Before I write off my LBS entirely...
With all the LBS love that gets spread around here, I've been trying to make it a point to frequent my LBS for my fixed gear parts. They're nice people and I don't mind paying full retail for parts, but I'm questing their labor charges. It's enough that I don't even want to visit their shop anymore.
Before I decide to take my business elsewhere, I'd like to get a second opinion -
I inquired about having a new stem installed and was quoted $50. And I even saw the labor rates in the book when the guy looked it up, so I know he wasn't mistaken. A stem install takes me no longer than 10 minutes and that includes the time it takes me to put the fork back in and situate the headset when I inevitably let it slide out and fall on the floor.
Before that, I was charged $35 to true a wheel that was hardly out of true. And the the mechanic even told me as much. I didn't ask how much the labor would cost before leaving it, so I had no choice to pay in that case.
Are those charges as outrageous as I think they are?