I have been a mechanic for close to four years now, first two as an apprentice. However, I still don't really have the hang of dealing with customers who bring in bike after bike that is almost too crappy to mention.

When I started, I wanted to help everyone, regardless of the state of the bike. But as I gain more experience, I can often see from ten feet away that that particular repair is going to involve lots of time, swearing and usually a dissatisfied cusomer, because people who bring in these bikes, usually don't want to spend a lot of money on them.

You then proceed to repair at as low a cost as possible. That means the result is often not top notch. Or you quick fix something, but the problem returns, because that bike really needed so and so part replaced rather than repaired. Not replacing parts means charging more labour-> grumpy faces at the register.

I guess I am lucky in that we do not repair department store bikes, I cringe when I see people riding on those! But I can tell you that there are plenty of other bikes around here that should have been tossed on the scrap pile ten years ago and are still riding and the people who ride them expect you to fix them for a pittance, because hey, how difficult is fixing a bike anyway-I would do it myself if I had the time, etc.

Example: I had a lady come into the shop asking if I could 'quickly fix the shifting and a problem with the rear cantilever brake'. I proceed to tell her that we are fully booked and will not have time to fix her bike until next week and all of the four bike lifts are taken at the moment so I can't hang it up and have a look.
Well couldn't you just take a bike off and put mine on there? Well......ok

So I have a look at the brake which has a broken spring on the left so the brake won't stay centered. I proceed to tell her wat the problem is, meanwhile fixing a minor cable tension issue with the rear derailer.The issue really was the crap gripshifter, but ok. I true the wheel so it clears the left brake pad and tell her that the spring or brake itself will have to be replaced . All of this is going on in a very busy workshop, with people running around, phone ringing a dozen times a minute, the bike I was working on blocking part of the floor etc.

As a gesture of service I inflate her tires because there couldn't have been more than one bar in them. I charge her three euros, she says 'is that for the air?', actually surprised that she had to pay anything. No ma'am, that is for the time I spent on your bike. Dumtiedum...

She came back ten minutes later complaining that her front tube was showing between the tire and the rim and that I had inflated both tires way too much because now she was bouncing around on the bike now. Anyway, I put the cheap dep. store tire back in the bead, pushed the valve a little, inflated again and all was fine.

Sorry for the rant, but how do you deal with this particular customer that is always complaining, taking your service for granted, never feels that the bike he/she rides is 'all that bad', even when it is falling apart in front of you, thinks that everything is a 'warranty' issue?

should have charged more than 3 euros tbh, my LBS charges more than that just for a rear derailleur service! Just explain the situation to them, tell them that the problem will return if you don't do such and such and simply refuse to fix the bike if you are fully booked, most people are smart enough to know first come first served.

Quote them the full price of what it will cost to make the bike right and then sell them a new one.

In my own little shop I will usually charge folks an hour minimum for a minor service inspection as when I go over the bike I will make minor adjustments to things like brakes and derailers, check the tyres, and lube the chain. If time allows I will even do minor truing of wheels.

In a busy shop you need to set the rules and be firm in letting people know that there were people there before them and for as much as one might like, other people were there first and expect to have their bikes ready.

There are exceptions to every rule... if you have the time and can correct something in a few minutes and allow someone to get on with their riding day it builds good will and will draw customers.

Just be upfront by telling them (worst case scenario) how much it will cost to really make a permanent repair of the problem. Make it clear that this is an ESTIMATE, and could possibly be more, or might be less.

Since liability arises, let them know that you will not make a less than appropriate repair.

Be up front with estimates of scheduling and time.

Then, let them decide!

Most people will come back to an honest, and competent repair shop.

As was said before, minor tweaks do a lot for customer satisfaction and goodwill. An always empty, portable, lift is worth it's weight in gold for this.

OK, I don't work in a shop, but I've become a pretty accomplished amateur mechanic on anything (cars mostly, but lately many bikes)....haven't had anything hired out for a car repair in over a decade except tire mounting and one collision repair that was someone else's fault...I learn, own or buy the right tools & take the time to do it myself. What I learned VERY early on is that it is much more difficult to do a half-assed repair or a half job. For me, that means I've literally ended up doing valve jobs on cars that I started out intending to just change the oil or a timing belt on (see a leak...fix it....oh, the cause is this, so fix this..and while you're there, you might as well do this...and so on). In the process of learning a good repair philosophy/approach, I gained an appreciation for what the OP is getting at. Working for someone else, I guess you're stuck following their party line, but for me I can't find any other way to approach it than straight up - fixing it right will cost some money & if you need to hire someone who knows what they're doing to fix it, add a fair hourly rate to that amount (even if you pay them for some time & then decide not to fix it). I probably wouldn't last a minute doing commercial repairs because I'd be brutally honest. Or...maybe I'd be a rock star in the repair world...lol

+1 on what wanderer said.

It's either the suggestions above, or get out of the business.
I didn't say that to sound mean, but that's basically what I did with tech support. There's lots of similarity between computer tech support and bike mechanics - people expect that you're god and you'll fix their problems in minimal time with minimal cost, and they don't understand the concept of a line-up.

I resolved to not do computer tech support again. I was becoming really grumpy doing it anyways.

I have my own business and was taught something interesting which I have used a lot. Say "no" with money.

Your reply is: "m'am, our hourly rate is (fill in blank). By the looks of what is needed, I will need at least 2 hours with your bike".

By doing this, you haven't declined the work, you have set a basis for working on her POS. If she wants to pay it fine, if not so be it. Remember businesses are in business to make a profit, not do people favors.

Also post a sign with set minimum prices for frequent types of repairs. Your customers can sit and look at it before they even try and ask you to do anything.

OP's shop needs a hard and fast rule about walk-in repairs. We would do walk ins for flats, bikes we had sold, and for bikes we had worked on. Anything else needs to be estimated honestly and the bike goes to the back of the line.

This is rarely the case with a bike, but it always annoys me when a car mechanic skips work I ask for because "it doesn't need it."

Similar to others, be up front with cost.

Also, never lower your standards to make the repair affordable. Instead, have a policy that you repair bikes to a standard, just like it was your own bike, and cannot cut corners. With an estimate, people can decide whether it is worth it to them to have the work done right.

+1 Keep a bike stand open and available. I appreciate shops that can do a quick repair for me, such as remove a freewheel where I don't have the right socket.

AND! If the cost of repairs look like they are going to exceed the value of the bike, get some money (at least enough to cover the cost of needed repair parts) up front. You haven't accomplished anything until the money is in the drawer and the bike is out the door. Lots of people will authorize expensive repairs for a POS bike but you may never see them again.

Batuvus, another thing to consider is, do you really want someone like this lady to be a regular customer in your shop? She sounds very rude and unappreciative, is causing you to delay service on your other good customers, you're hardly making a profit from her and she may very well be bad mouthing you to other people. When she finds that she'll have the same problem everywhere she goes maybe she'll have learned something.

i agree with this the most.

IMO though, if you really want to turn a repair away because the bike is a POS, then just offer them a new bike. If they take it good for them and good for you. If they dont then its good for you since you no longer have to deal with it. Many times you will try to do someone a favor and they wont appreciate it so they lose and YOU lose because now you look like an ass.

customer service, and choice words are a learned skill.
much more challenging than wrenching, no doubt
especially in light that the conversation is some times plastic, in that often you can get into a conversation that has little definitive value.

so there it is.
initially
as you learn the ways of Customer Service
I'd stick to simple economic values. the specific cost of things.

I've been wrenching off and on for a bunch of years.
here in the US, Monterey, Ca. we start out with basic tune-ups at $65.

what this comes down to, is something like this.
a bike that has been sitting under a carport, or out on a deck somewhere, all rusty, etc...
and the customer wants it tuned up, new tires, and tubes.
that is easily going to be:
$17 each tire
$6 each tube
$65 tune-up

$46 in parts + sales tax at 7.25% (i think)
tax $3.34 (actually $3.335... round up = $3.34)
and $65 in labor (no tax on labor)
total: $114.34

i always do an initial inspection of the whole bike, point out any short comings (things that need to be fixed).
i.e. ripped seat, torn grips, broken plastic pedals, etc...

I'm quick to pull out a piece of paper, and jot down the costs.
things like tires, always fluctuate. Maybe one day we have Serfras Drifter, and maybe we get a bunch of tune-ups, then all we have left are Schwalbe Marathons, or something like that...

so maybe the in stock $17 tires get sold, and all that is left are $40 tires, or whatever they are.

on the repair ticket, I always make notes as to what needs to be replaced.

for a $65 tune-up
that does not include new cables, chain, or anything
tune-up is just that... adjustments, lube, and some grease. I don't take apart headsets, hubs, and regrease them, that would be a re-build.
for a $65 tune-up, i do a pretty darn thorough job, and inspect the bike to a great degree, and note it on the ticket.

the best way is to do as much assessment as possible when the customer is there bringing it in. You want to point out any major problems before it goes on the stand, and uses up too much time.

the thing that I really do not like, is when someone brings in a bike that is a cheap bike to begin with, they ask to have it worked on, you give them the ticket, with the job description, when it will be ready, you finish the job, call them, tell them how much it costs, they show up, look at the bike, and say, "well, it doesn't look that much different, you can keep it."

i can not tell you how many times a department store type of bike has been brought in, they ask to fix all these things, and then just ditch the bike at the shop. sometimes they don't even come back to pick it up.

i have no idea how the manager deals with this kind of stuff.
it always aggravates me. when i think of the hour i spent on the bike, and maybe they asked for new cables, housing, etc... and there the bike sits. unclaimed.

sometimes you can get a feel of this kind of stuff. (intuitive process)

Customer Service...
its a fine art
so dont feel too bad
depending on how busy your shop is, just keep knocking those tune-ups out.
i can usually do a tune-up in about an hour.
so in an 8hr day, i can get about 6 bikes done. some require more work than others.

personally i have a bunch of road bike buddies that let me wrench on their bikes, which is often just a quick tweak, of something. as crazy as it is, often i can do this after a ride, while we sit at coffee, and i just knock it out with a multi tool, and they give me a couple of bucks.

however, thats not Official legit business

its a fine line
for things that are more than a simple turn of a barrel adjuster, they take the bikes to the shop, where maybe I get called to work or not.

You need to sit down and have a talk with the manager and/or owner of the shop you are working for. I think your heart is in the right place but your head is definitely not in the right game if you are having problems making decisions about the issues you described; especially when you are getting pushed into providing service for a customer of the type you described. The nature of the repairs you made seemed to be overboard...truing wheels when the customer asked for a derailleur and brake adjustment is great when you have the time but obviously you didn't nor did the shop you were working at with a two week backlog of work. I love tinkering with bikes and often find myself helping neighbors and friends with their rides...sometimes teaching them to use their quick release lever properly turns into a hub adjustment or a headset overhaul...but that is my time and my option and I do these things without expectation of any compensation. But I dont work for a bike shop; if I did I think this type of attitude when things are as busy as you say would lead my boss to think that I have poor judgment and would probably get me fired. You should speak with your boss (manager/owner) and find out how they want their shop run...but eventually, as a professional, they expect you to use good judgment in the best interest of the business. This may mean that you don't go around truing wheels for free and you dont fidgit with a bike without first discussing with the patron how the shop will be compensated for the time and effort of the repair.

Cheers,
-J

When we get really busy, the only on the spot fixes we do are new bikes we have sold recently and flat tire fixes. But when we are really really busy, we'll tell them to leave it for an hour and come back after lunch/errand/etc.

When dealing with POS bikes, its best to tell them you will estimate it and call them back. Then proceed to find everything wrong with it and tack it up on to the estimate. When you call them, tell them how much it is and you think its more worth while to buy a new bike or if your shop has them, a used bike. However, I have had a repair estimate of close to $200 on a POS x-mart bike and they have gone through with it. Also always tack on a little extra on the repair estimate. I'd use your own judgement but I usually add on 10% to try to cover anything that may pop up.

if you think it's not worth your time and the repair is cheap forget about it. im a mechanic myself and i work on my friends car and yes i do charge them if it's not worth my time i just simply tell them to take it elsewhere.

As KDTX said....

"our hourly rate is (fill in blank). By the looks of what is needed, I will need at least (fill in blank) hours with your bike"

I also add in the following statement "Thats for labor only, not including parts"

I do exactly that when I see a bike that looks like a real headache waiting to happen. I'm a small one man repair shop and I have more business than I can handle so I'm ok with using the above method to politely turn people away. I've also quoted people a 3 week backlog on repairs when I only had a two or three day backlog.

At the shop I work at, we use the phrase, "You can polish a turd, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd."

When translated properly to the consumer, this can result in the purchase of a new bike, or at the very least, you not having to waste time working on their awful rustbucket. We try to encourage upgrading via allowing the customer a test ride a new bike. First hand experience as to the difference in ride quality, often speaks louder than words. However, in the cases where the customer simply can't afford the price jump in going from their department store brand-x to something in our shop, we usually find that they're better served by simply buying a new brand-x, rather than paying us to try and "tune" their old one. Although turning away service seems counter-intuitive (and you'll run the risk of being labeled an elitist bike snob), you'll no doubt end up saving lots of time that can be better applied to servicing bikes of at least passable quality.

There's where it went wrong. When I was a mechanic, we only stopped working on our current projects to change a tube. Everything else had to have a service tag with an estimate and expected finish date.

Well, thank you all, for your encouraging replies! The thing is, I am known in the workshop for being the strictest when it comes to taking in repairs. Quite often I am told that we do have time for something when I think we really don't. The lack of anything like a transparent planning system might have something to do with that. It's just when I decide I needn't always be that strict, some parasite customer thinks it time to take advantage.

I agree that it is a fine line. Always be the nice guy and the business might suffer, always be a tight ass and... the business might suffer because customers walk away.

Our shop started out as a second hand shop, so many customers still go to us for fixing crappy bikes, but we have evolved in the meantime as a high end shop, selling Rohloff equipped bikes etc. We actually have the lowest hourly rate in the region, yet people still think of us as 'the expensive shop'.

I think I have learned to balance the two different styles of taking in repairs, it's just that every so often, this particular customer walks in...

Thanks again!

When to turn down a repair? When they first come in!

If you don't deal with that brand or supplier, or it's beyond your expertise or not your specialty, or you're booked up, that's cool, just tell me up front. But if you accept the job to keep me from being a competitor's customer, or you need the work/money, or whatever, then you've got to be good to your word.

I've got local shops I'll never do business with again because I took a bike repair job to them and they accepted the job, took my phone number and email address and gave me a completion date. I came back on that day, and found they hadn't even started the job. I came back in another week and got a sad story about being real busy, or parts supply problems, or they didn't have the tool that was needed. They were sorry they hadn't contacted me. They eventually do call, and when I show to pick the bike up I find they half-*****ed the job just to get it out of the shop.

How you keep a business open with once-a-lifetime customer visits is beyond me.

tcs

The first time the customer pays,the second time YOU pay.How many times do you want to do it?

Hmmm... 3 euros isn't too bad for a tuneup. I have to say, we have the best mechanics here in Austin, Texas. I usually work on my bike myself, and if I do take it in, it's because something stumps me or I don't have the right tools for the job. Luckily the bike mechanics will usually do what I want for free though I don't expect them too and give me some tips for working on my bicycle, I'll usually buy something from their shop or bring them some referral business in return.

Good luck, remember that customers that expect everything for free this very instant, exist in every market, the trick is to just say NO.

They do the work for you for free?? Are you a US Customs agent and they are illegals? Seriously - how'd you get this arrangement going?

Just Say NO!