Bicycle Mechanics - for the bike mechanics - tell me what you think

working for a big chain of bike shops i recently heard that one a mechanic from another branch of the same company recently got an infection cause he fixed someones bike that was covered in dog waste and since he had a cut he got infected and had to have time off work. since then i have turned away many bikes for repairs because of the state of their cleanliness, and everytime the customer (usually a stuck up man trying to get his daughters/sons bike fixed from a posh area and thinks they are too good and that we should be taking that risk and basically give a monkeys about no one but themselves) complains to the manager! this is out of order and as an experienced mechanic even wearing gloves cuts and bruises are easy to get and im not gonna take that risk cause some stuck up man wants his bike fixed. let me know what you think

This is an interesting question. In these times, people seem to be getting more polarized (about everything). One of the subjects is health. Don't believe it? Look at the expanding HIV/AIDS pandemic for a start. There are those who are careful, and those who are not. The former group tends, in many cases, to make fun of those in the latter for whatever reason. Probably to reinforce their own flawed thinking.

So it would seem to be a similar choice to wearing a seatbelt, wearing a helmet, having unprotected sex, etc. You pay your money and you take your choice. But as posted elsewhere in these forums by an older person with whom I share age and attitude, perhaps we get wiser as we grow older.

I can only add that in retirement, now that I can choose to do what I enjoy, and not what I need to do to simply live, life has become more important to me. Therefore, I tend to be even more careful and conservative than when I was younger.

It works for me. Maybe it can work for you. Even at a younger age.

Cheers...Gary

I think that it's likely you will be looking for another job soon. The reality is that your employer makes his money by fixing bikes, not turning them away.

why not just tell the customer that if the bike is very dirty that you will have to clean it (hose it down) before you can work on it and there will be a small charge to cover this. Quite reasonable then the customer can decide whether he wants to clean the bike himself or pay the charge. Better than just turning away the customers.

why not just tell the customer that if the bike is very dirty that you will have to clean it (hose it down) before you can work on it and there will be a small charge to cover this. Quite reasonable then the customer can decide whether he wants to clean the bike himself or pay the charge. Better than just turning away the customers.

Excellent LBS solution to charge a fee for cleaning as in many cases it may be part of the repair process.
I would not expect a LBS mechanic to repair my bicycle if it were extremely dirty.
Many cyclist do not consider "any" maintenance or cleaning until something fails.

Most occupations have many hazards.
Consider the medical profession? Especially Nursing!
Firemen!
Law Enforcement!

I hope you're not planning to become a plumber when you lose the bike job.

Wear gloves. You are there to provide a service, and being a prima donna (esp. when you don't have first-hand knowledge of this "sickness" isn't going to help you. In fact, it's a sure fire way to get one good look at prospective customer's back.

Make the dirty bike into a plus - imagine the delight of the customer when is bike is returned to him repaired and sparkly clean.

The story you heard sounds like an urban myth. How would the mechanic know that it was a piece of dog poop on a particular bike that caused the infection. Could have just been through shaking hands with a satisfied customer. However its a good thing to be careful of infection when you have an open wound.

Dirty bike= extra $$ Wash that sucker and charge em ten bucks plus an extra day for it to dry and be serviced. Besides 99.9 percent of dirt on bikes is just dirt. I usually wash my hands after working on a bike anyway.
If you really want to keep from getting sick, hide when some comes in dragging their snotty hacking kid with them. Those little germ factories will make you ill far more often than poopy tire. I ALWAYS wash my hands after helping someone with a kid. (I got pink eye from a kid once)

I wear gloves and wash my hands regularly. Nice urban legend though

working for a big chain of bike shops i recently heard that one a mechanic from another branch of the same company recently got an infection cause he fixed someones bike that was covered in dog waste and since he had a cut he got infected and had to have time off work. since then i have turned away many bikes for repairs because of the state of their cleanliness, and everytime the customer (usually a stuck up man trying to get his daughters/sons bike fixed from a posh area and thinks they are too good and that we should be taking that risk and basically give a monkeys about no one but themselves) complains to the manager! this is out of order and as an experienced mechanic even wearing gloves cuts and bruises are easy to get and im not gonna take that risk cause some stuck up man wants his bike fixed. let me know what you think

Anyone who brings a dirty bike into a shop for repairs, probably does not wipe their butt after they take a dump!

Coming from a service manager perspective, ask your manager what THEY think. Express your concern. See what they say. Chances are, they won't what a bike covered in dog crap in their store either.

Chances are they wouldn't want you turning away business either.

Chances are they wouldn't want you turning away business either.

Exactly. Being a bike mechanic means working on bikes, dirty or not. If its got dog poo on it though, I know I wouldn't want it smelling up MY shop (if I had one LOL). I'd kindly ask the customer if they mind paying an extra fee to clean the poo off the bike, or if they'd like to bring it back after a trip to the do it yourself car wash.

Really though, turning away bikes that simply havent been cleaned lately is rather silly.

this story reminds me of when I used to run a service department at a shop. If it was wet out and a customer brought their bike in to check out, I would put it in the repair stand and ask one of the new kids to stand behind it to see if it looked straight, then I would crank the pedals to about 180 rpm by hand and then the rear tire would spray the kid in the face. It was a little iniation/hazing of the new guys.

Ah, the good old days of working in a shop.

I never did it when dog doo was involved. I wasn't that big of a jerk.

Extra dirty = extra time to fix (cleaning) = extra charge.

In my experience filthy bikes should not be serviced until they are cleaned (In fact in some cases they cannot be serviced until cleaned). There a number of health, shop safety, mechanical, and economic reasons for this. As some responses noted, it's in the shop and the customer's best interests to make it clear, in a nice but firm manner, that either the shop will clean it for an extra charge or the customer can do it (The shop should have a posted, pre-established price range to show the customer that this is a standard policy and to assist and help guide the employee taking the bike in).

If this is a problem in your shop, it should be the first topic on the agenda at the next employee meeting.

All of this leads me to ask...

Can you get cooties from a bicycle saddle... especially if it's a girls saddle?
;)
What a completely absurd thread... the original poster should be forced to eat yellow snow for being such a chump. To me it's far more scary-waaaay beyond dog poop & children with dripping noses-that we live in a world with so many uninformed/not very bright people (referring to the original poster... not the follow up responses).

All of this leads me to ask...

Can you get cooties from a bicycle saddle... especially if it's a girls saddle?
;)
What a completely absurd thread... the original poster should be forced to eat yellow snow for being such a chump. To me it's far more scary-waaaay beyond dog poop & children with dripping noses-that we live in a world with so many uninformed/not very bright people (referring to the original poster... not the follow up responses).
Best post I've seen today.

Anyone who brings a dirty bike into a shop for repairs, probably does not wipe their butt after they take a dump!

I think the opposite may be true. Did it ever occur to you that they might have wiped their butt with their bike? :D

Wait. Your saying I should use some sort of paper and not my hands? I'll just use my left from now on...

I think the opposite may be true. Did it ever occur to you that they might have wiped their butt with their bike? :D

LMFAO :D