Not a Rant or a Rave but is this the Reality?

[Chingy182]

Next time use CRC if possible. Add what you need in the cart, then print the invoice, far more easier. I did that when I broke a frame. Insurance accepted in without any issues.

Thanks for this.

[pellieg]

Give them a punt, I am in your area and would love to know who you are using.....

Hot spot cycles , 

[Spinnekop]

Hot spot cycles , 

Must agree.

 

Not always cost effective to shop local but service trumps price on many aspects of being a bicycle owner. 

Hotspot just makes life easier. 

Authorised Lefty service centre.

Amazing range of products.

Reasonably priced on all their things and always willing to go the extra mile.

 

I spend all my allowance I get from the Mrs there. 

[Eon du Plessis]

Must say, Evo has impressed me. Needed some through axle adapters that I heard they may be able to help out with. Shot them an email late Sunday night.

Friday morning before 9, Janos sent me a response indicating they have stock. I asked for a picture to confirm that it's the right thing, which I got a few minutes later.

They sent me an invoice and later that afternoon a parcel was on its way to Jhb.

 

Granted, I also ordered some bits from CRC on Sunday evening, which arrived at my office on the same day as Evo's, but that's more due to the courier than the shop.

 

 

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Edited December 8, 2017 by Eon du Plessis

[EmptyB]

Hot spot cycles ,

These guys helped me out big time too. They certainly went the extra mile for me.

[GLuvsMtb]

Bike shops seem to be stuck in 1995 where the internet is not a useful commercial tool, orders and bookings need to be done over the phone or in person and the stock carried is a function of the owner’s cashflow and gut-feel of what will sell. Why is there no online booking service to schedule a bike service or automatic update as your bike makes its way through the service department? Why do you need to give the shop your details every time your bike comes in? It would be useful if your full service history is available on the shop’s system and to have a quick way to communicate additional work required, i.e. sending an sms with cost of a new headset, because yours are shot, and you simply replying with a 1 to proceed or 2 for the shop to phone you to discuss. Why not have a system where a ticket is opened with an enquiry, document the enquiry and what steps are followed to resolve it? At the end of the day the owner / manager can get a summary of open items and deal with items that were not escalated or resolved. There seems to be a lot of inefficiencies in the way that these shops are run that is causing customer dissatisfaction and frustration. A good product means little without good systems to back these up.

 

 

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[Eddy Gordo]

Bike shops seem to be stuck in 1995 where the internet is not a useful commercial tool, orders and bookings need to be done over the phone or in person and the stock carried is a function of the owner’s cashflow and gut-feel of what will sell. Why is there no online booking service to schedule a bike service or automatic update as your bike makes its way through the service department? Why do you need to give the shop your details every time your bike comes in? It would be useful if your full service history is available on the shop’s system and to have a quick way to communicate additional work required, i.e. sending an sms with cost of a new headset, because yours are shot, and you simply replying with a 1 to proceed or 2 for the shop to phone you to discuss. Why not have a system where a ticket is opened with an enquiry, document the enquiry and what steps are followed to resolve it? At the end of the day the owner / manager can get a summary of open items and deal with items that were not escalated or resolved. There seems to be a lot of inefficiencies in the way that these shops are run that is causing customer dissatisfaction and frustration. A good product means little without good systems to back these up.

 

 

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Yeah, I agree, a little service book so to say. However then its more admin for the bike shop. I can relate, on time and cost involved. Modern Tech is great but not always beneficial or cost effective, but the sms or call(I usually get a call) to proceed or not on something alot of places can do.

[GLuvsMtb]

Yeah, I agree, a little service book so to say. However then its more admin for the bike shop. I can relate, on time and cost involved. Modern Tech is great but not always beneficial or cost effective, but the sms or call(I usually get a call) to proceed or not on something alot of places can do.

Let the customer do as many of the inputs as possible. You enter your details online, what you need done (or type of service package you require, i.e. suspension, BB, Headset, brake bleed etc.) Customer enters own contact details and preferred method of communication. You stick a barcode on the bike and scan it into the workshop, and out once done. Scan generates an sms / email automatically.

Management can then track how long a bike was on the floor and iron out bottlenecks where they occur.

As items are taken out of stock you scan said item and barcode on bike to allocate, much less wastage and stock losses this way because someone forgets to charge for a new tubeless valve or a set of brake pads.

Once done customer receives a detailed breakdown of work performed.

Customer receives a link to an online rating system a day or 2 after the service, anything less than a 4 out of 5 triggers management to call the customer to deal with any potential issues.

 

Good systems are less cumbersome than the outdated manual inputs and give accurate and useful information.

 

 

 

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[NotSoBigBen]

Let the customer do as many of the inputs as possible. You enter your details online, what you need done (or type of service package you require, i.e. suspension, BB, Headset, brake bleed etc.) Customer enters own contact details and preferred method of communication. You stick a barcode on the bike and scan it into the workshop, and out once done. Scan generates an sms / email automatically.

Management can then track how long a bike was on the floor and iron out bottlenecks where they occur.

As items are taken out of stock you scan said item and barcode on bike to allocate, much less wastage and stock losses this way because someone forgets to charge for a new tubeless valve or a set of brake pads.

Once done customer receives a detailed breakdown of work performed.

Customer receives a link to an online rating system a day or 2 after the service, anything less than a 4 out of 5 triggers management to call the customer to deal with any potential issues.

 

Good systems are less cumbersome than the outdated manual inputs and give accurate and useful information.

 

 

 

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How much would the outlay be for such a system and ongoing cost? Just wondering about the feasibility for smaller shops i.e. not MoreGreed etc.

 

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[GLuvsMtb]

How much would the outlay be for such a system and ongoing cost? Just wondering about the feasibility for smaller shops i.e. not MoreGreed etc.

 

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You approach the agent who’s bikes you stock to fund such a system as part of their offering. We are probably 2 or 3 years away of bikes being tied in to one particular brand and most effectively becoming concept stores, so then there will be continuity when you go to another store to work on your bike.

 

 

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[Hairy]

Here is one for you..... What is the going rate to replace a spoke and true a roadie wheel.. Broad stroke pricing?

 

I have had two commuters from our group go to a concept store in town and very charged R258 and R265 respectively. Called a couple of lbs to see what their cost would be, without giving them a reference to the costs charged, and these came back significantly cheaper

[Twaatie]

Here is one for you..... What is the going rate to replace a spoke and true a roadie wheel.. Broad stroke pricing?

 

I have had two commuters from our group go to a concept store in town and very charged R258 and R265 respectively. Called a couple of lbs to see what their cost would be, without giving them a reference to the costs charged, and these came back significantly cheaper

True a wheel R150 . don't know about single spoke replacement price , maybe R10

[Hairy]

True a wheel R150 . don't know about single spoke replacement price , maybe R10

that was the average price coming back in from the lbs’s I called ..... the store in town is just ripping it

 

Edit: and it is not the spaz store I am referring to....even they are cheaper

Edited December 9, 2017 by Hairy

[keithbe]

Do you know how does the Specialized product / retail chain works?

 

I don't know, but is there a central depot where shops can draw stock or is it only an on order system? (ie) Shops place a bulk order and that order gets shipped to them, if they sell out they need to get another order in, they cant just jump on their scooters and pop down to the warehouse and draw it?

 

Just interested to know as it seems there is a terrible inventory shortage.

 

Cedar and Melrose Arch are connected. Not sure of the other stores. I also know that frame warranty can be done at any Specialized stores and not specific to where purchased.

 

AgReed, Specialized products are extremely limited in SA and I have yet to find an online international store that ships Specialized products to SA of which there are endless available items.

[PJP2013]

In my opinion I don't think the problem is the the bike shop. I think the problem starts with the South African consumers, the riders, the buyers.

 

We want the best of both worlds. We want the lowest prices, comparable with large international online retailers like CRC. Then we want world class service from the local bike store, like online booking systems, world tour qualified mechanics in the workshops and every single part we may need available on the shelf or delivered within 24 hours.

 

So like they say light, strong and cheap, pick two. We want the LBS to to deliver a "light, strong and cheap" solution to all of us.

 

Sadly it doesn't work that way in our market. No LBS owner is making loads of money and driving and around in expensive sports cars having an FU attitude towards cyclists. It's more like the cyclist have an FU attitude towards the LBS.

 

LBS are under pressure from all angles:

• Increasing number of standards e.g. BB and drive train making keeping spares a cash flow nightmare
• Chain stores moving into LBS territory driving down prices, turning LBS into a remote showroom and sales force. Meaning people get advice from the LBS and buy from the chain store especially in the entry level market.
• Local Distributors that have an FU attitude and limited stock
• International online retailers
• A consumer base that has decreasing disposable income but still wants the best of everything

So collectively are we prepared to start paying the prices applicable to our market? Taking into consideration, high rental, staff costs, training and development costs, increasing utility prices, monopolistic pricing from local importers and distributors. Are we prepared to pay fair workshop labour rates? Are we going to be loyal to the LBS even though some times if will cost us more?

 

Or are we going to continue shopping around buying whatever we need from the cheapest source.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens when the last LBS closes it's doors and we all forced to buy online or support the remaining large bicycle retailers.

Edited December 10, 2017 by PJP2013

[GrumpyOldGuy]

In my opinion I don't think the problem is the the bike shop. I think the problem starts with the South African consumers, the riders, the buyers.

 

We want the best of both worlds. We want the lowest prices, comparable with large international online retailers like CRC. Then we want world class service from the local bike store, like online booking systems, world tour qualified mechanics in the workshops and every single part we may need available on the shelf or delivered within 24 hours.

 

So like they say light, strong and cheap, pick two. We want the LBS to to deliver a "light, strong and cheap" solution to all of us.

 

Sadly it doesn't work that way in our market. No LBS owner is making loads of money and driving and around in expensive sports cars having an FU attitude towards cyclists. It's more like the cyclist have an FU attitude towards the LBS.

 

LBS are under pressure from all angles:

• Increasing number of standards e.g. BB and drive train making keeping spares a cash flow nightmare
• Chain stores moving into LBS territory driving down prices, turning LBS into a remote showroom and sales force. Meaning people get advice from the LBS and buy from the chain store especially in the entry level market.
• Local Distributors that have an FU attitude and limited stock
• International online retailers
• A consumer base that has decreasing disposable income but still wants the best of everything

So collectively are we prepared to start paying the prices applicable to our market? Taking into consideration, high rental, staff costs, training and development costs, increasing utility prices, monopolistic pricing from local importers and distributors. Are we prepared to pay fair workshop labour rates? Are we going to be loyal to the LBS even though some times if will cost us more?

 

Or are we going to continue shopping around buying whatever we need from the cheapest source.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens when the last LBS closes it's doors and we all forced to buy online or support the remaining large bicycle retailers.

Some of your points are valid I think, but its not just a SA phenomenon, its a global one, its happening all over the world, everywhere people are becoming more demanding and seeking better value.

 

If you cant deliver on that, you will not survive, simple.

 

People in the bricks and mortar trade (again not necessarily Bicycles, I am talking generally) are ALL facing the same issue, customers will use them to a point, but if they cannot or are unwilling to compete in price they will face losing that customer to someone else, maybe on-line, maybe not, maybe the fellow down the road, simply because price will always be a factor in any purchase, be it a bicycle or a horse, or a golf club, people will always look at cost.

 

So Yes, if you want to look for obstacles or reasons why a business stagnates or fails, you will find many,....... but seldom is it the customer's fault, the customer is always there, mostly its the business who fails to retain them,....... and there is the issue!.

  

Here, on-line is massive, you can buy anything on line, its far, far bigger than SA, and competition is far harder, but guess what,.... the bricks and mortar shops are still here too, on line has not, and never will kill the good bricks and mortar business, some, of course will not make it, others will barely eke out a living, and others will prosper, in spite of on-line,... its the way of business, it happens in all spheres, from the corner grocer to the biggest corporate, just look at Steinhof.!