Halfords

I’ve had such a nightmare with Halfords in St Albans.
Since moving further from the train station I decided to get my old mountain bike from my parents’ house so that I could cycle to work. Sadly the new inner tube my dad put in was deflating within a day of it being put in.
I decided that since this bike hadn’t been ridden for some ⁷⁄₈ years it would be a good idea to get it checked over by a professional who could replace the rear wheel inner tube at the same time. I went to Halfords for their silver service which is advertised as checking 33-​points on the bicycle.
I picked it up on Sunday and rode it 2 miles back to my home without any apparent trouble. Sadly when I brought it out the next morning to cycle to work I found the rear wheel (with it’s new inner tube) was flat as a pancake! I called the store and after my third try finally got through to somebody. She told me I could bring in the bike and they’d replace the inner tube under warranty.
The branch was quite busy when I arrived with all staff serving somebody. I eventually got served by a young man who quickly told me that he was a ‘learner’ on his fourth shift, but he took my bike behind the counter to start work on the rear inner tube. Frankly at this point I believe a more senior member of staff should have taken over. The new starter had not worked on a wheel that wasn’t quick release and I was quite frustrated to be returning to a store within a week of having my bike serviced. They suggested the reason for the inner tube’s failure was perishing of the outer wheel. The wheels were pushing 15 years old so I’m not shocked, but the service was meant to have highlighted this fault. The member of staff picked out a new outer wheel for me but couldn’t tell me the price. I insisted I should know the price before they fit it, at which point the more senior staff member told me it wouldn’t be charged.
The young staff member was clearly struggling. He put on the inner tube and new wheel, inflated it and started to put it back onto the bike but couldn’t get beyond the gears. Another young member of staff joined him. He was also junior but had more experience fixing bikes. He noticed that my rear brakes had been cut too short, meaning they’d fail.
Seriously, what did this service mechanic do other than make my bike worse?
He fixed the rear brakes but as they were ready to hand my bike over the rear wheel was deflating again. They learner had used my busted inner tube because he thought it was ok. Clearly not. At this point the junior staff member took over, re-​removing the rear wheel to swap out the inner tube again. He realised the new tube was the wrong size and requested another 26″ one. The learner brought back another one in the wrong size. He went back again and eventually found the right one. Or so we thought… it was the right size but the wrong valve. This was becoming a comedy of errors.
Finally once the correct inner tube was fitted, with a new tyre, and working rear breaks, i was given my bike back. The junior staff member asked if the breaks were ok, but had disappeared to another customer before I’d really decided. I asked the learner if he needed anything from my receipts before leaving and he said he thought so but wasn’t sure and wandered off. I just stood there waiting. Eventually I asked the senior staff member of the till if they needed anything and he said «no», so I left.
It took 1.5 hours in total and the senior staff barely got involved despite the clear struggles of the junior members.
Today I took the bike for a quick test run around the park. A strange noise was coming from my front wheel. The left brake pad is in constant contact with my wheel. A gentle nudge corrects it until I turn. This time there’s no way I’m taking it back to Halfords to correct their errors. I’ll check out youtube and fix it myself. Far safer!

I’m 46, brought some car paint and the guy asked me if I was over 16 mmmmmm what are you employing there???