So i brought a Carrera Kraken from Halfords

[joy of essex]

Well, ordered the above last week. A reasonable spec for a reasonable price.  Told it would be delivered on Monday.

Rather  worried by the lackadaisical service  but needs must  at the moment. Had  a minor worry when the young man serving me couldn't work out how to give me a  CTC  discount and then tried to sell me a rack missing a strut..

Since then nothing, no text, no email

Today,  tried to call the  store.. You wait, you wait and then cut off.  This does not bode well

Next stage was to talk with a Bot on Halfords Customer service.  They are  contacting the store.

I 'll let you know what happens next..

[Jurek]

Lots of places at the moment have people working from home - where their connection to their usual servers is clunkier than usual.
An example is my energy supplier - they weren't able to access my account records at their usual blistering speed - it was a bit like dial-up.
I think it takes a degree of patience on the part of the consumer to deal with this.
Extenuating circumstances, and all that.
Even though I'm currently furloughed, I've had reason to connect to my servers at work.
It has been painfully slow.

[PaulF]

I’ve been waiting for a click and collect item for something that was showing as in stock at the store since Sunday. At the moment they’re giving Useless Pack of Shysters a run for their money in the who can be worse at service stakes.

[andyoxon]

Halfords' Trustpilot feedback is 'mixed' atm.  Also note they're closing 60 sites.  FiL ordered a bike from Ribble, and has been waiting an absolute age for it to 'be assembled'...

[Brucey]

[robgul]

Halfords' Trustpilot feedback is 'mixed' atm.  Also note they're closing 60 sites.  FiL ordered a bike from Ribble, and has been waiting an absolute age for it to 'be assembled'...

... in complete contrast a friend ordered a Planet X carbon machine (discs, Ultegra etc) - "stock spec model" but they build them to order AFAIK -  and it was delivered (actually at his house) in 4 days.  Stem/headset needed aadjusting/torquing up but other than that ready to ride.

Our local Halfords has very little shop-floor stock and the lads are struggling to order anything from HQ

Rob

[The Family Cyclist]

I'm amazed the kraken is still about. They he'd a bike by that name when I worked there around 2001/2002

I think all retailers of bikes are struggling and I've said this many a time but with Halfords you have from damn good people who know and love bikes to people who are dangerously incompetent or have gone for a job at Halfords and ended up on the cycles department.

[Torslanda]

AFAIK there don't appear to be bikes for sale at the mo'.

Lots of pics on websites and lots of vague delivery dates but I don't believe - with the noted exception of Planet X - that anyone has vast stocks of anything.

China/Far East locked down in late Jan/early Feb for 3 months or 4? That means restarting prouction in late April or May. UK lockdown late March, 'you can cycle for exercise', everybody completely lost their shit and bought bikes like claims in the Klondyke. Stuff is on it's way from the Far East but it takes 8-12 weeks(ish) for a container to get to Europe. Late August/early September before supply gets anything like back to normal...

[joy of essex]

As I brought something slightly above the price point of no  stock (£350 ) then I was told that they did  have this model, indeed there were 350 of them at their  HQ.

Yes, it's a old  brand name  but this is the 2020 model with the "new" new geometry.  Plan to use it for my holiday on the Isle of Wight next month ….So  I would like to meet it before the 1st of August.

[chrisbainbridge]

I decided on a new Trek and was told 83 days for delivery.  The shop said they may be a day or two early but are never late

[joy of essex]

My other new bike is being made in Italy. The frame is bespoke. I think it may be here sooner than the Kraken

[joy of essex]

No news  from the  Halfords bot yet.

[sojournermike]

My new frame is on its way from China, having been moulded and painted. I suspect the journey will take longer than the manufacture.

[joy of essex]

News.

Got through on the phone.
It's in the shop
I can collect next Friday...

[joy of essex]

It's arrived, or more accurately, I have collected it. Looks like it's been put together well. The bars are WIDE, which gives me a nice position and seems unlikely to irritate my bulging C5/6 discs.

Now to change a few things, add a rack. Then tomorrow it's a journey across the Isle of Wight; Cowes to Ventnor which can mostly be done off road...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk