A
Al Ford
Guest
One thing that annoys me on this group is that Halfords very often gets a good slagging off for
quality control, staff, range of products, etc..... There seems to be a childish attitude towards
the company who brought BMX and ATB bikes to the UK mass market. I have experience rather big
dollops of eliteism from LBS nationwide.
Halfords can get more componentry than the majority of LBS in the UK. The problem being is that the
company does nothing to promote such facilities, nor does it sufficiently advertise their price
promise! I can currently get hold of 18,000 individual items. The trick when shopping in Halfords is
to ask for the cycle specialist.
You cannot expect every member of staff in a given store to know everything about bikes, in much the
same way you wouldn't expect a mechanic to sell you a car in a car dealership. Another complication
is the vast number of areas cycling now encompasses (Road, MTB, Trials, BMX etc....) How many
roadies have a true deep knowledge of trials bikes?
I'm lucky that the store where I am/was the manager of the cycle department has followed a policy of
recruiting cyclists, rather than sales people. You can teach a cyclist to sell but you can't teach a
sales person every facet of bikes.
I used to race nationally myself up to first-cat level.
I have working on my department
1 trials rider, 1 Downhiller, 2 multi-discipline riders. (One of whom was Welsh Champion in various
discipline ranging from cyclo-cross to Road Race to Cross-Country - at youth levels. The other is an
up and coming cyclist and recently finished 2nd or 3rd in a national series) 1 General enthusiast
who doesn't compete but just rides. And myself, former Roadracer, Cyclo-cross and Triathlete.
My store is one of the normal Halfords stores, not a "BikeHut".
And before people start slating me for this post, I'm leaving Halfords on Friday so have no reason
to defend them.
quality control, staff, range of products, etc..... There seems to be a childish attitude towards
the company who brought BMX and ATB bikes to the UK mass market. I have experience rather big
dollops of eliteism from LBS nationwide.
Halfords can get more componentry than the majority of LBS in the UK. The problem being is that the
company does nothing to promote such facilities, nor does it sufficiently advertise their price
promise! I can currently get hold of 18,000 individual items. The trick when shopping in Halfords is
to ask for the cycle specialist.
You cannot expect every member of staff in a given store to know everything about bikes, in much the
same way you wouldn't expect a mechanic to sell you a car in a car dealership. Another complication
is the vast number of areas cycling now encompasses (Road, MTB, Trials, BMX etc....) How many
roadies have a true deep knowledge of trials bikes?
I'm lucky that the store where I am/was the manager of the cycle department has followed a policy of
recruiting cyclists, rather than sales people. You can teach a cyclist to sell but you can't teach a
sales person every facet of bikes.
I used to race nationally myself up to first-cat level.
I have working on my department
1 trials rider, 1 Downhiller, 2 multi-discipline riders. (One of whom was Welsh Champion in various
discipline ranging from cyclo-cross to Road Race to Cross-Country - at youth levels. The other is an
up and coming cyclist and recently finished 2nd or 3rd in a national series) 1 General enthusiast
who doesn't compete but just rides. And myself, former Roadracer, Cyclo-cross and Triathlete.
My store is one of the normal Halfords stores, not a "BikeHut".
And before people start slating me for this post, I'm leaving Halfords on Friday so have no reason
to defend them.