its a job – pays above the minimum wage and better than working in a sweat shop / collecting bins, cleaning toilets etc etc. People who complain on here will probably complain about CRC prices!
if you wanted better wages you should have tried harder at school!
Part of the problem is the mark-up on bike stuff isn't exactly great, especially when people spend half their life on web forums bitching about prices and looking for the best bargains. Couple this with the tendency for employers to mildly exploit the fact that people want to work in an industry that they like, means that wages are low. I earned much more money when I worked in an office, got to sit around drinking coffee, surfing the 'net all day while listening to fat people talking about Big Brother. Awesome! Made me happy to be alive!
As for the 'should have worked harder comment', well my interest / job enabled me to travel to Canada, explore a small part of a huge country, ride on the North Shore every week, and meet my awesome wife….and I have a degree. I wouldn't want to be a shop mechanic forever, but it's a pretty useful means to an end. I'm just happy that I was born with no interest in numbers, or I could have ended up an accountant in **** Woking, wherever Woking is….dunno but it sounds shit.