Posted by: XXX_er
a bike store has to charge out that mechanic/stand schedule & run it to make money for the shop or they won't be around for long
someguy showing up with a box full of parts is not a priority
How can you not see the connection between those two statements?
Some guy showing up with a box full of parts means they get to charge out their mechanic/stand and make money for the shop so they are around for a long time.
Posted by: grambo
If a component fails within warranty, in theory you just send it to YT/Commencal and they warranty it to the OEM or give you a service centre to send it to. This has been hit or miss based on online reports... I've been lucky to not need anything in the first year of my YT.
We all know how hard the north shore hero dirt can be...parts break all the time, all bikes, all the time. Sometimes the LBS has the fix, sometimes they don't. No matter what, all fixes (unless done at home with a parts stockpile) take time. Sometimes that time is sourcing a repair, sometimes ordering a part takes time and sometimes it's gotta be sent in for a refund. I can get antsy and impatient, but I do know that it all takes time. Can't really shame direct to consumer vs shop on that one.
Posted by: syncro
Posted by: XXX_er
a bike store has to charge out that mechanic/stand schedule & run it to make money for the shop or they won't be around for long
someguy showing up with a box full of parts is not a priority
How can you not see the connection between those two statements?
Some guy showing up with a box full of parts means they get to charge out their mechanic/stand and make money for the shop so they are around for a long time.
If he had his shit together wouldn't he be doing his own work and If its gona be a shit show why not give it a pass ?
Posted by: XXX_er
If he had his shit together wouldn't he be doing his own work and If its gona be a shit show why not give it a pass ?
What does that have to do with a shop making money off of service work?
yeah in theory time is just time
but shit shows almost always end up wasting time
Posted by: XXX_er
yeah in theory time is just time
but shit shows almost always end up wasting time
Well that's why shops charge an hourly rate, so they make money off of time they spend working on a customer's bike. That's how the model is supposed to work and if a shop isn't making money then they need to review how they're billing their customers or the efficiency of their employees.
IME Shitshows fuck up/back up work flow, piss off technicians, waste time and interfere with the overall job
Posted by: XXX_er
IME Shitshows fuck up/back up work flow, piss off technicians, waste time and interfere with the overall job
Yeah, I totally agree with you here. However, a good tech will not let that distract them and they will stay focused on doing the job well. That gets back to my point about the tech being efficient. This is where the attitude of the tech and general attitude of the shop helps too, good attitude = less frustration = better job performance. People that have good attitudes about their work tend to be better at it and do a better job than those that don't. People don't often get to choose their customers or the job you get assigned, but they can always choose to have a good attitude about the work they do. In unicorn land that results in a win for everyone.
Ya so you can dress chickenshit up any way you want, tell me its chickensalad but its still chickenshit, did you do you perform much teching in unicorn land ?
I wonder how many business (of all kinds) have had a decent computer/car/bike/name it tech quit because they were so pissed off the boss took in another stupid job, from what I hear guys say ... lots will jump
I asked a boss I worked for a little if he still takes in all that stupid shit like he use to or does he have his service intake under control and he told me its now dialed, so he just quotes really high on jobs he doesn't want (AKA the shitshow ) which is a kinder gentler way of telling the end loser he doesn't want the business but same outcome ... customer goes away
Posted by: XXX_er
Ya so you can dress chickenshit up any way you want, tell me its chickensalad but its still chickenshit, did you do you perform much teching in unicorn land ?
I wonder how many business (of all kinds) have had a decent computer/car/bike/name it tech quit because they were so pissed off the boss took in another stupid job, from what I hear guys say ... lots will jump
I asked a boss I worked for a little if he still takes in all that stupid shit like he use to or does he have his service intake under control and he told me its now dialed, so he just quotes really high on jobs he doesn't want (AKA the shitshow ) which is a kinder gentler way of telling the end loser he doesn't want the business but same outcome ... customer goes away
I'm not a bike tech (do most of my own wrenching) but I run my own business doing renovations so the shit shows come up every now and then. I'm honest and up front with the customer and tell them what the issues are, what I might run into and how long it might take to do the job depending on how things go. Sometimes all you can offer a customer is a best guess. It may not be what they want to hear, but you still treat them with honesty and respect. I also make a point of letting them know what's going on so they understand why things might be taking longer than expected. You're right that a shop has no obligation to take a job from random Joe off the street, but they can still treat the customer with respect. Treating a customer with respect doesn't cost you anything, giving them attitude usually does.
yeah so you got 4 pages of "shops - listen" but because there is always 2 sides to every story how about a "customer - listen" thread and we could have some techs contribute ?
My background was to fix HW for well into the tens of thousands of customers mostly women in national accounts, I had no say in the scheduling or workload when they said jump you ask how high and on the way up, there were were MTTR and customer sat targets, IME there were always techs who could literally fix anything but they couldn't talk to customers, couldn't handle the scene, I don't imagine bike stores are any different especialy for what they get paid
I have since done a little bike wrenching/forestry research/carpentry/expediting/engineering/run saw but i will never touch another computer for money again
Posted by: XXX_er
I asked a boss I worked for a little if he still takes in all that stupid shit like he use to or does he have his service intake under control and he told me its now dialed, so he just quotes really high on jobs he doesn't want (AKA the shitshow ) which is a kinder gentler way of telling the end loser he doesn't want the business but same outcome ... customer goes away
I’m in the basement of a tri-cities shop (no longer around) one day talking to a mechanic friend who still wrenches and who I’d say is in the top tier of techs in the Shore-To-Sky area. He’s genuinely a fantastic mechanic and I imagine if anything his conflicts with bosses/service writers come from the thoroughness with which he services stuff (a bearing kit takes longer to do properly than just to press it in and check done on the service booking, etc).
Anyway, in the basement there is an absolute shit show of rusted slag and BSOs lined up. Huh, did you guys start a bike recycling program?
Nope, those are all the bikes the manager booked in for a basic tune-up package. WTF?! There’s not a difference that can be made to any of those rigs for $39.99 and a bit of chain lube so either you’re ripping off the customers or ripping off the shop?!
And my mechanic friend would never put his name on something that impugned his personal integrity so I can’t imagine how many folks picked up a half-day overhaul for a 30-minute labour charge while he hated every minute of it.
When folks talk about the massive shortage of bike mechanics it is t just money that’s the issue.
ha ! this thread rears its ugly head 4 yrs later so look at the state of the bike industry now?
the Bike store just HAS to make money, so the staff should not be taking jobs the shop can not make money on, the bike should go on a stand to be checked over for what needs doing, the mechanic really doesnt wana do a job he can't fix perfectly/ make money on so leave the fucked up jobs to that other store who hasnt figured this stuff out yet
should a shop take in fuckedup gigs where the end loser brings in an applebox of parts ? maybe but I would make it a low priority if the choice is a box of parts or the bike of a customer who bought it from you, service your customers 1st
I fix dry suits for a side gig for omething to do, been doing it 20+ years, I'm really good at it, i make money for the owner and besides nobody else knows how to do it. I got into a beef with sales dude long story short I told buddy this particular product is fucked i am not going to fix that product again cuz its fucked, IMO we didnt make money on the one i already did and besides I don't wana do it SO you can do the other one and BTW you are gona become the expert
I was looking at some pricing the other day and was equally amazed and saddened to see so many shops still selling 'tune-ups' for $50. What a total waste of time and expense for everyone involved. The mechanic will hate their job, get paid fuck all and then fired in October, and the customer will get a shitty 'tune-up'. By the time you factor in wiping the bike down, writing up the work order and taking the bike for a test ride, you probably have 20 minutes to actually do any work to it.
Edit: brings back memories of presumably another Tri-Cities basement workshop that was always full of shit-heaps. But I'm guessing that the one Andrew is referring to didn't have a coffee shop that sold amazing cheesecake across the road, and an English style chippie 30 seconds away. So it wasn't all bad :D
Probably most people bringing in their bike for a "basic tune up" never wrench on them. I imagine most of us who work at all on our bikes could make a world of difference to half the casual riders on Vancouver streets in 15 minutes: proper tire inflation, actual chain lube (not WD-40), twiddle the rear barrel adjuster so it actually shifts. But yes doing so in volume as a professional would be soul-sucking.
It's also kind of a loss leader to get people in the door, get them to trust your shop and upsell them on further repairs and parts if the bike is actually a shit show.
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