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Bad bike services


Zein

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My view: The customer may not always be right but they are always the customer. Poorly handled from Bike Addict. **** attitude and **** approach to resolve this. 

Anton so if you were the bike owner and I accused your shop of damaging my bike during a service on a public forum, how would you handle it differently ?

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And I'm thinking bike shops can adopt a pre service inspection for damage like they do when you insure your car or book it in for a service. Just take note of damage and have the customer sign the form - it's a mission, but I think necessary these days to protect both the shop and the customer.

 

Take a photo on delivery for service. Whatsapp to the service manager, agree and take selfies together. May seem silly, but will avoid this kaka in future. heck... do a voice memo detailing the stuff and get both voices on record agreeing to stuff. cover your ass and theirs at the same time... 

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Ha ha, my local bike shop knows they only have about half a day to service my bike. I never book and I am pretty sure it messes with their day but I have never been let down once. 

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Who would have thought that a bike shop in Malmesbury would do 200 bikes a month

Not me for one!

They are obviously doing something right.

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Anton so if you were the bike owner and I accused your shop of damaging my bike during a service on a public forum, how would you handle it differently ?

 

I was most impressed with Bike Addicts FIRST reply ..... and possibly it should have been their only reply to the OP on this thread ....

 

 

The only thing they could have done differently .... it should NEVER escalate to the point where a business owner resorts to bad language ..... 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Have you looked at what it costs to get certified?

 

In order for a shop or individual to recoup that sort of cost the customer is going to be paying vehicle labour rates.

I'm with Phillip as far as mechanics go.

 

But if the shop is a properly setup entity it's a negligible cost as often the training is cross subsidised by the brands, and training/certification of staff can be claimed against the business. They can still earn a decent income without the customer paying vehicle labour rates.

 

The value and mitigated risk of staff who are both competent and certified is far and away beyond the cost to be recouped. It takes one expensive ****** on a customer's bike to swallow up that cost saving.

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It would be great if OP or bike-addict could comment on the outcome of the whole situation. The damage to the linkages was quite extensive, as well as the apparent fork damage, and would be horrible to the reputation of the bike shop if they indeed caused it, and if they caused the damage we should get a heads-up before considering to make use of them.

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It would be great if OP or bike-addict could comment on the outcome of the whole situation. The damage to the linkages was quite extensive, as well as the apparent fork damage, and would be horrible to the reputation of the bike shop if they indeed caused it, and if they caused the damage we should get a heads-up before considering to make use of them.

I'm guessing by the way that whole thread unfolded that Bike Addict was not at fault... well that, and the fact that no one elze has brought up similar experiences at Bike Addict.

 

Crazy how much damage one post can cause to a shop's reputation (and someone's livelyhood for that matter).

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I'm guessing by the way that whole thread unfolded that Bike Addict was not at fault... well that, and the fact that no one elze has brought up similar experiences at Bike Addict.

 

Crazy how much damage one post can cause to a shop's reputation (and someone's livelyhood for that matter).

 

But then again ..... 

 

surely most of us have seen this type of situation play out time and time again on social media ... enough to KNOW there is more than one side to any story.

 

 

At worst it would mean that I would walk into such a store "more alert" .... BUT, all the publicity also means that I wont forget this store's name in a hurry ....

 

 

And as you rightly say, this appears to be a "one off" situation (though 2 or 3 others have commented negatively as well).  Certainly much better all round publicity than some other stores which have been called out time and time again for "false" specials, even people posting before and after screen shots showing the "sale" to be no more than an adjustment of the RRP ..... THAT leaves a much more lasting negative impression on MY mind ....

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I'm with Phillip as far as mechanics go.

 

But if the shop is a properly setup entity it's a negligible cost as often the training is cross subsidised by the brands, and training/certification of staff can be claimed against the business. They can still earn a decent income without the customer paying vehicle labour rates.

 

The value and mitigated risk of staff who are both competent and certified is far and away beyond the cost to be recouped. It takes one expensive ****** on a customer's bike to swallow up that cost saving.

 

In a big city yes but in a one horse town there is no way a shop can drop 150k on a piece of paper stating he knows what he is doing.

 

From experience on the job training works just fine if done correctly, start at the bottom and work your way up. I also doubt the training covers out of the box scenarios like stuck seat posts, how to rebuild a Campagnolo STI or a back pedal brake or free coaster hub. 

 

People still make mistakes no matter how qualified they are, and that is where insurance should come in.

 

As a side note I wonder how many world tour / world cup mechanics are certified.

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In a big city yes but in a one horse town there is no way a shop can drop 150k on a piece of paper stating he knows what he is doing.

 

From experience on the job training works just fine if done correctly, start at the bottom and work your way up. I also doubt the training covers out of the box scenarios like stuck seat posts, how to rebuild a Campagnolo STI or a back pedal brake or free coaster hub. 

 

People still make mistakes no matter how qualified they are, and that is where insurance should come in.

 

As a side note I wonder how many world tour / world cup mechanics are certified.

 

Campy Shimano Total Integration? When did that happen????

 

/comic sans of course/

 

I really enjoy how a brand name becomes so popular that is transcends the brand - a little like "Hoover".

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