Shameful lbs

[Ian Raleigh]

Re: Re:

I'm praying for better times

You know I've just remembered about my Sons friend who had a dodgy chain on his MTB and he took it to the same
shop and they 'fixed it', several days later my Son asked me to look at his mates bike as it wasn't running and changing
very good, on close inspection there was some ten different links of chain from different manufacturers, why on earth
would a bike shop mess about changing bad links with links that may 'work' when a whole new chain was required.

The mind boggles!

 

[bartsince1975]

Re: Re:

I'm praying for better times

You know I've just remembered about my Sons friend who had a dodgy chain on his MTB and he took it to the same
shop and they 'fixed it', several days later my Son asked me to look at his mates bike as it wasn't running and changing
very good, on close inspection there was some ten different links of chain from different manufacturers, why on earth
would a bike shop mess about changing bad links with links that may 'work' when a whole new chain was required.

The mind boggles!

Oh boy :facepalm: When you think you've seen it all. Seriously where do all these bikeshops find the idiots.

But on the other side: there's so many good examples. I am invited to shops to give technical trainings to be blown away by the professional and passionate technicians I meet (knowing I'm one of them), organise tech seminars with more people subsribing as I would have hoped in my wildest dreams; I get so inspired to keep doing this by all the positive and motivated people I meet!

 

[jonnyboy666]

Some fair points there johnnyboy666.
Maybe your not best placed to answer if you don't sell new but I just don't get this thing of shops turning away repair work if you didn't buy the bike from them, usually with the mechanic standing around with nothing to do in the background. It's obvious to me that there is a healthy margin to be made on repairs. It just makes me not want to use that shop again for anything.

i have worked in and managed several shops in my time, turning away business is stupid, full stop, if you can fix a bike and put some money in the till then you should be doing just that, if you turn it away once you could be losing that customer forever so i never risk it, if you're busy tell the customer you're busy but you'll get it back to them ASAP and most will be happy with that, that you're making an effort, people aren't stupid, if they see you're busy then they'll understand, i priorities my work in a way that lets me queue jump customers if needed, meaning that usually i quote 2 days knowing that it'll be done the next day, this gives me the freedom to fit in "emergency cases" that just show up and "but i need it now!" type people, basically i build in breathing room to the time quote but also ask "when do you need it for?" or "when would you like to collect the bike?" as there's no point getting the bike done for the next day if they are leaving the bike while they go on holiday for a week, this enables the on the spot work to be done immediately, you know , the tube fits etc. this also means that people are pleased as they can get it done while they wait, i don't have to do paperwork that i would have to do if they are leaving the bike and the money is in the till faster, turning away work is risking the long term future of your business.

the above is risky whether you sell new bikes or not, basically i never say no and to keep my turnaround quick i will work extra hours to keep it going, April was mental, 3 of the 4 weeks i rode monday night and tuesday night, worked till 10pm + wednesday/thursday and friday, i close at 4pm on saturday but still found myself there at 8pm, and i tell people that if the lights are on they are welcome to come in regardless of the time.

April was financially my best month since opening last year, most comments i get from customers are shock at the hours they see me work as well as frustration at other shops in the area quoting 1 to 3 weeks for service work, i get loads of recommendations usually when someone tries other shops locally is quoted a price and timescale that the customer isn't happy with then someone they know that has used me says "you should try the guy down in Blackfield" then they keep coming back because frankly why wouldn't you? my prices are lower on Labour rate (i have cheap rent and no VAT on labour as i'm no where near the VAT threshold so that helps) and i don't take the piss on stock prices and i pass on discounts that i get as well as offering discount to regular customers and local sporting groups and cycling clubs.

running a shop should be pretty straight forward but some how some people make a right mess of it.

 

[John J]

Thank you.
Experienced perfectionist is about to open Bike Repair shop in Solihull.
No job too small or large

 

[legrandefromage]

Duwin the wor...

When I was in the service bit at Rutland, turnover went up 10% because I didnt turn anything down from simple repairs to whole restorations, much to the chagrin of the younger staff who would turn away all sorts because the bike wasnt a few months old or high end (so it seemed at the time).

I did make a gaff in sending a bike out with the left pedal not done up but thats where any work should be checked by another before giving back to the customer. A couple of minutes spared on each repair by getting it checked over by another member of staff would stop many a gaff.

Some of the stuff I've read just isnt acceptable in any way shape or form.

 

[legrandefromage]

Heck, this is how bikes would come in to the shop after some over enthusiastic Dad or mad uncle George had had a go

 

[james1985]

The thing that has really surprised me about this thread, that there are shops that wont work on a bike if you didn't buy it from them!

Is that seriously a thing?
So lbs turn a new customer away, because they have not used lbs before! (despite lbs probably spending money on marketing?!)
A potential customer didn't buy the last bike from lbs, so now lbs want to make sure they never spend money with them again.
They will now be spending money with lbs's competitor.
Lbs moans internet is killing them.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

That is shocking; was it done at a well know chain of stores that also sell car parts by any chance?

The thing that has really surprised me about this thread, that there are shops that wont work on a bike if you didn't buy it from them!

As a known cyclist, friends occasionally ask me to take a look at their bicycles when they don't work. I don't mind working on some of the nicer bicycles, but the cheap £99.99 supermarket stuff is always a chore. Parts are often so poorly made that that it's much harder to get everything working satisfactorily. Cheap cables that have corroded, rusty fasteners, dry wheel, headset and bottom bracket bearings that were assembled with little or no grease and are now shot and need replacing. The problem is, when you add up the cost of all the bits that need replacing, even with budget components, it's often just not economical.

 

[james1985]

Re: Re:

That is shocking; was it done at a well know chain of stores that also sell car parts by any chance?

The thing that has really surprised me about this thread, that there are shops that wont work on a bike if you didn't buy it from them!

As a known cyclist, friends occasionally ask me to take a look at their bicycles when they don't work. I don't mind working on some of the nicer bicycles, but the cheap £99.99 supermarket stuff is always a chore. Parts are often so poorly made that that it's much harder to get everything working satisfactorily. Cheap cables that have corroded, rusty fasteners, dry wheel, headset and bottom bracket bearings that were assembled with little or no grease and are now shot and need replacing. The problem is, when you add up the cost of all the bits that need replacing, even with budget components, it's often just not economical.

It doesn't matter if a repair is economically viable or if they bought a pile of crap. Diagnose the problem, offer the customer a solution and a price.

I manage the aftersales departments of a dealer group. We work on any car regardless of if its from one of our franchise' or not (we only outsource specialist jobs we are not equipped for) Sometimes the customer loves their vehicle, and will spend far more than its worth to repair it. Others will happily trade in the old one because the cambelt is due, and spend out on a new one. Regardless of how its done, it will be done somewhere, if we don't do it, we don't make the money from it.

 

[jax13]

Re:

Over the years, shops local to me have proved that diy is the way to go.

I asked one lbs to whip a cassette off one rear and stick in onto another.

£35.

I walked out laughing as I bought a whip and tool off them for £20 the pair and haven't been back since! Didn't even bother going to them for a bb tool and crank extractor, just ordered online.

Asked one shop over the phone for a price for bleeding and replacing fluid in some hs33's and was told they don't work on them because they are too awkward.

Same shop refused to service a mates bike because it was running sram mechs and 'we don't touch cheap shite like that' (he was running red on his roadie and xo on his mtb and wanted to leave them both there for a week while he was on holiday so they were sorted when he got back).


Some people just talk themselves out of money.