My son is 4 next month, and we just bought him his first proper bike, for his present.
We went to Halfords and bought and paid for a bike to be assembled for us. I went in two days later and picked it up, only to find it was put together terribly. The paint was horribly chipped and scuffed, the brakes weren't properly attached and the stabilisers were on the wonk. Clearly, this is not good enough.

My wife called in and explained and the guy on the phone was excellent. He asked us to come back on Wednesday night to pick up a properly assembled replacement. I got there at about ten past seven last night and there was no bike, and no idea it was meant to be there.

I politely explained the situation, and that I had had to cancel a meeting to come and fetch the bike. I also stressed it was a gift (although I may have implied the birthday was rather sooner than it really is), and that while I appreciated it was short notice, I would appreciate it if he could get it sorted asap.

He told me to go for a drink, and pop back in half an hour. I did, and when I returned, a new bike was ready, looking perfect, without any flaws, with a higher spec bell than the one I had originally bought, and with a £15 combination lock I hadn't bought wrapped around the handlebars.

A company shows it's mettle when things go wrong; how they deal with these issues shows what they're really like. Halfords made two errors, but resolved it really quickly, and cheerfully, and they now have a much more loyal customer as a result. I think a lot of this quality also comes down to my complaint being polite and reasonable and not loud, shouty and rude.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Thu 9 Sep 2010, 9:58, 7 replies)

I have to ask...
...what constitutes a higher spec bell?
(Psymon_Spark Jesus Saves! The rest of you take 4d6 damage, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 10:06, closed)

It wards off paedos

( Light In Chains maker of the ikea sofa, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 10:08, closed)

Well, it has a slightly louder ring
and it has a picture of a cartoon fireman on it.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Thu 9 Sep 2010, 11:18, closed)

I like this.
Reasonable reason to complain - check
Handled the whole thing like an adult rather than a toddler with Aspergers - check
Acceptable result all round - check.

Nice work, internet.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 10:21, closed)

Thats a nice story and all
but they shouldn't of fucked it up in the first place.

If you never live outside of the UK you'll never know what good service is like. Mind you I lived in Japan and that level of service was full on OCD. It also has it's bad point; but that's another thing.
(waxdart hello., Thu 9 Sep 2010, 11:30, closed)

Why?
people make mistakes. Unless you're going to tell me you've never made a mistake in your life?

And good service doesn't preclude fuck-ups. Good service is how you DEAL with fuck-ups, which is the point of the post.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 11:33, closed)

People do make mistakes. You didn't describe a mistake.
anyone of these things on its own is a mistake.

1) put together terribly, 2) paint chipped and scuffed, 3) brakes not properly attached, 4) Stabilisers were on the wonk.

But they would have sent you off with a dangerous item for your child to sit on. In decent service land it wouldn't even have made it to the shop floor. Your story is more about how low standards/expectations are on both sides of the counter.
(waxdart hello., Thu 9 Sep 2010, 12:03, closed)

My old flatmate...
...works for Halfords. He used to have to do things like this on a regular basis.

The assistant manager that worked in the bike area had absolutely no clue how to actually assemble a bike, yet would insist on doing them himself. Nine times out of ten there'd be a complaint and one of the trained bike monkeys - like my flatmate - would have to come and deal with it.

Bonus points if you were actually in the Bournemouth Halfords.
( gone, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 11:43, closed)

Halfords?
I put a complaint in the form of review. Shame they never posted it, it was my only rant in a long time.

Fuck 'em. (But well done to you!)
( Blind Meach Cautiously optimistic, Thu 9 Sep 2010, 12:02, closed)