Evans Cycles

I know of someone who told me at The Cut AND London Bridge branches that they can't order a part for me when I well know they can.

This is obviously summer and I had time to bother to check if they would entertain me, yes I know the specific part I needed, even rang Chickens to try to get it direct! No dice, got to go to Evans...

Still got the part number if anyone wanna dispute it. Anyone? ;)

I had staff that used to say stuff like this to customers because they couldn't be bothered making a special order.

I've said this before on this thread and have been shut down. No one buys a product, everyone buys an experience...

Done enough client facing at a reputable bank (yeah, I know right?), suck it up, sort it out, clients are king!

Do you have to go to Evans? Not any other bike shop?

For that particular part Evans was the closest and yeah it was summer... ;)

R.I.P. The Cut. Missed reclaiming a few bits the builders were chucking out as I was away!

Evans has a terrible rep for fucking staff over and paying them badly, so it’s no wonder they staff really can’t be arsed to do anything. One of the guys at my shop worked for the west end branch and theft by staff and the manager was rampant, to make up the pay they’d been promised but not received.

R.I.P. The Cut. Missed reclaiming a few bits the builders were chucking out as I was away!

Someone got electrocuted and luckily live. Hence the closure.

Bike shops mechanics wont even use bloody Swarfega, All about this stuff

some real nit picking to get arsey about some shop floor not knowing about a specific kind of fucking soap. Is this the Aesop thread?

some real nit picking to get arsey about some shop floor not knowing about a specific kind of fucking soap.

Fucking this.

Didn't they determine that Swarfega was carcinogenic a few years back?

Nope. The stuff you clean off your hands with it is a different matter though.

Just add sugar to washing up liquid

Or maybe just buy some Swarfega, the guy who invented it literally invented it because he saw mechanics messing their hands up with homemade stuff with sand in!

Washing up liquid mixed with sugar or sand is among the worst home-made hand cleaners to use in the workshop.

Swarfega said: “It sounds like a great plan; mixing washing up liquid with something to scour the skin.

“However, washing up liquid is an aggressive cleaner, made to break down fat.

“This will strip your skin of its natural fats and acids that would otherwise help your hands stay healthy.

“Combine this with sugar or sand where the grains are the wrong size to clean the cracks and crevices in your skin and you’ve a recipe for disaster.

“It might work once or twice, but repeated use will lead to skin problems like dermatitis or even allergic reactions.”

My sister used to go out with someone from the Deb dynasty, he could get Swarfega made up in any colour he wanted.

#csb

he could get Swarfega made up in any colour he wanted.

Did he exercise restraint?

Swarfega do make up?

Enhances features and exfoliates simultaneously

No mention of hand diabetes?

Manual aids?

A staff member? That’s crazy either way!
I worked there from 2012-2014. I remember one shift in particular. To get into the basement you have to walk past a fuse box which had probably been there since the 50s or something. Me and a colleague were in this basement and the lights went off and we heard a bang - eventually making our way back out to find the fuse box was sparking and billowing black smoke which stank. We ran past it and shop was shut for a week. The fire brigade turned up and it was a massive scene. Those were The Cut glory days

Yeah I remember the story, I guess it was the final blow resulting in The Cut closing for good.

IME Swarfega is used as a generic term for workshop hand cleaner, so I'd expect to be able to go into a bike shop and ask for it, in the same way that I could ask for Copaslip and be given a generic anti-seize. I don't think the original point was about knowing brand names, though, more that even after explaining the staff were unable to help, suggesting a slightly disturbing lack of knowledge. FWIW I've always had reasonable service at my big local Evans, albeit with the caveat that I've usually ordered anything slightly unusual (e.g. rollerbrake grease) online for in-store pickup.

IME Swarfega is used as a generic term for workshop hand cleaner.

I usually just says industrial hand cleaner and don't pay attention to the manufacturer's name.

Also, not exactly a word I'd choose to try and pronounced.

Seriously though folks, if you’re still buying Swarfega in the year 2020 you need to have a long hard think about yourself. There are actual hand cleaners now that actually remove grease from your hands; products which aren’t useless smelly green slime.

I’m actually pleased that a young Evans employee didn’t know what it was. Hopefully it’s a sign of the times. Please, stop buying it. It’s shit. It’s not 1967 any more. Let it die and disappear.

I thought Swarfega was all about the gritty orange stuff now?

#makeswarfegagreatagain

The orange stuff is very good. The green one not so much...

The green Swarfega had an awesome, slimy feel to it back in the day. Far better than some modern non-carcinogenic nonsense.

^^^ the gritty orange stuff is what I'd associate with Swarfega, and it's been about for at least two decades. I suppose this supports my point that it's used generically for industrial hand cleaner...