just suppose that you got the top job at Halfords

[dellzeqq]

Think, just for a second, before typing. And look at the potential....

Halfords is a big bike retailer. They're on more high streets and in more shopping centres than any other bike retailer. They do repairs. They sell cycle clothing. They carry a range of branded and accessories. They sell some pretty decent bikes - and some that are not so decent.

Now - it's easy to say that you'd never go in to one, but look at it this way - if Halfords was a good shop, a great shop even, then they could do more for cycling in the UK than anybody else.

So - measured responses, please, rather than put-downs. And bear in mind that they got that big for one reason and one reason only - lots of people shop there.

 

[david k]

my halfords is quite good, cannot believe the posts here about how bad they are?

 

[dellzeqq]

my halfords is quite good, cannot believe the posts here about how bad they are?

then that is as interesting as the negative stuff. What do you rate about your local branch?

 

[Midnight]

You're lucky David. My local motorists shop is not so hot with bicycles.

If I were in the top job? Well, If they want me to run their business then they'd have to pay me a consultation fee first.

And frankly, I'm not sure it would be the best thing for the cycling community to have a one-stop superstore dominating the market. It would put hundreds of lbs's out of business, many experienced mechanics out of work, and reduce the product choice for shoppers. I'd much rather trust my lbs when it comes to bicycles. A lot of people shop there because that place has such a higher public profile than yer average lbs, many don't realise what a poor service they get when compared to an lbs, and probably shop there by default and for convenience more than through informed choice.

 

[funnymummy]

I've bought lots of car related bits from Halfords, all of which has been fine.
Only probelsm I ever had was when looking at the flip chart list for spares,look up your car model & year Hmmm Renault Meganes, Scenics..what if you drive a Renault Megane Scenic..? Yes I got the wrong bulb, mirror glass on several occasions!
I've bought all of the bubs car seats from there - No problems.
I've bought camping stuff there - No problems.
I've also bought lots of bike bits from them - As i've alwasy known prior to walking in the shop what i've wanted checked online it in stock etc, i've not had a problems with the actual product i've bought.
(yesterday was more down to staffing that product issue)

My ex bought #3 a bike from there 3 years ago, on Christmas morning he turned up with it, it was unrideable! Every bolt was done up so tight nothing would move!! It took me nearly an hour to get it all set up ok - By which point #3 was hyperventilating!! (it weighed a ton, he couldn't ride it, sat gathering dust in garage for 2 years - But the shop man had told my ex is was perfect for a 4yr old)
I know lots of folks who have bought bikes from there & had lots of probelsm with the bike/build/after-care service - i've had the joys of fixing lots of them!

So what would I change...?
Staff!! Or rather their training.
The one thing I have found is when asking a member of staff a question, they don't have a clue - But I must add that there are some staff that are fantastic & know excatly what you need - It does seem that it's the younger ones that are clueless, but then it's only a weekend job to them.
In regard to the bike section, i'd make sure all employees were fully trained, not just given a quick 60 minute induction & handed a spanner, but the same applies here, if staff are only young, just doing it as a Saturday job, would any employer spends £100's & time/effort training them?
Probably not, so therefore a young unqualified person shouldn't be left alone or asked to carry out jobs above their level of expertease

Halfords do sell some excellnet products, I just feel the one thing that lets them down is the lack of basic knowledge & skills by their staff - And that is what needs adressing

 

[david k]

they were polite, helpful and did a good job setting the bike up. they have plenty of staff and one particular knows his stuff. My only complaint is the best one is a bit arrogant but im not there to be friends with him

saying that my lbs is excellent too, very helpful, probably better than halfords but doesnt mean halfords was bad by any means

 

[4F]

My father in law has just retired from bike hut before it ground him down and more.

He told me that the problems stem from management in their own branches and the fact that they try and reduce staff to ridiculous levels. Many staff are only offered part time hours at minimum basic wage and often if they were quiet they would send staff home unpaid for the day.

For example one of their superstore's reguarly has only 3 members of staff covering the whole store (over 2 floors) and as a result have little time to do any job properly. Last year some cheeky scrote walked in the store and whilst staff were distracted, screwed on a set of pedals to a £ 999 Boardman and calmly cycled out of the store before anyone realised what was going on

He stated that the Halfords computer system is a joke and stock control is nothing short of a nightmare.

He says that the majority of the bikes that they sell are at the cheaper end, Apollo's etc and some range of BMX that for the life of me I cannot remember the name of and these are always being bought back as the components are made of cheese and almost impossible to adjust.

Apart from that he loved the job

As it happens my father also works in another Bike Hut down south and pretty much sums up the above.
What really grates me is that the only thing I get for from him is bloody Halfrauds gift vouchers

 

[abo]

From a business perspective, what's to change? They already turn a decent profit...

Personally I'd look at their staffing, and split them between having regular staff to serve customers with bits and bobs, with a level of training which is enough to sells those bits and bobs plus answer basic bike enquiries. There would be a senior member of staff to deal with more complex questions etc. and trained to a higher standard, as there should be anyway. Bike builds and maintance would be handled by specialist, properly trained staff for whom this will be their dedicated job. They build the bikes and their only contact with the customer is when they wheel the finished bike out and fit it to the customer. No selling, answering phones, working the till etc.

And offer a wider range of makes of bike, not just Apollo, Carrera, Boardman, Voodoo, Raleigh as it would appear they do now

 

[numbnuts]

I suppose they could change the name to Wiggles, just to fool the public

 

[corshamjim]

I wouldn't change anything, except I'd put the bicycle section on the ground floor! And I'd put decent sheffield stands outside the shop.

Halfords have their business model and it seems to work very nicely for them. I find them convenient for some things, not so for others. I'm really pleased to see them offering some good hub-geared bikes at reasonable prices - that's not something I can say about my lbs. Granted, lbs beats them hands down on service, but that's partly because the sales staff at the lbs aren't quite as busy as the sales staff at Halfords so they can give me more attention.

 

[summerdays]

I'd get rid of the Apollo range of bikes and see if I could come up with a better alternative that didn't use cheese as a component, plus ensure that all staff who worked on bike building had proper training.

 

[funnymummy]

I wouldn't change anything, except I'd put the bicycle section on the ground floor! And I'd put decent sheffield stands outside the shop.

And that!!
I have 2 Halfords within a couple miles each way of me, one has just had a major rebuild done & the bike part is now upstairs, It has lots of lovely bike stands out the front too...Shame they use the area in front to display all the car trailers so you can't actulay get to them!
The other is a much older builder, the bike is downstairs, it has no stands at all, but lots of lovely hand rails going up the ramp from the disabled parking bays that you could chain a bike too!

 

[sabian92]

I wouldn't change much. Maybe more staff, who are a bit more knowledgeable about the stuff they sell, and that's about it. My local Halfords isn't a bad one, I don't mind taking my bike there (as opposed to my LBS, which is run by idiots and they know nothing about anything) and they aren't too badly priced.

 

[4F]

I wouldn't change anything, except I'd put the bicycle section on the ground floor!

To be fair they probably consider anyone who can ride a bike to be fit enough to use the stairs compared to your average moton driver

 

[Midnight]

I wouldn't change much. Maybe more staff, who are a bit more knowledgeable about the stuff they sell, and that's about it. My local Halfords isn't a bad one, I don't mind taking my bike there (as opposed to my LBS, which is run by idiots and they know nothing about anything) and they aren't too badly priced.

Yeah, Fair point. I should have pointed out that not lbs's are equal, and some are infinitely better than others. I'm fairly lucky in that there are at least 3 good lbs within a few miles of my home. I'll admit that I do occasionally use that other place for the odd small part, but personally I'd much rather use anyone of those 3 lbs than that motoring store any day. And I still think that it would be a great shame to lose so many good lbs to a superstore that just happens to sell bikes.