Originally Posted by
aixaix
It is irritating to expect one price and be told the cost of the job is 3 times as much as last time.However, no business, co-op or otherwise, is obligated to offer the lowest price. Pricing needs to be responsive to cost, as well as market. Sounds like you got quite a bargain 13 months ago. If MEC discovered they were underpricing the job, they were right to raise the price. Whether it is worth it is up to you. If you can have the same job done cheaper, you'll get it done somewhere else.
I wouldn't be so quick to accuse MEC of gouging. They may have overpriced this job, but that doesn't equal rip-off.
Vote with your money. They may get the message.
Yeah, I think I was still a little shell-shocked when I got home and posted this thread last night.
I expect a co-op to provide a fair price for it's members and if the shop rate is $60 hr, it's a 30 minute job, and the grease costs another $10, the job shouldn't be $65. I'm in the process of finding out what the other shops charge so I'll see.
As a member of a co-op I expect to not be over-charged just because other shops over-charge. It'd take just a few $65 services to add up to the cost of a new hub. That tempts me to see how many miles the hub can go before it seizes.
If $65 is the going rate for servicing, I'll probably service the hub myself. I know a lot of people don't want to do that work, so they pay a price for that. Sometimes that price isn't fair and a co-op shouldn't take advantage.
I've taken my bike to my neighborhood shop. It's relatively new, the old shop closed it's doors after I had been going there for over 20 years. A bit frustrating having to develop new relationships after so long. I trusted the old shop, but I know the dad of the owner of the new shop and his son seems to be all right. I'll see what he says.
I think I may have got quite the deal last year. It seems from the price list that they charged me a rate based on a standard hub and not charged me for the new lube that would have cost more than the grease put in standard hubs.