Rock Guy Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 Hi Hubbers. Being fairly new to the hub and having only recently rekindled my love of cycling I was wondering what the correct way would be to report poor service from bike shops. I’ve seen a lot of people reporting that they've experienced bad service at certain shops but I don’t recall any of them mentioning the shop names. A fairly recent forum post actually did a rather lengthy rating of shops, again without naming the shops. This to me is not very useful, other than simply reiterating that there are a lot of shops out there that don’t value their customers very much. I already knew this quite well from some very unfortunate (and costly I might add) experiences. Are there certain rules (written or unwritten) that govern why we are so reluctant to name the places that we have experienced poor service at? After all, what good is a long rant about how unhappy someone is about a shop if the shop remains anonymous? It’s basically impossible to find any kind of bike shop review online, so finding a reliable shop (for me at least) is mostly a trial and error iterative process. The way I see it, if we were to name the bike shops that gave us poor service it would by default direct people to the better shops and force the others to up their game in order to keep their doors open. At the moment I see one particular bike shop (that has provided me with what could arguably be described as the worst bike service in human history) posting pictures of their shop filled with bikes waiting to get serviced. Thoughts that cross my mind include “well, the shop’s obviously full because those people will all wait two weeks to get their bike back” or that half the bikes in the picture are probably come backs. What it really comes down to is that particular bike shop will, if all their customers receive the same service I did, be costing some people a lot of money down the line in repairs that could have been avoided if they actually received the service they paid for. To name and shame or not, that is the question though. It’s not impossible to avoid having your identity discovered if you do name and shame. Would you get put onto some kind of black list if you do name some shops? Are the bike shops in South Africa running some kind of cartel that protects them from well deserved poor ratings? Will I get taken out by some guys in black suits while I sleep if I name a shop that I feel others should avoid? I challenge bike shops to tell me what their feelings are on this subject. I understand that you guys must get a lot of customers that are simply ridiculous in their demands or guys that just want to burn you in the public domain for some petty issues, but surely the better your shop, the less these guys will become. Would you mind if people called you out if they weren't happy and allowed you to reply publicly? Don’t get me wrong though, I’m all for positive bike shop ratings as well. Positive comments and ratings are however not a very complicated matter, and really aren't what this post is about.
iamStewart Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I think you have to name and shame. We live in a country where we told to accept poor/sub standard service all the time. Its unacceptable for bike shops to take our money and give us horrible service, because if we keep coming back why will they change their habits. I would rather people say which shops have given them bad service, so that they can be avoided, and so that I can rather spend my hard earned money somewhere that will take pride in their work and service and treat me and my money as it should be - with respect.
Allrounder Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 Just go to Chris Willemse at Willow Bridge. They are about R30 more expensive on a service than my lbs, but the service you and your bike receive is worth much more. I can tell you things from my lbs that said the chain should drop if you change like that etc..... Went to CW and problem fixed. To save money, and many unhappy hours, drive to tyger valley and take your bike to CW. (I am in no way affiliated with CW, this is just my personal experience)
No Hare Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 Yes, you are right but the moment I read what you said I thought; this guy is a government manager. More forms, more red tape Ref: 147/2015 2014.01.21Dear hub-complainant (disenfranchised bi-mobile mechanical operator) your complaint cannot be processed as the following documentation is incomplete or not completed. Form: R434Form: R29Form: G66 (Blue Section) Please not that these corrected documentation should reach us not later than 2014.01.20 or a new complaint should be lodged. Thank you for your participation Yours sincerely No thank you
JXV Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 It is human nature that we tend to overlook our own faults in any dispute. Consequently there are always 3 sides to every dispute....your side, their side and the truth. The hub is practically a public forum so if you name and shame here you better have your facts straight.
Eddy Gordo Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I posted the lengthy report, and one of the reasons I did not post names of shops with the bad service is because they are probably site sponsors. I asked if admin sees fit in me mentioning these stores but never received any answer. I did mention the stores with the good service and to date only one store emailed me back in regard to their poor service, so that already says alot
Rock Guy Posted January 22, 2015 Author Posted January 22, 2015 It is human nature that we tend to overlook our own faults in any dispute. Consequently there are always 3 sides to every dispute....your side, their side and the truth. The hub is practically a public forum so if you name and shame here you better have your facts straight.Do you reckon this is why people don't disclose the name of the shop? Because they are aware that their own story is not entirely factual? That would put some rants into perspective if true. The hub is not always a very hospitable place, and I can't help but think that people will still hide behind some kind shield to avoid being finger pointed. It just becomes a silly thing to do when the shield is the name of the shop you are complaining about. it defeats the whole purpose of the rant.
Escapee.. Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 Do you reckon this is why people don't disclose the name of the shop? Because they are aware that their own story is not entirely factual? That would put some rants into perspective if true. The hub is not always a very hospitable place, and I can't help but think that people will still hide behind some kind shield to avoid being finger pointed. It just becomes a silly thing to do when the shield is the name of the shop you are complaining about. it defeats the whole purpose of the rant. example I walked into (name of shop here) looking for a Tube (as an example) After 20 minutes (really 20 minutes, not as in i will be ready in 5 minutes) I didnt get any assistance because 1) Everyone was busyor2) There was no one on the flooror3) I look pooror4) Racismor5) Sexism
Rock Guy Posted January 22, 2015 Author Posted January 22, 2015 Yes, you are right but the moment I read what you said I thought; this guy is a government manager. More forms, more red tape Ref: 147/2015 2014.01.21Dear hub-complainant (disenfranchised bi-mobile mechanical operator) your complaint cannot be processed as the following documentation is incomplete or not completed. Form: R434Form: R29Form: G66 (Blue Section) Please not that these corrected documentation should reach us not later than 2014.01.20 or a new complaint should be lodged. Thank you for your participation Yours sincerely No thank youHaha. Believe me, I'm no government manager. I'm just trying to figure out what would be the best route to follow in order to eventually have the best outcome for all parties involved. This obviously also involves not stepping on any legal toes.
Guest DieBees Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 As long as it is fair I do not see a problem with it. But, what is fair to me and to a hardened serial moaner might differ completely.
Bub Marley Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I think if you're giving away your hard earned money to a particular shop, you're entitled to feel aggrieved if they don't give you the service you require. In terms of etiquette, I think the buyer should first take it up with the manager of the store and try as best to resolve the issue directly with him/her. I think in the world we're living today with all these social networking sites, people are bitching about ******* everything. Hello peter, Facebook have got so many stupid complaints by people that I've kinda ignored it completely. If you have an issue, sort it out directly with the manager. If the manager gives you attitude or disrespects you, then post on here.
Rock Guy Posted January 22, 2015 Author Posted January 22, 2015 Just go to Chris Willemse at Willow Bridge. They are about R30 more expensive on a service than my lbs, but the service you and your bike receive is worth much more. I can tell you things from my lbs that said the chain should drop if you change like that etc..... Went to CW and problem fixed. To save money, and many unhappy hours, drive to tyger valley and take your bike to CW. (I am in no way affiliated with CW, this is just my personal experience)Thanks for the advice. I'll keep them in mind. I've made use of their online specials quite a few times but never really considered them for a bike service. I must say they have always been very cool when I pop in there.
nolipoli Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 Why not start a poll in which people can vote for their favourite bike shop. This will quite quickly show which are the most popular (hopefully for good reason), and worth visiting. At the same time, the crappy shop with bad service will earn its place at the bottom of the list. If someone has a bad experience at their favourite shop, and moves to a new favourite, they can always change their vote.
Rock Guy Posted January 22, 2015 Author Posted January 22, 2015 Why not start a poll in which people can vote for their favourite bike shop. This will quite quickly show which are the most popular (hopefully for good reason), and worth visiting. At the same time, the crappy shop with bad service will earn its place at the bottom of the list. If someone has a bad experience at their favourite shop, and moves to a new favourite, they can always change their vote.That would be a great start. I do however suspect that The Hub, being sponsored by certain bike shops, would not be the correct space for such a pole (Or is The Hub truly neutral?). Does anyone know of a different platform that would work for this? if it were to be hosted on The Hub it would need to be integrated into the site's design, perhaps a feature of each user's profile. "My Bike Shop" or something like that, with publicly available statistics.
Guest DieBees Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 They are busy serving customers. Cant respond now.
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