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@JackFlash
I like Evans. I always thought they were reliable/cheap/friendly, until today, which went something like this:
I took a new frame into EJ Barnes on Westbourne Grove to get a BB fitted - the guy there did a good job fitting it, but didn't have a C wrench to tighten the lockring on the outside, so charged me nothing and told me to find someone wo had the right tools. So I down the road I go to Evans, asked them if they could do it, and they said 'yes, come back in 15'. So I came back 15 minutes later, and ended up waiting at least another 45, with apologies and excuses flying everywhere. I ended up buying an Abus steel chain (not because I was bored of waiting, I do actually need one), for which they gave me 10% off because they'd managed to turn a 15 minute wait into an hour and 10 minutes. Finally, the assistant came upstairs with my frame, and his exact words were 'let me explain what went wrong'. Turns out that the axle was grinding, so the mechanic had tried to take it out to fix it, slipped with the C wrench, and taken a massive gash out of the top of the left side of the BB shell. This I would have been alright with, until he'd (clearly) tried to cover it up without my knowing, then realised that it was way noticeable. The frame is pearl white, and the 'paint' that he used looks like cheap tippex. And the axle is still grinding.
To give them what little credit they are due, they didn't charge me for the '15 (more like an hour and 15) minutes labour', and have booked me in next week to fix the BB/service/attempt at bettering the paint job, all free of charge, but what really pisses me off is that a) the mechanic had tried to rectify the BB problems without consulting me, and b) he'd then tried, after quite badly damaging the BB shell, to hide it from me.
It's a shame, because I like Evans, but I'll definitely be avoiding this branch for repairs in the future.
/rant