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@Jingle_Jangle
I needed some spoke nipples for a wheel build, and like a fool popped into Evans in Spitalfields on my way home.
As usual, there weren't enough floor staff on duty, and as usual they were busy entering customers contact details into the till system, rather than actually serving customers.
After a good 10 minutes (which felt like a lifetime), a young man who was clearly new became available to help.
At first he didn't seem to know what spoke nipples were, then he checked the Evans Web Page to no avail. Because he was obviously new, he hadn't been fully indoctrinated into the company don't-give-a-shit culture, and he tried to be helpful.
He went into the 'workshop', and asked the people in there if they could help. Eventually he came out with a spoke nipple, and told me that they did have them in stock, but he would have to ask the Manager how to enter the transaction into the 'till system, as they didn't have a code.
The Manager (cunt) flatly refused to allow him to sell them to me, on the grounds that that would leave them with more spokes than nipples. I could have pointed out that I actually bought some spokes, without the nipples from them a week or so ago, but I just couldn't be arsed.
On the plus side, I did what I meant to do in the first place, and went to Condor, which is a proper bike shop. They sorted me out with 40 nipples, for which they didn't have a till code, so they let me have the lot for a pound.
In a nutshell, almost all branches of Evans are shit, filled with unhelpful staff who don't sell stuff actual cyclists need. Halfords is better. On the other hand, Condor on Grays Inn Road is an excellent bike shop staffed by helpful people who know what they are doing. Shop at Condor, not Evans.