echotraveler

Hello guys,

Ive been commuting for roughly a year, and it was wonderfull! parked my bike inside the office, were nobody could see or trip with it. I work in a customer service center, and the customers see me in the morning coming in and at 5:00 coming out...at least they used to see me...

One friday 2 months ago i fell and broke my elbow...and decided that while i was off the bike i could build a bike! I was so into it that a couple of times i brought the frame to the workplace cause a coworker was giving me tips about painting the bike....one day, on our break, he showed me how to sand the frame...and thats when it happened...supposedly, his suppervisor saw us and contacted, my supervisors supervisor, saying the president of the corporation want my bike out of the workplace because clients can se it, and it doesn't look professional, they said i was painting the bike in the workplace ( BS and mixing things that dont mix!)

My supervisor came to see me and i told her what had happened, and a couple of days later i got a MEMO in my file, saying i used company time to sand my bike... i accepted it, and said to myself "ill forget about this and not give it any weight"....

Now, the supervisor is telling me that i have to enter thru the back door, and my bike can't be seen by customers. So now i have to go to the front entrance (not enter), ask a coworker to open the back passage to enter thru the back door....

This situation is pissin me off, ENTER THRU THE BACK DOOR WERE NOONE CAN SEE YOU!!!! WTF! separate but equal!? thats just ridiculous! More than pissed, im really sad, sometimes i think about it and i get a very odd feeling inside.

sggoodri

Bring the bike in through the back door. Be happy they let you take your bike inside.

Seriously, it's completely reasonable to require equipment to be moved in and out of the building through a different door than customers use, no matter how one feels about cycling.

We have no back door where I work but I use the freight elevator. I park in my office but I try not to parade around my customers in Spandex too much.

Non-work-related activity in the workplace is always a sensitive issue if conducted where customers might see it.

JeremyZ

You should take the time to clarify in your work record, in writing, that you were NOT, in fact, sanding your bike on company time, and that you just brought the frame in to get sanding advice from a coworker on your lunch break.

You don't want this on your record. If there is some other reason you're reprimanded in the future, they could count that as evidence that you're a bad worker and you could end up losing your job over it.

Not every company is progressive enough to truly be bike friendly. My company takes the same stance, except they won't even allow bikes in the building. But we are on our own campus, and they did provide nice bike racks. I got flak one time for rolling my folding bike down the hall to my cube, before folding it away, and putting it in the bag beneath my desk. One of the guys who rides a normal bike whined to management that he wasn't allowed to have a bike inside, but I was. They take the same view as our local commuter train. If it is in a bag, it is luggage, and if it rolls on wheels, it is a bike. I think it sucks, but it is not worth fighting about and losing priveleges or my job. So I just lock up my folder outside now. It is not worth carrying it around in a bag, and it is one less fold I have to do.

Try to "roll with the punches." Pick your battles carefully.

thdave

I agree--write a response to the memo in your personnel folder. Incorrect information on an official memo is a problem.

Loose Chain

Would you be in the parking lot tuning a carburetor?

rumrunn6

just try to go along with it. we all have issues with our bikes at work. I've worked out mine - just work out yours. whatever. try not to take it personally. you're not a second class person - it's just that the modern work places aren't equipped to deal with it. the managers try to figure this stuff out as they go. who knows what's up witht hem. I've seen bikes at workplaces way away from the buildings and it doesn't seem right. employers who have a few people bike commuting should make some reasonable accommodations. mine has. McDonalds is all over the place. I see some people leave their bikes by the drive through, some by the dumpster! and some locked in the parking lot.

heal up! :-)

echotraveler

thanx for calming me down a bit. I feel a bit paraonid...i will call Human resources, they are great people, and i will write a response to the memo. I enjoy both my riding and my job, they should both get along! ill do what is in my hands to keep a healthy work enviroment... This is pretty difficult for me since im used to be a rebel against this kinds of situation, but now i have a kid and need the job until i am my own boss.

rumrunn6

my sister told me a long time ago that we all have to work on "conforming" at the workplace. we can be rebels in our own lives but not at work. :-)

capejohn

Give it time and soon enough you will become invisible agian. I'll bet you will be brining your bike in the front door before the summer is out.

colleen c

Do what the company rule might be. Be a good example to show other bicyclist or future would be commuter. If you can make it happen under their rules, then others may follow. If this happens, then the company might even accomondate commuter in the near future.

mikeybikes

Yeah, it sucks, but at least you can still bring your bike in. I agree, seems like they're still being a little bit unreasonable. I would comply with their request for now in hopes that it'll change.

However, you mention separate but equal: Does the company let people bring their cars, motorcycles, or scooters inside?

Just something to think about...

echotraveler

Today as i was riding to work my back tires got a sidewall slash! ive never had a sidewall blowup!tryd to fix it with no succes...so got to work a bit stressed, too many things on my mind... i called the LBS and they said they would exchange the tires as they were new! GREAT NEWZ!

JeremyZ

One question, echotraveler: In your avatar photo, your bike appears to be a folder. If you fold it up and bring it inside in a bag, I bet it won't be a problem. It is just a matter if it is worth lugging it to your desk that way. For me, it is easier just to lock it up outside.

mikeybikes

His is a Moulton F-Frame... doesn't fold.

echotraveler

My avatar is a 1965 Moulton, its considered a folder, but it dosent fold...lol ... This Moulton is the grandaddy of folder bikes... rolls so gooD!

The bike i want to use as my 2nd commuter is a road bike... (great another excuse to post pics!)

corkscrew

I hate how bicycling isn't considered professional. Start driving a rust bucket that barely holds together and see which they deem more professional. Or perchance write and anonymous letter to the local media on how your company disapproves of green initiatives?

On a more serious note, your still employed and can still park the bike inside. That's more than a lot of us can say. *runs over to the window to check on his bike*.

RobertFrapples

They have a file on you at work that they put notes into when somebody says you misbehaved?! What is this, elementary school?

Get a new job.

TonyS

She sounds very well domesticated.

I'd say this is a great argument for starting our own businesses so we don't have to deal with this ish.

We're the grown-ups now, and that means its our turn to decide what that means...

https://xkcd.com/150/

echotraveler

Its never easy to break away from the expected...dont watch tv, ride my bike to work, make my own beer...

richardmasoner

My employer brings mobile oil change and detailing businesses into our parking lot every month *shrug*, but they also invite a mobile bike repair van as well.