Every now and then, I see people suggesting one should proffer a pack of biscuits to get some basic work done by their LBS. Yet, I am fairly sure, if I tried this tactic in my local bike shop they would look at me like I was some kind of nutbag offering them jaffa cakes instead of cash.

Am I alone in not having witnessed/partaking in this biscuit based economy? Is it a northern thing, perhaps? …or is it just a rumour started by McVitie’s, and we are being manipulated by the Biscuit Lobby?

Latte and doughnuts works as well .Did a puncture repair and wheel true for a skint single mum years ago and got baked a cake in a shop I worked at

I am a northerner and do pay for 90% of the work done on my bike in biscuits.

But that’s because I used to work in the shop. Everyone else has to hand over cash money to pay the wages of the people doing the job for you. Small things (knocking off crown races etc.) you can sometimes blag for biscuits, or if you’re a very regular customer asking for a 5 minute tweak, but usually, no, biscuits ? money. However, they will ensure permanent good treatment (even if you only do it once) and things like squeezing a job in at the last minute if you NEED something fixed by the weekend when it has just blown up on Thursday afternoon and the workshop’s full.

Merlin mechanics knocked in a SFN for me for some doughnuts which is perfectly OT and true.

We paid in doughnuts to get a knackered seatpin removed half way through an Audax at Ralph Colemans in Taunton

Hmm. So doughnuts > biscuits.

That would explain this:

I’ve never paid in biscuits but I did once tip in beer.

Its ok their employers pay the rent in biscuits too.

Never tried it, seems to only be something people on the Internet do/talk about. But I dont really use my lbs enough to get to a stage where biscuit currency would be deemed appropriate.

If my pay came in biscuits I would tell my employer to piss off and pay me properly.

Not biscuits but when my lbs squeezed me in for some critical work on short notice I went and brought them a 6-pack of beer as thanks while they were doing the work. Since then they have a) greeted me by name and b) done other quick jobs ( like replacing a shock bushing) for free and on the spot.

Paid for minor car repairs in biscuits, but must put £100s through the local garage the rest of the year so it keeps me sweet. I don’t spend enough in any lbs to have been offered this option for bike repairs but I imagine it exists for good customers. Perhaps i should ask wiggle/ merlin/crc/eBay.

Perhaps i should ask wiggle/ merlin/crc/eBay.

Never thought of that. I wonder if I posted some HobNobs to WIggle, they would send me back some new pedals?

I’ve used fruit to jump the queue a bit in one LBS…still paid proper money for the work to be done but I needed a wheel by the weekend and they did it next day (tho I did ask em first)

The fruit was more a ‘thanks lads’ than a ‘here’s your payment’.

we generally just pay in hugs round here

Mine don’t but I did give them a 6 pack as well as cash when they fixed something last minute for me. I’ve been very well treated by them since that day!

Is it a northern thing, perhaps? …or is it just a rumour started by McVitie’s, and we are being manipulated by the Biscuit Lobby?

try not paying a Yorkshireman in cash 😉

as for the Jocks everyone knows they are Yorkshiremen stripped of their generosity 😉

I get excellent advice, decent prices, very good service, a nice environment and kit that makes my hobby / sport / preferred means of transport all the more pleasant. The least I can do is thank them from time to time – the occasional pack of hobnobs seems to go down quite well.

If you exspect to pay nothing / food / beer etc then you can fro
But if I choose not to charge then its nice to get tips other than money.

We do have a fair few locals that turn up with cake etc just to stop and have a coffe and chat
Often will do odd little jobs for them for free

Just don’t exspect anything for free that’s just plain rude

yunki – Member

we generally just pay in hugs hand relief round here
😯

Before it was taken over walking into my LBS with fish and chips for the guys lunch was a very effective workshop queue jumping aid. Have paid for several small jobs/small parts in beer and Haribo before too.

At the moment, i reckon you’re more likely to be able to order stuff online from CRC using biscuits as payment instead of actual money…………. 😉

I popped in the other week with a couple of those M&S tubs the other week, more of a thank you for sorting out a problem than actually doing a piece of work. Its good to be nice to people 🙂

No but if they’ve done some really good work that get cakes and beer

Biscuits as bribery, not payment, I reckon.

In my line of work we come across a few second hand machinery dealers, one (who was a bit of a “rogue”, in fact, he was a stingy, conniving tw@ who’d of sold his mum to get a deal) once asked my uncle to clean up a machine for him that he was selling and said “I’ll sort you out” (This was taken as he would be paying him for the work). My uncle spent half a day vacuuming the sawdust out and giving it a good spit and polish. The dealer gave him a £1 pork pie from the local butchers.
My uncle gave him it back, at high velocity, in the back of the head.

Biscuits as bribery, not payment, I reckon.

I think not!

🙂

My LBS get cake as a way of saying thank you for being awesome. Such as when I picked up my new bike on Saturday! 8)

My uncle gave him it back, at high velocity, in the back of the head.

Vegetarians have the worst tempers.

Never paid in biscuits and it wasn’t local to me, but when I was on a multi-day trip and my brake started leaking fluid, I called ahead to Bike Scene in Guisborough who said they would fit me into their workshop queue so that I didn’t have to stall my trip.

It only seemed right to:

Wash all the crap off my bike before arrival
Buy them some chocolates
Pay whatever they asked (which was very reasonable)

The mechanic who did the work was really friendly, quick, and thorough. Couldn’t ask for more, so I was glad I went armed with something extra for them.

usually cake and red wine 🙂

Did an on the spot repair for a young lady on Saturday,had no money on her and the gear cable snapped whilst riding.
Repaired the cable,2 hrs later she popped back in and brought fresh chocolate cookies and the money for the cable..

There are still some good people out there.

i give biscuits/cake/beer to the boys/girls in my lbs, i wouldnt dream of not paying them though for work though. its much more a thank you for doing a 2min fettle or lending me a tool for secs such as a star nut putting in thingy or something.
my riding mates and i spend in there regularly though and some of the boys buy high end bikes on h/p ….so they will often give me spoke for free and help fit it late on a friday afternoon or something (they understand, they would want to ride on sat morning too.) and for this they get thanked, in biccys, coffee, beer or whatever is good at the time

Payment, no, but 1 pack of chocolate hobnobs has been used in exchange for an unwanted bike box.

some of the locals get beer at a special rate for working for the brewery, they may exchange it for bike bits…
6 pack of beers, cake etc. keep the wheels moving. If they also like you then it can go a long way towards just getting the 2min jobs done or the extra mile when your paying or being remembered when the super specials are available.

Perhaps i should ask wiggle/ merlin/crc/eBay.

For the online retailers surely you’d have to pay in cookies. IGMC.

Beer, cakes, coffee, biscuits are tips for work not a valid payment method (although this depends on who you are up here) 😉

The shop next to mine used to be an off-license – it wasn’t unusual for people to nip next door while I was fixing their bike and present me with a bonus.

Now it’s a foot clinic 🙁

I’m quite often nice to people, fixing stuff and letting them pay later, lending tools, stuff like that, and people are often nice in return. It’s a side thing to the main financial transactions, though, as my landlord is a lot less nice.

though, as my landlord is a lot less nice.

Sounds like he just needs a nice foot massage. If only there was somewhere nearby…

The lovely Luke of here (wwaswas) gave me mini boutique jaffa cakes on saturday. I didn’t even lift a spanner for him :O)

We have a tips pot in Shoreham which gets re-invested into Almond Croissants from the French place down the road. I’m not sure whether it’s the ladies accent or the quality of the pastries.

Went into Scotty Browns (posh ChCh bike shop) for the second time today, so I’m obviously not a regular or anything. Asked for a disk brake mount that they didn’t have in stock. They handed me another one that they thought might work and said ‘If it works, come back tomorrow with a packet of biscuits’ and wouldn’t accept any money for it. True story.

I paid with brake fluid the other day.

It all depends on how Upper middle class you LBS is, I started off trying to pay in posh biscuits from Waitrose, this was rejected outright, a bit of negotiation ensued and I ended up paying in Foie gras, Truffles and Quails eggs…

If I want to skip the queue for the workshop it will apparently cost extra in the form of caviar the some Prosciutto …

Turns out money is actually the cheaper way to pay…