Today at the Bike Shop
 

Even with the cold and snow today I was able to sell a few bikes and finish a few repairs. Great,the rest of the day will be quiet!
A guy walks in carry wheel and a box with a cassette. I thinking "he wants me to just swap out the old for the new". Quick job and would not even chatge him. Don't tell the boss!
​​​​​​He is caarryinga cassette but the wheel have a freewheel. I tell him there is a bit of a problem and explain the situation. He says the RD was plastic and he just wants to fix the bike. Ok... So what do you want me to do? It does not seem to register as he says "I've got a 9 speed shifter". Ok, but the rear wheel is only an 8 speed. The conversation goes on for a few more minutes. And once again I ask what would you .Ike me to do? He responds "I want to fix the bike ". But he does not want to bring it in. He finally figures out he bought all the wrong items and says thanks and leaves.
Forgot to bring my aspirin today. Rats!

Sounds like a pretty normal day at the bike shop.

any bet on if he actually has a 10 speed shifter, and counted 9 clicks?

guy brought a ratted out CL360 Honda into the M/C shop i was working at, in 1993.. wants a new clutch he had bought put in... the bike has a duct tape and towels seat, and a milk crate taped to the back rack... the exhaust is rusted through in multiple places... it's FILTHY, end to end... service mgr. writes up the work order, drops it in my tray, says: "hey, you're our DIRT bike wrench!.." oh thanks.
Next morning i roll it onto my lift.. the chain is making haunted house sounds, with occasional "POP!" noises too.. the bike is tough to roll... one look shows a COMPLETELY toothless rear sprocket... the chain is missing several rollers.. Piano wire tight. I ask the Svc. Mgr.: "Wanna bet the Clutch isn't the problem?" Jim says he heard the chain yesterday, and won't take the bet. "Tear it down anyway.. put his clutch in." ok...

Clutch is in fine condition.. next to no wear when miked.... A new Barnett clutch, springs,fresh oil, and new cover gasket go in... Svc. Mgr. had already called the guy.. He doesn't want a chain and sprockets, and is positive the clutch kit will fix the heap of rust.... got a bit hostile that Jim even mentioned it...
the guy shows up the next morning, and is waiting when the doors open.. he pays the cashier, and comes back to get his bike... then complains that it isn't washed...
gets on,.. amazingly, it fires up on the third kick or so... short warm up.... "ZIZZZZIIZ,SQUEAL,ZZIZ SQUEAL,ZIIIZZZZZ-CRUNCH!!!" as he lets the clutch out... the bike moved about ten feet, total...then the chain broke.
He lucked out and didn't put a hole in the engine case..... parks it, walks back in, and asks for a quote on the chain and sprockets, but only wants it done if we promise to "make it REAL Tight, because the bike needs it that way...."
:lol:

This is why the commercial bike shops all around me will not work with any client-supplied parts: liability and incompatibility. Plus no profit on the parts. Plus retribution by the wholesalers and manufacturers who supply the shops with all (yes, all) parts and supplies - if the shops do an end-run around them.


And they will not listen to clients usually tedious and usually misinformed explanations about what is wrong. You drop in your bike, wait 2 weeks, and pay the bill.

More: at a shop rate of $150/hr, listening to a client for 15 minutes costs the shop $37 in missed revenues.

And if you explain to the client what is wrong with the bike, there is a good chance they'll use information to either fix it themselves, or then take it to a backyard mechanic that works for beers and pizza.

It seems that you could have saved both yourself and him some time if, instead of asking him what he wants you to do, you simply told him that (a) this cassette cannot be installed onto this wheel because the two are incompatible, and (b) you cannot fix his bike unless he first actually brings it in, lets you look it over, and buy the necessary compatible parts from you.

My LBS, f/k/a Santiago Cyclery until it became a Trek store, does not have any issue installing brand new parts that I ordered online for my bikes, which are not even Treks. But then I do not buy incompatible parts. I assume that the labor rate I pay is higher than if I had bought them at the store, and that is both its prerogative and fine by me.

Such winning customer service. Must not be a very competitive market where you are.

No service professional that charges by the billable hour can bill 100% of his or her time. Except maybe for psychologists and therapists who bill the full hour for a 50-minute session.

Are people who frequent LBS in your area really so competent (at either fixing their bikes or conveying the diagnosis by the professional shop)?
Surely the LBS can justify its work estimate without giving everything away?

Yep, I've encountered a number of terrible customers. The ones who are angry and pushy and only semi-able to communicate or comprehend.

I used to chalk it up to a number of causes. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ? Multiple Traumatic Brain Injuries ? Didn't really matter.

Those folks can just ruin your day / week / month.

Honestly, when you have to work with the Public you're going to encounter some appallingly bad behavior. When I meet a really terrible person with absolutely NO people skills I often remark to my old lady that

"They obviously never worked in a restaurant or in any retail customer service job."

This can work both ways. 'Twas back in the '90s when I was repping and went into a small shop in NC and was selling some parts. Kid behind the counter wanted something possible but unlikely, a 26 x 1 3/8 cassette wheel with a steel rim for a repair he was doing. Told him we did not carry those but someone else might and asked to see the bad piece, and what he brought out was a cheapo 10-speed rear wheel with the cogs removed from the freewheel body, and that's what I told him, "You just need a regular wheel because you unscrewed the cogs from the freewheel."
"Yeah, the cassette."
"No, the freewheel."
"Yeah, the cassette."
"No, the freewheel."

This eventually got resolved but there's a lot of ignorance (and what a friend of mine calls ignore-ance) out there.

We do install parts customers bring us...not happy about it but in general only 10% of those parts actually work/fit and we wind up sourcing the parts from our suppliers...costing the customer more money lol.
We always let the customer tell us what they want done but we always do a full inspection then notify the customer of our findings and the related cost...it's far easier that way and generally more fun as well.
My favorites are the customers who come in telling us there brakes don't work, when asked what is going on we get the 'they were squeaking a lot so I sprayed them with wd40 and now they don't work...love that story, never gets old...love the look on their faces when told they have to replace the pads and the rotors and the cost...play stupid games, win stupid prizes...

you need to consider that your dreaded backyard mechanic competition is probably a mechanic that quit a low paying job in a $150/hr. labor rate shop.

Bikes are - like everything else - disposable. The front of shop guys I work with spend half their time trying to explain why repairing a bike will cost x amount (x = >50% of what the bike cost), and getting frustrated with the potential clients inability to comprehend that.

me? I’d just tell em outright, buy yourself a new/sh bike and forget about it. And if you want to get a second opinion just remember it was us who told you that for the price of two new tyres and an overhaul you could have a shiny ish new to you bike.

bikes = white goods, even when they’re covered. With *****

What kind of bike shop do you work at that two tires and an overhaul is the same cost as a new bike? Walmarts? (Or is it Halfords?)

Today’s jobs: a half decent touring bike for a single gear service. Client had the bike serviced a year ago and didn’t think anything needed doing other than switching from friction to index. I could barely change either gear, and the bar tape wrapping suggested whoever had last worked in the bike was an enthusiastic amateur at best. Bar end shifter was clogged with leccy tape and frayed outer, and once clear gears 4-5 melded into one. I dremelled the inside of the right bar so shifter could properly seat (the seam weld was ridic), and left it on friction so hopefully he could appreciate the difference between left and right.

9 speed bar end shifters apparently have a known fault, and this one fitted the bill.

the next bike was a Dawes galaxy; lovely bike but the blistering around the drive side chain stay said ****** finishing before powder coating. If it was up to me I’d wire brush the corrosion, kurust it, hammertoe it, then wrap it in rim tape. But I don’t make the decisions :/

2x25 = 50
service = 75
125>100
100 can buy you a hell of a sh bike

eg a retro velo, or a Bella ciao, or a Pashley. All bougie /handmade outique/ bikes

Two Conti Gatorskins or Schwalbe whatevers = 100 - 120
Tune Up = 120 -150 plus whatever other parts might be needed (cassette /chain/ cables/ brake pads).

We're talking $270- $375 right there. Brand new low-end bike = not that much more, maybe $50 - $100 ?

It used to be a lot cheaper when the Free Bike Shop was open down the street. But it went out of business a while ago . . .

30+ years ago when I started riding again because of financial circumstances, I destroyed a Sun Tour (high normal) FDER.
I went to the 1st shop and the 3 guys (customers) "hanging" around the counter basically laughed at me and said I was SOL in a rather condescending manner, while the employee stood mute.
Shop #2 explained what a High Normal RDER was and that he could sell me a FDER, but it would work "backwards" (low normal).
Since all I needed was to move the lever "the other way" to shift a double, I was totally fine with that. He sold me a Shimano Tourney FDER which did what I needed.

I never went back to shop #1. I simply wouldn't consider it.
You reap what you sow.

To me, it's kind of laughable when people take minor bike shop customer service issues / bad advice and amplify it into some life-changing bad experience.

"Why I'll still never forget how that Schwinn Shop sold me the wrong size inner tube back in 1964 . . ."

I have had MUCH worse experiences with Automobile and Appliance repair places. How about fitness gyms, cellphone and cable companies that keep billing you after you cancel you subscription, and then send your fake balance due to a Credit Agency ?

Lets not even start in with big banks, evil landlords, and all the other usual suspects. Keep this stuff in perspective, people.

Or on a bike forum. "My bike is not working right. What should I do?"

I don’t see what’s so terrible about not going back to a shop which gave you bad service, but that one seemed to do right by you?

I used to like it when shops made you feel like an idiot - it encouraged you to learn, but I guess that approach doesn’t suit everyone

Serves you right for believing that freebies are a thing.

and what do you deserve?
what is your goal on these forums?
here's a recent post by you, wheel...
#10
wheelreason
Senior Member
15 Anniversary

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,032
Likes: 1,550
I'm all for it, I support anything that annoys cyclists, besides maybe we can use one of those vanity plates with your name they sold from the rotating display stand. Oh, and insurance too of course

Oh, I AM going to hell, but not for anything bike or InterWebs related.....

That's auto shop rate territory for guys with $30K invested in tools, computer diagnostic skills, and equipment.

Those guys have to eat & drink too!

$30k is spot on for one tech that paid for trade school and tools. The shop equipment is another category (lifts, etc.)

There is a slight difference between:

1. a shop making you feel like an idiot (many shops are very proficient in this, even when dealing with customers with some experience)
and
2. a shop that says "Here's the beginning of what you need to know to make this work, and hopefully guide you into a lifelong quest for additional knowledge on how to better and more thoroughly enjoy your bicycle".

Our co-op consistently tries for #2, but depending on volunteer, shift, mood, planetary alignment, etc. might come out as "For now, I'll adjust the derailleur to miss the bent cog" which might be heard as "For now, I'll fnordleblurp the durvaschnurtz to miss the bengleglog".

I do distinctly recall one shop where a friend of mine and I were looking at bikes, and the owner said in his distinct accent, "You (pointing at me) know NOTHING about bicycles!" We had a laugh after immediately exiting the shop. We spoke to others, and they had similar experiences there, and yet it took about a decade for him to go out of business, so he couldn't have been doing everything wrong.