It really does annoy me, Halfords

[Levo-Lon]

Couple of mth back girl at work get a new bike from Halfords CTW
Bike got knocked over and snapped the shimano brake lever .
Takes it back to Halfords for a new master cylinder ,but they just fit all new brake instead.

No prob with that and charge £40.
But its a small ladies mtb so instead of trimming the 2100 mm hose they just coil it up and that's it ... Ridiculous, why do they allow kids with no knowledge to work on bikes , told her to take it back ,see manager and play hell with him her ..
Even re-use the original hose and blead would be the easy option if no olives in store.

Does annoy me that none mechanical minded people have to put their trust in likewise none mechanical people.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Couple of mth back girl at work get a new bike from Halfords CTW
Bike got knocked over and snapped the shimano brake lever .
Takes it back to Halfords for a new master cylinder ,but they just fit all new brake instead.

No prob with that and charge £40.
But its a small ladies mtb so instead of trimming the 2100 mm hose they just coil it up and that's it ... Ridiculous, why do they allow kids with no knowledge to work on bikes , told her to take it back ,see manager and play hell with him her ..
Even re-use the original hose and blead would be the easy option if no olives in store.

Does annoy me that none mechanical minded people have to put their trust in likewise none mechanical people.

Not all Halfords stores use the Saturday till boy to spanner the bikes, some actually do know their onions.

 

[Paulus]

Not all Halfords stores use the Saturday till boy to spanner the bikes, some actually do know their onions.

There is usually one person there who knows what they are doing

 

[Cycleops]

There is usually one person there who knows what they are doing

But he's been sent to motor parts for two weeks.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Not all Halfords stores use the Saturday till boy to spanner the bikes, some actually do know their onions.

She was unlucky , there are some that know, But they should check the work shouldn't they.
No excuses for allowing a none skilled worker to work on brakes.

Think about that when you have the car serviced

 

[Pale Rider]

You don't need to be a qualified bike mechanic to see that two metres of hose - replacing a much shorter hose - is not right.

 

[Drago]

One day someone will die as a result of a poor quality repair, and the coroner (not to mention the victims family's solicitors) will take a very keen interest in the qualifications the person doing the repair may have held. The retailer risks getti g sued to smithereens, and the poor practitioner risks anything up to a manslaughter charge for effecting a safety critical repair they weren't qualified to do. As is sadly often the case, some poor schmuck has to lose their life before anything changes.

 

[mjr]

Someone I trust told me that Half odds handed their bike back with the brakes disconnected, without warning. I've also seen other less dangerous faults introduced. I won't trust them and especially not for mechanicals. British Cycling and CUK should be ashamed for promoting them.

 

[Gary E]

A long time ago (early 90s), a mate bought a bike from Halfords. They set it up, checked it over and gave him a certificate to say it was all good and roadworthy. On the way home, on a fast bend at the bottom of a steep hill, he turned the handle bar only to find that the wheel stayed (mostly) straight. They'd neglected to tighten up the headset properly after taking it out of the box and lining the bars up. He ended up going over a fence and landed in a field. He was knocked out for a few minutes and came too surrounded by car drivers who'd seen it happen and who'd stopped to help. He had broken his arm and cracked a rib. Needless to say that he sued Halfords, all for the sake of a check that would have taken a competent mechanic about 20 seconds!

 

[BeardyAndyM]

We had a customer bring in a kids bike with the forks fitted back to front!! I think that was a ToysRus bike

 

[Threevok]

We had a customer bring in a kids bike with the forks fitted back to front!! I think that was a ToysRus bike

Seen a lot of those on eBay, especially anything with DT Swiss forks on, probably because the bridge is at the back on most of their forks and people get confused

 

[Drago]

We once had a work bike come back from Halfords with both cranks pointing in the same direction. I threw a wobbly, and for a year or so the maintenance contract went ot an LBS who were much better, before the bean counters moved it back to Halfords. It seems cost is the only consideration. Safety and general effectiveness be damned.

 

[BeardyAndyM]

We once had a work bike come back from Halfords with both cranks pointing in the same direction. I threw a wobbly, and for a year or so the maintenance contract went ot an LBS who were much better, before the bean counters moved it back to Halfords. It seems cost is the only consideration. Safety and general effectiveness be damned.

1st rule... Always test ride before signing off!

 

[tamiya]

1st rule... Always test ride before signing off!

Test pilots get paid Danger money!!

Who's test riding... mechanic or customer?? :P

 

[screenman]

We once had a work bike come back from Halfords with both cranks pointing in the same direction. I threw a wobbly, and for a year or so the maintenance contract went ot an LBS who were much better, before the bean counters moved it back to Halfords. It seems cost is the only consideration. Safety and general effectiveness be damned.

Good job you noticed, some of the others in your old trade might not have.