[gumbafish]

So I just dropped off my bike at the shop to have my wheels trued and a general going over (before anyone suggests I work on the bike myself...I do, I built the whole thing but it needed a little professional lovin after a few years and a couple thousand miles) and then they said it would be 10-14 days.

I left the bike there anyways because I really did need the wheels trued and I can't get the hang of it but I was wondering if that seems like a really long time. I was honestly thinking 4 days or so and now I am regretting the possibility of 2 weeks with no bike. Does this sound like a long time or does it sound normal-ish?

 

[tednugent]

sounds like the LBS is really busy and have a nice backlog of stuff to do.

 

[ph0enix]

A week at most at my LBS during the busy season (now). They usually have 3 mechanics, sometimes 4 working at once.

 

[bayAreaDude]

Standard where I live, which is tied for the top reason why I don't use them.

 

[AlanE]

Unless it's something that needs to be repaired immediately (i.e. the bike is unrideable) I always try to schedule the work in advance with my LBS and they do it that same day. They give pre-scheduled jobs priority over drop offs.

 

[MrMook]

You only have one bike????

 

[gumbafish]

I know I am an outlier, I sold my mountain bike last year leaving me with only one bike. I do have an old road frame and almost enough components to cobble together a frankenbike though but I don't have a second set of wheels.

Good tip on scheduling it in advance, since I usually do all my own work this is the first time I have brought a bike to a shop in a few years and I guess this is probably the reason I started doing it myself in the first place.

 

[den bakker]

2 weeks? jeez you could have ridden to a neighboring state, have it fixed and ride back faster than that.

 

[Jay Strongbow]

yes, around here that would be considered a very long time unless it involved getting a hard to find part that they didn't stock.

My typical experience has been 3-4 days for something routine like a wheel true and general kick the tires.

 

[gumbafish]

I am going to try to beg, borrow, or steal a bike from a friend...failing that there is an old Ross 3 speed that has always been in my office from the previous occupants I might just commute on or something.

Out of curiosity is there any etiquette on canceling service? If I decide tonight that its been 6 months of winter and I can't wait another 2 weeks to start riding would it be acceptable to call the shop and cancel the service and just pick up my bike?

 

[Marc]

Whenever my LBS has a long lead time due to heavy business...they just warn me to keep my bike/toys and make an appointment.

 

[Roland44]

Standard where I live, which is tied for the top reason why I don't use them.

Yep same here, it sucks waiting 1 week for an answer. No thanks...

 

[Peter P.]

It's the busy season for bike shops, and most shops can't afford to hire enough labor to keep turnaround times "reasonable". Same goes for having staff work overtime to meet delivery times.

The concept of advanced scheduling of service SOUNDS like a great idea although I've never heard of it before and I wrenched in a high volume shop. However in practice, I'd be curious what percentage of customers stiff the shop and never meet their appointment. Remember; if a shop has the manpower to perform 10 repairs a day and you're one of them then you cancel, there's now likely a wasted hour that may be difficult for the shop to fill. Perhaps a non-refundable deposit to reserve an appointment would work-until a customer has a hissy fit despite advanced knowledge of such a policy.

So 10-14 days is reasonable. Canceling your service in advance of your regularly scheduled repair and retrieving your bike is acceptable as well as long as you don't bad mouth the shop when you pick it up-just apologize that you need your bike and say thank you. If you must, you can speak with your wallet.

 

[Marc]

It's the busy season for bike shops, and most shops can't afford to hire enough labor to keep turnaround times "reasonable". Same goes for having staff work overtime to meet delivery times.

The concept of advanced scheduling of service SOUNDS like a great idea although I've never heard of it before and I wrenched in a high volume shop. However in practice, I'd be curious what percentage of customers stiff the shop and never meet their appointment. Remember; if a shop has the manpower to perform 10 repairs a day and you're one of them then you cancel, there's now likely a wasted hour that may be difficult for the shop to fill. Perhaps a non-refundable deposit to reserve an appointment would work-until a customer has a hissy fit despite advanced knowledge of such a policy.

So 10-14 days is reasonable. Canceling your service in advance of your regularly scheduled repair and retrieving your bike is acceptable as well as long as you don't bad mouth the shop when you pick it up-just apologize that you need your bike and say thank you. If you must, you can speak with your wallet.

My current LBS I'm chummy with. As a reg customer who has spent thousands with them, they know I'll come back. And I know that if I'm patient and not in a dire emergency they'll do me right come cash register time. Being patient and calm and understanding are lost consumer arts...I've seen it at LBSes all the time with customers trying to screw shops and then are surprised when the shop doesn't bend over to keep their business.

As a nobody off the street with little if any shop loyalty and the LBS knows that, I have no clue how that customer would react.

 

[den bakker]

It's the busy season for bike shops, and most shops can't afford to hire enough labor to keep turnaround times "reasonable". Same goes for having staff work overtime to meet delivery times.

The concept of advanced scheduling of service SOUNDS like a great idea although I've never heard of it before and I wrenched in a high volume shop. However in practice, I'd be curious what percentage of customers stiff the shop and never meet their appointment. Remember; if a shop has the manpower to perform 10 repairs a day and you're one of them then you cancel, there's now likely a wasted hour that may be difficult for the shop to fill. Perhaps a non-refundable deposit to reserve an appointment would work-until a customer has a hissy fit despite advanced knowledge of such a policy.

So 10-14 days is reasonable. Canceling your service in advance of your regularly scheduled repair and retrieving your bike is acceptable as well as long as you don't bad mouth the shop when you pick it up-just apologize that you need your bike and say thank you. If you must, you can speak with your wallet.

funny. there's a 2 week wait and the shop would be worried to have nothing to do if someone did not show up?
As for not having staff when it's busy; I'm sure you'll be happy waiting an hour or two for your beer at the bar because it's their "busy" time.

 

[gumbafish]

Yeah I guess I picked a bad time to bring it in, no hard feelings with the shop at all as they have always treated me right. I think I will end up going back and getting the bike and either waiting or calling around to see if I can get it done somewhere else.

 

[DaveWC]

I get free tuneups on bikes I bought from the LBS in my city. I was in there a month ago & asked when I could get my bike looked at and they said 2 1/2 weeks. They took down my name etc. and told me to bring it in on May 7 & it would be done on May 8. Worked awesome. It's not like they want to hold that many bikes while waiting to get work done.

 

[gumbafish]

That is a good point, when I go to pick it up I can see if they would just let me keep it till they need it and if they are not kosher with that then I can just bring it elsewhere.

 

[Cableguy]

No way I would drop off my bike for 10-14 days, unless I did not intend to pick it up again.

I remember one time I called a LBS in advance and asked if they could take off a crankset that required special tools. They said np bring it down, they weren't busy and could do it right away... 25 minutes later I get there and tell the guy at the front about my convo. He says talk to the mechanic. I go find the mechanic and the first thing he says is, "mmm... 4 or 5 days." I started laughing, I thought he was joking. What I needed done was a 10 min job anyways. He just stared at me. I realized it wasn't a joke. Eventually someone there claimed responsibility and they ended up pulling the guy off the front for a few minutes to do what I needed.

 

[velodog]

You had all winter to bring the bike to the shop, why wait till spring when every Mothers son wants their bike fixed too?

Next year plan ahead, you know at the end of the riding season.