Bike shops - Service quality vs salaries and profits

[MORNE]

Id say maybe you need some special skills to work on older or more proprietary stuff but like computers or anything for that matter these days, most things on bicycles are modular and/or plug and play. Its a bicycle...not a steam locomotive or a passenger jet engine. If you can build a 16+ lego set following the instructions...you can build a bicycle

[DieselnDust]

Yes yes, another bike shop fred...

 

There has been a lot posted recently regarding good/bad service received from bike shops as well as the cost of services compared to other industries etc.

 

This got me thinking,

 

We all know the cost of bikes and parts in our “humble” sport have gone crazy the last few years.

 

Has this increases in costs filtered down to increased profits for store owners and increased salaries for bike technicians/ staff etc?

 

I would be interested to know:

- What would a bike technician earn these days? R6k to R25K per month gross depending on experience and store.

- What profits do bike shops make off new bikes? I’ve heard 30-40%? Anyone know? Mark up on bikes is pathetic, so after sob stories, arm twisting, free servicing, roughly 12-15%

 

I’m not looking to expose anything here and absolutely have no issue with people making a profit and earning a living.

 

My wondering is this, is there a general lack of quality service in our industry because people are being under-payed/ under-valued? There is the idea that b hiring low and paying low is the path to Constantia. Sometimes it works , mostly not. Lack of quality is often due to poor management and sometimes hiring people who don't have training and are learning on the job with no incentives.

 

Do we have a general lack of interest in quality service from shops because people are underpaid or is it a case of there being so many riding these days that if one stops supporting a shop it’s not an issue because there will always be someone else waiting behind him/her with money to spend?

 

If you buy a 100k bike and it is serviced by someone who earns let’s say 10k a month, we will get “10k a month” quality, if the they earn 20k we would expect “20k a month” quality right? .....it  depends

 

As I mentioned in another thread recently, it baffles my mind that so many people receive subpar service yet bike shops seem to continue to thrive?

[DR ◣◢]

In my experience you charge out your staff a 4x their cost per hour (+- R90 per hour) so your labour rate is R360 per hour where a mechanic earns R15000 per month. 

 

I would imagine a lead mechanic getting paid a fair bit more at least.

 

Super rough calculation will see a workshop with 2 mechanics billing 5 hours a day each make about R65000 profit a month. Really not that much to be honest. 

[openmind]

Id say maybe you need some special skills to work on older or more proprietary stuff but like computers or anything for that matter these days, most things on bicycles are modular and/or plug and play. Its a bicycle...not a steam locomotive or a passenger jet engine. If you can build a 16+ lego set following the instructions...you can build a bicycle

bull****

[Jewbacca]

bull****

I think it is slightly over simplified, but what about a bicycle is difficult to understand?

 

Even building wheels is really easy if you follow the basics. One of the beautiful things about home mechanics is that you needn't rush. You aren't making money out of it, so you can afford to take your time, tick the boxes and move on.

 

A mechanic needs to get x number of jobs done, which means his skillset is doing the job properly, but also efficiently.

 

Time is money. At home, time is just time.

 

I used to enjoy building wheels and bike fiddling. The spark has sort of died in me. I'm sure I will get it back one day.

 

I'm enjoying shaping surfboards more. Again, it's not my business, so I can afford to spend 6 hours shaving foam on one blank, while a proper shaper has to do 7 to 10 boards a day to make any real profit. 

 

What part of building and setting up a bicycle is difficult? I mean that. I don't see it

[DR ◣◢]

bull****

Elaborate please. Why are you calling bull****?

Not exactly an open mind to other’s opinions if you don’t debate the topic.

[SwissVan]

I think it is slightly over simplified, but what about a bicycle is difficult to understand?

 

 

 

How people are prepared pay more for a bicycle than a motorcycle....and then complain when they have to pay similar for a service or repair. 

[Skylark]

How people are prepared pay more for a bicycle than a motorcycle....and then complain when they have to pay similar for a service or repair.

The purchase price of the bike aside, working on a bicycle is a lot easier than a motorbike.

 

Proficiency of repair is due to having the right tools, tools are expensive and a lot of Lbs workshops don't have all the necessary tools.

[Jewbacca]

How people are prepared pay more for a bicycle than a motorcycle....and then complain when they have to pay similar for a service or repair. 

hahaha I was referring to the actual workings on a bike.... trying to understand the psyche of some people is just a well of despair...

 

Bicycles are really simple things. Motorbikes are not so simple. 

[DirtyDan]

Lol...for me its that bike mechs think they are top level mechanical engineers....

(When most I have encountered would be hard pressed to service a wheelbarrow)....

 

True, but also paying peanuts will employ...

I'm seeing a (bi)cycle here 

Edited December 26, 2020 by DirtyDan

[DirtyDan]

My preferred LBS in Cape Town is a little understaffed and when I asked the owner why he didn't employ another mechanic, his answer is that good wrenchers are hard to find... so... 

[Me rida my bicycle]

Elaborate please. Why are you calling bull****?

Not exactly an open mind to other’s opinions if you don’t debate the topic.

You do get people who just can't do anything with their hands or have to much self doubt or just to lazy.

[DirtyDan]

You do get people who just can't do anything with their hands or have to much self doubt or just to lazy.

There are definitely a group of those...

 

I think we forget that most folk who ride bicycles are not as bike-befok as we are and probably with little free time available, don't feel inclined to make self-wrenching a priority. Personal choice in the end.

[Kom]

Id say maybe you need some special skills to work on older or more proprietary stuff but like computers or anything for that matter these days, most things on bicycles are modular and/or plug and play. Its a bicycle...not a steam locomotive or a passenger jet engine. If you can build a 16+ lego set following the instructions...you can build a bicycle

I agree with this, mostly. Suspension servicing and brake bleeding I leave to the pros. These are service items that are really only needed annually and deserve to be done by experienced individuals.

 

There are heaps of diy videos on YouTube that cover basic bike servicing, and are hugely rewarding to undertake if not just to be a little self dependant while out with the bike. GMBN tech is probably the best I could recommend. https://youtube.com/c/gmbntech

 

Back to the OP, I think the topic of bike service quality could expand to almost the entire service industry, it’s just that there is nothing as central as bikehub for any of those other industries. If there was a carhub for Land Rover owners, dininghub for Cape Town restaurant service and even coffeehub for poor coffee we would have as much a centrally based opinion on how bad or inefficient those industries are run too.

[BMXER]

Then they should do like the aviation industry does - Bond the mech - Sponser the course fees, but sign a contract that they have to stay on for x number of months/years after, otherwise they need to buy themselves out. every month/quarter or whatever is agreed, the buyout value decreases.

 

Problem is South Africa loves certification for the sake of certification - as soon as a new minimum requirement is introduced, there will be 20 new certificate mills offering the qualification, and they will pass everyone that bothers to pay the course fee

Been in Australia for the past 5 years, your certification comment about SA could not be more wrong. SA undervalues labour, does not pay tradesmen well at all. Trade qualifications in SA are few and far between. Certification is the last issue SA has.

In Australia you will pay 5000zar to service a fork, 500zar will get a bb pressed in, plus the bb cost.

I service my own bike, could not be easier with youtube and pdf downloads on every phone.

Dropping a piece of glass 1m square from a workbench in Aus is a fall from heights and will close the production line, government inspection and approval is needed to restart work. Point being anything goes in SA and the standard of work sadly follows.

Re the topic at hand, being a bicycle mechanic in SA is not a qualification, and it honestly needs to be. Sadly the wage paid needs to double like that will ever happen.

Edited December 26, 2020 by BMXER

[openmind]

Elaborate please. Why are you calling bull****?

Not exactly an open mind to other’s opinions if you don’t debate the topic.

 

At the time I felt it was an already over-debated topic and Morne's comment made me mad, hence the short and sharp reply. Sorry. I agree that it is not that hard to build a bicycle, I build all my own (except for the wheels). That's if you have the inclination, time, patience and the budget to pay for your own mistakes. 

 

But just because you find something easy does not mean that someone who does that thing for a living should be charging peanuts for it. That's my issue. And just because you like to do something yourself does not mean that someone else should not be able to make a fair wage doing that thing for other people who don't want to do it themselves. Also, you only need to get to know your own bikes, a shop mechanic needs to be able to wrench any bike and still be profitable. If they can't they will do something else and you will have to fix your own mistakes, service your own forks, build your own wheels etc etc. 

 

So have some respect for the cost of labour. You get what you pay for. If you don't, then go somewhere else, but don't de-value the whole industry. One day it might just not be there anymore.