i was just wondering what everyone thinks of their local halfords, and do any of you work for them?

i work in a south wales branch part time and i like it tbh. the people i work with are great and its a laff. but I've also had experience of other stores and the people seem clueless. i have 3 cosworth owners who work in my store so they are forever talking about boost gauges ect, and they are really helpful and have a good car knowledge.

the impression i get from most people here is halfords is crap, is that the case? lol just interested......

Can be handy if you've got a trade card, otherwise overpriced.

Lol you should prob put them in the same boat as PC World, very hit and miss

i dont work for them.

and i dont mind it that much tbh, the people that work at my local are abit clueless though

i find it alrite for cleaning stuff

Lol you should prob put them in the same boat as PC World, very hit and miss

haha theres a PC world next door to my one.

i agree, it is overpriced there

my local one is crap at restocking the paint shelves. but one nearer to town is excellent!

I like it but some items are overpriced.. like simoniz laquer 10 pound in halfords, 6 pound at my local autoshop. Primer is 10 pound and is just under 4 in the autoshop again :p

hmm depends what your looking for really...

when i needed some of that sub box carpet, it was 30quid at halfords, went in motorworld the next day to find it was only 15quid :(

they are pretty expensive and a lot of the staff seem totally clueless (obviously doesn't apply to all the staff). It's handy because they are open a fair bit longer than most motor factors are so good if you are stuck for something.

I've got a toolkit from em,,its really good and wasnt overpriced at all.

i have about 5 mates who work in my local halfords so i find it pretty good tbh!

i work at local hafords, so i got discount and trade, good for me, cheap car parts and tools

some people that work there tho dont know what there on bout

to be honest, my local one is pretty poor, what they dont know the dont even bother to find out. usually a bunch of wrist exercisers.

I've also got a tool kit and it was really good!

I find they where cheeper for one filter (cant remember if it was air or oil) n my local motorfactors was cheeper on the other

But sometimes there really cheep like when you get 4 spark plugs n 2 oil filters for the price of the cheapest oil filter! dim girl was on the till n it was the day after the new till system was put in!! result!

any one ever visted high wycombe halfords?? the big outta town one.

bunch of fuck whitts...well the ones iv spoken to.

i went in yesterday lookinh for carb cleaner. i spent 5 mins lookin and i couldnt see it.

so i walked about tryin to find someone that could help. i find 3 16-17 yr old girls stacking shelfs giggilin with eachother. so I'm thinking, they are not even gona have a clue. then i found some chav so i go '' have u got any carb cleaner'' yer he replied '' o really iv been looking for a while i couldnt see any''

walked over to the isle and he goes.. '' we got engine flush''

me: no mate carb cleaner

chav: this (flue flush)

me: no mate CARB cleaner,, its in a spray can

then he handed me some wd40 style stuff

i was like C A R B cleaner. looks like u dont stock it

chav : o yer

obvisly didnt have a clue what i was asking for and tryed just anding me anything, if i didnt no better i would of brought what he handed me and fucked my engine over

o and over priced

to be honest most of em are pretty vacant upstairs.but its sometimes handy for bits when nobody else is open.

to be honest most of em are pretty vacant upstairs.but its sometimes handy for bits when nobody else is open.

thanks

any one ever visted high wycombe halfords?? the big outta town one.

bunch of fuck whitts...well the ones iv spoken to.

i went in yesterday lookinh for carb cleaner. i spent 5 mins lookin and i couldnt see it.

so i walked about tryin to find someone that could help. i find 3 16-17 yr old girls stacking shelfs giggilin with eachother. so I'm thinking, they are not even gona have a clue. then i found some chav so i go '' have u got any carb cleaner'' yer he replied '' o really iv been looking for a while i couldnt see any''

walked over to the isle and he goes.. '' we got engine flush''

me: no mate carb cleaner

chav: this (flue flush)

me: no mate CARB cleaner,, its in a spray can

then he handed me some wd40 style stuff

i was like C A R B cleaner. looks like u dont stock it

chav : o yer

obvisly didnt have a clue what i was asking for and tryed just anding me anything, if i didnt no better i would of brought what he handed me and fucked my engine over

o and over priced

halfords do stock it. its made by wynns and its in a purple tin. i had to buy some last week for like £6 ish.

once i went into B&Q as i needed a stanley knife and was near b&q. its a huge shop so i asked someone and she said no. B&Q dont sell stanley knifes.. WTF?? so after 5 mins of looking there they were, a range of about 10 different stanleys.

some staff need training

to be honest most of em are pretty vacant upstairs.but its sometimes handy for bits when nobody else is open.

thanks

i think halfords tends to employ young people who dont care and dont want to learn. so they give a bad impression of us staff who actually can help.

The opening hours are good and their range of car cleaning products is better than any other shop I know of if more expensive than online, but I wouldn't go there for anything more than basic service parts. I'm glad I know how to change a light bulb and some wiper blades, their fitting service is rather expensive!

to be honest most of em are pretty vacant upstairs.but its sometimes handy for bits when nobody else is open.

thanks

i think halfords tends to employ young people who dont care and dont want to learn. so they give a bad impression of us staff who actually can help.

they do thats right, but some people who work there know there shit!

unlike some who dont know shit from puddin

I worked for them for four years, starting as a part time cycle lad and ending up as a DM, worked in three seperate stores in the local area.

The problem with it is that they just don't pay enough to get really experienced staff. Some of the people who come to work there don't have a clue about cars/bikes/audio etc, and the managers are on such a tight payroll budget that they employ whoever they can just to cover the shop floor. I mean, I was a cycle specialist in one store and was being paid £12k a year! To run a department and manage 5 other staff, including their training and development - and I only got paid that because I fought to get a decent wage before I took the job.

The other problem is that the company now is so focused on profit, and the area managers pile so much shit onto the stores that often the customer is forgotten about.

Sometimes you'll be lucky and employ a member of staff who'll actually be interested in cars/bikes etc, and other times you'll employ people who want to learn, but often it was just 16 year old kids who couldn't care less and just wanted do to the bare minimum and get paid at the end of the month.

My favourite on a quiet evening would be to get the store directory (of all the other Halfords stores in the country), pick a random store and call them, then ask for a thermostat for a 1968 1300 VW Beetle.... Then see how long it takes for them to figure it out It might be harsh but to me things like that are basic knowledge, and any Halfords employee should know questions like that. Sadly they don't!

Good for some things though, and like Yeti says great if you've got a trade card

My local Halfrauds is pretty piss poor just now. There were 2 good folk who used to work there and did know their shit but they are gone now so whats left are the ones who are lovers of ripspeed or just dont have a clue. There is a blonde hottie that usually works on the till now though :) the only reason I go in now i think.

yeah gotta love it when fit till girls serve you. when its interview time all the lads are like

"ooo ooo pick her!!"

I worked for them for four years, starting as a part time cycle lad and ending up as a DM, worked in three seperate stores in the local area.

The problem with it is that they just don't pay enough to get really experienced staff. Some of the people who come to work there don't have a clue about cars/bikes/audio etc, and the managers are on such a tight payroll budget that they employ whoever they can just to cover the shop floor. I mean, I was a cycle specialist in one store and was being paid £12k a year! To run a department and manage 5 other staff, including their training and development - and I only got paid that because I fought to get a decent wage before I took the job.

The other problem is that the company now is so focused on profit, and the area managers pile so much shit onto the stores that often the customer is forgotten about.

Sometimes you'll be lucky and employ a member of staff who'll actually be interested in cars/bikes etc, and other times you'll employ people who want to learn, but often it was just 16 year old kids who couldn't care less and just wanted do to the bare minimum and get paid at the end of the month.

My favourite on a quiet evening would be to get the store directory (of all the other Halfords stores in the country), pick a random store and call them, then ask for a thermostat for a 1968 1300 VW Beetle.... Then see how long it takes for them to figure it out It might be harsh but to me things like that are basic knowledge, and any Halfords employee should know questions like that. Sadly they don't!

Good for some things though, and like Yeti says great if you've got a trade card

Great description of every large chain store that gets classed as a specialist. I'm sure the same happens in ever Curry's, Comet, PC World etc etc

... a thermostat for a 1968 1300 VW Beetle....

I've got to admit, that took me a minute.

Headgasket for a 1989 1 litre Fiat Panda is the other good one. Local parts place were staring at the engine book for a good 10 minutes trying to work out why it showed the block and head as a single unit.