So I am having a bit of a spat with my bike store. I had my bike in for regular maintenance a few weeks ago and they did a terrible job. Well, maybe not terrible, but I had to go back twice (so far…) and that is twice more than I should have gone. I am definitely not happy.
The problem is that, other than this experience, I really like that bike store. This is the only store I’ve gone to that caters to me. I tell them what I want and they put it together. Sure, there are plenty of bike stores in town, but if I have explain to their resident expert what a bakfiet is, I sure as heck don’t want to buy it from him.
Currently my bike wheel is unusable. No bike makes for grumpy Boj. Grunpy pregnant Boj. No fun at all. I have another wheel on order. Usually when I am unhappy with the store, I just don’t go back. But there is something in me that is just not ready to give up on the place. So here are my options:
1. Screw them, get the wheel from somewhere else and never go back.
2. Get the wheel, get them to install it and then never go back.
3. Get the wheel, grump a bit about the maintenance job and then get some baskets that I have been wanting to get from there but insist that none except for the head mechanic ever touches my bike now or in the future. Get maintenance somewhere else or wait for winter when only the head mechanic is there.
There are two decentish bike shops in Kanata. I can go there, but they don’t cater to my needs (one is all about speed and performance and the other focuses on recreation). There are two other bike shops on Bank street downtown that carry the products that I like, but I am not too familiar with them. I’ve been to one and it seemed good but it felt too much like a boutique for me to have confidence in them. Perhaps I misjudged? The other one I have never been to, but that is where Dan got his bike so I am sure it is decent (I have to remember to ask Dan about it next time I talk to him). I am going to shop around for a bit and decide form there.
So back to my spat. I believe the problem is with the junior mechanics they have for the busy season. On one hand, we all have bad days, and sometimes things get overlooked. On the other hand, it is the management’s responsibility to make sure all of their employees, especially junior ones, are doing decent job. The maintenance list says that they will do a test ride once the bike is tuned. If they did a test ride, how come they did not notice that my bike could not shift into the first gear? For crying out loud, there are only three gears on the bike, how could you miss that??? Why was my wheel out of true if one of the steps is checking the wheel in a truing stand? Grhh!!!
I don’t know what to do. Part of me is wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, the other part of me thinks I am being a softie fool for it. Tune in next week to find out what I ended up doing…
Boj, talk to the manager/owner. Explain exactly why you’re pissed, and what you would like them to do to make it up to you (i.e. fix your bike, properly this time, and possibly throw in something extra to make up for all the extra visits, or a guarantee that you’ll be serviced by the head mechanic). Explain that you like them, and that you’d like to continue visiting their store, but that this has seriously shaken your confidence (not to mention satisfaction with their service) and that you are prepared to take your business elsewhere.
If the manager isn’t cooperative, point out that it costs a LOT more to attract a new customer than to keep an old, loyal one — especially one who buys as much bike gear as you do.