Stubacca

Why does a supposedly 'reputable' LBS hire incompetent fools to turn the wrenches?

On Saturday I spent a few minutes re-tuning the Sora shifter/front derailleur on a friend's Trek 1000. She'd had the bike in for a full tuneup at the LBS near her work about 4 weeks back (paid for service, not a free tuning). The shifting was a bit off when she took it in, but strangely worse when she got the bike back. She took it back to the shop, and they told her that's just the way Sora is... "you need to upgrade to a better bike to get better shifting".

I took a look at it. Major symptoms were rubbing on the FD when on the middle chainring/largest four sprockets, and throwing the chain off the inside when downshifting. Clearly something not right, and it's got nothing to do with it being Sora.

I looked at the FD. It was crooked (tail out) and positioned almost 10mm above the largest chainring. I repositioned it and aligned it properly. Set the limit screws (both were incorrect). Re-tensioned the cable. On the rear derailleur, I checked the limit screws (minor adjustments only) and re-tensioned the cable since there was nothing left on the barrel adjuster.

Result? 15 minutes effort and perfect, buttery smooth shifting. Not as nice as my 105, but not frustrating either.

So.... Why can't the LBS do this properly? Why did they feel the need to lie to a customer about needing to upgrade? Would this have happened if it was a Trek 5200 instead of a Trek 1000**********

sydney

Actually they weren't trained monkeys which would have probably done ok, but just nose pickers. If it wasn't too inconvenient one should have taken the mess back, pointed out the issues to the store manager,and hopefully the nose pickers would be demoted to swabbing toilets.

king koeller

My only question is why didn't your friend take it to you in the first place?
I'm amazed at how some bike shops get in a fix,
and they need to hire some quick but unqualified help.
Then they end up doing more harm than good,
10mm off the big ring! Unbelievable.
What started out as a small adjustment, (the whole thing was probably just routine cable stretch on the front derailler) was turned into to a major repair because of incompetence.

DiegoFrogs

A friend and I were once helping a guy we know by carrying some things that were large and required 2 people. We were (I guess unusually) successful in doing so, and he offered us jobs! Apparently, for ordinary folks, if 2 guys are facing each other and trying to carry something, they can't figure out that one of them needs to walk backwards! My point being, the mechanic probably had roughly average mechanical aptitude.

Stubacca

I'd been telling her to bring it over and I'd tune it up for her, but I think she thought it would all take much longer than it really does (since the bike shop was telling her she needed to leave it for a few days). I spent another 15 minutes cleaning her pads and rims and adjusting the brakes, and I talked her through the whole process so she understands what actually needs to be done and gradually might be able to do some of it herself.

Sydney - I thought about taking it over to the shop as soon as I saw the front derailleur. Trouble is, it would have taken about 2 hours to get over there, talk to them about it, and get home to start fixing it. On a day where I had more time I might have bothered.

Enthalpic

Somebody was playing salesman not repairman; they never tried to fix it.

Stubacca

You're right. They broke it more!

sydney

A setup to claim that sora sucks and a new DA drivetrain is needed to really fix the problem.

Mentor58

ARGH!!!! So THAT'S what we've been doing wrong, both of us have tried walking forward, we didn't get any where. We both tried walking backward, kept dropping the box. Next you'll be telling me that when I lay sod, it's the GREEN side that's supposed to point up. You kids and your crazy notions.

Seriously, I'd want to give that bike shop a call, talk to the owner/manager, and calmly explain what his 'mechanics' did. I'd then ask him if HE thought that this work was the type of quality he'd like his shop to be know for. I'm sure he will answer NO. Then ask him since your friend had to pay money for a job that was done to that standard, and that isn't the standard he wants his shop to be know for, what will he do for your friend to compensate her for the now admittedly substandard work for which she was charged. At the very least I would expect that what ever she was charged would be returned to her in cash or if he insists on store credit only, I wouldn't accept less than a 25% bonus ontop of the original amount.

At no point would I show any anger at the manager, simply ask simple questions, until he works himself into a corner, at which point you very nicely close the trap. Has worked for me more than once. If that doesn't work, then I turn "New York Pushy", to quote an old "Best Beloved" of mine.

Steve W.
Who Doesn't get mad, he gets satisfaction.

Brian

Let me assume the role of Devil's Advocate (here's my card ) for a moment, and ask a question:

How was this bike transported to and from the shop in question?

onbike 1939

We know this already....two guys walking backwards carried it.

Brian

Got it. Not all Shimano gear is backwards compatible.

Ed Holland

Been there, done that, but with a positive outcome from the shop. My favourite LBS had a glitch a little while ago - see below for gory details. The mechanic responsible was not around for long after I told them what I had found. Apparently he was new, seconded from another shop and had a good recommendation. The owner gave me a credit voucher to compensate for the trouble caused and was very apologetic. This really was a one-off, I still frequent this shop and have no problem in doing so.

The problem: I took the bike in for replacement of the bottom bracket cartridge. When it was returned, I found that all the cables and housings had been replaced (not requested). The chain was incorrectly threaded through the derailleur cage and worst of all, the headset... I commented about this on collection, they supposed it was just adjusted too tight and "fixed" it before I left - It was a good job I didn't try to ride home. When I looked, the headset had been re-packed with the wrong size bearing balls, and so many bearings that the bars wouldn't turn. Maybe I had wronged the guy in a former life - if so, he certainly took revenge on my bike.

I do very much more of my own work now. Everything except wheel-building in fact.

Cheers,

Ed

jharte

Back to the original question: Why do LBS hire unqualified help?

I have also had issues with some LBS. Some of these guys don't even ride a bike! As for the owners? An owner with a passion may have a hard time hiring (paying a decent wage) someone with the same passion.

I have considered working part time at a LBS several times. I'd like nothing better than to work on bikes and share some experiences! What a blast that would be!!

I go to two LBS in my area. One where the owner commutes every day (and hosts rides on Wednesday). The other is run by a bunch of young teens. They all commute on their BMX bikes to work and then go for rides AFTER work. Bicycle freaks! Both shops are very competent. These are the only two LBS I will buy from. Just my .02

Wordbiker

Just a month ago I did just that...took a part-time job at a local bike shop. For those of you that don't understand why a shop would hire an underqualified mechanic...go do it yourself and see just how qualified you are. I'm a lifelong bicycle tinkerer (not always riding, but always fixing them) and am considered among my peers an apt mechanic, so much so that I became the de facto "head mechanic" of the amateur team I was racing with, and was offered the job due to that experience. I don't let that get to my head as I have no certifications or formal training whatsoever, I've just worked on a lot of bikes. I work at the shop with a certified mechanic that I am constantly teaching new things to, and it surprised me at first. Why doesn't this guy know this stuff?
The answer is simple: I am paid 1/4 of what I make as a carpenter working at the bike shop...actually more than the certified mechanic. Is the owner a cheapskate? No, he's a good friend of mine and an excellent businessman. The reason he can't pay someone more is the customers won't pay more. When people bring in $60 Huffy bikes that they tried to assemble themselves, messed the job up horribly (not that even a pristinely tuned Huffy is anything more than a hunk of junk at best), stripping threads and rounding spoke nipples, they tend to balk at even the modest $50 tuneup, which includes all the supplies. It is these customers that make up the bulk of his clientele. Go to an auto mechanic with a $400 junker car and I defy you to drive out with a completely fine-tuned automobile for anywhere close to that price, yet people expect that level of service from a bike shop.
The bottom line is...if you want better service from a bicycle shop, value them more. They'll be able to hire a world class professional mechanic that posesses a magic wand capable of even making a Sora gruppo shift like Dura-Ace...and you'll pay like Dura-Ace too.