my experience with Halfords & Bikehut...
Below is an exchange between myself & bikehut (Halfords). I was impressed they were listening on twitter to my grumble. Unfortunately – I pretty much got a canned response (below). Not sure what I was expecting, or what would compel me to go back to a store, other than for a wiper blade... I am not after money or anything of the sort, I just hope it helps build a better capability and brand for them..
I think the real rub of this is it wasn’t set up for me, simply unpacked out of the box, set up and handed over. Maybe it’s my riding style, but on the last bike – the chain came off perhaps once in 4 years, this is 4 times in 1 ride... this can’t be normal?
I still I feel a purchase of this nature warranted more than this. Perhaps I’m just old fashioned and getting finicky in my old age! I’m impressed its gone to an area manager, but not sure which one – I never indicated what store I picked it up from... In searching some of the cycling forums, it seems I’m not alone.. Good luck with it guys...
Hi – following your note on twitter, (@nigelwalsh), I wanted to share a few things as per your request.
§ Spending a £1,000 would be to most a significant transaction and I suspect higher than your average transaction price, therefore treated differently.
§ I was buying a new bike, Chris Boardman team carbon from your bike hut brand – not something you do every day
My general impression was
§ Reserving online was easy. I then had a call, saying as it was a special bike, they had to be set up in store – I got excited by this!
§ However, the reality was this could have been a wiper blade ,
§ No wow factor in the purchase or end to end experience.
§ No enrichment of the Chris Boardman brand, didn’t make any difference –
§ The bike itself is great, but on the first ride its evident it’s not set up properly at all.
§ Your staff member, and apparently team manager – was ‘lack lustre’ in his approach and not excited one bit about the product.
§ I’m not a bike nut by any stretch of the imagination
So, in summary,
§ Would I buy a bike from you again – absolutely not. Had it not been part of the Cycle to Work Scheme, then I would have gone elsewhere.
§ Would I recommend you to someone else – absolutely not
§ Would I be compelled to come into store and buy anything else – absolutely not.
§ Is it set up for me – no
§ Would I come back to you for my free check – unlikely.
And the response....
REF: XXXX Dear Mr Walsh, Thank you for contacting Halfords Customer Services regarding our
Cycle2Work Scheme I am sorry to note of your recent experience in our Halfords stores. I would like to assure you that with every concern raised by a customer, it
allows us to identify shortfalls and work towards improving upon them. This
concern is no different. Our BikeHut specialists always aim to work to the best of their ability and
on occasions errors can unfortunately occur. I am certain that this is the
case here and any further work carried out on the cycle will be done in the
expert way you should expect. The problems you have experienced so far,
fall far short of what Halfords expects and details have been passed onto
the Area Manager responsible for the store to ensure that training is given
where needed. By asking you to return the cycle to the store for an inspection, I am
attempting to appease you by asking our specialists to ensure that the
cycle is completely safe for riding. This does not mean that you would have
to return to the store where the cycle had initially been purchased. I would like to assure you that Halfords endeavours to maintain good
relationships with its customers' and will always use responses as a way of
improving customer service. Please accept my sincere apologies once again. Yours Sincerely, Customer Service Advisor.
