That is really funny, i never had that attitude, but it is hard to not become a bike snob when you have access to the top stuff, im a bike snob now though (just bought an x.0 derailure/shifter combo)...:love:loco said:
Bike Mechanics: funniest/most bizarre thing customers have said
- Thread starter jonKranked
- Start date
me too IE is my kryptonite...H8R said:
One time a lady walked in and asked if we fixed Volvos.
Years and years ago, I used to ride for this local shop that was trying to make it in a small town.
The douche owner lived in Italy for a while, and somehow thought this made him cool enough to wear Pink Mapei gear.
Anyway, he rode this $5000 + Colnago road bike and one of his customers came in with a some dirty Diamond Back MTB,
and leaned it up against his Colnago.
The owner flipped out and yelled at him and ask the customer if he knew how much that bike cost.
I was just there picking up some parts and my wife happened to be with me. She turned bright red and I quickly ushered her back to my car before she exploded.
That dude was in business less than 2 years.
The douche owner lived in Italy for a while, and somehow thought this made him cool enough to wear Pink Mapei gear.
Anyway, he rode this $5000 + Colnago road bike and one of his customers came in with a some dirty Diamond Back MTB,
and leaned it up against his Colnago.
The owner flipped out and yelled at him and ask the customer if he knew how much that bike cost.
I was just there picking up some parts and my wife happened to be with me. She turned bright red and I quickly ushered her back to my car before she exploded.
That dude was in business less than 2 years.
ya ya ya...Samson said:Sorry, but anybody else find this really funny?
Anyway, nice stories. Don't have any bike-shop related stuff, but back in my lawn and garden salesman days...
Several years ago a somewhat 'unstable'* customer brought his Amp B4 in for a tune up, also wanted his shocks serviced. I was able to do clean and lube to the proprietary Amp forks and the goof-ball rear shock, but Amp was out of the bike biz for several years and had no replacement parts. Nothing was badly worn, anyway.
However, he was an over-weight weight-weenie and had replaced the bolts in his crank arms with White Industries aluminum 'keeper' bolts.
His perspiration and whatnot had degraded the bolts to such a degree that when the mechanic tested them for torque, one of them popped off and lodged in the socket. This was on a Snap-On Torque wrench, btw, properly set to a ridiculously low minimum torque.
Admittedly, the mechanic screwed up by even breathing on them - they're notorious for 'buttering off' - so soft they turn off like room-temp butter - even removing them to replace with titanium or standard steel is a pain in the tush.
The mechanic went looking for me (yes, business lunch with the owner, but not a long one with martinis or anything) during which time the customer picked up the bike and took it home (in a truck - not riding it)
When i got back to the shop, the mechanic showed me the crankbolt head and I called the customer - leaving a message because he wasn't home yet.
The next day, I get a completely foul-mouthed, threatening phone call from the customer about how he'd gone for a ride after we 'custom tuned his sweet heart' and the crank arm had come off and he'd nutted himself and was going to sue us for 'reckless endangerment' and 'gross criminal negligence' etc.
I calmed him down a bit and told him we'd fix or replace anything that had been damaged for free, and refund him any an all charges for the repair.
He seemed a bit mollified and quieted down, then brought the bike in after work.
When he entered the shop, however, he was verbally abusive and insulting to the mechanic who'd worked on the bike. I had to intervene between the two to prevent either of these two hot-heads from throwing punches or worse!
I put the bike up in the 'public' stand, used for demonstrations and estimates, etc.
The crank arm was still on the bike. The sheared off stub of the bolt was still in the bottom bracket spindle.
Hmm. And this, by the way, was years before CSI.
I looked at the bike and asked him how he'd got his crank arm back on the bike.
He got really quiet and looked at it for a few moments, then told me he'd 'pounded it on with a rock'.
I looked at him with some incredulity. The crank arms were White Industries - polished raw 7000 series aluminum. Rocks would have gouged the hell out of it and I knew from 18 years bike-shop experience that no amount of pounding with the nicest rocks would have got the crank arm to stay on.
I gave it a good yank, took the bike down, straddled it, then bunny hopped the bike a few times.
Crank arm stayed put.
I just looked at him for a few moments. He said nothing at all.
I finally sighed, asked for his credit card, refunded him the $45 for the tune up, and told him he'd be much happier going to a different bike shop in the future.
He never said a word, took the bike and was never seen by anyone i know again.
*he was a middle-school teacher and once told his class that he'd been a POW in Viet Nam and had suffered many indignities - including rape. Not something to tell 11-year-olds, i think, even it it was true [and I don't think it was, because this guy would have been about 15 in 1975, the year the war ended, i think.
However, he was an over-weight weight-weenie and had replaced the bolts in his crank arms with White Industries aluminum 'keeper' bolts.
His perspiration and whatnot had degraded the bolts to such a degree that when the mechanic tested them for torque, one of them popped off and lodged in the socket. This was on a Snap-On Torque wrench, btw, properly set to a ridiculously low minimum torque.
Admittedly, the mechanic screwed up by even breathing on them - they're notorious for 'buttering off' - so soft they turn off like room-temp butter - even removing them to replace with titanium or standard steel is a pain in the tush.
The mechanic went looking for me (yes, business lunch with the owner, but not a long one with martinis or anything) during which time the customer picked up the bike and took it home (in a truck - not riding it)
When i got back to the shop, the mechanic showed me the crankbolt head and I called the customer - leaving a message because he wasn't home yet.
The next day, I get a completely foul-mouthed, threatening phone call from the customer about how he'd gone for a ride after we 'custom tuned his sweet heart' and the crank arm had come off and he'd nutted himself and was going to sue us for 'reckless endangerment' and 'gross criminal negligence' etc.
I calmed him down a bit and told him we'd fix or replace anything that had been damaged for free, and refund him any an all charges for the repair.
He seemed a bit mollified and quieted down, then brought the bike in after work.
When he entered the shop, however, he was verbally abusive and insulting to the mechanic who'd worked on the bike. I had to intervene between the two to prevent either of these two hot-heads from throwing punches or worse!
I put the bike up in the 'public' stand, used for demonstrations and estimates, etc.
The crank arm was still on the bike. The sheared off stub of the bolt was still in the bottom bracket spindle.
Hmm. And this, by the way, was years before CSI.
I looked at the bike and asked him how he'd got his crank arm back on the bike.
He got really quiet and looked at it for a few moments, then told me he'd 'pounded it on with a rock'.
I looked at him with some incredulity. The crank arms were White Industries - polished raw 7000 series aluminum. Rocks would have gouged the hell out of it and I knew from 18 years bike-shop experience that no amount of pounding with the nicest rocks would have got the crank arm to stay on.
I gave it a good yank, took the bike down, straddled it, then bunny hopped the bike a few times.
Crank arm stayed put.
I just looked at him for a few moments. He said nothing at all.
I finally sighed, asked for his credit card, refunded him the $45 for the tune up, and told him he'd be much happier going to a different bike shop in the future.
He never said a word, took the bike and was never seen by anyone i know again.
*he was a middle-school teacher and once told his class that he'd been a POW in Viet Nam and had suffered many indignities - including rape. Not something to tell 11-year-olds, i think, even it it was true [and I don't think it was, because this guy would have been about 15 in 1975, the year the war ended, i think.
No crap. I work in a deli and you'd think 85% of the people that walk through the door had never made a sandwich/any other ambigious food in their lives. It's nice, I'm allowed to demean customers that are assholes to me.jonKranked said:
J
JRB
Guest
I actually muttered dumb bastard out loud when I read this.blue said:No crap. I work in a deli and you'd think 85% of the people that walk through the door had never made a sandwich/any other ambigious food in their lives. It's nice, I'm allowed to demean customers that are assholes to me.
blue said:No crap. I work in a deli and you'd think 85% of the people that walk through the door had never made a sandwich/any other ambigious food in their lives. It's nice, I'm allowed to demean customers that are assholes to me.
b1tch make me a sammich!!!!
Damned straight I'm a sammich bitch...more or less a sammich nazi...You piss me off, you get no sammich. Seriously.jonKranked said:b1tch make me a sammich!!!!
I was just reading through the post until I came to this post.H8R said:
You reminded me of a lady who came in to test ride a bike, but told me she needed help since she, "didnt know how to ride a bike." Cause, Thats my job....you know...to run next to people outside and hope they don't crash and sue the store out of existence.
Also, as far as the guy bringing in the trash bike, sounds to me like you would have had to be there to understand. I've seen people bring in a total rusted, bent, crooked, steaming pile of wal-mart bike and ask if they can get it fixed up.
I was thinking about all the strange and crazy things, but this has to be number 1:
It was a slow day at my shop in New Orleans. One of the guys was just goofing off by bouncing a tennis ball. An older man comes in and says: "Control your monkey," directed toward the ball-bouncer, who is black.
We all heard it, but we were so stunned, none of us reacted. So the manager asked very politely if we could help him. And the old man said it again, "Can you control your monkey?"
At that point, the manager was so incensed (btw, while he was white, his mother taught at a black university), he pulled his knife and went after the guy. Of course, this old man started ran out the shop, and the ball-bouncing employee threw the tennis ball at him.
The next thing everyone got their bikes and started chasing after this guy. He got away (which I was glad about considering how predisposed to violence my co-workers were), which prompted plenty of "how he disappear?" jokes for the rest of the day.
It was a slow day at my shop in New Orleans. One of the guys was just goofing off by bouncing a tennis ball. An older man comes in and says: "Control your monkey," directed toward the ball-bouncer, who is black.
We all heard it, but we were so stunned, none of us reacted. So the manager asked very politely if we could help him. And the old man said it again, "Can you control your monkey?"
At that point, the manager was so incensed (btw, while he was white, his mother taught at a black university), he pulled his knife and went after the guy. Of course, this old man started ran out the shop, and the ball-bouncing employee threw the tennis ball at him.
The next thing everyone got their bikes and started chasing after this guy. He got away (which I was glad about considering how predisposed to violence my co-workers were), which prompted plenty of "how he disappear?" jokes for the rest of the day.
true.binary visions said:
not everybody is still stuck in childhood, riding bikes after turning 15 you know...(let alone be so into them as to wrench them or knowing the latest and greatest spoke)
not that there is anything wrong with that, i like bikes and know my hope from hayes..... but you know, just as you guys make fun of the people not in the know of bikes... that can be seen (for the general population) as funny as a star-trek nerd laughing at a person who doesnt understand klingon....
^(sanjuro) That's a crazy story. I can just picture you guys chasing him on bikes...
OK, so I'll tell on myself. This is the early days, before I myself worked in a shop. I was one of those "mixed-blessing" customers...
It's a Friday in early November in NJ. Looking at race scheduled online, I see a race (duathlon) following day. Knowing my husband's bike needs a tune-up before he does any riding (cable adjust, really), I call the shop. It's about noon, maybe 1pm. I know the mechanic pretty well. The conversation goes like this:
Me: Hey, so are you guys really busy today?
Him: No, wacha need?
Me: What do you think of Round Valley?
Him: Pretty rocky.
Me: I'm thinking of doing a race there tomorrow. You got any advice?
Him: Yeah. Don't do it.
more talk about Round Valley, blah blah, then
Me: Well, Steve's bike needs some kind of adjustment.
Him: So bring it in.
Me: When would it be done?
Him: When do you need it?
Me: Um, later today?
silence
Him: Today?
Me: Well, yeah. For the race tomorrow. (pause) I thought you said you guys weren't busy.
silence.
suddenly I realize the audacity of what I have just said.
Me: Can't you just drop everything you're doing and cater to my whims??
that got a laugh.
Him (sigh): Yeah, bring it on in...
If I were a guy they probably would've told me to pound sand.
It's a Friday in early November in NJ. Looking at race scheduled online, I see a race (duathlon) following day. Knowing my husband's bike needs a tune-up before he does any riding (cable adjust, really), I call the shop. It's about noon, maybe 1pm. I know the mechanic pretty well. The conversation goes like this:
Me: Hey, so are you guys really busy today?
Him: No, wacha need?
Me: What do you think of Round Valley?
Him: Pretty rocky.
Me: I'm thinking of doing a race there tomorrow. You got any advice?
Him: Yeah. Don't do it.
more talk about Round Valley, blah blah, then
Me: Well, Steve's bike needs some kind of adjustment.
Him: So bring it in.
Me: When would it be done?
Him: When do you need it?
Me: Um, later today?
silence
Him: Today?
Me: Well, yeah. For the race tomorrow. (pause) I thought you said you guys weren't busy.
silence.
suddenly I realize the audacity of what I have just said.
Me: Can't you just drop everything you're doing and cater to my whims??
that got a laugh.
Him (sigh): Yeah, bring it on in...
If I were a guy they probably would've told me to pound sand.
At my shop, which has been around since 1979 had a break in a couple years ago. A krank head chose to climb through a small window via a ladder out back. Our true ceilings are really tall and have a false ceiling for purpose of hanging bikes and the window he crawled through is above that. The guy fell through the false ceiling about 15 feet on a rack of bikes. He then proceded to steal a Trek 5200 carbon road bike. But before he actually stole it, he decided it was important to tear out the cable guide inserts, put a carbon mountain riser bar with a ghetto mountain brake setup/shifter in replacement of the stock compenents. He ended up getting out with some cash and the bike but a few days later the guy brings the bike back in complaining about the shifting. It was spray painted white and red, with the original paint showing in many spots. Our manager basically laughed in his face and asked "are you kidding me?" The police went to his apartment and got the other parts he stole back. We were stuck with a hole in our ceiling and a ****ed up 5200. We eventually sent it back to trek for repair and just a few days ago someone bought the frame and built it with Durace' ten. Turned out to be a really nice road bike.
Pretty tweaked out story, but thats what happens when you live in the #1 meth producing state.
Pretty tweaked out story, but thats what happens when you live in the #1 meth producing state.
I don't work at a bike shop, but often I go into my LBS and sit around and help them true up wheels, and make little adjustments. Well one time a regular came in with a bent road rim and he was just joking but he said "alright If you could just give some of my nipples a twist....." I didn't want to laugh, none of us did but we all just started busting out laughing, even the customer. It was funny.
sunny, i've been on the other side of cases like that. you at least had enough sense to ask if the shop was busy. i once had a guy come in and not as for, but demand a full overhaul of his road bike the day before a race. We told him we were too busy for it and then he got beligerant (big surprise). Manager came over and talked to the guy. We ended up doing the overhaul, but we charged him an extra hundred bucks for a rush job.
I brought my bike in once because the shifting was all wacked out...
I had tried to work on it a bit (my theory.. try to fix it, then bother someone else if you can't do it)
When I took it in the mechanic looked at me and said "you are never to work on your bike again"..... with a completely serious face.
I didn't go back to that guy.
I had tried to work on it a bit (my theory.. try to fix it, then bother someone else if you can't do it)
When I took it in the mechanic looked at me and said "you are never to work on your bike again"..... with a completely serious face.
I didn't go back to that guy.
MudGrrl,
Maybe it was the same shop guy who answered "I don't know. I don't have time to memorize all of the travel specs of all of our bikes"
Said with a completely serious face.
My question was "How much travel does this bike (Giant Trance) get compared to this bike (Giant Reign)"
I already kind of knew the answers, but I was just trying to get a conversation started about bikes that wanted to test ride to buy, both bikes over $2K...
I didn't think it was a dumb question, but I guess I was wrong
Maybe it was the same shop guy who answered "I don't know. I don't have time to memorize all of the travel specs of all of our bikes"
Said with a completely serious face.
My question was "How much travel does this bike (Giant Trance) get compared to this bike (Giant Reign)"
I already kind of knew the answers, but I was just trying to get a conversation started about bikes that wanted to test ride to buy, both bikes over $2K...
I didn't think it was a dumb question, but I guess I was wrong
jvp108 said:
It's not a dumb question if the bikes are actually carried by the store. I made sure there was always someone [even if not me] on the floor who knew the specs of any of the more exotic bikes that were built and ready to sell.
If it was about a bike in a brochure, not carried by the shop, then every sales/tech person knew to say "I'm no sure, but i've got the info over here..." and take the customer to the spec list book.
Being rude to customers is plainly asinine.
I have said in a joking manner to customers, "if you worked on it yourself first, then the repair is double the price."MudGrrl said:
While I cannot charge double labor rates, I found myself working twice as long on repairs which an novice worked on himself/herself first. The worst home repair to fix: wheel truing.
When I got a new (to me) frame, I was all gun to strip down the old frame and build up the new one. I had my Bike Repair Book out, trying to figure how to get the cranks off. After a few minutes, I called my mechanic on his cell phone.MudGrrl said:
He listened to me tell him what I was doing, then he calmly said, "Laura, just put down the wrench and step away from the bike."
"But..."
"I promise I'll do it first thing in the morning. Trust me on this one."
Me: (sigh) "OK."
"I think I rounded off a few nipples" or "my nipples are creaking" always gets my attention.
Teach me how to hit the doubles.DHS said:
Here is a story that's not so funny about home mechanics:
My "best friend" (sold me a stolen bike) convinced his girlfriend to get a road bike: an Alan. The shop offered to put it together for free, but my friend was a good mechanic, so he wanted to do it himself.
He had mechanical ability, but being 16, was not very knowledgable. He put the seatpost in ungreased, and it got stuck in the frame (probably needed to be flex-honed). We twisted the post with a pipe wrench, put on the saddle for leverage, even hit the saddle with a hammer.
History Lesson: at one point, bonded, i.e. glued, alu road frames were very popular, like Vitus and Alan. So after abusing the bonded seat tube, he separated it from the top tube/seat tube lug. You could move the lug up and down with your finger about 3 milimeters.
Being totally blameless, I made a quick exit and let my friend deal with this. He took everything down to the shop, and they installed all the parts. But they couldn't fix the frame (probably only the factory could), and he never told his girlfriend that he destroyed her frame.
About two years after they broke up, I mentioned what my "friend" did to her, and she was shocked: he never told her. Being totally blameless, I quickly ended our conversation.
My "best friend" (sold me a stolen bike) convinced his girlfriend to get a road bike: an Alan. The shop offered to put it together for free, but my friend was a good mechanic, so he wanted to do it himself.
He had mechanical ability, but being 16, was not very knowledgable. He put the seatpost in ungreased, and it got stuck in the frame (probably needed to be flex-honed). We twisted the post with a pipe wrench, put on the saddle for leverage, even hit the saddle with a hammer.
History Lesson: at one point, bonded, i.e. glued, alu road frames were very popular, like Vitus and Alan. So after abusing the bonded seat tube, he separated it from the top tube/seat tube lug. You could move the lug up and down with your finger about 3 milimeters.
Being totally blameless, I made a quick exit and let my friend deal with this. He took everything down to the shop, and they installed all the parts. But they couldn't fix the frame (probably only the factory could), and he never told his girlfriend that he destroyed her frame.
About two years after they broke up, I mentioned what my "friend" did to her, and she was shocked: he never told her. Being totally blameless, I quickly ended our conversation.
Anyone ever ban anyone from a shop?
I eightysixed my second customer today at the deli. Good times.
I eightysixed my second customer today at the deli. Good times.
Big guy about 6'7 300lbs come's in just a big black guy... I'm in the back working in service. He walks back... Wheres the Butt Butter. I just kind of sit and stair at him thinking he said where my butt butter... This guy looked straight out of jail i was like wahhh... Then another employee came back and showed the guy the body butter. But still we all got a good laugh out of it. He bought us out of it to if i remember.
Puncturing the cinnamon ring?H8R said:
Dura-ace (pronounced doo-rah-chee), that's italian, right?
My dad came into the shop once while I was swapping a rim. I was sitting down with my back to him using one of the crank style nipple drivers. He yelled my name as if I was doing something wrong and when I turned around he had this surprised look on his face. He totally thought I was whacking it.
My dad came into the shop once while I was swapping a rim. I was sitting down with my back to him using one of the crank style nipple drivers. He yelled my name as if I was doing something wrong and when I turned around he had this surprised look on his face. He totally thought I was whacking it.
I may not be the best mechanic, but when ever I am slightly in over my head I go ask for help from some one who is a better wrench than me, as well If I am not sure I have done something right I ask for some one to go over it and make sure.kidwoo said:
I have 4 pretty good ones. One of them involving sanjuro making a little boy cry to his mommy
One time there was a stereotypical Asian women who had come on looking for a bike for her kid. I talked to her for 2 hours about the cheapest POS (or entry level as I say to the people buying them) in the shop. She leaves and didn't buy the bike. 3 or 4 days later she comes back with her kid and makes me talk to her for another 20 minutes or so, then she asks me, "Are you going to tell me this bike?"
I respond, "Yes, it's ready to go right now"
She then asks, "O so you aren't going to build me a new one"
I say, "We do not have any in back, if you really don't want that one we can get it in in a week but that is brand new and ready to go"
She replies, "No this is old"
I tell her, "This thing is brand new, we have had it less than a month"
She tells me "Look at the tires, see its old" (There was a little grey discoloration on the tires from sitting) and walked out.
number 2:
So the shop I work at doesn't not have appointments or a set schedule, it keeps costumers from having there bike be late getting done and it allows us to start another repair if one didn't take as long as we would have thought or if something took longer.
About 4 days ago we have a costumer come in and go "were is my bike, it's ready." Another guy I work with asks for his name and proceeds to look through the done stacker and couldn't find it. He then asks the costumer if he received a call saying it was done.
The guy says, "Well no I was told a week and I am back exactly a week later for it."
The guys I work with has by this time found his tag on the stacker and seen that it was about 8 or 9 repairs back (We were SWAMPED with repairs I mean like 30 repairs to do and couldn't get them done due to costumers) He tells him that it isn't done yet and it will be another few days or even up to a week because we are so swamped with repair es, and that we do not tell people a week on repairs we always say about a week and NEVER exactly a week and how we don't have a schedule, and that if he needed it ASAP that we had offered him next day service for 40$ more (It's a new policy so we don't always mention it but the owner does and he NEVER forgets to tell them about the next day service and he had filled out the tag)
The guy screams and yells for a while and then left all pissed off.
Number 3
There is a family who's bikes we work on and the ride EVERY WERE like no car, so we end up doing ALOT of work on their bikes.
The mother has a cannondale Jekyll with coda brakes (for those who don't know about them, your mite as well stick your foot down to stop) and she brought them to be bled. She comes back on a day were I had gotten really sick (Like throwing up later) from something I ate. Well at the time she came in I was alone in the shop (It was slow and the only other guy was getting me and him something to eat. and picked up her bike. She comes back later that day all pissed off (she comes in like that alot) saying her rear brake doesn't work, and the owner explained to her that she had only mention the fron brake and that had he known she wanted the rear worked on he would have. She gets even more mad and leaves saying she will be back soon (she also DEMANDS things get done RIGHT NOW for her and her family) but before leaving complained about how when she picked it up I was outside with some one else screaming profanities, when I was actually sitting down trying to say as little as passable and trying not to through up.
The owner leaves and about 20 minutes later the owner of the bike comes back and goes "I'm here to pick up my bike" I tell her that she had jest dropped it off and that there have been costumers and we haven't been able to start it yet, and that as well it would that probably and hour to do. So she gets mad again saying that she needs to come before the costumers (Whom by the was will put way more money in the till than she will) and that she will be back at closing. So it gets done and they actually feel REALLY GOOD for codas. she gets her bike back and is complaining the whole time about it, bla bla bla.
So the next day she walks in and says to the guy who did the work "These brakes weren't bled properly they aren't working right." He feels them and tells her that its working better than any other coda he has ever seen. She starts yelling because the lever doesn't engage withing a MM of the lever being touched and he tries to explain that it shouldn't engage there and that the pads would rub. She screams and yells more calling us dumb asses and idiots and stuff like that, only to leave and swear she is never coming back again. (sadly she did come back)
The last one involves sanjuro making a little boy cry
So A kid walked in looking at bikes and sanjuro went to help him, he asked the kid what kind of bike he was looking for and the kid was like "I donno" so sanjuro told him in a joking way to get a pink bike. After talking to him for a bit he suggested that the kid bring his parents in with him to look at bikes with him. So the kid leaves.
About 20 minutes later we get a phone call from an angry mother yelling at us about how one of our employees made fun of her little baby and was telling him to get a pink bike, and how we were bad people, and how we made her little boy cry.
Sanjuro got on the phone and did a really good job of calming her down and defused the situation.
One time there was a stereotypical Asian women who had come on looking for a bike for her kid. I talked to her for 2 hours about the cheapest POS (or entry level as I say to the people buying them) in the shop. She leaves and didn't buy the bike. 3 or 4 days later she comes back with her kid and makes me talk to her for another 20 minutes or so, then she asks me, "Are you going to tell me this bike?"
I respond, "Yes, it's ready to go right now"
She then asks, "O so you aren't going to build me a new one"
I say, "We do not have any in back, if you really don't want that one we can get it in in a week but that is brand new and ready to go"
She replies, "No this is old"
I tell her, "This thing is brand new, we have had it less than a month"
She tells me "Look at the tires, see its old" (There was a little grey discoloration on the tires from sitting) and walked out.
number 2:
So the shop I work at doesn't not have appointments or a set schedule, it keeps costumers from having there bike be late getting done and it allows us to start another repair if one didn't take as long as we would have thought or if something took longer.
About 4 days ago we have a costumer come in and go "were is my bike, it's ready." Another guy I work with asks for his name and proceeds to look through the done stacker and couldn't find it. He then asks the costumer if he received a call saying it was done.
The guy says, "Well no I was told a week and I am back exactly a week later for it."
The guys I work with has by this time found his tag on the stacker and seen that it was about 8 or 9 repairs back (We were SWAMPED with repairs I mean like 30 repairs to do and couldn't get them done due to costumers) He tells him that it isn't done yet and it will be another few days or even up to a week because we are so swamped with repair es, and that we do not tell people a week on repairs we always say about a week and NEVER exactly a week and how we don't have a schedule, and that if he needed it ASAP that we had offered him next day service for 40$ more (It's a new policy so we don't always mention it but the owner does and he NEVER forgets to tell them about the next day service and he had filled out the tag)
The guy screams and yells for a while and then left all pissed off.
Number 3
There is a family who's bikes we work on and the ride EVERY WERE like no car, so we end up doing ALOT of work on their bikes.
The mother has a cannondale Jekyll with coda brakes (for those who don't know about them, your mite as well stick your foot down to stop) and she brought them to be bled. She comes back on a day were I had gotten really sick (Like throwing up later) from something I ate. Well at the time she came in I was alone in the shop (It was slow and the only other guy was getting me and him something to eat. and picked up her bike. She comes back later that day all pissed off (she comes in like that alot) saying her rear brake doesn't work, and the owner explained to her that she had only mention the fron brake and that had he known she wanted the rear worked on he would have. She gets even more mad and leaves saying she will be back soon (she also DEMANDS things get done RIGHT NOW for her and her family) but before leaving complained about how when she picked it up I was outside with some one else screaming profanities, when I was actually sitting down trying to say as little as passable and trying not to through up.
The owner leaves and about 20 minutes later the owner of the bike comes back and goes "I'm here to pick up my bike" I tell her that she had jest dropped it off and that there have been costumers and we haven't been able to start it yet, and that as well it would that probably and hour to do. So she gets mad again saying that she needs to come before the costumers (Whom by the was will put way more money in the till than she will) and that she will be back at closing. So it gets done and they actually feel REALLY GOOD for codas. she gets her bike back and is complaining the whole time about it, bla bla bla.
So the next day she walks in and says to the guy who did the work "These brakes weren't bled properly they aren't working right." He feels them and tells her that its working better than any other coda he has ever seen. She starts yelling because the lever doesn't engage withing a MM of the lever being touched and he tries to explain that it shouldn't engage there and that the pads would rub. She screams and yells more calling us dumb asses and idiots and stuff like that, only to leave and swear she is never coming back again. (sadly she did come back)
The last one involves sanjuro making a little boy cry
So A kid walked in looking at bikes and sanjuro went to help him, he asked the kid what kind of bike he was looking for and the kid was like "I donno" so sanjuro told him in a joking way to get a pink bike. After talking to him for a bit he suggested that the kid bring his parents in with him to look at bikes with him. So the kid leaves.
About 20 minutes later we get a phone call from an angry mother yelling at us about how one of our employees made fun of her little baby and was telling him to get a pink bike, and how we were bad people, and how we made her little boy cry.
Sanjuro got on the phone and did a really good job of calming her down and defused the situation.
i had a guy walk in with a trashed front wheel... think no spin in the fork trashed... 6-7" taco fest... a number of broken spokes etc...
he asked me if i could fix it... i told him that he was outta luck and it was time for a new build... he promptly replied that he had 'fixed wheels that were worse'... :rolleyes...
i reached into my pocket and pulled out a spoke wrench and pointed over at the truing stand... 'well if you can fix it, go for it... show me and we ll both know'...
another time i had some joker talking AT me about wheels... 'you know - the stick things (spokes) with the nut (nipple) on top'...
he asked me if i could fix it... i told him that he was outta luck and it was time for a new build... he promptly replied that he had 'fixed wheels that were worse'... :rolleyes...
i reached into my pocket and pulled out a spoke wrench and pointed over at the truing stand... 'well if you can fix it, go for it... show me and we ll both know'...
another time i had some joker talking AT me about wheels... 'you know - the stick things (spokes) with the nut (nipple) on top'...
I work with some one like that, the bitch is to dumb to change a flat. She killed a 5000$ maverick sale by telling the guy tha juicy 7s suck and has sworn at me infront of costomers more than once.loco said: