Halfords and my car park woes.
Discussion
Hi guys.
first time i posted in this section and would be the first time i moaned / complained about a company even more posted it on a public forum.
If its in the wrong section mods please move
what happened to me at the weekend led me to write an email to the customer service department.
so here what happened ,,,,copied and paste email i sent (first ever complaint email sent to anyone)
Hi ,
I am contacting you to inform yourselves about a situation thats just taken place at your chatham branch.
Firstly I would like to let you know that I run a very successful car refinish company In the uk.
We deal with many customers from all walks of life and cars some being the wealthiest people In the uk with some very rare cars of great value.
we try and do our best to treat all customers the same and with the best service possible,,,, even if they park in our parking bays and visit another business on the same estate.
Examples can be found on our website of the customers cars we deal with.
Www.XXXXXXXX.co.uk x'ed out my website due to advertising
This means we regularly use the Chatham branch for products , equipment being its very close to our workshop and open 7 days .
We even use the branch for mountian bike spares as myself and my staff all ride for a hobby.
So today I parked up and went into the shop today to buy some products, we left the shop with our goods and walked back to the very bright sign written van , where we placed the goods in the rear.
We then walked over the road to buy 2 coffees (watched by the car park attendant) , when we returned to the Van the car park attendant gave me a lecture about we cant park in a private car and then walk off to buy a coffee , then turned to my partner and said "naughty naughty" as you can imagine this did not go down well .
I explained that we had just been into the shop and purchased some item , but this apparently does not matter and went on about yellow signs and blues signs. I tried to explained that I would not use halfords if its going to be this heavy handed in the future but the attendant did not care.
I am seriously thinking of posting on the large car forum , with my absolute shock of how rude I was spoken too, in fact I was very close to walking back into the shop and return the goods I had just purchased.
Customer service and experience starts from the car park of the company who your visiting to the time you leave NOT ending when your money is taken .
Best regards MR kelly harris
and the reply i got this evening.
Dear Mr Harris
Thank you for your email. I am very sorry that you experienced problems when visiting a Halfords store.
I have been in contact with the store and have now received a reply from the Manager, Chris.
The car park that is used by our customers does not belong to Halfords, it is administered by a totally different company and they set the rules and regulations in relation to the use of the car park. Chris has spoken to the car park attendant about this issue. He advises that the car park is clearly signed stating that customers should not leave the car park by foot even if they have purchased from the store. The 30 minutes allowed for parking is only for time spent in the store. Chris further advises that the car park is right next to the High Street and has continually suffered from being filled with customers who park their vehicles in the car park and then go shopping elsewhere. This prevents genuine customers being able to park.
The Car Park Manager, Mike, has been asked to go to the store to see Chris to discuss how this is implemented by his team outside. The last thing Chris wants to do is to put off genuine customers from coming to the store. However, the situation is unlikely to change in the future. The car park is strictly monitored by the the Car Park Management and anyone who leaves the car park to shop elsewhere, regardless of whether they have made a purchase in store or not, will get a ticket. The only exception to the 30 minute stay is if a customer is genuinely held up in store for some reason. In this instance the store will deal with the Management company on the customer's behalf.
I am very sorry that the Car Park attendant was rude to you and your partner. As valued Halfords customers we do not condone this treatment by a third party company.
I am very sorry that I am unable to assist you further at this time. Please accept Halfords' apologies for this issue and for any distress caused.
Kind regards
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Customer Service Advisor
Halfords Customer Services
so it seems my local branch will give you a parking ticket even if you are using halfords for shopping only but you take more than 30 minutes to SHOP, and then you have to find someone in the shop to deal with the ticket you got for shopping?????
I am reading this correct????????
kelly
first time i posted in this section and would be the first time i moaned / complained about a company even more posted it on a public forum.
If its in the wrong section mods please move
what happened to me at the weekend led me to write an email to the customer service department.
so here what happened ,,,,copied and paste email i sent (first ever complaint email sent to anyone)
Hi ,
I am contacting you to inform yourselves about a situation thats just taken place at your chatham branch.
Firstly I would like to let you know that I run a very successful car refinish company In the uk.
We deal with many customers from all walks of life and cars some being the wealthiest people In the uk with some very rare cars of great value.
we try and do our best to treat all customers the same and with the best service possible,,,, even if they park in our parking bays and visit another business on the same estate.
Examples can be found on our website of the customers cars we deal with.
Www.XXXXXXXX.co.uk x'ed out my website due to advertising
This means we regularly use the Chatham branch for products , equipment being its very close to our workshop and open 7 days .
We even use the branch for mountian bike spares as myself and my staff all ride for a hobby.
So today I parked up and went into the shop today to buy some products, we left the shop with our goods and walked back to the very bright sign written van , where we placed the goods in the rear.
We then walked over the road to buy 2 coffees (watched by the car park attendant) , when we returned to the Van the car park attendant gave me a lecture about we cant park in a private car and then walk off to buy a coffee , then turned to my partner and said "naughty naughty" as you can imagine this did not go down well .
I explained that we had just been into the shop and purchased some item , but this apparently does not matter and went on about yellow signs and blues signs. I tried to explained that I would not use halfords if its going to be this heavy handed in the future but the attendant did not care.
I am seriously thinking of posting on the large car forum , with my absolute shock of how rude I was spoken too, in fact I was very close to walking back into the shop and return the goods I had just purchased.
Customer service and experience starts from the car park of the company who your visiting to the time you leave NOT ending when your money is taken .
Best regards MR kelly harris
and the reply i got this evening.
Dear Mr Harris
Thank you for your email. I am very sorry that you experienced problems when visiting a Halfords store.
I have been in contact with the store and have now received a reply from the Manager, Chris.
The car park that is used by our customers does not belong to Halfords, it is administered by a totally different company and they set the rules and regulations in relation to the use of the car park. Chris has spoken to the car park attendant about this issue. He advises that the car park is clearly signed stating that customers should not leave the car park by foot even if they have purchased from the store. The 30 minutes allowed for parking is only for time spent in the store. Chris further advises that the car park is right next to the High Street and has continually suffered from being filled with customers who park their vehicles in the car park and then go shopping elsewhere. This prevents genuine customers being able to park.
The Car Park Manager, Mike, has been asked to go to the store to see Chris to discuss how this is implemented by his team outside. The last thing Chris wants to do is to put off genuine customers from coming to the store. However, the situation is unlikely to change in the future. The car park is strictly monitored by the the Car Park Management and anyone who leaves the car park to shop elsewhere, regardless of whether they have made a purchase in store or not, will get a ticket. The only exception to the 30 minute stay is if a customer is genuinely held up in store for some reason. In this instance the store will deal with the Management company on the customer's behalf.
I am very sorry that the Car Park attendant was rude to you and your partner. As valued Halfords customers we do not condone this treatment by a third party company.
I am very sorry that I am unable to assist you further at this time. Please accept Halfords' apologies for this issue and for any distress caused.
Kind regards
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Customer Service Advisor
Halfords Customer Services
so it seems my local branch will give you a parking ticket even if you are using halfords for shopping only but you take more than 30 minutes to SHOP, and then you have to find someone in the shop to deal with the ticket you got for shopping?????
I am reading this correct????????
kelly
Edited by kds keltec on Wednesday 25th September 18:33
Edited by kds keltec on Wednesday 25th September 18:36
kds keltec said:
so it seems my local branch will give you a parking ticket even if you are using halfords for shopping only but you take more than 30 minutes to SHOP, and then you have to find someone in the shop to deal with the ticket you got for shopping?????
I am reading this correct????????
Nope. You're ignoring this bit:I am reading this correct????????
Halfords said:
The car park that is used by our customers does not belong to Halfords, it is administered by a totally different company and they set the rules and regulations in relation to the use of the car park.
Halfords won't issue you with a ticket and even they don't enjoy the current situation. However, it's not their land.Impasse said:
Halfords won't issue you with a ticket and even they don't enjoy the current situation. However, it's not their land.
are sorry should of said you will get a ticket IF you park in the halfords car park and spend longer than 30 minutes shopping, the car is solely for halfords customers as sign posted, its not a pay and display again its solely for halfords customers only. Kelly
Let's be honest Kelly - aren't you the guy people respect for the work but not so much for the chip on the shoulder when customers want to speak to you to get quotes?
You seem to think it's quite ok being rude to others don't you?
You do a great job but completely lack social skills based on wide spread reviews.
Not nice is it being treated like an idiot.
Just saying how I see it...
You seem to think it's quite ok being rude to others don't you?
You do a great job but completely lack social skills based on wide spread reviews.
Not nice is it being treated like an idiot.
Just saying how I see it...
Edited by steve singh on Wednesday 25th September 18:56
CrowCrow00 said:
I think their email to you was as polite and as helpful as it could be, despite you threatening to post about it on a large car forum. I don't really see a problem.
I agree. It was a polite and well considered, factual email that stayed reasonable despite a level of emotional blackmail.Not all elements are in the control of the store.
Short answer - man up and move on.
CrowCrow00 said:
I think their email to you was as polite and as helpful as it could be, despite you threatening to post about it on a large car forum. I don't really see a problem.
This.Move on, life's too short to worry about trivial things.
People in the uk are in hospitals as I type wondering if their loved ones are going to pull through from life saving operations.
The halfords store in Uxbridge is the same - a parking attendant watches you come and go and notes down your number plate upon entry. The car park is fairly large and very rarely full to capacity, but pretty busy at weekends. The parking is for Wickes and Halfords.
200 yards up the road is a mcdonalds...... I popped into halfords for some bits and when I left, the attendant was milling about outside. I asked if my car was ok parked there whilst I popped to Maccy D's for some nutritional feasting. He said that's not a problem and asked if I could get him a cheese burger!
Total non story op - the fine is unenforceable but I think you should pay it for being a nob.
200 yards up the road is a mcdonalds...... I popped into halfords for some bits and when I left, the attendant was milling about outside. I asked if my car was ok parked there whilst I popped to Maccy D's for some nutritional feasting. He said that's not a problem and asked if I could get him a cheese burger!
Total non story op - the fine is unenforceable but I think you should pay it for being a nob.
steve singh said:
Let's be honest Kelly - aren't you the guy people respect for the work but not so much for the chip on the shoulder when customers want to speak to you to get quotes?
You seem to think it's quite ok being rude to others don't you?
You do a great job but completely lack social skills based on wide spread reviews.
Not nice is it being treated like an idiot.
Just saying how I see it...
Not sure when and why this was etc, i take feedback well and try to improve You seem to think it's quite ok being rude to others don't you?
You do a great job but completely lack social skills based on wide spread reviews.
Not nice is it being treated like an idiot.
Just saying how I see it...
Edited by steve singh on Wednesday 25th September 18:56
and sorry if you feel this way and i do Apologise.This is a reason why i now got full time front man who started FEB 2013 to deal with all customers enquires due to it become a full time job, that i could not cope with,,, i am fully aware of my skills and weakness.
Also i introduced a inspection fee for spending time with each customers running through what ever they wished and asked about their pride and joy.
This can be carried out with either the staff or me and you get our full attention using all the equipment and knowledge we have.
It's refundable when any booking is made so in Essence a free consultation for serious customers.
lost count of the amount of times we spend long time sometimes hours in the car park or in side the workshop for free showing public (which i thought at the time were customers) about our trade and what the best products to use on their car,sometimes even doing a demo of whats best, only to never see them again our weakness was working out who were serious customers and who were not.
Also introduced an auto reply to emails to get instant reply back to customers with the most commonly asked questions and phone number direct to new front man for instant service, so we/I are trying our best to cover all bases as much as possible.
You would not know this but i was getting around 5000 emails per year , then on some days dozens of walk ins (mainly saturdays) , recorded around 60 odd incoming phone calls on some days , all this meant it got out of hand for me and just one other staff member in the earlier days, and we ended up working 20 hours shifts for 4-5 hours actual work.
we were and still fully booked for most/ nearly all of the year so yes it was actually painful to deal with regards to actually trying to make a living when we are fire fighting constant enquires (which only a very small percentage turned into actual work maybe due to how we come across).
All change now as we have 5 staff and me, we all have more dedicated roles and hopefully each person is in the best rule that suits their skills.
Its growing pains of a company growing i guess we are trying to improve on all areas as fast as possible with more coming in the future.
Kelly
Halfords are probably just as pissed off with the car parking situation as you but they are only a tenant and have little control over the enforcement rules.
You need to complain to the landlord and the parking contractor.
Kudos to Halfords for not just sending out a generic apology with a few vouchers to shut you up but took the time to properly investigate and give you a personalised reply.
You need to complain to the landlord and the parking contractor.
Kudos to Halfords for not just sending out a generic apology with a few vouchers to shut you up but took the time to properly investigate and give you a personalised reply.
I used to have to deal with emails / letters like that for 7 years in a previous customer service / management job.
Start with a statement about how "important" you are in comparison to every other customer that happens to use the same store and that due to this you should get better treatment than the "lesser" people (who aren't you). Then throw in a threat that you or your business may stop using the store or company because of how you've been treated. Finally, finish off with the usual veiled threat to post about your "awful" situation on a forum or FaceTweetAche, where evidently said company will now be humiliated and shamed into giving you what you want
I can only imagine the amount of laughter in the office of said Customer Service Department when they read that email
Personally i'd say that reply is totally fair - It's fairly obvious that the car park was / is regularly abused by numerous people using it to park and then bugger off to go shopping / to get drinks nearby, when not actually using the store itself. Espcially when, by the sounds of it in the reply, the carpark is actually signed to say you must not leave the carpark & go elsewhere
This thread has really not gone the direction the OP hoped
Although based on the last post by OP it's now serving to give an overview / publicity for their own business 
Start with a statement about how "important" you are in comparison to every other customer that happens to use the same store and that due to this you should get better treatment than the "lesser" people (who aren't you). Then throw in a threat that you or your business may stop using the store or company because of how you've been treated. Finally, finish off with the usual veiled threat to post about your "awful" situation on a forum or FaceTweetAche, where evidently said company will now be humiliated and shamed into giving you what you want
I can only imagine the amount of laughter in the office of said Customer Service Department when they read that email
Personally i'd say that reply is totally fair - It's fairly obvious that the car park was / is regularly abused by numerous people using it to park and then bugger off to go shopping / to get drinks nearby, when not actually using the store itself. Espcially when, by the sounds of it in the reply, the carpark is actually signed to say you must not leave the carpark & go elsewhere
This thread has really not gone the direction the OP hoped
Although based on the last post by OP it's now serving to give an overview / publicity for their own business Edited by AlexRS2782 on Wednesday 25th September 19:25
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