[jonKranked]

I've got 2:

-One time a guy came in with a bike asking to fix it up for his son. "I found this bike in my neighbors garbage and I want to fix it up for my son." I s*** you not he actually said this. I amost asked him if he wanted to give his son his first trip to the hospital too. We were nice and looked it over and told him it would be about $200 between labor and parts. He asked to speak with our manager so I kindly obliged. My boss told him "This bike didn't cost as much as the repairs are going to be. Don't you think there was a reason the bike was in the garbage?" The guy promptly left.

-Someone came in yelling at us that we had brought his bike in for repairs and that we had stolen the reflectors off his wheels. I told him that was absurd and that we would never doing anything like that. Eventually we find out that this is his first time at the shop I worked at. He then proceeded to try and sell us a kickstand that he found on the side of the trail.

 

[OGRipper]

I will never forget the two separate times customers came in with ruined rides from driving OUT of their garages with bikes on their roof racks.

 

[splat]

I will never forget the two separate times customers came in with ruined rides from driving OUT of their garages with bikes on their roof racks.

That is how I got the Campy Group-o I put on My Wifes Bike, guy sold it to me cheap!!!

 

[Smelly]

JonK- on a similar note to your first story, in the same week I had two customers come in with these stories.
1- I found this bike in a pond.
2- This bike fell out of a tree.

 

[dexterq20]

I got a phone call at the shop where I work and a nice lady said "Hi, I have a gray bike, can you fix it for me?"

I laughed out loud.

 

[kidwoo]

"Does TheMontashu work here? I'd like him to work on my bike."

 

[Jim Mac]

I once took a call from someone asking if they could put 3 seats on a tandem. I take bizarre calls at least once a week.

It never ceases to amaze me...

 

[Polandspring88]

If it counts one "mechanic" at my LBS informed me that he wasn't sure if I could put a 1" threaded steerer tube into my 02 Monster. He said I should upgrade to the newer 1 1/8" standard as there isn't much 1" stuff around any longer.

 

[jonKranked]

This bike fell out of a tree.

BWAHAHAHAHA Thats great!

let us not forget the ever populer 'JRA'

 

[Mackie]

I've got 2:

-One time a guy came in with a bike asking to fix it up for his son. "I found this bike in my neighbors garbage and I want to fix it up for my son." I s*** you not he actually said this.

I don't know, I pull bikes out of the trash all the time & fix them up for kids, charity, etc. In fact right now I'm working on a 16 inch wheel Schwinn Pixie from the 70's for my kid. Found it in the trash.
You know the old saying..... one mans trash is another mans treasure.

 

[kinghami3]

If it counts one "mechanic" at my LBS informed me that he wasn't sure if I could put a 1" threaded steerer tube into my 02 Monster. He said I should upgrade to the newer 1 1/8" standard as there isn't much 1" stuff around any longer.

Did you tell him that there was such a thing as a 1.5" steerer tube? That would have knocked his socks off...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I had a customer once call and ask if we sold "Them GI AUNT bikes"

As in GIANT said like a frenchman, we cracked up forever...

Also, one time another oddball wacko came in and asked if we had any bolts, i looked him straight in the eye and told him no...The guys in the back started laughing so hard, but i was serious, the guy was dumbfounded...we didnt want his business...

 

[GumbaFish]

2- This bike fell out of a tree.

haha too funny.

 

[BurlyShirley]

...this thread is a perfect example of why I HATE bike shops. Some people are obviously clueless about repair work, and instead of helping, you all are congratulating yourselves for demeaning them and being of NO service.

Thanks for proving my point.

 

[binary visions]

Sometimes I don't get why people work in customer service.

I don't think it's unreasonable for a guy to want to fix up a free bike for his son. If it's going to cost more than it's worth, fine, but he wasn't an idiot for asking.

You don't want someone's business because they asked for bolts? In all likelihood he was going to follow that up with, "...because I need one about this size" or "...because I need one for my brakes" and just wanted to know if it was something you carried or if he had to go to a hardware store.

You can't assume everyone knows everything. Treating them like morons only shows your limited imagination in understanding that not everyone thinks like you or knows exactly what you know.

edit: BS beat me to it while I was typing.

 

[H8R]

...this thread is a perfect example of why I HATE bike shops. Some people are obviously clueless about repair work, and instead of helping, you all are congratulating yourselves for demeaning them and being of NO service.

Thanks for proving my point.

MOST customers are easy to deal with.

If you've ever worked at a shop, you get your fair share of complete idiots or just straight up angry people that are looking for trouble.

This thread is just people blowing off steam about it. It's not how all shop people see all customers.


Maybe you're one of the angry ones that makes shop people hate their job when you're in the store?

 

[Slugman]

...this thread is a perfect example of why I HATE bike shops. Some people are obviously clueless about repair work, and instead of helping, you all are congratulating yourselves for demeaning them and being of NO service.

Thanks for proving my point.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Maybe you're one of the angry ones that makes shop people hate their job when you're in the store?

Im the guy that wants a bike shop to operate just like every other business. I want quick and accurate service with a fair price. I want knowledgable mechs with good people skills. I dont want to be laughed at if I ask for "bolts" or "help me fix up this bike".

I dont go to LBS's often, becuase I know what i want, and I can never seem to get it without some retard trying to toss in his 2 cents with what Im trying to purchase. If I want advice, Ill ask for it.

 

[H8R]

I got a phone call at the shop where I work and a nice lady said "Hi, I have a gray bike, can you fix it for me?"

This type of call is very common.


Me: "Service dept"
Them: "I have a flat wheel thing, do you guys fix wheels?"
Me: "Is the wheel itself flattened, or is it just the tire is flat?"
Them: "The round part - the black round part..."

 

[binary visions]

If you've ever worked at a shop, you get your fair share of complete idiots or just straight up angry people that are looking for trouble.

Yep, and I'm all for laughing at idiots. But a couple of these examples aren't idiots and they're being treated poorly. They simply don't have broad knowledge of the bike industry.

The guy who wanted to fix up the bike for his son probably doesn't have the slightest clue how much parts cost - he figures, if he can get a bike for $100 at Wal-mart, why can't he fix this one up for $50? Another guy was flat turned away because he didn't say, "Yes, I need a Torx T-25 bolt for my Hayes disc brakes".

 

[Jim Mac]

...this thread is a perfect example of why I HATE bike shops. Some people are obviously clueless about repair work, and instead of helping, you all are congratulating yourselves for demeaning them and being of NO service.

Thanks for proving my point.

Actually, this is probably no different from any other retail/repair situation in my humble opinion. I am sure this type of talk goes on behind closed doors and after hours at garages across the country. We have a policy in the shop I work PT at to never act like a jerk with a customer, showing off your vast knowledge of bikes, etc. Just work with them, answer questions and if it becomes an aggravating situation, vent with employees later when it's "AC" (all clear). A job is a job and it can get frustrating.

 

[H8R]

Im the guy that wants a bike shop to operate just like every other business. I want quick and accurate service with a fair price. I want knowledgable mechs with good people skills. I dont want to be laughed at if I ask for "bolts" or "help me fix up this bike".

I dont go to LBS's often, becuase I know what i want, and I can never seem to get it without some retard trying to toss in his 2 cents with what Im trying to purchase. If I want advice, Ill ask for it.

I do hear you, loud and clear. The last shop I worked at really tried to break that mold, we had a general, "No question is too stupid" policy. We catered to an older crowd, and specialized in women's bikes, so a gentle approach was needed. Many of the customers were just getting into riding at an age where most people give it up.

Sometimes you have to draw the line though, because some customers will simply make you lose money with a hundred stupid questions and requests. Some are also idiots that think they are bike experts - this is the worst.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Actually, this is probably no different from any other retail/repair situation in my humble opinion. I am sure this type of talk goes on behind closed doors and after hours at garages across the country. We have a policy in the shop I work PT at to never act like a jerk with a customer, showing off your vast knowledge of bikes, etc. Just work with them, answer questions and if it becomes an aggravating situation, vent with employees later when it's "AC" (all clear). A job is a job and it can get frustrating.

I can accept that. I had roommates who were foodservice workers and they bitched about their jobs nonstop. Ive bitched about jobs Ive had in the past too, its only natural. But to LAUGH AT CUSTOMERS is something completely differnt. To OFFER NO HELP and laugh about it later is bad business, and something I find all too common in the bike world.

...call me crazy tho.

 

[nixhexss]

Im with a lot of you. I currently became manager after working @ current shop for about 4 years. It blows my mind the things people will say on these boards. I always hear about how LBS' are so pathetic and pitiful and now I know why. It seems like most of you don't realize it's a business and no question is stupid and the customer is you're GOD. They are why you make money and if you want any chance to make more money you better treat them right. I'm blown away by some of the responses I've seen in this thread and others by guys who are currently or were employed in shops. Again, it's a pathetic attitude....it's a job, it's customer serivce, it's tough work...if you don't like it then get out. You're job is to help customers, not be a snot nose know it all who laughs at their inability to be as mechanically inclined and knowledgeable about two wheeled contraptions as you are.

 

[Jim Mac]

I can accept that. I had roommates who were foodservice workers and they bitched about their jobs nonstop. Ive bitched about jobs Ive had in the past too, its only natural. But to LAUGH AT CUSTOMERS is something completely differnt. To OFFER NO HELP and laugh about it later is bad business, and something I find all too common in the bike world.

...call me crazy tho.

Agreed. Laughing at customers will usually equal having no customers in the long run!

 

[H8R]

The guy who wanted to fix up the bike for his son probably doesn't have the slightest clue how much parts cost - he figures, if he can get a bike for $100 at Wal-mart, why can't he fix this one up for $50? Another guy was flat turned away because he didn't say, "Yes, I need a Torx T-25 bolt for my Hayes disc brakes".

I missed this:

Also, one time another oddball wacko came in and asked if we had any bolts, i looked him straight in the eye and told him no...The guys in the back started laughing so hard, but i was serious, the guy was dumbfounded...we didnt want his business...

That's just being a straight up dick.


I've had to break it to many customers that getting there junker to work safely and reliably would be too much money for the shop to do and they should look for another bike. You have to be honest, and a kids bike can easily hit $200 at a shop if it's trashed - shop labor is way more expensive than factory assembly labor and retail parts are 4x as expensive as factory parts.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

You don't want someone's business because they asked for bolts? In all likelihood he was going to follow that up with, "...because I need one about this size" or "...because I need one for my brakes" and just wanted to know if it was something you carried or if he had to go to a hardware store.

You can't assume everyone knows everything. Treating them like morons only shows your limited imagination in understanding that not everyone thinks like you or knows exactly what you know.

edit: BS beat me to it while I was typing.

Get off the soap box, the customer was looking for just random hardware store bolts, i flat out told him no, we arent a hardware store. I had worked with customer's for a long time prior and this guy was not a good one. Trust me I took pride in my customer service as i understand that not everyone knew as much as I when iI was working for the shop.

And as stated above, some people are just looking for trouble, and you have to laugh at it...

 

[H8R]

...call me crazy tho.

Ok.

You're new name is Crazy Tho.

 

[H8R]

Get off the soap box, the customer was looking for just random hardware store bolts, i flat out told him no, we arent a hardware store. I had worked with customer's for a long time prior and this guy was not a good one. Trust me I took pride in my customer service as i understand that not everyone knew as much as I when iI was working for the shop.

And as stated above, some people are just looking for trouble, and you have to laugh at it...

This explains it better, thanks. The first post made it seem like you were just short and rude with him.

I worked at shops in Berkeley, I've kicked quite a few dirty freaks out of the stores that are just there to waste time.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

Agreed. Laughing at customers will usually equal having no customers in the long run!

The shop i worked at has been there for 50 years, still the same family running it. We treated the customers great, just some specific instances where things went wrong...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

This explains it better, thanks. The first post made it seem like you were just short and rude with him.

I worked at shops in Berkeley, I've kicked quite a few dirty freaks out of the stores that are just there to waste time.

hahah thanks, i was just posting up, didnt think i woudl get flamed for it, and this was one of those instances that you speak of...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

Im with a lot of you. I currently became manager after working @ current shop for about 4 years. It blows my mind the things people will say on these boards. I always hear about how LBS' are so pathetic and pitiful and now I know why. It seems like most of you don't realize it's a business and no question is stupid and the customer is you're GOD. They are why you make money and if you want any chance to make more money you better treat them right. I'm blown away by some of the responses I've seen in this thread and others by guys who are currently or were employed in shops. Again, it's a pathetic attitude....it's a job, it's customer serivce, it's tough work...if you don't like it then get out. You're job is to help customers, not be a snot nose know it all who laughs at their inability to be as mechanically inclined and knowledgeable about two wheeled contraptions as you are.

:yawn:...soapbox...

The point of the thread was to talk about funny stuff in a shop, not promote good customer service...

I thinkthe sentance "got any bolts fer muh bike" is funny, and that is how it went down...

 

[jonKranked]

FTR:

this thread was intended just to share stories of absurd customers (edit, regardless of where you work, there are always good stories of whacked out customers and/or co-workers, and this thread was intended to share those stories and have a good laugh). I our shop never turned someone away unless we had repeated problems with them. Best example: in our flagship store with all the high end road bikes, there was a customer who came in and wanted a very high end carbon fiber trek. He wasn't satisfied with what we had, we showed him the catalog, he said " i want that one, but i want different parts (wheels and cranks or some crap)" and he wanted it the very next day, parts swapped, and custom fitted to him for NO EXTRA CHARGE. when told that we couldn't do that, he got angry, so we got the manager on duty. He repeated the policy and that we couldn't do what the guy asked, so he got beligerant. at this point the MOD got the shop owner (who only runs a bike shop because he loves riding so much, he makes more from his financial investments in a year than he does from the shop, and he was definitely a cool guy to work for, just as some background info on him). When the customer talked to our owner, still being beligerant, he just kept his cool until the guy was done. He replied "We obviously cannot help you and you are not the kind of customer we want here at our shop. Now get the f*** out of my store"

We always try to help the customers as best we can, regardless of the absurdity of their requests. (the guy who accused us of stealing his reflectors, not only did we find them, we installed them and didn't charge him). the guy who brought in the garbage bike - if you saw the bike, you would realize why it was in the garbage (taco'd wheels, broken shifters, total lack of derailler, everything rusty). And yes Mackie - i know plenty of people who save bikes from the garbage and restore them, but there's a point when its just not worth it. this bike was just beyond that point.

 

[H8R]

Just to put this in perspective - think of all the completely fvking CLUELESS questions you've read on RM. Now think of the general level of idiocy among some riders. (not just RM, think: Pinkbike, etc).

Now think of working at a place where all that idiocy might walk through the door and you'll have to try to deal with it politely and professionally.



Some days I don't know how I managed to avoid stabbing someone in the eye with a handful of spokes.

 

[maxyedor]

her "Do you buy used bikes?"- me"No we usually don't"- her"It's a Murray cruiser"- me"Try Craigslist"- her"I spray painted it, do you think it would be worth more?"

A lady brought in a beat to hell 16" bike in a trash bag and covered in RAID roach spray, and wanted me to fix it, I gave her an estimate and also told her that I could get her a brand new bike for her son to ride for significantly less money, she opted for the fix-up. $285 later her son was stoked, I think that if you work customer service your job is to get the customer taken care of, and make sure they know all the options.

Guy walks in and buys a $3500 Banshee Morphine, then had me hook himup with a rack and paniers for it, installed it for him for free.

Guy waltzes in with a Pacific and wants to do some upgrades, anyway after talking to him for a few minutes he spotted a pair of CrossMax SLs and haad to have them, again I gave him free installation.

My most lucrative is a guy that just walked in and started to shoot the breeze with me about hardtales, after 45mins, I was wrenching the whole time, he wanted to know if he could get lights and sirens for Marin B-17s, I said yes and gave him a price. Next day he came in and order 12 complete bikes with flashing lights and sirens, turns out he was a cop and the local PD was starting a bike patrol. I ended up riding with him almost every week, that had to be one of the weirdest requests and the best customers ever, and the local PD remembered me and helped me out more than a feew times.

There was also the LiteSpeed Ghisalo with a pig DH pro headset.

Oh the storries I know. The key is just be freindly to the customer and try to get them to ride their bike more.

 

[binary visions]

Get off the soap box

Right, we were supposed to just figure the exact situation from your post .

If you had said, "So, we had this angry, obnoxious, problem customer and one day he came in the store..." it would have been funny - everone likes it with a jerk customer gets their comeuppance. That's not what you said, though, so it wasn't funny and it made you look like a lousy shop.

No need to get pissy when you did a poor job of explaining yourself. People can only react and respond to what you say, not what you thought in your head.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

AHHAHA that just reminded me of the guy that came in and bought a straight 6 (the oldschool yeti built one)...All was well and good til he put on a handlebar bag, rear lights, seat rack, front fenders and comfort bike tires...awesome.

 

[H8R]

People can only react and respond to what you say, not what you thought in your head.

I can read minds via typed words on the internet. I can see through walls and bend steel with words.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

Right, we were supposed to just figure the exact situation from your post .

If you had said, "So, we had this angry, obnoxious, problem customer and one day he came in the store..." it would have been funny - everone likes it with a jerk customer gets their comeuppance. That's not what you said, though, so it wasn't funny and it made you look like a lousy shop.

No need to get pissy when you did a poor job of explaining yourself. People can only react and respond to what you say, not what you thought in your head.

Fair...Sorry that sounded worse than i meant.

no worries.

 

[JRB]

Sometimes I don't get why people work in customer service.

I don't think it's unreasonable for a guy to want to fix up a free bike for his son. If it's going to cost more than it's worth, fine, but he wasn't an idiot for asking.

You don't want someone's business because they asked for bolts? In all likelihood he was going to follow that up with, "...because I need one about this size" or "...because I need one for my brakes" and just wanted to know if it was something you carried or if he had to go to a hardware store.

You can't assume everyone knows everything. Treating them like morons only shows your limited imagination in understanding that not everyone thinks like you or knows exactly what you know.

edit: BS beat me to it while I was typing.

The rat mechanic at the shop here always tells people their bikes suck and that they aren't worth repairing. I get on his ass all the time. Who cares what their bike is worth??? Without them the mechanics don't have jobs. It's not like this guy is classy and it's demeaning to work on junky bikes. You should see his clothes and his truck.