If you take your bike to a shop for service

dcg141
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MS US
9/15/2020 7:43am
Please take a stand. There are only so many walls to lean them against.
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FGR01
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9/15/2020 7:46am
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
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9/15/2020 7:48am
FGR01 wrote:
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
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davis224
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Cornland, IL US
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9/15/2020 7:48am
Dealers should have a ton of the cheap flimsy triangle stands that come in the crates. But yes, to guarantee your bike doesn't just get leaned up against whatever, bring a stand.
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FGR01
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9/15/2020 7:56am
FGR01 wrote:
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass.

For the record, before we go any further down this road, I am a mechanic myself and work on my own stuff. I don't take my bikes to shops and part of the reason is the outrageous service rates. Another reason is the fact that most "mechanics" at shops are hacks.
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The Shop

SEE ARE125
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TN US
9/15/2020 8:42am Edited Date/Time 9/15/2020 8:43am
FGR01 wrote:
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
FGR01 wrote:
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass. For the record, before we go any...
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass.

For the record, before we go any further down this road, I am a mechanic myself and work on my own stuff. I don't take my bikes to shops and part of the reason is the outrageous service rates. Another reason is the fact that most "mechanics" at shops are hacks.
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for 4hrs. If the mechanic can knock it out in 2hrs, he essentially doubled his pay. From talking to a few, that’s how I understand it works.
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kb228
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Mansfield, OH US
9/15/2020 8:46am
FGR01 wrote:
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
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LungButter
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Yellow Pine, ID US
9/15/2020 8:52am
kb228 wrote:
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the...
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
If I have to pay someone to work on my bikes, it's a guy like you. I don't mind supporting the local shop but labor rates are insanely high to have some dude work on my bike who just got done working on a random quad before and has to work on a Gold Wing next while all he's really worried about is how traffic is going to be to get his McDonalds for lunch.
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boston_jorj
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Where The Blue Grass Grows, KY US
9/15/2020 8:57am
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
FGR01 wrote:
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass. For the record, before we go any...
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass.

For the record, before we go any further down this road, I am a mechanic myself and work on my own stuff. I don't take my bikes to shops and part of the reason is the outrageous service rates. Another reason is the fact that most "mechanics" at shops are hacks.
SEE ARE125 wrote:
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for...
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for 4hrs. If the mechanic can knock it out in 2hrs, he essentially doubled his pay. From talking to a few, that’s how I understand it works.
Correct that's called a flat rate technician.
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9/15/2020 9:16am
FGR01 wrote:
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass. For the record, before we go any...
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass.

For the record, before we go any further down this road, I am a mechanic myself and work on my own stuff. I don't take my bikes to shops and part of the reason is the outrageous service rates. Another reason is the fact that most "mechanics" at shops are hacks.
SEE ARE125 wrote:
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for...
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for 4hrs. If the mechanic can knock it out in 2hrs, he essentially doubled his pay. From talking to a few, that’s how I understand it works.
Correct that's called a flat rate technician.
but most are not flat rate Techs. They get paid hourly. so if the job calls for 4 hours, the shop bills 4 hours. but if the tech completes in 2, he gets paid for 2.
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btroxler
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Saltillo, MS US
9/15/2020 9:31am
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
FGR01 wrote:
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass. For the record, before we go any...
Very good point. It makes sense that when paying someone $100-120/hr I should also expect to kiss their ass.

For the record, before we go any further down this road, I am a mechanic myself and work on my own stuff. I don't take my bikes to shops and part of the reason is the outrageous service rates. Another reason is the fact that most "mechanics" at shops are hacks.
SEE ARE125 wrote:
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for...
Aren’t mechanics incentivized to do the job quicker anyway? If the book calls for 4hrs, the shop charges for 4hrs, and the mechanic gets paid for 4hrs. If the mechanic can knock it out in 2hrs, he essentially doubled his pay. From talking to a few, that’s how I understand it works.
Most of the mechanics aren't given incentive to do quicker, the shop looses money. They are going to charge you what the OEM gives in time required to complete.

Where the incentive comes into play is number of hours charged and how many come backs the mechanic has, meaning what % of equipment has to come back because of same issue.

At least when I worked in a OEM dealership shop this is how it worked.
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dl117
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9/15/2020 9:38am
for years my dad worked at a snowmobile dealer, and he was paid by book, I know on a bulkhead change I would bill out 16 hours and he would be done in 8.
davis224
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9/15/2020 2:00pm
The dealer I worked at had lower level techs doing stuff like tires/small services while they built their skills to move up to flat rate. Some jobs were geared to be a better deal for the customer (less than the book for flat rate) and the hourly guys would usually get those, while some jobs were gravy for the techs. We charged a flat rate of 1.5 hours for a carb clean, more if it was a multi carb street bike, but still 1.5 hours even if it was a PW 50 that took 15 minutes to do.

Then we would still charge .7 hours to do a tire change on the bike, even if it was a GL1500, which I believe the book said 1.5 hours to do the rear tire. The frantic pace trying to maximize your efficiency led me to leave the bike shop and get into heavy industrial maintenance at twice the pay and benefits, at a much more leisurely pace.
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9/15/2020 2:34pm
The kind of service shop doesn’t have a bunch triangle stands available is the kind of service shop I would avoid.
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sf702/410
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9/15/2020 4:27pm
You'd be hard pressed to find any mechanic short of industrial paid hourly. It's all flat rate and it generally sucks for all parties except the dealer.
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Zycki11
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Ankeny, IA US
9/15/2020 4:50pm Edited Date/Time 9/15/2020 5:07pm
I got a flat one night at a practice track. Realized the tube I thought I had, I gave to someone at the track. No big deal, jetted over to a shop that was still open.

While I was there, i told the service writer to go ahead and quote me for a tube change. The guy quoted me $137. I started laughing and said how is that possible? Keep in mind I am a service writer myself for Ford.

He proceeds to tell me how, they have to break down the tire from the rear axle, remove the tube, replace the tube, put the tire back on, and then the axle.

I laughed again, at this point it was really entertaining for me. So I asked him how long it would take? He replied about an hour. Uh huh..... even with a tire machine? Yep he replied.

I’ll take the tube
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captmoto
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA US
9/15/2020 8:35pm
kb228 wrote:
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the...
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it before you work on it?
RacerX8
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CA
9/15/2020 9:46pm
kb228 wrote:
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the...
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
captmoto wrote:
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it...
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it before you work on it?
Right? The condition I see bikes, quads, SxS’s come into the local shop here when popping by is laughable, I’d never drop off my bike to have work done if it looked like it was dragged through a mud hole. I’d personally bring a stand to, just to ensure that my bike had a decent place to sit if they had a higher volume of bikes in that outnumbered their available stands, that’s just me though...
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FWYT
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San Diego, CA US
9/15/2020 9:53pm
captmoto wrote:
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it...
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it before you work on it?
Man, no kidding. I have no idea how anyone can work on a dirty bike. It's gotta be CLEAN before taking things apart!
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mx216
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Portland, OR US
9/15/2020 10:36pm
I have worked at dealerships and have seen the condition
of most stuff that comes in. Farm quads with cow shit plastered under the fenders and caked on the motor. Jet skis with more mold and mildew in them than a penicillin factory. Bikes that may get hosed off but have never seen an air hose and everything is rusted. Literally some guy picked his new kx450 up, went and trail rode it, mind you its oregon in February, came back late that afternoon to drop it off for its first service. Couldn't even tell what brand it was. Honestly, the dealership is geared towards the farm quad, SXS, streetbike crowds more than the hard-core moto guys. The shop rates directly reflect this. You need to keep in mind, most of you guys here know how to take care of your stuff, the dealership is there for the people with the money, that either don't have the time or knowledge. If you wanna play, you gotta pay, just depends on how you're willing to pay.
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Rickyisms
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FL US
9/15/2020 10:43pm
Zycki11 wrote:
I got a flat one night at a practice track. Realized the tube I thought I had, I gave to someone at the track. No big...
I got a flat one night at a practice track. Realized the tube I thought I had, I gave to someone at the track. No big deal, jetted over to a shop that was still open.

While I was there, i told the service writer to go ahead and quote me for a tube change. The guy quoted me $137. I started laughing and said how is that possible? Keep in mind I am a service writer myself for Ford.

He proceeds to tell me how, they have to break down the tire from the rear axle, remove the tube, replace the tube, put the tire back on, and then the axle.

I laughed again, at this point it was really entertaining for me. So I asked him how long it would take? He replied about an hour. Uh huh..... even with a tire machine? Yep he replied.

I’ll take the tube
My cheap ass would be busting my knuckles with tire irons all night before paying that much to swap a tube.
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bvm111
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9/15/2020 10:49pm
you lost me at “take my bike in for service” you’re kidding right?
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mattyhamz2
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So Cal, CA US
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9/16/2020 12:02am
FGR01 wrote:
Yeah. For $100-120/hr you can't be expecting these places to take care of every detail!
Be nice to the tech and suddenly the 4 hours they spent on your bike turns to 2.5. You expect them to wash it too ?
kb228 wrote:
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the...
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
Same for me. I actually wash almost all the bikes I get and prefer it that way because I have my own way of washing and checking things while I wash. I also wash by hand and never use a pressure washer. Just my preference. Average is about 35-50 minutes to wash a bike, but I’m very thorough. I charge $20 for washing. Everyone loves how their bikes come back. Usually don’t use much SC1 unless the plastic is looking pretty old and has lost its shine.
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kb228
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Mansfield, OH US
9/16/2020 6:35am
kb228 wrote:
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the...
2.5hrs or $250. For $100/hr they should have stands. A wash or wipe down with SC1 would be nice. These places charge $100/hr then pay the tech $15/hr if hes lucky to even get that.

I do this stuff on the side and charge $40/hr. I have stands and will wipe down the bike with sc1 and lube their chain at no cost(assuming its not caked in mud). In their mind theyre getting a steal on labor and their stuff is coming back cleaner than they dropped it off.
captmoto wrote:
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it...
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it before you work on it?
If i have to pressure wash mud off of a bike i charge for it. Usually guys are nice enough to bring them to me clean enough to work on. The ATV and SXS guys are the ones that leave their stuff covered in mud. I avoid those as much as possible.
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9/16/2020 8:27am Edited Date/Time 9/16/2020 8:30am
My uncle was a dealership mechanic in the late 80s and early 90s. He’d do 70-80-90 hours worth of work in 40, depending on the job, some stuff super fast other stuff takes time..... and He would make great money....making a ton of overtime but still only there for 40.....until the dealership stopped that and made him and every other mechanic an hourly employee at $13/hr. He went from being in the high 20s/ low 30s an hour in the early 1990s to $13. Guess what happened ? He stopped doing 80 hours of work in 40. Started doing 40 hours of work In 40.....and then quit. Incentive used to be high, I guess it’s even worse today.
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Rickyisms
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FL US
9/16/2020 8:42am
My uncle was a dealership mechanic in the late 80s and early 90s. He’d do 70-80-90 hours worth of work in 40, depending on the job...
My uncle was a dealership mechanic in the late 80s and early 90s. He’d do 70-80-90 hours worth of work in 40, depending on the job, some stuff super fast other stuff takes time..... and He would make great money....making a ton of overtime but still only there for 40.....until the dealership stopped that and made him and every other mechanic an hourly employee at $13/hr. He went from being in the high 20s/ low 30s an hour in the early 1990s to $13. Guess what happened ? He stopped doing 80 hours of work in 40. Started doing 40 hours of work In 40.....and then quit. Incentive used to be high, I guess it’s even worse today.
Seems that way with a lot of dealerships, I don't understand it.

Your techs can make you $100 in an hour or less, yet the service manager still treats them like dirt. They're arguably one of the most valuable assets and easiest money makers for you. Charge an hour to clean a carb, takes the tech 15 mins, Charge the customer $80-$100 for the "hour" it took. Pay the tech for the estimated hour instead of the 15 minutes.

You wouldn't have a bevy of bikes with angry customers waiting for their shit to be finished all the time, and you would have happier employees. I don't get it.
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wildbill
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Christmas Valley, OR US
9/16/2020 8:42am
I beat a pro at a local arena race. Local shop manager totally dug it and taper bored my carb, and milled my head.
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Zycki11
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Ankeny, IA US
9/16/2020 9:43am
Rickyisms wrote:
My cheap ass would be busting my knuckles with tire irons all night before paying that much to swap a tube.
Oh I did haha
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lumpy790
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York, SC US
9/16/2020 11:42am
As a flat rate tech for 30 years it was always fun to watch the $15 and hour guys fresh out of MMI trying to change a tire.
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TeamGreen
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Thru-out, CA US
9/16/2020 12:10pm Edited Date/Time 9/16/2020 12:20pm
I’ve had 2 shops do work for me when I’m in a time-jam:
Fator’s Husky-KTM-Suzuki
Lee’s Honda-Kawasaki-Polaris
That’s up in Redding, CA.

Both have been excellent in both work & price.

All the while, I am kinda bummed that there a lot of you seem to be stuck with mediocre dealers. If I were stuck in that situation, I’d d find a good “shade tree” mechanic in my area...like Big Lenny. Remember him? He does all sorts of work on other people’s scoots. And I don’t think he charges enough!

My race/track bikes are built and maintained by AMA pro-mechanics &...on occasion, I have an engine...or two...or five...built at Twisted Development. Certainly not cheap; but, from Rip to Cabo to a full year of racing...their motors are fast AND dependable.

That all can cost money; but, in the long run...
No crazy breakdowns.
Things are serviced/replaced correctly.
My sprocket bolts are torqued.
And I’m always stoked at how well my bikes work.

Go find “your” mechanic.
And for all of you that “Do your own thing”...
More power to ya!
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JM485
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Davis, CA US
9/16/2020 12:18pm
captmoto wrote:
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it...
How about bringing in a clean and spritzed up bike for a mechanic to work on. Do you work on your bike? Do you wash it before you work on it?
Anyone who complains about bad service but brings in a dirty bike immediately losses any credibility. If I’m working on anyone else’s stuff I make it clear that it doesn’t even come to my house until it’s clean enough to eat off.
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