Halfords: how crap is that?

Well, I got disks for a Citroen ZX on a Sunday from them.

My experience of Halfords hasn't been that bad; I think people just like to complain.

I'd agree provided you know what you want and can identify it correctly off the shelf.

Relying on most of the staff for any technical help is likely to be frustrating.

I disagree. I don't particularly like to have to complain, but what I do like is to get the part I need. My nearest Halfords is a half hour drive away so it is a pain in the ass to have to take something back. On both occasions I have bought parts my car was outside and was correctly identified. On the first occasion they gave me the wrong brake shoes. I was back home and had the old ones off before I discovered this. Not well pleased! The last time a couple of weeks ago I got among other things an air filter. I double checked this before I left and it was definitely listed as the correct part. However it was too long and not wide enough. In other words it was made wrong. As for Halfords staff most of them seem to know bugger all about what they are selling. I tried to get information about sat nav systems but no one could answer my questions. The result of all this is that I will be taking the air filter back for a refund and that will be the last time I will ever darken their doors. The words Halfords and crap go very well together.

Alex

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Guy King saying something like:

Sorry mate, out of that, no call for it these days. Can do you an ounce of verve or a soupcon of aplomb, though.

To be fair, they're essentially a low cost, self service operation.

It's like walking into a certain well-known high street stationer / newsagent / book seller and expecting expert advice on books......

In my local brake shoes are self service. You look up your car in the 'on shelf' catalogue and select the appropriate shoes off the shelf - if they have them in stock.

Indeed. If only they'd train the staff how to say "don't know, sorry" ;-)

Or near any high street chain.

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Now, I wouldn't like you to be thought as naming & shaming, but would that be a _W_ell-known _H_igh street _S_tationer?

On 15 May 2006 06:30:23 GMT, I waved a wand and this message magically appeared from Adrian:

I know a woman by sight who has worked at a well known high street stationer for over 15 years since leaving school. Sad, the way some people have no ambitions.

Maybe her ambition was to be happy with her job and maybe she is happy there? Maybe if more people working in high street shops made it their vocation we wouldn't be complaining about them in this thread.

The problem with most high street shops and indeed call centres are that the people with 'ambitions' who work there consider themselves as just passing through and therefore have no interest in customer satisfaction or in the products they are selling.

On Mon, 15 May 2006 09:55:05 +0100, I waved a wand and this message magically appeared from Zimmy:

Perhaps she is.

There was a science fiction book I once read many moons ago that slotted people into roles that psychological tests showed their suitability for.

I do wonder where or what roles they would put chavs in?

Yup. Those starting straight from school with 1 O level still have 'management trainee' on their badge...

Halfrauds Customer Adviser of course!

Chris

According to the papers, they are either lottery winners or footballer's wives. :-)

I couldn't possibly comment, in case my superiors are watching ;-)

If I had that long a round trip, then I'd have made sure that I'd had the part in my hands and could 100% definitely identify it as correct before I drove away. This comes from bitter experience of having owned several "Eh bien, what brake system do we fell like fitting today, Pierre?" Citroens.

I've always considered myself sane so have never owned a Citroen or any other piece of French c**p for that matter. I understand what you are saying but as I was wearing decent clothes at the time I did'nt fancy taking the filter out there and then. Nor would I consider driving to the shop without the filter fitted. The point here is that Halfords is a pretty big concern with state of the art computers etc. You would therefore assume that they could figure out what part you needed for your car. The fact that they can't means as far as I can see that they don't give a s*it. The easiest option therefore is to take the business elsewhere!

bread roles? and then leave them on a polar iice cap?

I ordered a set of discs front and rear for the 24V they had them in stock, got the right numbers etc I opened them up to find that they were the normal sized ones back they went ordered some pads for the fronts wrong ones turned up as I was taking the front brakes off they went back the next set were ordered with the "these cost £40 but we'll let you have them for the £23 you paid in the first place, for the aggravation" cheers I got them, went home, they are the wrong ones went back AGAIN told them what I wanted made them look it up in the book with an old pad I had in my hand (well, the remnants of one anyway) these were going to cost me £63 the manager said "due to the problems of sourcing them we will tell the supplier that they will have to foot the difference" so it only took a week, but I had to use the car that weekend and couldn't

and don't get me started on drive belts there are only 2 belts on the 24V one for the normal stuff like power steering, alternator, water pump and another one for the air con (but this is where it gets complicated as there are 2 different sizes) they are both poly vee but halfords list 3 normal V belts in their books I even showed the guy behind the counter and was greeted with a "but that's what the book says" I even offered to show him the belts as fitted to my car at which point he walked away

their tool kits are ok when they are on sale, I have bought loads of stuff from them, but after I sent them an email asking why they were using chimps in their adverts and claiming they were monkey's, there was a steady decline in their efficiency :)