Is This Unreasonable? Or Am I?

Andy B

Some shops do offer a premium fast track service for customers who have bought their bike from that shop.

If someone bought something (bike, parts....) from elsewhere and the shop is busy then why should they offer a premium service, you bought stuff from elsewhere so you have no loyalty to that shop so why should they go that little bit further for someone who has no loyalty?

monkey186

Andy B wrote:

Some shops do offer a premium fast track service for customers who have bought their bike from that shop.

If someone bought something (bike, parts....) from elsewhere and the shop is busy then why should they offer a premium service, you bought stuff from elsewhere so you have no loyalty to that shop so why should they go that little bit further for someone who has no loyalty?

In my view, the answer to this question is because to go a little bit further for each and every customer (or at least to make each and every customer feel like you go a little bit further for them) is the best way to run the business.

Treating each and every customer with the best regard the shop can afford, irrespective of where the customer bought the parts or any other considerations. This way of doing business will secure the most solid likelihood that the customer will come back, and bring other customers, and in turn, that the business will succeed.

Uncle Peter

Several shops near me, which include a LL, all allow you to book your bike in on a particular day, then if you drop it off at a prearranged time on that day or the day before you can pick your bike up at the end of that day. It works a treat, although it can be a pian in the backside if you need something doing urgently. I guess the speed of getting those jobs done depends on how good a customer you are.

It's not unreasonable to expect a job to be done on a preagreed date.

hounslow

i don't see the problem with the same day service? (as in, booked in for a particular day, done on that day - exceptional circumstances) 90% of our customers drop off bikes in the first hour of opening, or late the previous day, then collect before closing. they get their bike back for the commute and we don't have it littering our warehouse. the problems are with the people who want to leave the bike here for a service booked 3 weeks in advance, or who don't collect their bikes. our warehouse is surprisingly big, but yours ain't the only bike we have in.

supersonic

Depends how busy you are - I have had 30 bikes waiting to be fixed before! Same day just doesn't work sometimes, though you try your best to get through them.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Depends how busy you are - I have had 30 bikes waiting to be fixed before! Same day just doesn't work sometimes, though you try your best to get through them.

this is the fault of your boss. sounds like a rubbish way to run a shop in my opinion.

supersonic

Not always, the customer gets told it might be 3 or 4 days. Or they get turned away and told cannot be done at all. Or they come back in 3 or 4 days, it is still a 3 or 4 day wait as is at the end of the queue!

Same day service in some environments is just not feasible for many bike shops unless they are very quiet.

submityournentries

but it wasnt same day as it was prebooked. i appreciate if i had just walked in then yes wanting it done there and then is unreasonable, but to book it in 10 days in advance and still get told a week is surely a bad system?

supersonic

But did they tell you they would do it on that day, or that is the day to bring it in? If they have not explained fully they are at fault for sure, I have already said this. But the discussion has turned to why some shops do not offer pre booking and same day service of which there are multiple reasons.

weeksy59

sheepsteeth wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Depends how busy you are - I have had 30 bikes waiting to be fixed before! Same day just doesn't work sometimes, though you try your best to get through them.

this is the fault of your boss. sounds like a rubbish way to run a shop in my opinion.

I have to agree. It's ridiculous to have yourself that snowed under and ridiculous for the customer to wait.

If i book my car in for a service, it's booked in for the day/time i request, it's done there and then (apart from unforseen circumstances of course).

If i book hotel room, i expect it the night i want, not 4 days later..

If i.... well... i could go on and on and on.

pugaltitude

I dont work on bikes but do run a workshop and my business would not survive if I used time slots. I couldnt trust my customers if I give them a time to bring the machine in.
Once the machines in we give them a turn around time which could be upto 5 weeks if they bring it in at the wrong time of year.

Oh crap iv got my 6 week check due at halfords. Im not looking forward to that!

supersonic

weeksy59 wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Depends how busy you are - I have had 30 bikes waiting to be fixed before! Same day just doesn't work sometimes, though you try your best to get through them.

this is the fault of your boss. sounds like a rubbish way to run a shop in my opinion.

I have to agree. It's ridiculous to have yourself that snowed under and ridiculous for the customer to wait.

If i book my car in for a service, it's booked in for the day/time i request, it's done there and then (apart from unforseen circumstances of course).

If i book hotel room, i expect it the night i want, not 4 days later..

If i.... well... i could go on and on and on.

The alternative is to turn the customer away?

Andy B

When you book a car in for a service do you drive it down on any random day and demand they service it there and then?

No you don't.

You either pop in or give them a phone call and they book it in when they can next do the work, which can sometimes be a week or two. If you're lucky they can do the work on the same day depending on the parts needed for the job's availability

In the time between the service being booked and the work being carried out the mechanic has the time to get the parts needed for the job from the suppliers, who can supply the very same day

You do not always have this time in a bike workshop to source the parts needed like you can in a garage, as far as I know there are no cycle factors who will deliver the parts the very same day, mechanics aren't telepathic and if there is an unforeseen problem them you will have to wait for the parts

Hotel rooms, if the hotel is fully booked you go elsewhere if you need a room there & then, but if all the hotels are fully booked you're up shit creek.

Some people obviously have no idea how a cycle workshop works in real life :roll:

antfly

The shop I occasionally go to is always busy but they are very strict about times, they tell you when to bring the bike in and when to pick it up. If you are late they give you a bollocking. They never say "leave it wih us, it will be a few days".
BTW another shop I am currently using charges £10 to fit a mech.

weeksy59

supersonic wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Depends how busy you are - I have had 30 bikes waiting to be fixed before! Same day just doesn't work sometimes, though you try your best to get through them.

this is the fault of your boss. sounds like a rubbish way to run a shop in my opinion.

I have to agree. It's ridiculous to have yourself that snowed under and ridiculous for the customer to wait.

If i book my car in for a service, it's booked in for the day/time i request, it's done there and then (apart from unforseen circumstances of course).

If i book hotel room, i expect it the night i want, not 4 days later..

If i.... well... i could go on and on and on.

The alternative is to turn the customer away?

No, the alternative is to allocate reasonable timeslots, "Friday morning" to them based upon when they can get in.

weeksy59

Andy B wrote:

Some people obviously have no idea how a cycle workshop works in real life :roll:

And this is why we're having this discussion.

here's some :roll: for you too :P

Anonymous

Andy B wrote:

Some people obviously have no idea how a cycle workshop works in real life :roll:

some people dont know how proper workshops work.

blablablacksheep

if you book bike in for a certain day they should then have it finished on time, if they have other bookings or cant finish in time they should call you before you having to come to them.

fact is if they cant get job done on time they should let you know before you go upto them or if parts/exspences need payed for parts they HAVE to let you know before fitting them.

im sure this the law, as every time i had my bike done at evans they allways phone me and let me know if it going to be delayed.

Stuey01

Any shop that expects me to be without my bike for multiple days for a simple job is not getting my business, simple as that.
Tell me what day you are going to do it on, I'll bring it in, you do it, then I collect it. Simple.
And as an added bonus for the shop they don't have my bike sitting around cluttering up the place whilst they aren't working on it.

supersonic

But will you pay for workshop slots? 60 quid an hour?

No, the alternative is to allocate reasonable timeslots, "Friday morning" to them based upon when they can get in.

But I have said why this doesn't always work. In an ideal world sure. But with many shops survivng by the skin of their teeths, with a multi role mechanic and with some tight customers who will not pay what they deserve then...

Andy sums it up well.

Anonymous

he doesnt sum it up at all, he excuses rubbish practices by saying "tough, thats the way it is"

what everyone else is saying is why cant a shop offer time slots, even a particular day of the week would be fine for most

i wouldnt go to his shop, no matter what. it seems there are plenty of other who wouldnt put up with that either.

if a workshop is up front about the fact that they will get to it when they can and the customer agrees, then fair enough, everyone's eyes are wide open about what they are getting. it must work for thousands of people otherwise bike shops would be closing down left right and chelsea.

also, the old "if you didnt buy it from us why should we help you out" idea mentioned earlier in the thread makes the shop sound like it is occupied by idiots. just my opinion of course.

supersonic

Lets have a look at a car workshop? How many jobs would a mechanic do in a day? What is the average time of a job? How many mechanics? Do you have all parts on site? How much would the average cost be of parts, and labour? Would they call called away for assessments, or to build new bikes because they are selling too?

Most bike shops will give a day, but you still have to leave it with them for some time. Though of course some offer same day turnaround and booking in.

Anonymous

sonic, dont get me wrong, i understand why it is done the way it is, i get the impression that staff have more than the role of being a mechanic, they are salespersons, stock managers nd general lackeys for the shop owner.

i just thnk this is a webbo way to run a business.

mind you, i dont run a shop so what do i know.

supersonic

It's just hard for some. Until people are prepared to pay more for bike work, sadly small shops will have to operate this way to an extent. The bigger Evans, some Halfords and the new chains can however operate a little differently.