Not much customer service here! As you will see (read from the bottom up), Tescos will not allow any bikes in store. Also, they do not seem to have very good reasons for doing so, its just "policy" and that's the way it is. Mind you, if a Bike is in a bag, how are they going to know its a bike??!!

Read from bottom up

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry if this matter has been left unclear.

We do not allow customers to bring their bicycles into our stores. We generally provide parking facilities for bicycles outside our stores.

Regardless of what type of bike it is, its manufacturer, its design, we do not allow customers to bring bicycles into our stores. There are no exceptions to this.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Kind Regards


Andrew Grassie
Tesco Customer Service



----- Original Message -----
From: Mark


Thank you for your response.

I note with interest that you do not feel it necessary to have justification for your shop policies.

In respect of the matter of "sanitary conditions", presumably there would be no problem if the bike was in a bag then as the oily chain would not be able to infect foodstuff? Also, presumably there would be no problem with the Strida bike that has a kevlar drive belt, no chain and therefore no oil?

Thank you for this clarification.

Mark

From: Tesco Customer Service

Thank you for your email.

Please except my apologies for any confusion.

As far as our stores are concerned, we do not feel it necessary to justify a
policy like this. However, we feel that bikes which are road vehicles which are
oily an unsanitary.

We are happy to provide parking facilities for bikes outside our store, but we
request that you respect our wishes and do not bring your bike into our stores.

Sorry for any disappointment.

Kind Regards


Andrew Grassie
Tesco Customer Service



----- Original Message -----
From: Mark

Thank you for your response - I would be interested as to why you would not
allow a folding bike (which takes up considerably less room than a normal bike,
or even a pushchair or trolley!) in your store?

What if the bike was in a bag that was being carried? If not, then would you
ban all bags the size of the bike in a bag?

I should be grateful to receive your company's justification for this
policy - it seem to encourage customers to use a less environmentally friendly
way of getting to the store, is inconsistent with other retailers (none of whom
have had a problem with entering the store with a folded bike), inconsistent
with public transport policy which allows folded bikes at all times on all
modes of transport and inconsistent with the principle of folding bikes
themselves - which is that you can take them everywhere with you and do not run
the risk of getting them stolen.

If the bike was left in a bike rack, would you therefore be happy to take
liability for the bike being stolen? I can understand the justification for
leaving full size bikes outside, but seeing as there is a clear distinction
between fodling and full size bikes, I cannot understand why this policy
applies regardless.

I should be grateful for your response - I am a loyal tesco customer and enjoy
the convenience of shopping there.

Best regards

Mark

From: Tesco Customer Service <customer.service@tesco.co.uk>
Subject: Folding bikes in store

Thank you for your email.

I was sorry to hear for the problems that you have had in our stores.

Unfortunately, it is not our policy to allow customers to enter our stores with
bicycles. Most of our stores offer cycle parking facilities outside, and we
request that these are used on all occasions.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us at
customer.service@tesco.co.uk

Kind Regards


Andrew Grassie
Tesco Customer Service




From: Mark
To: Tesco, Talking
Subject: Folding bikes in store

Please can you tell me what Tesco's policy is regarding folding bikes in
store?

I cycle to tescos and do so on my folding bike (a Dahon MuSL). I bring
my own bag to put products in and carry my bike around the store with
me. It folds in 3 places (frame/handlepost and seat) and is a compact
package.

I have been stopped twice by security and told that I cannot bring my
folded bike in store - this seems ridiculous to me, it does not cause
obstruction issues, I am allowed to take it on the tube without
restriction and it is much smaller than shopping trolleys/large
suitcases and pushchairs, none of which are banned. Reasoning has been
for the reason that the "manager does not allow it" to the fact that
folded bicycles are not allowed for health and safety reasons.

I should therefore be grateful for some clarity in relation to this
matter.

Best regards

Mark

I would get a cart , put bike in bag, put bag in cart and shop.

Dear Mark,

We do allow unsanitary children to stand in our trolleys, we don't give a toss that pushchair wheels are often covered in baby-sick and dog-poo, and we do murder some of our chickens in a cruel and barbaric fashion after letting them eat each others babies.

Moreover, last year, we put 36,000 small retailers out of business, and now own 68% of all available land in the UK.

Loony folding bicycles riders only provide 000001% of our revenue stream, do not make any money for our shareholders, and often have odd social habits. Some of them are even vegetarians! Cripes! Can you believe that?

Anyway, please take a running jump.

Did Hugh Fearnley-Whipping-Bottom put you up to this, by the way? It's the sort of thing he does. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article4231173.ece)

Go and get a Range Rover, why doncha? Keep your silly bicycle in the back of that. We've got a Rewards Points offer if you top up with more than 1000 litres of unleaded.

You hippy-types need to get with the program. Bicycles went out with the Bay City Rollers.


Now go away.

Yours etc
Snafu Golightly

Head of Customer Deflection
Tiscoids Stores Ltd.
Everywhere

:deadhorse::deadhorse:

Dear Ms Snafu Golightly,

Are you a witch employed from the Syltherin graduates to work for this UK bemoth? We believe that Voldemort is the acting CEO.

I'm afraid like your muggle colleague Mr Green, you seem to sterotype us folding bike users. Do not mess with us as we have very strong leg muscles and can kick like a mule. I would like to say that there is less poop and unsanitary stuff on the tyres of our bikes than amongst Tesco management.

As for chickens some of them work in customer services for Tiscoids judging by their grammar and proof-reading slills. Bunch of chicken-brains all of you!

I'm afraid I won't take you up on your 1000 litre offer for rewards points because it only takes a litre of Tiscoid unleaded petrol to f*ck up my engine. I know you will show me the your exceptional deflection skills if I try to claim compensation too.

As for Range Rovers I only have dealings with them in the middle of central London when they come out of side roads and blow their horns at me and try to ridicule my £800 Brompton when I give them a piece of my mind. Perhaps they are regional Tiscoid managers or if not some brain-dead London football professionals? A Range Rover should be the standard company car for Tesco execs.

Finally Miss Snafu and Grassie the 'folding fold' is growing exponentially and that 0.000000000000000000000000001% could change a few decimal points very shortly. Anyway ebcause Tiscoids own so much land and build on it, we all need folding bikes now as there is hardly any space left in the UK as you build everywhere!

Yours sincerely,

Mr Mulleady, a folding muggle.

I vow to boycott all Tesco stores..... unless they have Yog Digestives on special offer!

I'm a rebel without a biscuit!

FAO Andrew Grassie


Dear Mr Grassie,

Your communcations on not allowing folding bikes has reached the blog below:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=437158

I would have to say your replies on folding bikes are very poorly justified and even have an arrogant tone to them. You 'do not feel the need to justify', that's very nice of you indeed. A Brompton folding bike for instance folds smaller than a pushchair. By the way what makes a bike more unsanitary than a pushchair or the what people bring in on the soles of their footwear?

You plan to open a large superstore in West Drayton soon. I'm allowed to bring my Brompton folded into the local Co-op store. You can rest assured they will continue to get my business in the future.

I get (got) my spectacles and toilet paper from Tescos. I see no end to the trouble this thread will cause.

:deadhorse2:

They promote greener living http://www.tesco.com/greenerliving/ I would get a green bag and put my bike in it.

I take my Dahon MU SL into Asda with me and just put it in the shopping trolley as it is... not had any problems at all! I do have a slip cover but have only used it to drape over the chain area. My reasoning being that people can see that I’m not attempting to hide any items without paying for them.

Asda is much better for shopping anyway. Even like the range of clothing. Wish they were opening locally and not Tesco.

Tesco are becoming very arrogant, a bit like Walmart now.

How do you find the SL off-road PDR?

good point to bring up to Tesco, if the contaminated bits are covered would they allow folders in then?

Wait a minute, why do you want to take your bike into Tescos?

yes, what has your bike done to deserve such cruelty....

They sell bikes? --- Take it into the store for a tune-up.

[QUOTE
How do you find the SL off-road PDR?[/QUOTE]

I have not taken it off road but I have been along some pretty bad country lanes.
The bike actually rides better than I expected it to and thanks to the race guard protection in the kojak slicks I’ve not had any punctures even though there is a lot of glass on the road to work due to the number of pubs.

Yep, I carried my folded bike into my local Tesco for the first time just to pick up a bottle of water on my way to work, and the security guard had a go, after incoherently trying to get my attention and making a bit of a fuss. I told him I'd go to Waitrose where I'd never had any problems and the staff were decent people. Oddly enough, I've never had any problems in the other two Tescos I sometimes stop off at.

All this for a bottle of water ten yards into the superstore and then back to the till right by the door, with hardly anyone in at 8am. Perhaps I should have played dumb and got him to fetch my water and given him the cash and got him to bring me the change?

I guess most security guards don't know about the bike rule but only have a go in order to justify their existence, given that it's probably not the most exciting job hanging around Tesco all day and most of them just seem to be staring into space. They also enjoy roping off two thirds of the entrance/exit ten minutes before closing, when the store's at it's busiest and two families a second are coming out with trolleys.

Fortunately, no Tesco in Hyde Park... ;)

In my case, I'd rather just lock it up. It's just as quick as folding, if not quicker, and I don't have to carry it.

Take mine into weightrose 2x a week no probs. Don't they say Tescnos is to keep the riff-raff out of sainsberries and weightrose ?

They offer a place to lock your cycle and yet you refuse to use the facilities provided. Tough luck to you, either respect the policies of Tesco, which has been accommodating to you as a cyclist, or shop elsewhere.

They offer a place to lock your cycle and yet you refuse to use the facilities provided. Tough luck to you, either respect the policies of Tesco, which has been accommodating to you as a cyclist, or shop elsewhere.

Yes sure shope elsewhere is the solution and I'm sure the op will. Can always Internet shop even. Horray for this as it limits Tesco's locational power if one wishes to switch.

However you are missing the point saying 'tough luck' and that people should respect Tesco's policies

1) Bikes like the Brompton and Mu SL fold smaller than most pushchairs and carry less contamination than 4 wheels.
2) Leaving any half decent bike outside many places in the UK means it will be gone when you come out. Aside from using trains/buses and stowing away, the reason many of us use folders is we can carry them with us inside many places without impinging on others.
3) Tesco are becoming rude and arrogant jsut because they've become a very big boy. They should listen to reasonable arguments and suggestions from customers not just quote 'it's policy' and dismiss them.
4) Yes some of us shop elsewhere and that will only increase as Tesco's arrogance and intransigence does. No retailer is infallible as was proved with Dixons on the high street in the UK, despite their dominance in retailing consumer electrical goods in the past.
5) The issue is not about take it or leave it as you say rather abruptly. (Perhaps you are a Tesco exec working in Latvia lol? they tend to use that kind of speak and tough talk) The issue the op raised is folding bikes are a reasonable proposition to take into most large stores if stowed away on a trolley or wheeled around close to ones side. They are certainly less lethal and dirty than pushchairs with kids in them or supermarket trolleys with ignorant people pushing them!

Yes sure shope elsewhere is the solution and I'm sure the op will. Can always Internet shop even. Horray for this as it limits Tesco's locational power if one wishes to switch.

However you are missing the point saying 'tough luck' and that people should respect Tesco's policies

1) Bikes like the Brompton and Mu SL fold smaller than most pushchairs and carry less contamination than 4 wheels.
2) Leaving any half decent bike outside many places in the UK means it will be gone when you come out. Aside from using trains/buses and stowing away, the reason many of us use folders is we can carry them with us inside many places without impinging on others.
3) Tesco are becoming rude and arrogant jsut because they've become a very big boy. They should listen to reasonable arguments and suggestions from customers not just quote 'it's policy' and dismiss them.
4) Yes some of us shop elsewhere and that will only increase as Tesco's arrogance and intransigence does. No retailer is infallible as was proved with Dixons on the high street in the UK, despite their dominance in retailing consumer electrical goods in the past.
5) The issue is not about take it or leave it as you say rather abruptly. (Perhaps you are a Tesco exec working in Latvia lol? they tend to use that kind of speak and tough talk) The issue the op raised is folding bikes are a reasonable proposition to take into most large stores if stowed away on a trolley or wheeled around close to ones side. They are certainly less lethal and dirty than pushchairs with kids in them or supermarket trolleys with ignorant people pushing them!
No, you are missing the point that retailers can set their own rules in their shops. They are nice enough to provide bike racks, and I'm sure there are a number of poles to lock up to outside the shop as well, but the OP seems to think Tesco should make special accommodation for him as he chooses to cycle to the store.

Do you honestly think that a mother with a pram and a bicycle are the same? The pram serves a very important purpose inside the store, a bike doesn't.

No, you are missing the point that retailers can set their own rules in their shops. They are nice enough to provide bike racks, and I'm sure there are a number of poles to lock up to outside the shop as well, but the OP seems to think Tesco should make special accommodation for him as he chooses to cycle to the store.

Do you honestly think that a mother with a pram and a bicycle are the same? The pram serves a very important purpose inside the store, a bike doesn't.

No sorry you are missing some of the points I made. No-one wants to cycle the folder around the store lol and secondly retailers can set all the policies they care to but it doesn't make them right does it? What about marketing and customer orientation? How come other stores don't have an issue with a bike that is folded up?

The point about the pushchair was simply that it rubbishes the email from Tesco customer service about contamination.

You think Tesco are nice and kind do you lol?

No sorry you are missing some of the points I made. No-one wants to cycle the folder around the store lol and secondly retailers can set all the policies they care to but it doesn't make them right does it? What about marketing and customer orientation? How come other stores don't have an issue with a bike that is folded up?

The point about the pushchair was simply that it rubbishes the email from Tesco customer service about contamination.

You think Tesco are nice and kind do you lol?

What's your problem with using the bike racks provided.

As for being nice and kind, no, they have horrible things done to chickens.

What's your problem with using the bike racks provided.

As for being nice and kind, no, they have horrible things done to chickens.

Lol true about the chickens :D

I don't thin you have seen the UK documentary 'gone in 60 seconds'. Thieves can break even the best cycle lock in under 30 and there is no point leaving a bike on a rack outside. The compact folder is a solution to this.

^ +1 I've had several bikes stolen - hence folders - take them with you.

^ +1 I've had several bikes stolen - hence folders - take them with you.

Exactly! :thumb:so

That's why Tesco should reconsider their policy when people use proper compact folding bikes that get in no-ones way and aren'ta hygiene issue.

Tesco bang on all the time about how green they are. So, they've set the terms, and this is a legitimate debate to have with them!

Usual CSR rhetoric. Tesco are about as green as my ass lol!

In my case, I'd rather just lock it up. It's just as quick as folding, if not quicker, and I don't have to carry it.

You need a bike that folds faster then, and rolls :D
Sorry ... I just couldn't resist this blatant fanboy comment

You need a bike that folds faster then, and rolls :D
Sorry ... I just couldn't resist this blatant fanboy comment

Tikit is great, Brompton is best

Bring on the fanboy contest lol!

No they are both great! Would love tikit too.

Lol true about the chickens :D

I don't thin you have seen the UK documentary 'gone in 60 seconds'. Thieves can break even the best cycle lock in under 30 and there is no point leaving a bike on a rack outside. The compact folder is a solution to this.

I in fact have seen it. I also know that the folks breaking the locks were using methiods which aren't used in the real world (three foot bolt cutters) and were also trying to flog their own brand of lock. Did you notice on 'Gone in 60 Seconds' that the real life thieves which were caught on tape were using small and easy to conceal tools?

Where are all the reports of both ART Foundation four star rated and Sold Secure gold rated bicycle locks being defeated with any regularity in the real world?

http://www.stichtingart.nl/sloten_resultaat.asp
http://www.soldsecure.com/Leisure.htm

Tesco bang on all the time about how green they are. So, they've set the terms, and this is a legitimate debate to have with them!

They have provided racks to lock your bike to.

They have provided racks to lock your bike to.

but not next to any security - guards (for what they're worth...), CCTV...

Wait a minute, why do you want to take your bike into Tescos?

Locks are pointless for bicycles. Didn't you have some locked bikes stolen recently?

If any contributors here have a thief proof lock, please enlighten us.

Earlier this year we strolled our folders around supermarkets, mainly "New World", in NZ. Without exception, they generated great interest, particularly amongst the staff. One shop manager was even interested in importing them!

We've strolled ours around Aldi, Netto & John Lewis in the UK, & Lidl in Germany without problems.

The bikes can make useful shopping carts & take up less space than a baby buggy.

We feel that 20" or smaller wheels are less intimidating than big wheels, thus shoppers don't feel inconvenienced by them.

I would not try to wheel a 700c bike around a store. They're too unwieldy & intimidating in that environment.

Naturally, if our folders were dirty, we'd either clean them first, or not take them into a shop. A "lock" is absolutely a (poor) last resort.

but not next to any security - guards (for what they're worth...), CCTV...

:thumb:

Exactly they only care about goods nicked from their stores not customer's bikes or cars!

but not next to any security - guards (for what they're worth...), CCTV...

It's not their responsibility to babysit your bike. Buy a lock which is both ART Foundation four star rated and Sold Secure Gold and be done with it. The amount of paranoia about bikes being stolen here is simply shocking. If one were to just read these boards you'd think that bicycling isn't only a death wish, but at every turn there is someone with an angle grinder just waiting to cut your lock.

Seesh, how do you enjoy cycling with so much worry attached to it?

Locks are pointless for bicycles. Didn't you have some locked bikes stolen recently?

If any contributors here have a thief proof lock, please enlighten us.

Earlier this year we strolled our folders around supermarkets, mainly "New World", in NZ. Without exception, they generated great interest, particularly amongst the staff. One shop manager was even interested in importing them!

We've strolled ours around Aldi, Netto & John Lewis in the UK, & Lidl in Germany without problems.

The bikes can make useful shopping carts & take up less space than a baby buggy.

We feel that 20" or smaller wheels are less intimidating than big wheels, thus shoppers don't feel inconvenienced by them.

I would not try to wheel a 700c bike around a store. They're too unwieldy & intimidating in that environment.

Naturally, if our folders were dirty, we'd either clean them first, or not take them into a shop. A "lock" is absolutely a (poor) last resort.

And over in the Living Car Free section there are people who think that it's perfectly acceptable to allow 700c wheeled bikes in shops. The simple solution is no bikes allowed.

Locks are pointless for bicycles. Didn't you have some locked bikes stolen recently?



They were locked into a rickety wooden shed - the door yielded easily. If I thought my bike would be stolen, I might think the way you guys do. The bike racks at our Tesco can be clearly seen through the window from the checkouts, and from the cash machines, and I've never heard of a bike being stolen. Typically, I'll ride my old 4 speed Raleigh Superbe for runs like that anyway, which nobody wants to steal. I really only use my folders for places where I might need to fold.

.......The amount of paranoia about bikes being stolen here is simply shocking........

Seesh, how do you enjoy cycling with so much worry attached to it?

http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/

left hand panel, "stolen bikes register".

It's not paranoia. Many of the posters here live in the US or the UK. Perhaps in Latvia, crime is rather less than in these nations?

It seems most riders do enjoy their folders, but just like to consider the problem situations should they arise.

The amount of paranoia about bikes being stolen here is simply shocking. If one were to just read these boards you'd think that bicycling isn't only a death wish, but at every turn there is someone with an angle grinder just waiting to cut your lock.

Okay, but I do know that I've had lights and stuff nicked more times than I've had bikes nicked. The ability to take a folder into a shop to grab a pint of milk on the way home means not having to disconnect, switch off and remove all your lights (and pumps, computers...) as things like that often do get stolen or vandalised. Or some **** makes off with your saddle and seatpost, just so he and his mates can laugh about your journey home.

There's a small chance of having your bike stolen while you're in Tesco. There's a good chance someone will nick some accessory, even just for a laugh, especially in certain areas.

Okay, but I do know that I've had lights and stuff nicked more times than I've had bikes nicked. The ability to take a folder into a shop to grab a pint of milk on the way home means not having to disconnect, switch off and remove all your lights (and pumps, computers...) as things like that often do get stolen or vandalised. Or some **** makes off with your saddle and seatpost, just so he and his mates can laugh about your journey home.

There's a small chance of having your bike stolen while you're in Tesco. There's a good chance someone will nick some accessory, even just for a laugh, especially in certain areas.

Then take off the accessories! How long does that take, 30 seconds? Christ, I do it several times a day and have never felt burdened by it.

Cycling is a choice which you have made, and you must either choose to live with the rules that go with it, or find another mode of transport.

They were locked into a rickety wooden shed - the door yielded easily. If I thought my bike would be stolen, I might think the way you guys do. The bike racks at our Tesco can be clearly seen through the window from the checkouts, and from the cash machines, and I've never heard of a bike being stolen. Typically, I'll ride my old 4 speed Raleigh Superbe for runs like that anyway, which nobody wants to steal. I really only use my folders for places where I might need to fold.

You're in Hampshire aren't you Sam? A lower crime rate in many areas. Try locking a bike outside a Tesco in Greater London!

You're in Hampshire aren't you Sam? A lower crime rate in many areas. Try locking a bike outside a Tesco in Greater London!

Exactly which locks do you use to lock up your bike?

Exactly which locks do you use to lock up your bike?

No lock will ressit a long handled bolt-cropper, not even the £200 motorcycle ones!

See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_wLq9F1LOE

and http://www.consumersearch.com/www/sports_and_leisure/bicycle-locks/

This is why we argue compact folding bikes do no represent issue being brough inside stores and Tesco are wrong. Yes we can shop elsewhere and I have and will continue to exercise that right. Doesn't mean the Tesco policy is correct though.

You're in Hampshire aren't you Sam? A lower crime rate in many areas. Try locking a bike outside a Tesco in Greater London!

Yep, although I live in one of the less pleasant parts of Southampton. There's definitely less risk of theft here than in London.

No lock will ressit a long handled bolt-cropper, not even the £200 motorcycle ones!

Except that bike thieves don't go around with 3 foot croppers.

With all the bikes locked with inferior locks, by using a top end lock your bike is quite safe. Where are all the reports of top end locks being defeated? I haven't seen many; have you?

No, you are missing the point that retailers can set their own rules in their shops.:beer: They are nice enough to provide bike racks, and I'm sure there are a number of poles to lock up to outside the shop as well, but the OP seems to think Tesco should make special accommodation for him as he chooses to cycle to the store.

Do you honestly think that a mother with a pram and a bicycle are the same? The pram serves a very important purpose inside the store, a bike doesn't.

Exactly! :beer:

http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/

left hand panel, "stolen bikes register".

It's not paranoia. Many of the posters here live in the US or the UK. Perhaps in Latvia, crime is rather less than in these nations?

It seems most riders do enjoy their folders, but just like to consider the problem situations should they arise.

I never said that bikes don't get stolen, which of course they do, especially when they are either unlocked or locked with a sub-par lock. I see nothing about the type of lock used in any of these thefts. I suspect that they were not high-end locks, as if they were being defeated the whole biking community would know about it very quickly. It's not news that cheap locks are easy to defeat.

EDIT: Here is a link to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry. Take a look through it and you'll find a lot of common themes to the thefts. The bikes were either unlocked, locked with a cable, locked with a cheap U-lock, or improperly locked to an insecure object. http://stolen.bikechicago.info/node

I take my bike into Sainsbury's in Leicester sometimes and nobody minds. I don't even put it in a bag, just wheel it round in a trolley. Nobody has ever objected - after all the trolleys are kept outside, have kids shoes in them, etc, etc. In fact the cashiers always want to know all about my bike and where to get one, how much, etc.

Try a different supermarket or branch of Tesco, sounds like you've had some bad luck is all.

And over in the Living Car Free section there are people who think that it's perfectly acceptable to allow 700c wheeled bikes in shops. The simple solution is no bikes allowed.

So totally disagree when its a compact folder, cant compare that to a 700cc bike lol! What is the problem with a Brompton for example? Anyway I'd bag mine if i really wanted to shop in any supermarket. Sorry providing racks doesn't mean Tesco are dacilitating customers with compact packages. This debate isn't about full sized bikes. No-one asked expects them to babysit bikes but they should have security who patrol the car parks and perimeters anyway with the amount of crime in some areas of the UK these days. It would hardly put a dent in the profits of each store in question. IKEA do this on their grounds.