For those bike shop workers/owners who’ve said that they don’t have the time etc. to call customers, here’s a tip …..

Don’t tell customers you’ll do that then, if you set an expectation that you’ll call a punter, quite often they’ll expect the call and may get a bit frustrated when it doesn’t come.
Why not just tell them up front that you can’t do it?

That was a depressing read. LBS staff and managers not realising they are part of the service industry I fear. There’s a big old tide of money sloshing the other way towards online retail and getting the communication bit of “personal service” right is a key USP for the lbs you ignore at your peril. Communication with the customer (by whichever method is most efficient- text or email I’d have though would take you less time) needs to be costed into the job. You would bother to bolt everything back together after finishing the job and not leave the last nut off because you had no time and you should be viewing the communication in the same manner- part of the job you and being paid to perform.

Sadly you are not owed a living and in these modern times this is a part of your business you will be disproportionally judged by for a large section of your potential client base.

One of my favourites:-
“Is my wheel done?”
“yes, it’s been done for a week now.”
“Why didn’t you call me? You said you’d call when it was finished.”
“I did call you.”
“No you didn’t!”
“I did, I left a message on your voicemail.”
“Oh, well I never bother listening to those things, do I?”
Pure genius!
Also liking the idea of writing things down, but if they haven’t got time to call, will they have time to write things down? When you have three phones ringing, customers stood at the counter,and others looking at bikes and bits, waiting for attention, things get put off. The customer may come first, but you may not be the first customer. 🙁

I work in manufacturing, producing plastic bottles to one customer. Our factory is next door to our customers. We have 2 minutes of response time 24/7. When they want bottles we make them

That sounds like a dream. My customers are anywhere from 100 yards to thousands of miles away, things get to them by bicycle, car, van, truck, train, aircraft or ship using multiple couriers, and the things I sell come from dozens of suppliers in the UK, Europe, US and Australia, who each also have their own tortuous supply chain.

Bike shops could always get better at service – I certainly could I think. I try different ways of managing my time, but fundamentally if the whole day is taken up with repairing and building things while talking to customers at the same time, I’m not sure when I’d have the time to call back. Which is why I much prefer email, and get people to email me as much as possible – then I can answer in the evening, whenever.

I normally never expect a call to say it’s done.

When I drop something off we work out a timescale, if it’s going to be late then I get a call (from at least 3 shops)

If its things coming in I get calls, texts or e-mails.

Garages never call back, most other shops don’t either.

My LBS, I’ll name and shame here, Scott’s Cycles on Stratford Road in Birmingham, always call me back. They once even called at 8pm on Fri to say that they had eventually figured out what was wrong with a build I had completed for my son and fixed it (strange sized part). Would I like the bike for Saturday? Think I had just taken it in on the Friday. I have used them for 4 years and they are always tip top.

Some cracking attitudes from ‘bike shop people’ here and there are doubtless some twatty customers but that’s the nature of being in business or retail. 🙄

As some appear to spend a great deal of time online, would it really be so hard to drop a customer a quick email or text instead of phoning. Then there is no dispute.

Edit: ……..and just to emphasise why LBS’s need to offer a bit more, my screen has the CRC banner running at the bottom of this thread

Woody, I much prefer to email or text – that way I can do it at midnight, and there’s also a record.

ben – that sounds way past ‘going home time’ 😉

I’ve posted about this before but – and this is the abridged version – I go to the bike shop (time, diesel, other costs) I order a part. I accept the higher price because I believe in supporting high street businesses plus I might see something nice to impulse buy. In many (but not all) bike shops the staff are condescending surly etc. I am told a date for collection. I return on that date (more time, diesel etc). The part is not there. Various excuses. Another date given. Repeat above. This, in various permutations has happened many many times over 29 years.
Compare and contrast with online retailers. I sit at my desk with a cup of tea. I do not get sneered at or treated like an idiot. I see instantly whether the thing is in stock or not. I can learn about whatever it is from a zillion sources, none of whom are rude or impatient. I order and pay. The part turns up the next day or at most a few days after. It’s cheaper and quicker.
Shame, cos I like the idea of bike shops but they really need to sort their customer service out. If this is my feeling – and I am very pro real high street shops – imagine how many customers you are losing who shop solely on price?

Glad I’m mechanically capable enough to not have to rely on a bike shop.
I’m with bike shop staff on this though, as they live in the real world where folk have real jobs to do, not just sit & ‘project manage” all day.

Customers are the very core of any business, the sole reason why a business works.

“real world … real jobs” reality check – customers ARE the real world.

I spend a lot of money on bikes and all things cycling. My purchasing is not entirely price-driven so if I receive bad service face to face I will simply shop online.

I worked in a shop for a couple of years, mid-90s. Used to keep a book by the phone and jot down the question / details, cross it off when I got back to them and generally kept on top of it. I’m sure it was easier to track pre-internet, now I guess it’s q’s on email, website, Fb, phone etc.

I was in retailing for 14 years, typical footfall 200 paying customers per day. We had an advanced system of paper notes for special orders etc, with all communications noted on it. The notes were gone through twice a day without fail.

The whole culture of the business was that you hadn’t finished the job until the money was in the till. Not too hard to understand really?

Must be market for a clever bit of software. Last time i had a job done by the LBS they had a bit of software to log the job. Surely that software could send a text when the job is done. Surely the same could be done for orders…

But broadly I’m on the side of the bike shops. My local garage gives great value but the transaction prices are way higher.

Its true that buying a new bike bit online is cheaper online. But I bet contacting the supplier and ordering your item, putting it into stock and then contacting you all eat into the bike shops profits…

Must be market for a clever bit of software. Last time i had a job done by the LBS they had a bit of software to log the job. Surely that software could send a text when the job is done. Surely the same could be done for orders…

This is made by a few people. We use a mixture of the Citrus Lime stuff and DS Tracker from the U.S. Works pretty well. Does email and SMS etc.

usually the case with software

if you’ve thought of it some one else has made it…

bencooper – Member
I work in manufacturing, producing plastic bottles to one customer. Our factory is next door to our customers. We have 2 minutes of response time 24/7. When they want bottles we make them

That sounds like a dream.

Yes, but how would you feel if you had just phoned your customer to say there was a problem and it will take you a while to fix it. Next thing your costumer is looking over your shoulder, and I mean literally, watching you fix the problem? How about weekly audits to check you are doing what you say you do? Imagine your customers inspecting your workshop and putting improvement orders on you? No improvement by fixed deadlines and you will have to offer discounts?

what happened to the LBS in Bovey Tracey..? 🙁

Being new to the area, I dropped in a few times for a chat and a cuppa, and then after a small windfall last year, I put my bike in for a couple of upgrades and a thorough service/rebuild, a bit of a pamper..

Will was ace, phoned each time their was a snag in the build that might require a rethink, or if there was likely to be a delay (like having to try to scrape off the years of baked on cheap grease from the drivetrain.. options were discussed at length before work continued..

When I picked the bike up it was like new, and all setting up was done gratis, with the promise of some more free adjusting after a settling in period..

When I went back though the shop was gone.. 😯

I hav’nt got time to read all this….can I phone you all back to find out what you said?

TheBikeChain get me on Twitter, ‘cuz they’re down innit.

I don’t trust anyone who promises to phone back.

No one does.

We had a system too.

The instant kit came in, a customer got phoned.

A workshop ticket wouldn’t go back on the board until the job was done, which meant calling them to say “your bike is done”.

It’s not often a customer doesn’t get called back. It tends to be things like “does this exist, can you find one for me?”. Finding obscure parts takes a long time if they’re unusual and sometimes that jobs gets put off for customers that need their bike fixed now.

To be honest, 90% of you aren’t your average bike shop customers. Most of you are all very demanding people that want weird shit for your 29er with bendy handlebars and will just order it off the internet anyway. Most bike shop customers aren’t like that and they will be the ones that we call back religiously. Usually a customer who is a CRC type will say that they have seen something online and once you know you’re up against that you’ll know that there’s almost nothing you can do that will win them over from buying it at cost from the internet.