How to fire a customer in 10 minutes or less

[dirtvert]

1. this was pretty much settled by the time you decided to butt in.

2. welcome back to my "ignore" list.

3. shouldn't you be plotting your attack against hooville?

[RFXIbibisTom]

I see many comments on this site that draw intrigue, and curiosity, but the below quote is really true. IF YOU WANT TOP NOTCH LABOR FROM MECHANICS WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, THEN YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. Otherwise, you get shocks not properly installed, etc.

Labor that is top notch and warrantied costs $$, period!!

Originally Posted by Elisheva

A local bike shop installed my shock incorrectly with two pins through the eyelet instead of one solid, all the way through, from rocker to rocker. I rode unknowingly for 6 mos while it held.

Later, I was in The Path and one of their mechanics bounced my bike before he put it on the stand and said, "Holy S___t!, your shock and the bushings are loose. Yes, the shock was loose and the hardware was clanging. One of the pins was at an angle and had backed itself out. I asked the mechanic at the Path to tell the mechanic at the other LBS what he had found. And he did.

Needless to say, when I came back to the LBS that installed the shock incorrectly, they took my bike and RAN into the back. They told me I was never in any danger and they'd repair it right away, at no charge to me. When I asked the mechanic why my brand new shock was installed incorrectly and unsafely, he said, "It came that way from the factory. I just installed it with the hardware that came with it. I didn't know how to install it any other way."

Moral of the story: Stay out of beach cruiser type shops!

[UPSed]

Last summer I went to a major online retailer in Ventura. Their website showed 20% off everything in stock and an additional 20% between the hours of 12 and 2pm. Well they rang my stuff up and only gave me 20% off so I let them know what their website showed. The manager told me they didn't know about the additional 20% off so they weren't going to honor it. I then asked him if he knew their own advertisement on the dry erase board by the front door reflected what the website showed. Needless to say I saved a lot of money that day.

[gray]

Okay, I have something to add. I went to my favorite shop a couple months ago (took me about a month to go back after this incident) and asked for some drivetrain help. Gears were not shifting correctly and the right crank arm bolt was frequently coming loose. The people that normally help me were out, so decide to seek advice from a guy in the repairs section that I never met previously. Without taking the time to inspect my cranks and BB, he told me that I would HAVE to upgrade my crankset because I had already ridden on it when it was loose.

I asked how much it would be for a comprable crankset, and his responce was:
"Well you don't want something comprable because it will do the same thing".
So I asked how much it would cost for a set that "would not do the same thing" and he proceded to show me $250 and $300 cranksets.

I was, and am riding the same Truvativ Hussefelt now. I was so turned off by the HEAVY sales pitch that I took my bike home and did the drivetrain work myself. And, as it turned out, all I needed was a little locktite on the BB bolt.

Lazy.

I will never ask that mechanic for advice again.

[HAB]

Walk into shop to buy a shift cable. I'm going to school out here, and worked in a shop all through high school, so I happen to know what wholesale on one of those is. Get up to counter, and ask for the price. Hear it, am shocked, rummage through wallet to find a $5 off coupon that I have somewhere. Pull that out, and wait 15 minutes for them to find someone who knows how to ring the coupon through. Finally get the sale done up, and even with $5 off, I paid about 15% over wholesale. Obviously that's a very good price with the coupon, but god damn, that's a huge markup without it. Bye.

[gooseaholic]

Stephen Jackson took his movativ into a shop and they told him it was to hard to work on such a fine rig.

[SBSinister]

Accept a final CC payment by phone for a frame then immediately hang up on the customer. Brought to you by Blastenhoff Bikes in Pacifica, CA.

[All177tn]

I can't stand elitist shop employees. I mentioned to a clerk while paying, that the shorts I was buying were cool cause they were long, and that most shorts looked goofy on riders 6'2" and taller.

She paused, then said in the snottiest tone of voice, "I could care less what I'm wearing. All I care about, is the fit. When I'm out riding... I'm there to ride. I'm not there to look pretty".

Thanks for the lecture, but I'll be taking my money elsewhere now, thank you.

[All177tn]

Another one:

I was at a shop picking up a wheelset ordered online. The clerk brings out my wheelset and then asks me for I.D. to confirm that I really ordered them. He looks at the I.D. for a while, then looks at me and says "Thanks Fred!". Needless to say, that shop lost tons of business from me for a while.

A few months later, I talked to the same guy on the phone by chance, and he remembered me. He seemed cool the second time around. Anyhow, a word to you shop employees: Watch what you say, even if you're joking. Bikes are big business and you might lose a big customer.

[SoCalSnipe]

Take bike in for tune up then pick up bike to put in truck and the rear tires falls off. I take the bike back inside and they tell me the brake pads were bent because i jumped the bike off a curb 2 minutes after i picked it up and my rear deraullier is bent. They tell me to leave it and pick it up the next day so they can fix it. So next day I pick it up to find they switched my brakes and shifters around cause they are backwards. Bike still didn't shift right Never again Covina Valley Scwinn

[Diamondback]

WENT INTO THIS BIKE SHOP (Glendale Cyclery in glendale on glenoaks), SAW A USED CONSIGNMENT BIKE FOR $900. (06 kona stinky) HAD THE MONEY AND DECIDED TO BUY IT. THE OWNER TOOK MY NAME DOWN BECAUSE FOR SOME ODD REASON HAD TO CONTACT THE OWNER OF THE BIKE. IT WAS THURSDAY.

CALLED TUESDAY STILL NO ANSWER FROM the OWNER OF BIKE, a SHOP PERSON SAID.

Called Thursday (a week later) still no answer from the "seller" of the bike....told the owner I WANTED TO BUY THE BIKE AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT. "WELL" ,he TOLD me I should GET ONE ELSEWHERE. WHAT THE....????

IF YOURE GONNA HAVE A BIKE ON THE SALES FLOOR AND YOU want to SELL IT, THEN SELL THE DAMN THING!

He went on to tell me that the owner of the bike is his friend and that he's busy. Busy? Busy doing what? I jokingly said he must be a slug procrastinator. He didnt like my comment. Boo hoo you old fart!


THIS BIKE SHOP IS A JOKE! EVEN WITH $900 CASH IN HAND YOU CAN'T BUY A BIKE HERE. Small shops like these
are one of the reasons people buy off the internet.

[PassatBoy101]

Sponsored by a shop and I go in to get a BB taken out since I didnt have the tool and would take 20 seconds. They kid behind the counter says he will be right back since he was so busy reading his magazine and he goes in the back and talks with people or something. I wait 20 minutes rode a bike around the store that no one was attending and left, w/o the bike of coarse. GO back and tell the owner and the kid is never to be heard of again. I just went and bought the tool so I dont have to rely on other people

[paulbschmidt]

I hate walking into a "certain" bike shop and walking into the shop area with a question or request and watching three or four stoned out college kids stare at me without bothering to say "can i help you"

Instead I get 'uh.....did you like....need something?"

Nice

[RideNEtime]

How about this for customer service at a LBS I spend thousands a year at. Buy a tubeless rimstrip and take it home then when I was installing the strip it broke. I take it back to LBS with the reciept and insted of the shop manager giving me another one off the shelf ( where I saw 3 others) he asks me to fill out paper work so they can send it back for warranty. WTF!! I took the part and called the company myself. Thankfully Stan's No-tubes has great customer service. No hassles and sent me another and even told me how to repair the broken strip. All it took was a 5 miute phone call.

[oneredbike]

Took the wheel to be true and they gave it to the mechanic that has problems with one eye…if I want a wheel to be true, at least give it to the guy with 20/20…Wheel was not true at all but end up paying in advance anyway.

[thebassman]

Go to L-super fancy-BS needing to buy new seals for my old Marzocchi Bomber Z1. Employee says, "well, we usually don't sell the parts to customers. We don't recommend they rebuild forks themselves." Nevertheless, they "let" me order the seals through them. Weeks went by, with no call, and no answers when I'd call them. Finally, three weeks later, still no seals, so, "Oh, okay, so you don't want my money?" Apparently not... I bought the seals from Marzocchi, got 'em in three days, slapped 'em in. They've lasted six months and hundreds of miles with nary a weep. That L-super fancy-BS doesn't get any of my business any more. I do all my own maintenance, order parts online or from the L-not fancy, but at least attentive and nice, even if it is beach cruiser-centric-BS.

[DownHillPhil]

Would not let me pay tuesday for a hamburger today...

[trip5]

gave a wheel for a shop to true up right before school started in sept..... told me they would call me when it was done (a week cuz they were busy.. understandable i guess) didnt call me so i just went to school and would have my sister pick it up when they did call.... i got a call from them last month.

[FastRich]

Drop my Goose off at the LBS I bought it from for it's initial "free tune up" on Saturday and tell dude the only issue is that it's skipping under load on the bigger rear cogs and he says they'll have it done by Wed. if not before.
I stop in on Wed. after work...not done, we'll get it to you on Fri., go to pick it up....not done, really sorry we'll have it ready first thing in the morning.
Call Sat. morning in anticipation of riding that day, Uh, huh huh..hey Beavis, you done with this guys guys bike?
Finally on Sunday I go in at the agreed upon time and it's "good to go"....until I rode it and found out they didn't do jack to fix the shifting. So I did it myself which I should have done in the first place and promised myself to never take it back there.
They can take the free lifetime tune up and jam it all the way up.....

[RideNEtime]

Love this one! Part is faulty out of the box and LBS tells me I'll need to take the warranty issue up with the manufacturer of a part. Manufacture was cool and warrantied ASAP, but all would like is good customer service.