Mountain Biking - Work in a shop? question for ya...

Lets create a scenario here. Imagine someone purchased a bike from you. 30 days later they walk in to get their free 30-day tune up. Keep in mind that this person has only been riding the bike once a week. Would there be a need to replace the front derailleur cable? I could understand the rear but the front? Why? And why the hell would they charge me $12 to install 2 tubes that I coulda put in myself!!! Im never going back to that store, what a ripoff! I walked in thinking I wasnt going to have to pay for anything (free 30 day tuneup) yet they charge me $21 for parts and labor. Arent they supposed to ask first if I want a new cable? Jerks.

Sounds like you are an angry young man :)

On the bike side of things, they were doing you a service. Surely you must have been doing something erratic to damage a derailleur cable. A two tubes? Were you riding on a bed of glass? Come on here...

The last day that I had it (last sunday) I popped both of my tubes. Very sharp rock at a very fast speed. Ive never bailed out on my bike to where it would damage the cable. I rarely even use the cable.

Young? Is 25 young?

I work in a shop, and yes, they should've called you before doing the extra work.

I don't see why you would need to replace the cable. What did they say when you asked?

Now as far as the two tubes. It's pretty safe to assume (from a mechanic's point of view) that if a bike comes in with two flat tires, they need to be replaced. However, there is a reason for a repair ticket. The ones we use have specific descriptions for the work needed and plenty of blank space for specific instruction.

It all seems to be a failure of communication on both parties. They Should have called you. You could have stated, you needed two new tubes, but would install them yourself. The new cable still leaves me perplexed!

Go back and speak with the manager. Call ahead and find out who to speak with. Tell them your concerns, offer to pay for the tubes and try to get some $$$ back for the tube install and have him explain why a new bike needs a new cable. Remember, be nice, articulate and polite. Sugar goes easier than salt. Explain to the manager or owner that you never received a call to authorize the additional work. That is usually the clincher. As a shop mechanic, if we didn't get approval, we didn't do the work. If it was something obvious that needed to be done, and we were backed up, we took the gamble knowing we might each the labor charge!

L8R

Why did they replace the front derailleur cable? Did they tell you why? Was it damaged from an incident? I can't imagine any other valid reason for them to replace this, and charge you for it!

The price for the cable was $1.99. The tubes were $3.99 a piece. The cost is not an issue for me, thats not the point. The point is, they didnt call or ask my permission before they did the work. Ill give them a call later and ask why the replaced the cable.

usually the 30 day tuneup is just tightening of cables, make sure brake pads are still lined up, tires have air, etc. it is just a tuneup. if anything has been damaged, im sure they wouldnt replace it unless it failed from a defect and not misuse/accident.
sure, they probalby should have called you, but these parts need to be repalced if they were damaged

Maybe they damaged the derailleur cable during the tune-up and decided to charge you for it. That is always an option, albeit a very undesirable thought.

I used to work in a guitar repair shop. When a customer would drop off a guitar I would inspect the instrument, with the customer present, for any existing damage. Especially the finish!

Must be Hardrock customers they like to try and hose.
I took my hardrock in for its first service and they hosed me for a Deraileur hanger!

Never called to ask, nothing. Go in expecting to pay nothing and walk out 40 bucks poorer.

I asked him to show me the bent one and he picked one out of the trash with Green paint on it. I'd love to know where that came from seeing as my bike was Blue and had never once hit the gorund hard. Pretty hard to bend riding rail trails one would think.

When I first got into Mountain Biking I thought the LBS's were the only way to go. Quickly I figured out that I better learn to service my bike myself. I'm sure there are good stores out there but they are usually so busy that you are looking at 3-5 day turn around time so its a lose-lose situation.

Originally posted by troie
Young? Is 25 young?

Hell ya. Young isn't age but a feel. At 28 no one would accuse me of being old :)..

Well except slcpunk...:)

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Hell ya. Young isn't age but a feel. At 28 no one would excuse me of being old :)..

Well except slcpunk...:)

Sure pull me into this now..haha..

I agree they should have called you to let you know about the cable. The tube thing..at my shop if that happend on a 30day we would have called first and then replaced the tubes and just charged for the price of the tube, no need for a labor charge. That's just good buisness. If you were good enough to buy a bike from us the least we could do is change out the tubes on a 30day for no labor charge...makes everyones life easier. You don't have to go threw the hastle of changing it and we make you happy... then... you'll be back! Point blank, make the customer happy and keep them informed! That makes a good relationship between both parties.

Time to find a new LBS!!

:beer:

How could a bike WITH TWO FLAT TIRES be brought in and the guy writing it up and the guy dropping it off never discussed it with one another. HOW could he not say "Would you like us to fix your tires. It will be twelve bucks labor plus the tubes" and HOW could you not say"Don't fix the tires I am going to do it myself. Where are the tubes?" If I get a repair with two flats and the ticket does not mention them, I would put tubes in, makes it much easier to test the bike after the repair.
As for the cable, my guess would be it was frayed at the pinch point but if it had been me doing the work that would be free as the bike is under warranty and to new to have frayed cables.

i agree with a2psyklnut. you could have said "dont replace the tubes" and they could have asked you if you wanted th tbes replacing. altough they definitely should have told you that there was going to be a chargefor the tubes and labour. they should not have chared you for the cable as Rev.Chuck said.

I've been doing all my own maintenance and service on my bikes for a couple of years. My favorite local bike shops are good about explaining parts and 'how to do' things. I even serviced some neighbors bikes and charged what the bike shops charge. parktool.com has a great site to learn stuff. So far this year - replaced my chain, installed a new Marz EXR fork, installed a new rear derailleur cable, adjusted disk and V brakes, adjusted front and rear derailleurs, changed the spring tension on a rear derailleur. It s a great hobby to work on my own bike and then go ride it! I spent some time this morning tweaking a few spokes to get my rear wheel 'perfect'. I think if you really ride a lot, you'll just start doing your own work cuz its faster and cheaper than going to the bike shop.

How do you like that zocchi exr?

I rarely ever take my bike to the shop for repairs. My bike is gone an entire day, and I have to pay for parts/labor. The only stuff I really take it to the shop for is installing headsets, forks... that kind of thing.

Originally posted by troie
How do you like that zocchi exr?

They are average. I rode one all last year. Suntour restamped to say marzocchi. Not as plush as regular marzocchi and far more noodly than an average marzocchi but for 200$ you really can't beat it :)