Ride In Workshop

[ray]

Just a plug here, I took my old Cannondale Gemini to a large well known bike shop in North Manly with a wobbly headset, and a need for a desperate tune up after not being ridden for a couple of years, so after almost a week, they called me to say it was non fixable and they could no longer source a headset , so could'nt do anything with it other than advise me to take it to Jordan at the Ride in Workshop in Balgowlah ( as he used to work at Cannondale and may be able to get a hold of a new one)

Over the years i've bought three bikes and countless gear from these guys, and i have 5 bikes needing periodic work etc, so i'd have thought they could try a bit harder, it's not exactly an uncommon headset.

anyway, i took it to Jordan, explained what the go was, told him to get a new headset, give it a tune up etc....he called me an hour later to tell me the headset was fixed, all it needed was a new race...fixed the un fixable in under an hour!

Never met the guy before, sorted it out straight away and a few extra bits later, an 03 Gemini rides like a new one!

use him if you can...

Ray,

 

[MARKL]

There is a difference between being a 'mechanic' and somebody who just swaps parts...unfortunately most bike shops only have people that can swap parts, not even that at times...

 

[Tomas]

To stick up for the bike shop (having worked at one for years): What are they meant to do? They don't have a race (assumption, i know) or a headset that fits. They call cannondale and a few other suppliers with no luck. They can't spend all day trying every possible crown race or fix. It makes shit economic sense. They gave you the details of a Canondale specialist who fixed your problem... Said specialist did.

Sounds like good service to me (except maybe the week part).

 

[Big JD]

I ordered a chainring from my LBS and have chased them up four times now and spoken to three different staff. It has now been 35 days. There is no excuse for f*ck CS

 

[markusm]

To stick up for the bike shop (having worked at one for years): What are they meant to do? They don't have a race (assumption, i know) or a headset that fits. They call cannondale and a few other suppliers with no luck. They can't spend all day trying every possible crown race or fix. It makes shit economic sense. They gave you the details of a Canondale specialist who fixed your problem... Said specialist did.

Sounds like good service to me (except maybe the week part).

I've never worked in a bike shop either, but i have got common sense. Totally agree with you. He couldnt fix it but pointed out someone local that could.

At the end of the day the bike is fixed, he could have just said "no sorry mate, cant help you".

I wish some of the people i deal with were this helpful

 

[MARKL]

Sorry to the defenders of crap service but its a 1.5 headset - any decent bike shop should be able to look at and go "You need a 1.5 (full 1.5/reducer/taper)headset - FSA, Cane Creek and Chris King do those - how much do you want to pay?"

Not real hard, especially if the guy is a repeat customer that has bought 3 bikes and gets them serviced there.

 

[Big JD]

Sorry to the defenders of crap service but its a 1.5 headset - any decent bike shop should be able to look at and go "You need a 1.5 (full 1.5/reducer/taper)headset - FSA, Cane Creek and Chris King do those - how much do you want to pay?"

Not real hard, especially if the guy is a repeat customer that has bought 3 bikes and gets them serviced there.

totally agree

no excuse for crap service in any industry

 

[ray]

thing is, i had told them to get a new headset if they could'nt fix the existing one, they told me they could no longer get one, and were unable to fix the bike.

i could have ordered one myself from CRC....they have them readily available, how can them not fixing a bike in their bike fixing workshop be good service?

yes, well done for referring me to someone who did fix it...but they are a big bike shop, with a big bike servicing workshop...if they can't replace a headset in a bike, what are they there for?

They did'nt even service the rest of the bike as i requested,

 

[SideFX]

There is a difference between being a 'mechanic' and somebody who just swaps parts...unfortunately most bike shops only have people that can swap parts, not even that at times...

Lol , you hit the nail on the head there .

 

[floody]

Ahyes. 'I need to get my basic services done by a shop'...'I could have gotten on CRC and ordered the part myself'

Does not compute, as usual.
Yes, I question their inability to source the headset, but lets suspend disbelief on that and assume they couldn't fix it so instead of giving you the endless runaround they referred you to someone who was more experienced with fixing your problem, doesn't sound bad at all.

BTW, a straight 1.5/1.5 headset is 'exactly' an uncommon headset.

 

[Urban DH]

Lol , you hit the nail on the head there .

+1

yeh look there is no reason for crap service but its is an econimics issue with arseing around. I think we can all agree on that. Refering you to the appropriate place is a good thing for then to do but a week is a bit much, except in the case where they are booked out solid, which i think we all know is not an uncommon occurance. and yes there is very much a difference between a mechanic and a person who can swap parts. if they are a professional mechanic they should have been able to diagnose a problem like a race not sitting right. a 1.5 to 1.5 ia a fairly common headset and dirt works sell a number of different ones and you also need to remember that shops will only order from suppliers (most are supplied by dirt works) and any other running around is more hassle than its worth for them, and yes they should have completed the remainder of the service but all in all i think they could have been more profesional but can you blame them? they often a fair amount of work.

 

[\m/ Moshboy \m/]

Just a plug here, I took my old Cannondale Gemini to a large well known bike shop in North Manly with a wobbly headset, and a need for a desperate tune up after not being ridden for a couple of years, so after almost a week, they called me to say it was non fixable and they could no longer source a headset , so could'nt do anything with it other than advise me to take it to Jordan at the Ride in Workshop in Balgowlah ( as he used to work at Cannondale and may be able to get a hold of a new one)

Over the years i've bought three bikes and countless gear from these guys, and i have 5 bikes needing periodic work etc, so i'd have thought they could try a bit harder, it's not exactly an uncommon headset.

Ray,

As a good/regular customer I would expect better than that. But in saying that, you mentioned it hadn't been ridden for a couple of years, why the sudden urgency to get it back on the road again? It reminds me of a job we quoted on 6 weeks ago & the guy turns up Tuesday morning after sitting on it for 1 1/2 months & then wants the part it in a couple of days......it didn't happen. Ultimately though, I reckon you have the right to be a little peeved.

 

[Big JD]

1.5 to 1.5 headsets are readily available if not in stock in most bike shops. Now 1.5 reducing to 1.1/8 may not be in stock but still readily available. For a shop to turn someone (customer) away because they might not have one in stock - does not make good business sense. My LBS would never suggest i take my business elsewhere because they want my business and wish to maintain the relationship they have with the customer (me). Now if I needed something straight away and they couldnt help me then going elsewhere would not bother them. In todays market and online raping of retail stores I would have thought the need to secure and maintain your relationship with customers would be paramount.

 

[cramhobart]

Seems to me the bike shop in question has done you a favour- they have referred you to a competent mechanic who realises that what he sells is service, not bike bits, and that is something we all need.

 

[floody]

Straight 1.5 headsets being common is a load of tosh. What bike nowadays has a 1.5 HT and 1.5 steerer?
Some old Iron Horses.
Cannondales with their poxy proprietary forks.
Old Demo 7s.

Thats pretty much it, rare outside cannondale dealers, and anyone who doesn't use FSA* or Cane Creek+ for their headset supplier would be unlikely to have an easy route to acquire one.


If a customer needed something ASAP and I knew another shop I trust had the item, I would go as far as calling to make sure one was available, and send them there. I don't know about this week delay bit, but certainly sending someone somewhere they are likely to quickly and painlessly acquire what they need seems like reasonable service otherwise.


*Granted I am yet to encounter a shop without an SCV account, you'd be mad not to deal with them if you were a shop owner.
+Would also think they're pretty isolated if they don't have a Dirtworks account either!

 

[MARKL]

I checked out the OP's other posts and he has 888s fitted to his Gemini.

So 1.5 frame reduce to 1 1/8th steerer - pretty much standard for any downhill bike...and a 10 second diagnosis for any decent bike shop. A week is unforgivable in my book.

On the same topic I went to TBSM for an integrated taper headset today - which is a much more difficult headset than the above and I didn't have a headset for reference - ten minutes later new headset...easy.

 

[slippy]

"After almost a week they call me"

So the bike waited in a queue to be serviced for a couple of days. Reasonable.
The bike shop then tried for a while to diagnose the problem and source parts which are not rare but somewhat unusual. This also takes time, calling reps, waiting for replies. Reasonable.
Upon discovering the problem is not going to be a simple fix the shop takes the time to call the customer and advise them of a solution that is more likely to work in a timely fashion. Beyond reasonable, downright helpful.

Not seeing the complaint here. Shops can't stock every conceivable part to suit every conceivable industry "standard" just in case someone brings in an outdated design and wants it fixed immediately. Customers expectations are one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in the bike industry. Yes there are some incompetent shops, most are fine but customers can't adjust their expectations to suit reality so the shop cops it.

 

[Ivan]

but customers can't adjust their expectations to suit reality so the shop cops it.

The customers expectations ARE the reality. This is what good shops understand, and mediocre ones don't.

Do you think that this customer is going to recommend business to the shop that didn't meet his expectation, or the one that did?

 

[slippy]

Of course he'll recommend business to the shop that met his expectations.

That doesn't mean the other shop didn't try everything in their power to help out. I reckon the OP was served by two good bike shops by the sound of it. A shop isn't automatically crap if it doesn't meet unrealistic expectations. And if you think customers don't have unrealistic expectations I challenge you to work in retail for a while.