just choked on my coffee
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My LBS would almost certainly have done the job for him there and then for less than that.
They realise they can't compete in some areas with online stores, so major where they have the advantage.
One of the local shops I went to after a pedal came loose (first ride, mechanics error - me) I asked if they could help out, they did and then didn't want anything for it, I did insist on at least putting a fiver in the tea school, better than a 3 mile walk home!Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
rickbst170 wrote:But 7 is more than a new tool itself.
Actually, it's exactly what you'd expect to pay for the tool in an LBS if you just walked in off the street.
Reckon the bike shop was absolutely right - they sell the tool, he asked to borrow it. He was taking the p155, so they returned the favour. Yeah, you can borrow it, you just gotta buy it first...0 -
I think it would have been fair enough to either A. let him borrow but inform him that they normally dont do it and won't be doing it again, or B. told him straight up we don't lend tools, but you can pay us to do it. Not charge him £7 to borrow it, which is effectively a rude way of doing option B from above.
My mechanic let me borrow his shock pump when my broke on the first time I met him - must be a pure coincidence I now get him to do all the stuff I can't do haha0 -
Tight b*stards should have lent him the tool. Were it me working there, I'd have just done it for him for nothing for the sake of a 5 second job.
In this day and age, I'd name and shame the shop online and embarrass them on their facebook or twitter, but thats just me.0 -
2 shops near me . East street in Walton on Thames and one in Hersham couldn't have been more helpful . Been given brake bleed spacers , fork oil and grease free of charge. I only went asking for advice. I use the Walton store for parts it's slightly more expensive than online but you get what you pay for. Consequentially I used them to fit my bottom bracket.
I do think a lot depends on the attitude you go in with..
Anyone else think £ 7.00 is a random number ?0 -
coulddobetter wrote:Anyone else think £ 7.00 is a random number ?
Absolutely. Sounds like a figure made up on the spot due to laziness0 -
rickbst170 wrote:1) was me stepdad's shop, not mine. He sold the shop and all stock/assets when I moved to the states. I got back to England and bought my own house in a different county to my stepdad (who has a cassette tool but is 200 miles away). I never needed my own tools as used the ones in the shop.
Who here would pay 7 quid to borrow a tool when they're available off the shelf for 4.99. Based on that, ridiculous.
I may have spent money in there, Maybe not. Irrelevant. Point is, 7 quid is ridiculous.
Sorry Rick but expecting free use of a 5 quid tool from a shop (i.e. commercial business you have no commercial relationship with) that is ridiculous.
Could they have helped? Sure. Shold you expect them to help and whinge here when they don't? No way. If they are reading and given your entitled attitude I am sure they are glad they did not.
As the son of an electrician I can only say how annoyed my father was with every "friend" he had expecting him to rewire their house for free. Ok, slight exaggeration but you get the picture. People have an expectation fo small businesses that they will do a whole lot of stuff for free. Many do, but that comes after the commercial part not before. A good customer gets good service. Someone who comes in off the street and first time asks for a free-bee should expect the response recieved.
Rant over...0 -
Last post on this. Seems the majority decision is I need to change my expectations. Fair enough.
Id expect to be told they don't lend out tools. Or they do, for a small fee. But offering tools at disproportionate prices seems unorthodox to me. If you don't do it, fine. No probs. If you do, fine. No probs. If you don't, but for some reason decide that today you will for more than a new tool, it's bound to seem odd to the consumer.
If I took my bike to a car garage and asked them to change the tyre, I'd expect them to say no. Not offer to do it but for £20 (I.e. more than tyre levers).
Theres nothing wrong with not being able to offer a service. In this case, it would have been better for them to not offer to loan a tool out and only offer a capital sale. At least then I'd know why the cost was high.
Maybe they're busy. Maybe they have so much work on, stopping for 15 mins to down tools and start a different job would have opportunity costs (not making money on a big repair because they have to stop to wait for their tool back). I don't know. But I'd rather be told sorry, can't help than yeah, sure how much is in your pocket.
Done now. I'll not expect to borrow tools again. Lesson learned.0 -
I agree on the valued customer thing, i use my LBS for anything that needs doing to the road bike, as they're more skinny wheel orientated, they know me well, me and the mechanic often have a chat and when i needed new cables the other day he fitted them free - but ive probably already spent about £60 in there since christmas.Framebuilder
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Think it does vary if you are a 'regular'
Last time I was near our LBS and had an issue I couldn't fix with the limited tools was carry when riding I stuck my head, asked for help, and they fixed it for free- was a 2 sec job (if you had the kit)
We have spent a fair bit there, and always go back as we know how good they are!
But different parts of the country do vary- and I know other shops in the area who will bitch and moan about sorting out their own mistakes made while servicing a bike (we don't use them anymore!!- this lost them over £1.5k as we were fixing up an old bike to get fit on prior to buying a new one!)
Thats why a good LBS is worth a million, and a bad one will shut!Wheeze..... Gasp..... Ruddy hills.......0 -
Was the kid aware the tool was cheaper to buy did the lbs inform the kid it was cheaper to buy0
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rickbst170 wrote:Last post on this. Seems the majority decision is I need to change my expectations. Fair enough.
I agree with you, its taking the piss if all that it needed was a quick tighten and certainly not in the spirit of cycling0 -
Well yes from a fellow cyclist, but business is business. It may have been short sighted, but it may not - they may have had a spate of local yoof taking their mechanic's time and decided rather than a flat 'no' price them out - who knows?0
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Just another view point on this - sometimes it matters how it was asked and not what was asked.
Perhaps if there wasn't an expectation to have it done for free he may have actually had it done for nothing.0 -
But the point is he wasnt expecting it done for him at all. He was asking to borrow the tool to do it himself.0
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I'd have charged five quid. We used to get people coming in all the time expecting stuff for free. Blow tyres up, fit this/that, adjust brake. It's not fair on the staff or shop, they have money to make, and knowing many mechanics, are worked of their @rses on a very low wage.0
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supersonic wrote:I'd have charged five quid. We used to get people coming in all the time expecting stuff for free. Blow tyres up.
local LBS at the uni has a track pump chained up outside the shop for anyone to use.
pretty shocking to complain about blowing someone tyres up for free.0 -
Why? They could buy a pump and do it themselves. Bloody invalids.POAH wrote:supersonic wrote:I'd have charged five quid. We used to get people coming in all the time expecting stuff for free. Blow tyres up.
local LBS at the uni has a track pump chained up outside the shop for anyone to use.
pretty shocking to complain about blowing someone tyres up for free.I don't do smileys.
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Parktools0 -
The number of times I've been into random car garages with dodgy things happening to my car and they've done a 5-10 min fix and not charged me makes me thing that is a bit unreasonable.
However, you don't know if he spoke to the shop owner or a paid by the hour assistant with bad attitude.0 -
If they do it FOC, cool. If they don't, no right to complain at all.0
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cooldad wrote:
Why? They could buy a pump and do it themselves. Bloody invalids.POAH wrote:supersonic wrote:I'd have charged five quid. We used to get people coming in all the time expecting stuff for free. Blow tyres up.
local LBS at the uni has a track pump chained up outside the shop for anyone to use.
pretty shocking to complain about blowing someone tyres up for free.
Bloody students more like, they always want something for nothing
"Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity"
seanoconn0 -
Car mechanics make a lot more money from regular paying customers though. Inflating the tyres on a car is pence, so they'll do it for free, knowing the car probably needs a new exhaust part costing hundreds. For the bike shop, inflating the bike tyre is pence, but if thebike needs a new chainring, the owner will buy the parts from CRC and do it themselves.Ferrals wrote:The number of times I've been into random car garages with dodgy things happening to my car and they've done a 5-10 min fix and not charged me makes me thing that is a bit unreasonable.
However, you don't know if he spoke to the shop owner or a paid by the hour assistant with bad attitude.It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.
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Blender Cube AMS Pro0 -
thekickingmule wrote:
Car mechanics make a lot more money from regular paying customers though. Inflating the tyres on a car is pence, so they'll do it for free, knowing the car probably needs a new exhaust part costing hundreds. For the bike shop, inflating the bike tyre is pence, but if thebike needs a new chainring, the owner will buy the parts from CRC and do it themselves.Ferrals wrote:The number of times I've been into random car garages with dodgy things happening to my car and they've done a 5-10 min fix and not charged me makes me thing that is a bit unreasonable.
However, you don't know if he spoke to the shop owner or a paid by the hour assistant with bad attitude.
So the best way to handle the situation is to believe everyone is out to screw you over?0 -
Andy wrote:thekickingmule wrote:
Car mechanics make a lot more money from regular paying customers though. Inflating the tyres on a car is pence, so they'll do it for free, knowing the car probably needs a new exhaust part costing hundreds. For the bike shop, inflating the bike tyre is pence, but if thebike needs a new chainring, the owner will buy the parts from CRC and do it themselves.Ferrals wrote:The number of times I've been into random car garages with dodgy things happening to my car and they've done a 5-10 min fix and not charged me makes me thing that is a bit unreasonable.
However, you don't know if he spoke to the shop owner or a paid by the hour assistant with bad attitude.
So the best way to handle the situation is to believe everyone is out to screw you over?
Sad fact is, people will take, take, take. I used to have a pretty easy going attitude to doing stuff for free, assuming that if I was good to people it would generate future business on the back of goodwill. Unfortunately people are very quick to take but rarely reciprocate. That is a lesson that took me a long time to learn and I learnt it the hard way. My efforts to generate work on the back of goodwill were so fruitless that, after years of generosity, I had to say, that's it, from today no more free work. It saddened me to do it but it had to be done. LBS was right.All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=129946070 -
Pretty much. Though from the bike shops point of view, it's the customer that's trying to screw them over, expecting a service for freeAndy wrote:thekickingmule wrote:
Car mechanics make a lot more money from regular paying customers though. Inflating the tyres on a car is pence, so they'll do it for free, knowing the car probably needs a new exhaust part costing hundreds. For the bike shop, inflating the bike tyre is pence, but if thebike needs a new chainring, the owner will buy the parts from CRC and do it themselves.Ferrals wrote:The number of times I've been into random car garages with dodgy things happening to my car and they've done a 5-10 min fix and not charged me makes me thing that is a bit unreasonable.
However, you don't know if he spoke to the shop owner or a paid by the hour assistant with bad attitude.
So the best way to handle the situation is to believe everyone is out to screw you over? It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.
Join us on UK-MTB we won't bite, but bring cake!
Blender Cube AMS Pro0 -
There is another way... ask them to buy the tool. Show them how it works. Will cost same.0
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rickbst170 wrote:1) was me stepdad's shop, not mine. He sold the shop and all stock/assets when I moved to the states. I got back to England and bought my own house in a different county to my stepdad (who has a cassette tool but is 200 miles away). I never needed my own tools as used the ones in the shop.
Who here would pay 7 quid to borrow a tool when they're available off the shelf for 4.99. Based on that, ridiculous.
I may have spent money in there, Maybe not. Irrelevant. Point is, 7 quid is ridiculous.
Did he pay the £7? Ot did he buy the one off the shelf for £4.99?0
