Just to balance things out with bike shop complaints. Had to give the bike a proper clean this afternoon due to a mudfest ride last weekend. When trying to pop the back wheel back on I noticed the cassette was loose, couldn't figure out why this was, locking thingy seemed tight but it just pulled off.
5pm and need the bike tomorrow so rushed up to LBS and they whisked it into the workshop and took it apart, put the spring thing back n place(something Hope hubs have) lubed it all up and did whatever was needed to lock it back on. 15 mins job done, no charge when asked price for work.if I had some cash on me I would have parted with a tenner for the service level alone.
As it is I am building up a new hard tail and will now try to buy from LBS rather than Internet for as many parts as I can. Also, as you can tell from my need to go to a bike shop for this minor problem I will need their help at some point in the coming weeks, it's good to know they have a great attitude nd a willingness to help useless numpties like me.
Thanks Hargroves Cycles in Fareham.
[list]Nice to hear that ....cycle store in camberley couldn't even fit a tyre on my old 29r crest .they gave it to me with rim strip sticking out the side and wondered why I refused to pay and helped myself to a new tube upon leaving.....
Sorry to hear you didn't get great service Dave, it doesn't take a genius to work out that top notch service means more custom 🙂
Shame more shops aren't like hargroves ...on a plus note found mountain trax in Wokingham have a great range of parts and seem to know what they are doing
PSA
LBS's of the country - listen up! This story tells you all you need to know about holding off the onslaught of interweb bargains and bringing customers in and keeping them loyal. A little bit of service (especially if it gets the customer out of a tight spot) goes a very very long way.
That is all.
It's the people that turn up expecting things for free that annoy me
But yes a little good will goes a long way
Wow, similar thing with my lbs in Derby. Wanted to replace a really old bb, managed to remove the non drive side however the drive side was crazily tightened so no chance of removing it. Took the frame to them, they removed the drive side of the bb instantly (used a massive adjustable spanner) and only charged me £3! Thank you Holts Cycles!
It's the people that turn up expecting things for free that annoy me
+1 we firmly believe in doing the little stuff (and even some big stuff!) FOC for loyal and/or genuine customers but hate being used as a fitting shop for CRC and Wiggle... We are also TERRIFIED by the lack of attention to detail by some of the national chains.
You know the conversation is going downhill when you get the "i just bought this bike over the internet and I can't get it to set up, can you sort it?" phonecall this is normally followed closely by a "HOW MUCH??????"
hmmm your internet bargain isn't so much of a bargain anymore is it? If you had bought it from a LBS it would have rolled out the door fettled to perfection for actually not much more than you paid inc shipping, plus our attitude is that if you are good enough to buy a bike from us you can bring it back for any minor feltling and tweaking for nowt anyytime in the first year.
[/RANT]
I'm quite happy to pay for a service if its done properly and I don't get some stuck up lad telling me its fine,and he has used his bike like that.unfortunately these shops do exist somehow.
jock-muttley
I agree in principle, however I bought a [s]filing cabinet[/s] Orange 5 from a well known Sheffield bike shop. Despite me admitting I had more cash than sense at the time, they were quite happy to put me on something ill fitting. Then after the first ride on said bike, both front & rear brake calipers were loose & gears were shifting dreadfully badly.
The response "Workshop's really busy, it'll be at least 10 days."
Thanks lads, I've just spent £2000 and you've pretty much told me to **** off.
(J E James about 5 years ago for the record)
As a result I now maintain my own bikes and buy everything online because I'm fed up of surly know it all adolescents looking aggrieved when I ask them to find something out for me.
That said I've found Stif and Boneshakers in Harrogate to be pretty helpful.
Must say I'm less worried about fitting stuff bought else where , just charge a labour charge and be happy
We do have a fixed charge fr building boxed bikes of £75
A touch high but bso take a long time to get working often