Well known chain informed my son that his front mech couldn’t just be checked/repaired, it had to be booked in for a service. Cue bill for over £100. 😯

Not impressed and said chain has lost a customer.

Do you do work for free?

It’s understandable why a chain would have that as a policy.

It didn’t need a service, bike only a few months old. He wasn’t expecting charity!

If my car brake light didn’t work would I need to book my car in for a service just to get the light fixed?

Edit: zilog – why?

Do you do work for free?

Did she ask them to?

Do you ever make a useful comment?

b r – Member

Do you do work for free?

If you want a small thing done, I wouldn’t insist you get a big thing done. (though I might advise it). Nobody’s being asked to work for free here

Took me a little while to comprehend the OP.

It’s not that the bike needed to be booked in, it’s that they insisted on giving the whole bike a service. Or am I wrong, again?

@cinnamon_girl:
Because otherwise you could have a bike going out which was a deathtrap for another reason. You can imagine the local headline “I took my bike into so-and-so and the next day the brakes fell off going down a steep hill!”. Obviously this chain does not want to take the risk.

Suggest DC Cycles if in Southampton.

I reckon a bike shop should have staff qualified to know whether the brakes were going to fall off a bike or not, without going to the expense of a full service

So by all means refuse to work on BSO sheds that are falling apart. Thats fair enough. But forcing a £100 full service for the sake of adjusting a front mech? doesn’t seem remotely reasonable to me.

I certainly wouldn’t be going back there. Sounds like CG won’t be either

Because otherwise you could have a bike going out which was a deathtrap for another reason. You can imagine the local headline “I took my bike into so-and-so and the next day the brakes fell off going down a steep hill!”. Obviously this chain does not want to take the risk.

Utter BS.

Never heard a LBS come out with anything like that.

As noted , except by the trolls, its not a great business model to refuse to do the work the customer wants andunless they pay for something they dont want

Is a service really that much 😯

If they are busy enough to implement a minimum workshop charge – which is what this appears to be to me, dressed up as a service, then good luck to them.

Other bike shops / mechanics have alternative business models and are available.

It’s these £100 incentives that should inspire people to buy a few tools and learn to tinker..

its not a great business model to refuse to do the work the customer wants andunless they pay for something they dont want

It’s a brilliant model though if you get every customer to pay £100+ rather than say £20

Is a service really that much

tbh last time I took my bike in for a “service” was about 6 years ago and they charged me £60 so maybe. I had no real clue what they had done and if it was necessary so that spurred me on to learn/do everything myself!

The liability thing is often discussed, and especially with kids’ bikes. I know people on here buy their kids decent bikes and look after them, but lots of parents don’t – when I did normal repairs, the number of variations on “I don’t want to spend much, it’s only for the boy” was incredible. People happy for their kids to ride about on bikers without working brakes, etc.

So the problem from the shop’s POV is a child brings a bike in and asks for one little thing to be done – does the shop now have a duty of care towards that child, to make sure the rest of the bike is safe? If so, who pays for that extra safety check?

+1 on the “how much??”

Considering it’s being done by somebody who’s probably barely above minimum wage that’s a nice markup. And I thought there was no money in the bike trade.

They charged you £100 for “booking” it in?

As noted , except by the trolls, its not a great business model to refuse to do the work the customer wants andunless they pay for something they dont want

If they’re busy enough to be wall to wall with servicing then why waste time doing little things instead – it’s basically a way of saying “we don’t want the job”. He’s chosen to go elsewhere. Done.

Utter BS.

Never heard a LBS come out with anything like that.

The liability thing is often discussed

*blows raspberry at chakaping*

He’s chosen to go elsewhere. Done.

I interpreted the OP as the service had been done and the £100 had been paid tbh. (With the proviso that they aren’t going back!)

CG, have they actually said it’ll be £100 or are you just assuming they’ll rip you off?

What SHOULD happen is the bike should be looked over and quoted when it comes in. If it’s a decent, safe bike, then yeah I’d do one small job. I might make some suggestions as to other stuff that needed doing at the time, because that’s my job! If I find something wrong, I’ll call you before I spend any more money.
But if you came to me in a busy period, then yeah, you might have to leave it with me for a few days. There’s a queue you know….!
As for ‘booking in’ well, every single bike needs to be booked in doesn’t it? That’s just being professional. I’ve then got it on the computer with the relevant info typed down so I know what to do when I get to it.

That’s the way it should work…

EDIT
I will refuse to work on a bike when the owner won’t pay to make it safe. I won’t fix a puncture, for instance, when a bike has no working brakes, unless I fix the brakes too. That’s just common sense and I’d be ripping you off taking the picture repair money rather than turning you away.

As above, if they’re busy enough to need to book work in to manage the workload, good on ’em!

£100 bill? Sounds very steep, and makes me wonder if we’re getting the full story.

The liability thing is often discussed

*blows raspberry at chakaping*

Often discussed by people with too much time on their hands and overactive imaginations.

Thanks for the er, mixed, responses. He didn’t expect any repairs to be carried out for nothing, he explained that the road bike wasn’t shifting and thought it was the front mech. Whilst he’s not been riding that long he didn’t expect a newish bike to need a service.

Brake pads (front I think) were replaced, as was a chain and some adjustment to the front mech. £130.

Of course if he didn’t live in London he would use my lbs who don’t insist on servicing a bike just to sort out a minor repair.

Fully appreciate that bike needs to be safe and in a roadworthy condition, how many miles would a set of brake pads last for?

So the shop wont do any repairs outwith a full service? Seems a daft policy.

Why didn’t you/your son just walk when told this, rather than incurring the cost?

edit…£130 quid! im in the wrong business! What chain are we talking about btw?

How old is he, might be time to book him on a bike maintenance course. Abigale tells me there is no greater satisfaction than fettling your own bike. She also tells me I have to sort out fitting my warranty replacement forks on Sunday as its below minimum working temperature in the garage for her to do them.

Road pads commuting in London in the rain? A month!

Of course if he didn’t live in London he would use my lbs

I work in a West London LBS……
Just saying, like…… 🙂

t’s a brilliant model though if you get every customer to pay £100+ rather than say £20

Is this really what you think will happen?

@ njee why not just be honest?

£100 bill? Sounds very steep, and makes me wonder if we’re getting the full story.

Flashy – If its the same chain I’m thinking of, a mate went in to see about getting a new drive chain fitted on his commuter hardtail

3 Deore rings, cassette and chain, fitted? That’ll be £260 please sir. 😯

He nearly had a coronary. I think he’d only paid about £400 for the bike (Boardman hardtail)Needless to say, we ordered the parts off CRC for far less than £100, and fitted them in half an hour, while having a beer.

If you consider what a big chain are going to be paying for parts, and how long it’d take a proper mechanic to fit them, thats one hell of a mark up!

Pete – I did think of you cos I know fine well you’re honest and trustworthy! Will take a look at a train map. 🙂 Other thing is that he needed somewhere he could take it to over a weekend.

He knows that he needs to learn how to fix things, not easy when he takes after me for mechanical incompetence! Perhaps he could attend a maintenance course somewhere? He’s an adult btw.

Indeed, binners. Fixing bikes costs time or money. If you haven’t got the time, give someone else your money!

The bigger worry for me would be lack of communication. In the some instances, the shop(s) should have quoted before carrying out the work.

Chain’s name begins with the 5th letter of the alphabet.

Brake pads (front I think) were replaced, as was a chain and some adjustment to the front mech. £130.

Hang on. Did he just give it to them and say “sort it out” or did he say (as anyone who has had anything serviced should know) “Sort the front mech, if it’s anything else, call me”. That said, it still seems a bit of a piss take price as I guess the parts would cost 30-40 quid at most.

Evans does have a big list of their servicing costs on site and on their website. Did he get the gold service? If so, for a small tweak they saw him coming

Caveat emptor, innit?

Shouldn’t have knocked on Evan’s door.

He needs a front mech on a bike in London? 😉

Depends what was done and what needed done.
Not uncommon to just need seized front mech “adjusted” as it’s not shifting right.
Actually requires new mech, chain, chainrings, cassette and cables and outers.

Add that up + labour (internal fidly) cables and the service could be a bargain.

Obviously I’m not saying this is the case in this example but I bet there is more to it than made out. No offence meant to the op but perhaps you are only hearing half of one side of the story?

Clearly the shop should have called the customer to advise of the extra costs involved.

cinnamon_girl – Member
….Will take a look at a train map.

you can see the shop from the platform of Isleworth BR station or Hounslow East is nearest tube, about 1-2 miles ish

Have a look at the breakdown to see what was actually done, if its a gear service plus a brake service plus new chain and pads then that wouldn’t come to much less than a £100. Should have been called before extra work was done but I do always iike to hear both sides of a story before placing blame.

He needs a front mech on a bike in London?

😀

Wearing his mother’s sister’s jeans as well, no doubt!