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I am sure you are all up to your eyeballs with Evans rants.
Previously I have defended them when the service hasn't been up to standard because the shop front slaves aren't on a great wage and there insentives aren't exactly inspiring.
So Monday I rang my nearest evans to get a bike in to try out for size, a freindly assistant said it may be with him for next day or Wednesday at the latest, but 'we will call you when the bike is built'. Just need £50 deposit which is refundable. Cool I say, make it so.
Wednesday evening no news so I call the store and the manager (he told me) happens to answer my call and says the bike is in but not built he will arrange to have it ready for that evening but probably tomorrow, cool I say.
No news on Thursday drop in to the shop Friday and stand there waiting to be served.
Eventually I corner a staff member, checks his computer, notes say the bike is to be built tomorrow for a test ride the next day (Sunday).
Ah, I was hoping it would be ready already.
No, it says for Sunday.
Ok, can I have my deposit back.
Sure.
Is the manager in?
I am the manager.
Oh but...
But the manager will call you tomorrow, I will put a note on the system.
Ok?!
So I leave.
The sad thing is a mate went to Evans a couple of weekends in a row to purchase a bike and was treated to the full just wait here for an hour or two while we build your bike that should have been ready already with scratched and battered parts then come back next week for you next 2hour stand around the shop while busy staff serve all and sundry because the parts we should have had ready to collect are somewhere a staff member who has a day off has buried it under a pile of stuff for returns we couldn't sell because other customers got fed up and went somewhere else...
I felt awful cos I told my mate to go to Evans.
Oh dear.
Thankfully there are plenty of independent bike stores about, the ones that have what I would like aren't local (most seem to road bike biased around here) but I feel It should be worth the extra journey.