Halfords staff.

[steve30]

I've bought a few things from Halfords in the past, but have never required the services of their staff for anything other than to sell something. The only exception was when my Dad took one of my old mountain bikes' wheels in for truing. It wasn't perfectly straight, but was better than it was.

But Halfords tend to have a bad reputation for being, well, not very good.

I didn't have any idea how much cycle mechanics get paid in general, nor how much any Halfords staff get paid. So I did a bit of research. Here is an advert for a Halfords mechanic:

£4.81-£5.92 depending on age and location. Sounds pretty much like lots of retail jobs which one could find in the jobcentre*.

But out of everything on that page, I really must know, what on earth does Understands the importance of their impact on minimising erosions mean?

That entire website seems to be completely full of human-resources-type-buzzword-speak.

*I get more for scrubbing toilets out and hoovering carpets.

 

[Arch]

But out of everything on that page, I really must know, what on earth does Understands the importance of their impact on minimising erosions mean?

At a guess, I'd say it's something like "Knows that being crap will lose customers and money". It's a load of bo**ocks. Someone gets paid to make up phrases like that, and a lot more than a fiver an hour too...

 

[marzjennings]

Looks like it was written by a HR newbie earning a couple pence more an hour than a BikeHut Mechanic.

Last thing I want from a mechanic is a passionate demonstration that conscientiously communicates about how I'm their number one priority regardless of how well presented they are.

 

[ASC1951]

Last thing I want from a mechanic is a passionate demonstration that conscientiously communicates about how I'm their number one priority regardless of how well presented they are.

Absolutely!

Last time there was chaos at a London airport - was it only in January? - there was a letter to the FT from someone who gave her title as BAA's "Head of Customer Experience".
Once you stop buying a product and are sold an Experience, you can guarantee you are going to get the shitty end of the stick.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

A local branch of Halfords was recently recruiting a part time cycle mechanic. I visited the branch (for a non-cycle related matter) and saw their notice at the cash point advertising the vacancy. I thought, "well that's right up my street, get paid for what I enjoy", so I asked for the application form as per the notice. When the young lady staffing the cash point could break away from an apparently rivetting conversation with her pal, my request was met with "we've run out." End of conversation.

At that point I decided I would be better off working on my own and mates' bikes!

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Halfrauds. Only if there is no other alternative.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Understands the importance of their impact on minimising erosions...

Is this something to do with selling more Bikehut chain lube?

 

[Ghost Donkey]

One of my friends and former flatmates worked at halfords as a first job when he graduated. I don't know what he was like at work but as a someone I worked with at university he caused lots of problems by breaking things he didn't know how to use. He managed to delete a whole video project from an edit suite (video and edit points) instead of saving the latest edit points when he didn't know how to do it. The tutor was less than ten seconds away. He claimed to be one of the more competent people at his branch of halfords. Might have been true, might not. They tend to suffer fromt hwe same reputation as pc world and other large electrical retailers. Sales focused (obviously) and the customers might not have too much knowledge of the product they are buying either. There are some good people at halfords but it's finding them if you need advice that's the problem.

 

[Paulus]

I notice that out of the the things a halfords employee needs, there is only one line about having, or having the ability to get the halfords BCA qualification, and that is near the bottom of the list.

 

[Fnaar]

I was grateful to the Halfords employee who told me not to get their cheapest roofbars, as they were crap. He also told me that their medium priced ones were exactly the same as the much more pricey Thule ones (and were made by Thule for Halfords). So that's what I got.

 

[Globalti]

Funny how the ad doesn't seem to mention good timekeeping.... or did I miss that?

 

[steve30]

Funny how the ad doesn't seem to mention good timekeeping.... or did I miss that?

That probably comes under the bit about good planning and organisational skills.


I am surprised that the only bit of the job description that is relevant to building/repairing bikes is the first sentence.

Do they really expect an 18 year old inexperienced/trainee mechanic on 4.81/hour to understand the importance of his impact on minimising erosions?

I looked at a similar job on the Evans website and that is a lot more realistic, but the Evans website doesn't say how much they get paid.