Originally Posted by
Guitarrick
I would have taken it as a slap in the face to be charged for something that takes a "pro" bike shop mechanic literally 60 seconds to do. That's how you take a regular customer and turn them into a non-customer. Shady.
So now we have to play this little game.....
Since most people wont/can't think of it as "WOW, this top level mechanic just saved me time, therefore I will reward him/her for their abilities"! Instead they go "WHAAAA? It only took you 3 minutes and now you're going to CHARGE ME?"
So, we end up NOT doing quickie work like that and instead say "come back in an hour". In the customer's mind an hour went past, so somehow it's worth paying for now.
Had a guy a few years back bring in a rear wheel with internal spoke nipples for a "quick true". I had just removed a bike from the rack and thought this customer would appreciate fast service. After removing the tire, tube and rim tape, and producing the correct tool to get to the non-standard spoke nipples, I used my tensiometer to give the wheel a quick check and determined the wheel could be effectively trued. I then straightened the wheel in my pro-quality stand, and then quickly stress relieved it, remounted the tire and tube and rim strip and inflated the tire. All this took 5-6 minutes because I am accustomed to working at a good clip and pride myself on getting it right the first time.
His response as I walked over to the register?
"You're gonna charge me for that?" He had to go out to the car to get his wallet! He had
assumed it would be free.
So now, I have to say "come back in a hour".
