LBS taking the proverbial?!

DevUK

I took my commuter into the LBS to investigate a creaking noise from the bottom bracket area which I hadn't managed to solve. I left it with them on Wednesday, and arranged that they'd call me back with a quote, the ticket was worded similar to:

"service quote and investigate clunking noise from bottom bracket"

Now, I've just had a call from them saying it's ready to be collected, and that they've re-greased and tensioned the bottom bracket and replaced the front brake cable. Total cost of £37.

That doesn't sound much like a feckin quote to me?!

Any ideas what I should do? I'm thinking I could of bought a new BB for that much?! I didn't give consent for the work to be done.

I'm a bit miffed to say the least.

el_presidente

pay up then never use them again

learn how to do your own maintenance

Stuey01

Sounds like a bit of a mickey take to me.

What type of BB is it?

DevUK

I'm not 100%. Been trying to find out without much success. It's on a 2007 Trek 7.5 FX.

Aidy

Tell them that £37 seems like quite a steep quote, and to leave the bike as it is?

How does one tension a bottom bracket?

Wallace1492

Tell them you never asked for any work to be done.
They probably had a misunderstanding.
Get amount reduced, but should still pay something for their work, parts and labour.

You need to be clear and concise when you put something in to be looked at, and ensure they know what you have asked for.

DonDaddyD

Name and shame them here!

Go collect your bike.

Cuss them!

Insist on a discount! Pay up!

Cuss them some more.

Cuss them online forevermore!

From now on:

Treat all bike shops as you would car mechanics at a garage confirm price and the job they are doing and make sure they know not to deviate from that.

Stuey01

DevUK wrote:

I'm not 100%. Been trying to find out without much success. It's on a 2007 Trek 7.5 FX.

My googlefu tells me it is a Shimano octalink BB (£18 worth on wiggle)

TBH you could have got a new BB, the tool to fit it, a new front cable and some change for about what they have charged you.

By the way, how does a worn front brake cable contribute to a knocking bottom bracket?!

Express your displeasure and don't use them again.

UndercoverElephant

To be fair to them, they probably charged an hours labour. The fact that they managed to get it all sorted within the hour means that all you pay is for the hour. Be thankful it's not a car, Audi charge £105 an hour.

DevUK

I won't name and shame just yet. See what happens when I collect the bike tomorrow. I have no idea what "re-tensioning means" but I'm still a learner bike fettler (brakes are about my limit at the mo). Perhaps they "re-tensioned" the BB when they had to screw it back together?

Also, I was suprised to hear they'd replaced the front brake cable. Sure, the crimp on cap had come off and the end was slightly frayed, but replacing it? They claimed it wasn't braking very well, but this was because I'd fiddled and needed to adjust it again. It just needed some further adjustment.

DevUK

Stuey01 wrote:

My googlefu tells me it is a Shimano octalink BB (£18 worth on wiggle)

Genius, thanks I need to sharpen my GoogleFu. Been looking around for a few weeks off and on. Mind, when I've read octalink I've assumed chainset.

Stuey01

It may mean they removed the cranks and the BB and stripped and regreased it before re-installing it. Doubt it though as at £18 a throw an octalink BB is a throw away item.

It probably means they tightened up the bolt that holds the crank arms on.

DevUK

Stuey01 wrote:

It probably means they tightened up the bolt that holds the crank arms on.

Which I'd already done last week...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12644161

MrChuck

Stuey01 wrote:

DevUK wrote:

I'm not 100%. Been trying to find out without much success. It's on a 2007 Trek 7.5 FX.

My googlefu tells me it is a Shimano octalink BB (£18 worth on wiggle)

TBH you could have got a new BB, the tool to fit it, a new front cable and some change for about what they have charged you.

By the way, how does a worn front brake cable contribute to a knocking bottom bracket?!

Express your displeasure and don't use them again.

Basically what stuey says, although if that was more or less the wording of the note it's not hard to imagine how an honest mistake could have been made. Only you know how much fuss you want to make over it and how much hassle you're prepared to put up with so I'd say pointing out that you only asked for a quote and didn't agree the payment is a good start.
If I was in your position I think I'd give them the benefiit of the doubt and assume it was an honest mistake- how they deal with it is the real test of their mettle!

DevUK

The anger is subsiding a little now.

It annoys me though. I don't use this LBS often, as to be honest, they're not that local but are more road orientated compared to my true LBS (2 mins walk from my front door). This is also the place I bought the bike from.

They always seem pretty elitist when you're in there, as I giving off a scent of not being a true roadie (my 18 stone + manly bulk gives that one away) - they tend to talk down at you.

Anyway. I can say I'm not going back to this place again. They can sod off!

DonDaddyD

I hit my crank on a curb and it moved the bottom bracket out a little - it would make a wierd noise.

I took it to Psubliminal in Balham and for £15 he had the mechanic remove my bottom bracket re-grease and fit it in properly again. It took 15mins at most. The guy also sorted out my squeaky back wheel. (Service so good I would buy a bike from them if they didn't only sell Trek).

At Edwards in Camberwell for £125 I replaced my bottom bracket, crank and brake pads - I replaced my Truativ cranks with an Ultegra triple crank set. - this took 1hr 30mins

At Cyclopolis I had my bike serviced, new brake pads and my wheels trued for around £50 - £60. (Service so good I would happily buy a bike from them).

Each situation I establish the price and if job requires more work and therefore cost more they contact me before they do anything. I found that most bike shops will replace your brakes regardless as this allows them to add £5 onto the charge.

Specialized Needs

DevUK wrote:

... the ticket was worded similar to:

"service quote and investigate clunking noise from bottom bracket"

If that is close to the wording, then I can understand them reasonably interpreting it as: a) give a quote for servicing; and b) carry out an investigation into the clunking noise from the BB.

So, a quote for one and an action for the other. That wouldn't explain the brake wire though.

Woodenleg

Interesting comparison with Audi garages - I have used similarly priced VW ones, but not to repair my bikes. Hourly rates are an interesting thing when compared across industries. For example my piano tuner travels to my house in his Audi (!), spends 1.5 hours working on stuff I wouldn't put a spanner anywhere near, and bills me £40. Anyway to the main point: after (me) replacing a chain last year I found that classically, the new chain skipped on the smallest sprocket (4 years and 2000 miles from new). My lbs (should I name and praise him here?) identified a couple of shark fin shaped teeth on the sprocket, and replaced it with a new one, ran through all the gear adjustments until perfect, and billed me £7. Now how's that for parts and an hourly rate? I don't spend all my biking money there, but I usually go to him first, he knows how to treat his customers.
Echoing others' points though, make sure they know what you require doing, and make sure you know what they are going to do, to avoid unpleasant surprises. Can't say it works for me at the VW dealer though!

Kieran_Burns

All work carried out by a 3rd party must be agreed to beforehand - that's the law in this matter. If you didn't agree to, they must put back the bike in the ORIGINAL CONDITION. That's the killer. (for them)

I knew the Chief Trading Standards Officer for Derby City Council and he did a blinder with a main dealer that serviced his car without his permission (it was for investigation only)

His comment to the service guy was "thanks very much for spending your money on my car"

When they tried to refuse to give him his keys back to enforce payment, he simply told them that they had to replace all exchanged items and put the car back EXACTLY as it was (including the changed oil, and sparks) before he would accept it back

He won that one

supersonic

Yep, you do not have to pay for any unauthorised work. And £37 is taking the pi$$ anyway - Octalink are sealed cartridge BBs, they require no greasing (unless they did the BB shell). £20 of work there inc the cable replacement.

I'd offer £20 and thell them the predicament.

DevUK

Well, I wimped out a little. I voiced my annoyance but wasn't really getting anything back. They explained that as there were no major parts needing replacing that the mechanic would of assumed to go ahead... crossed wires etc.

Anyhow, I'd clocked that they'd replaced my pedals for some reason and the bike had had a full service/degrease/clean etc, and gear/brake tune up. It rode pretty well after I have to say.

The pedals they put on were cheap welgo, in the same style as the stock pedals, but they feel weird to ride with so I might switch them to some spare flats I've got.

All in all, I'm not going to return to this place again. Really not happy with their level of customer service. It's just the oozing sense of elitism when you talk to most of the staff.

To name the shop - Mike Vaughans, Kenilworth. Now off my (albeit short) list of LBS's.

Stuey01

They replaced your pedals? without telling you? that is tres weird.

edmiddleton1988

You got a good deal if they did all that for £37!

Not that you asked for it to be done though - seems a bit odd

always_tyred

duncedunce wrote:

DevUK wrote:

... the ticket was worded similar to:

"service quote and investigate clunking noise from bottom bracket"

If that is close to the wording, then I can understand them reasonably interpreting it as: a) give a quote for servicing; and b) carry out an investigation into the clunking noise from the BB.

So, a quote for one and an action for the other. That wouldn't explain the brake wire though.

Yes, and you would expect a response along the lines of "the noise is from your bb" or even "the noise might be from your bb, but there is/isn't any play in the bearing....." if all they were doing was investigating.

Basic contract law (it must be basic, because I know it) - consideration cannot be in the past. You can't be charged for something you didn't contract for, just because they've done it.

You may owe them something for investigating, but that's about it. Ask them to break down the bill.

On top of all of this, is there any actual indication that what they have done will have solved the problem? I think there is a significant risk that they've charged you for something about as effective as putting oil on the chain.

simple_salmon

Stuey01 wrote:

They replaced your pedals? without telling you? that is tres weird.

Is it possible the noise was coming from the pedals rather than the BB?

Doesn't excuse the lack of communication though.

DevUK

Well, cycling into work this morning I started to hear a new noise from the same area. I have a feeling it's the left pedal, as if I stopped pedaling on that side (as best I could) the noise seemed to stop. It happens on the down stroke on the left side.

I have some flat MTB pedals which I want to fit. If I get time I'll do it tonight and see how it is tomorrow.

MonkeyMonster

Do you always wear the same shoes... Not them squeaking? (asking given they gave you new pedals) My current cleat shoes squeak under certain loads on the right side which can get very annoying.

DevUK

Same shoes I normally wear

I noticed the other day after coming back from the shop that the new pedals clicked when you stood up on them. A sign of quality I'm sure

antfly

Re. the cable, they do need replacing once they are frayed unless you can cut the end off cleanly. My lbs charges a tenner for cable replacement, I do it myself now.

Stuey01

antfly wrote:

Re. the cable, they do need replacing once they are frayed unless you can cut the end off cleanly. My lbs charges a tenner for cable replacement, I do it myself now.

No they don't. The fray will stop at the clamp holding on the brake or derailleur holding them in place. Until you come to adjust them there is no mechanical reason to replace a cable with a frayed end.

antfly

I suppose it would. Maybe it did need adjusting, I can`t stand to see a frayed cable.