My new Pista stem was making a creaking noise. Instead of me trying to fix the issue, I took it to my LBS since I just bought the bike through them less than a month ago. They called me up a couple hours after I dropped it off and said it was fixed and they overhauled the stem.
Great right? Fu?k NO!
When I dropped off the bike I told the guy I wouldn’t be able to pick the bike up until the next day, he said “no problem.”
When the guy called me and said my bike was fixed, I again told him I would not be able to pick the bike up until the next day again he said “no problem, it will be here waiting for you.”
Great right? Fu?k NO!
So I took my 4 year old in with me along with his attached bike so we could ride home together. Well I made small talk with the mechanic asked about upgrading to a Chris King headset and a better crank. He told me about how much it would cost, I replied with “yup, possible next week for sure.” Just the new headset with installation was going to cost about $180 and again I replied with “yup, possible next week for sure.” I thanked him for his time and for fixing my bike, I attached my son’s bike and my son and I left. I left feeling good and very happy with a no creaking new bike!
Great right? Fu?k NO!
My son and I left and jumped on the bike path which is adjacent to the bike shop. We got about 2 hundred yards down the path and I happen to look down at my bike fork and seen a big ass chip in the paint, a freaking ding! As I was slowing down saying WTF a little further down on the fork was a scratch!
So my son and I turned around and went back to the shop.
As we rode up, one of the sales people came up and said “did you forget something?” I said “no, I’m not trying to be an A-hole but there is a ding on my fork.” He replied with “first of all I didn’t work on your bike and second it was the shop manager who did and how are we suppose to know it happen here? It could have happen before it got here.”
I’m sorry but WTF!
I said ok? Let’s talk to the shop manager who worked on the bike. He proceeded into the shop and I took a little time (30 seconds) getting my son. As I got into the store I overheard him informing the mechanic (in a cocky tone) my findings “this guy whose bike you worked on says you scratched it.” The mechanic rolled his eyes as he stood up and said where is he, and then I piped up and said here. I informed him I’m not trying to be an A-hole but there is a ding and a scratch on my fork. He walked out to the bike walked up to it and said “yup there it is, but I don’t remember doing that.”
The entire time I was there I was made to feel like I was a freaking liar, like I was trying to get one by on them.
So they said they can take some touchup paint and fixit, which they did and it looks like *****.
Now I know besides repainting the fork this would be the only way to fix it but that’s not what I wanted I wanted a simple, “sorry” or maybe a “what can we do to fix this.” But no that’s not what I got. I got treated like an ass.

So this big venting I just wrote to you all ^above^

What would you do if someone scratched your new bike?

As long as there is no structural damage I wouldn't worry about it. This happened to me once but the mechanic called me and told me that he did it by accident. They sanded down the area used an airbrush to repair the scratch and put some clear coat over the scratch. I couldn't see or feel the damage so I let it go. Since they acted like it was your fault I would speak to the owner and express your concerns.

Willy bikes? hmmm this makes me wonder.

If someone scratched my bike, I'd grab them by the shirt collar and drag their face down, reeeeally close to my frame, and I'd make them attempt to discern which of the scratches is the one they made. This, of course, might take all day, but I'd make them go over every scratch on the entire frame and own up to the ones they made.
Then, I'd grab them by the OTHER side of their shirt collar, and we'd start on the chips. Since, you know, chips are in a different category as scratches. We'd go over each little chip, and I'd demand that they tell me if it was a chip that they caused. This could very well take all night.
Now, once we've identified the particular chips and scratches he's respinsible for, I'm sure we'd both be exhausted from the effort, but that's no excuse! I would insist that he circle each one with a red washable marker, so that he could come back later that afternoon (after a nap) to touch them all up.

srsly?

sorry to hear that, but 10 seconds with:



probably would have solved your problem.

something about a scratch? bummer, man.

tl;dr

Bummer about your bike.
If it's only cosmetic damage, don't worry about it.
Next time do the work yourself.

I would get over it. Your bike is going to have dozens of scratches in the near future.

no reason to wonder now...

True but I want to be the one to scratch my bike, hell at least the first one that is.

No I know, and I agree with you that this shop probably sucks, but realistically there's not much that is going to make it right and your bike is going to be beat like a red headed step child soon enough anyway. Might as well take a deep breath, scream an obscenity at the top of your lungs once if it helps you feel better, and then move on. Irritating situation, but I think the best thing is to put it behind you. It's liberating once your bike is dinged up enough not to care about scratches. I put a big chip in my fork the other day and it was relieving to realize I couldn't care less.

maybe they are sick of people coming in with a bike that is scratched and then the customer claiming they did it, either because they hadn't noticed before or because they are a cheapo

I only wonder because when I bought my madison from willy there was a minor scratch on the top tube. I didn't really say anything as they said it was last one of that size and it wasn't that noticeable. Still it seems like maybe they're not as careful with bikes as they should be.

From the mechanic's perspective, this can be frustrating especially if they are sure they didn't scratch your bike. BUT, this is an awesome opportunity for the shop to retain or gain a very loyal customer. It's an opportunity for a "WOW!" moment where they can go above and beyond to make you happy. It's nice to have decent customer service, but the one time they give excellent customer service is the time they will keep that customer coming back over and over again. You don't have that many chances to really wow somebody, so they should have taken the advantage to do that.

My advice? Pick another bike shop, and allow them the chance to really impress you.

Unless it was really bad, I wouldn't worry about it. If I'm going to ride a bike I'm also going to accept that things are going to happen to it, whether it's a result of a fall or if someone else dings it. It's pretty inevitable.

i thought this was going to be about Klondike bars. big disappointment

Is it a scratch or a dent?

Scratch, I'd take your business elsewhere.

Dent, I'd raise hell, talk to the head honcho, then take my business elsewhere.

fricken ha!

I can empathize. In my profession, we help people resolve disputes through mediation. The vast majority of the time the real issue has nothing to do with money or material objects, but how one is treated.

(not trying to be an A-hole but..)

In my experience whenever you preface something like that, people tend to get offended or defensive regardless of what you're about to say. Same goes for "no offense but.." etc. Besides, you're certainly no A-hole for pointing out that THEY messed up your bike and you were PAYING them.

$0.02

This is precisely why I work on my own bike.

How do you overhaul a stem??? What, take the bolts off and add some lube, then re-torque them? Why would anyone take a bike to a shop just for that?

Also, why would you pay for the shop to install a headset when you can also do that on your own? I know you're mad, and I would be too, but you'd save yourself a lot of trouble and frustration by just working on your own bike.

This doesn't have to be true!

Get some airplane tape and protect your bike if you want to avoid scratches. $10-20 off ebay and you never have to worry again.

Also, buy a tub of grease, any bike one will do and if you get a creak again, just take off the part and grease it up. (just don't ever grease up the steerer tube where the stem attaches)

I agree that the whole stem overhaul thing is suspicious. If I went into any of my local shops they would instantly say "oh you just need to re-grease and tighten" and most likely lend me an allen key to do so.

but since when has installing a headset been easy to do on your own without spending 150 dollars on a headset press?