How not to run a bike shop...

[Paul Boyd]

David Lloyd said the following on 08/11/2007 09:59:

> I suppose it help if you see cleaning chains and truing wheels as being
> relaxing.

It is, isn't it?

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[[email protected]]

Doki wrote:
> Jesus. My LBS will fit anything you buy from them for free, and most
> repairs cost buttons. In the order of a tenner or so. I'd not take my
> bikes there if they wanted £40 just to look at the thing.

My suggestion was for an LBS that found its repair department swamped by
BSOs that it hadn't sold, and wanted to discourage it without imposing a
blanket ban on bikes bought elsewhere. Obviously if your LBS doesn't
have that problem it wouldn't need to do that - and if it does, then
unless you bought all your bikes there wouldn't you prefer to be able to
get repairs done at some price than not at all?

(Just to be clear, this is not what Condor do, it's just something I was
suggesting as a possibility for shops that don't want to bog themselves
down servicing unserviceable BSOs)


-dan

 

[[email protected]]

On Nov 8, 9:59 am, "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Doki" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...
>
>
>
>
>
> > "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> On 3 Nov, 11:01, Artemisia <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>> Noel wrote:
> >>> > and we were refused service!
> >>> > Their reason? We didn't buy the bikes at their shop!
>
> >>> The only bike shop that is local to me has this outrageous policy too.
> >>> They could earn handsomely on the maintenance on my now four bikes, but
> >>> I haven't been in there since 2004.
>
> >>> EFR
> >>> Ile de France
>
> >> Personally, the only times I've had any of my bikes in a LBS were for
> >> physical alteration - the addition of cantilever bosses, resprays,
> >> resetting of rear triangle for wider rear axels which requires the
> >> dropouts to be set parallel again. All these things are jobs that need
> >> specialist skills and tools which I couldn't justify buying for
> >> myself. Everything else, I've done for myself.
>
> > Whilst I'm capable of fixing most things myself, I'm getting to the point
> > now of thinking that I might as well pay a man to fix it and have some
> > free time...
>
> That is if you have any free time spare after you've taken your bike into
> the LBS by some other means of transport, come back, waited for the repair
> to be done, gone back to collect it and brought it back home. Phew!

or if your LBS is right next to the office you commute to daily and is
geared towards day-turnarounds of booked repairs. But sadly the
landlord called time on their lease

> I suppose it help if you see cleaning chains and truing wheels as being
> relaxing.

and don't have small kids

best wishes
james

 

[Pete Biggs]

David Lloyd wrote:
> "Doki" <[email protected]> wrote in message

>> Whilst I'm capable of fixing most things myself, I'm getting to the
>> point now of thinking that I might as well pay a man to fix it and
>> have some free time...
>
> That is if you have any free time spare after you've taken your bike
> into the LBS by some other means of transport, come back, waited for
> the repair to be done, gone back to collect it and brought it back
> home. Phew!

Exactly. It's the lazy man who does his own bike repairs!

~PB

 

[Roger Merriman]

David Lloyd <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Doki" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >> On 3 Nov, 11:01, Artemisia <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>> Noel wrote:
> >>> > and we were refused service!
> >>> > Their reason? We didn't buy the bikes at their shop!
> >>>
> >>> The only bike shop that is local to me has this outrageous policy too.
> >>> They could earn handsomely on the maintenance on my now four bikes, but
> >>> I haven't been in there since 2004.
> >>>
> >>> EFR
> >>> Ile de France
> >>
> >> Personally, the only times I've had any of my bikes in a LBS were for
> >> physical alteration - the addition of cantilever bosses, resprays,
> >> resetting of rear triangle for wider rear axels which requires the
> >> dropouts to be set parallel again. All these things are jobs that need
> >> specialist skills and tools which I couldn't justify buying for
> >> myself. Everything else, I've done for myself.
> >
> > Whilst I'm capable of fixing most things myself, I'm getting to the point
> > now of thinking that I might as well pay a man to fix it and have some
> > free time...
>
> That is if you have any free time spare after you've taken your bike into
> the LBS by some other means of transport, come back, waited for the repair
> to be done, gone back to collect it and brought it back home. Phew!
>
thats where having a nice friendly bike shop thats within easy walking
distance, ie it's somewhat over the top to ride there. is a real boon.
wandered in had a chat, bought a tire...

> I suppose it help if you see cleaning chains and truing wheels as being
> relaxing.

no really no. in fact not at all.
>
> David Lloyd (on holiday)

roger

--
www.rogermerriman.com

 

[Doki]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doki wrote:
>> Jesus. My LBS will fit anything you buy from them for free, and most
>> repairs cost buttons. In the order of a tenner or so. I'd not take my
>> bikes there if they wanted £40 just to look at the thing.
>
> My suggestion was for an LBS that found its repair department swamped by
> BSOs that it hadn't sold, and wanted to discourage it without imposing a
> blanket ban on bikes bought elsewhere. Obviously if your LBS doesn't have
> that problem it wouldn't need to do that - and if it does, then unless you
> bought all your bikes there wouldn't you prefer to be able to get repairs
> done at some price than not at all?
>
> (Just to be clear, this is not what Condor do, it's just something I was
> suggesting as a possibility for shops that don't want to bog themselves
> down servicing unserviceable BSOs)

Ah. My LBS is a one man band, and the owner is very honest. If you walk in
with a piece of complete rubbish, he'll tell you it's a piece of rubbish and
not worth fixing. If you walk in with your kids bike or commuter hack, he'll
keep it running with the minimum of fuss and expense. AFAICS his bread and
butter is frame building and the repairs are fairly incidental.

 

[Don Whybrow]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Nov 8, 9:59 am, "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I suppose it help if you see cleaning chains and truing wheels as being
>> relaxing.
>
> and don't have small kids

All the more reason. It helps get you out of the house and into the shed
for a bit of zen time.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

Turn on, log in, fight spam.

 

[congokid]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
writes

>My suggestion was for an LBS that found its repair department swamped
>by BSOs that it hadn't sold, and wanted to discourage it without
>imposing a blanket ban on bikes bought elsewhere. Obviously if your
>LBS doesn't have that problem it wouldn't need to do that - and if it
>does, then unless you bought all your bikes there wouldn't you prefer
>to be able to get repairs done at some price than not at all?

I can easily imagine Condor being swamped at some point by cyclists
bringing bikes in for repair - there are a lot of cyclists in the area.
Until last year I was one of them and had both my Brompton and my Evans
serviced about once a year each at Condor. Sometimes I'd have to wait a
couple of weeks for a slot to become available.

As the bikes were my main transport to work, I didn't baulk at the final
price, which could amount to anything between UKP50-120 depending on
what needed doing and replacing.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

 

[David Lloyd]

On 8 Nov, 11:32, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Nov 8, 9:59 am, "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Doki" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> >news:[email protected]...
>
> > > "David Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > >news:[email protected]...
> > >> On 3 Nov, 11:01, Artemisia <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >>> Noel wrote:
> > >>> > and we were refused service!
> > >>> > Their reason? We didn't buy the bikes at their shop!
>
> > >>> The only bike shop that is local to me has this outrageous policy too.
> > >>> They could earn handsomely on the maintenance on my now four bikes, but
> > >>> I haven't been in there since 2004.
>
> > >>> EFR
> > >>> Ile de France
>
> > >> Personally, the only times I've had any of my bikes in a LBS were for
> > >> physical alteration - the addition of cantilever bosses, resprays,
> > >> resetting of rear triangle for wider rear axels which requires the
> > >> dropouts to be set parallel again. All these things are jobs that need
> > >> specialist skills and tools which I couldn't justify buying for
> > >> myself. Everything else, I've done for myself.
>
> > > Whilst I'm capable of fixing most things myself, I'm getting to the point
> > > now of thinking that I might as well pay a man to fix it and have some
> > > free time...
>
> > That is if you have any free time spare after you've taken your bike into
> > the LBS by some other means of transport, come back, waited for the repair
> > to be done, gone back to collect it and brought it back home. Phew!
>
> or if your LBS is right next to the office you commute to daily and is
> geared towards day-turnarounds of booked repairs. But sadly the
> landlord called time on their lease
>
> > I suppose it help if you see cleaning chains and truing wheels as being
> > relaxing.
>
> and don't have small kids
>
> best wishes
> james

Oh, but then you spend your free time cleaning up the mucky hand
prints they have left around the house.

David Lloyd