm referring to - !

 

[simongt]

In our firm, because of previous experience, they are pretty tough on those who transgress safe forklift driving. All our counterbalance trucks are fitted with a device which if the truck hits something, an e-mail is promptly raised to the supervisor. Oh, and the truck also goes into 'tortoise mode'. I caused one to do this recently simply by shutting the battery compartment door too hard whilst it was stationary - !

 

[DRM]

In our firm, because of previous experience, they are pretty tough on those who transgress safe forklift driving. All our counterbalance trucks are fitted with a device which if the truck hits something, an e-mail is promptly raised to the supervisor. Oh, and the truck also goes into 'tortoise mode'. I caused one to do this recently simply by shutting the battery compartment door too hard whilst it was stationary - !

Toyota by any chance, on iSite? Also do they have the blue beacon of shame fitted too, just to reinforce the point!

 

[simongt]

Nope, all our FLTs; counterbalance, clamp and VNA are Jungheinrich - !

 

[DRM]

Nope, all our FLTs; counterbalance, clamp and VNA are Jungheinrich - !

They all have variations on a theme, it’s the answer to a problem no one has, drive it in a bumpy yard and the shock sensor goes off, sometimes they’re turned so far down it might as well not be there

 

[Dag Hammar]

I suppose if your margins have been driven down by online competition, you have to try and claw them back somehow or another?

Fact is though, faulty manufacturing tends to show up within the first months of use so buying extended warranties is just a waste of money.

I feel sorry for the spotty kids who are judged on how many of these plans they sell.

You’ve hit the nail on the head with your summary of how staff ( not just spotty kids) are judged on how many service plans or warranties they sell. I used to work in retail and can say without fear of contradiction that selling service plans / warranties / extended guarantees are the holy grail as far as management are concerned.
The profit margin on these is huge and the salesperson earns a good wedge of commission for selling them.

 

[Cycleops]

How did a thread on Halfords pitiful care plan turn into a discussion on fork lift trucks

 

[mustang1]

I usually would not take that plan out for a bike. For a car, yeah probably, but not bike.
From a moral pov, yeah I think Halfords should transfer the policy over but I guess the "contract" says otherwise. Still might be worth calling head office as they might surprise you.

Out of interest, does that policy include parts or just labour? My guess is the latter.

 

[mjr]

The profit margin on these is huge and the salesperson earns a good wedge of commission for selling them.

The misselling penalties take a big chunk out of that, but usually long after the sales staff and definitely managers have moved on.

 

[Chislenko]

I spent 7 years in Australia working in resources and you couldn't take a piss unless you were trained and qualified to do so.

That really hurt.

I would imagine not having a piss for 7 years would hurt!

The relief the day you left must have been enormous 😊