I don't know what it is that makes people who are out on a ride think they can just stop into the shop ask me to fix something and then think they don't need to pay for services rendered. Recently a racer-type in full team kit came into the shop with her bike while her teammate waited outside. She said she was missing a spacer in her cassette. Actually, she wasn't missing a spacer, one of the 10s spacers was simply not in the right spot so there was a double-wide gap between two cogs and another two cogs are snuggled up against each other.
So, I get that all sorted out, wheel back in the frame, shift it through the gears to make sure everything works, squeeze the brake levers to check for proper brake adjustment (it's quite surprising how many roadie bikes have brake calipers that are not properly centered and her's wasn't either) and fix. Do a quick headset assessment (it's quite surprising how many roadie bikes have headsets that are just a touch loose) and adjust the headset.
This is where it gets interesting (to me). In the past I've had other riders come into the shop needing road-side repairs and sometimes I do them pro-bono and sometimes I charge. Depends on what's involved. It I have to put the bike in the stand, I'm going to charge. If I can fix it with a 3-way allen wrench in under a minute, I might not charge. Most of the time the rider says "How much do I owe you?" If I tell them no charge, they are very appreciative and say they'll spread the word about my shop.
Sometimes, however, after I've said all better, the rider simply heads out the door without offering to pay or me saying that'll be 10 bucks. So, I tell the racer that her bike is ready and that I solved the cassette spacer orientation issue, adjusted the brake, and adjusted the headset. She simply says thanks and heads out the door. I thought about saying "hey, you owe me $20," but was kind of flabbergasted that she didn't even think about asking how much. She did say thanks, but dang, I did an amount of work that warranted payment.
Lesson learned for me. Next time, I speak up and tell the person with the repaired bike twenty bucks. Even if she was on the road with no money and no credit-card, that's not a reason to not offer to pay. Earlier that day, I had another racer type who came in with a shredded tire and no money or card to pay for a new tire, tubes, CO2 cartridge...so I do what I've done on other occasions and tell them no problem, I'll fix your bike, get you back on the road and when you get home, just call me with your credit-card number or mail me a check. I've done this on several occasions and have never been burned. And I'll keep doing this. But next time I perform any work on a bike that warrants payment, I'm saying "that'll be twenty bucks" after the work is performed.
(What's playing: Minus 5 The Long Hall)
I finally was able to make it to the long-running Appetite Seminar, a traditional mountain bike ride on Thanksgiving morning designed to make room for a feast. The ride was the traditional Pine Mountain loop that I did on my old drop bar Ibis.
(What's playing: KWMR Think Local First West Marin and getting ready to head out for a quick Bolinas Ridge ride)
