It's not bloody fair - Long rant, just ignore me, Sawyers do!

[Marknz]

Good couple of points.

When the fuck you gonna come in for a coffee anyway?

'bout this time 2moro I'll be getting acquainted with the inside of a 747 for the best part of a day.... will see you sometime after 08 Sept.

Might have scored a ticket to the Czech MotoGP too.... damn!

[gav]

You know what use to piss me off most was when I'd book my bike in for a service/tyre/whatever, drop it off first thing, and find them still rushing to finish it when I arrived after 5 to pick it up. Why the fuck was my bike left to last, coz I'm a nice guy and didnt moan to much? but honestly I'd rather not seeing them rush to finish it on time, mistakes happen huh... You know you be cool about it but why not do the job when it was booked in for, like morning job. When I worked in a bike shop use to try and get the mechanics to try and get the small jobs out of the way first, but no, its only a 15 minute job I'll start at 4.45 then they find its actually taking a "little bit" longer than 15 mins Guess the time management class wasnt too well attended with our exam sitting mechanics?

[loosebruce]

Darryl is the most requested mechanic for customers having their bikes worked on.

He is absolutely brilliant. As is Hayden.

These two guys have built two robots each for fun to compete against each other.

They are both frickin genius's.

Hence why if i need any serious work done on my bike i still make the trip to welly to get the boys at Welly M/Cycles to sort it

[Marknz]

yea, I know where you're coming from there gav. I got caught out with my very first service on my VTR250 in Aussie like that, I even had to wait till the next day to pick it up which really annoyed me as I'd made plans for a ride that evening. So I just got to talking to the mechanics and ended up becoming reasonably good mates with them.

After a while and moving up to the VTR1000 I found that I could roll on in to see these guys and talk to them anytime I liked (they are the biggest dealership in Canberra) and discuss ideas about how to upgrade the 'Storm and personalise it a bit. One of these guys is a fellow 'Storm rider and I would now consider him to be one of my best mates... we have an agreement that we're going to go to the MotoGP at Phillip Island as long as we're physically able to.

I also got to be so happy with the support and workmanship I got from them that I offered free advertising for the dealership on my racebike... you see how quickly that get's your bike turned around and how well it's cleaned and polished at the end of the day when you go to pick it up!!

[rodgerd]

I may just do that.......

But seriously, you and Motu have the same idea, it's all about customers expectations. Some realistic, others far from.

Yeah, well, in my own line of work I try never to say "No", but sometimes things just aren't technically feasible.

A friend in the same field has the excellent line, "That sounds very expensive" when trying to explain to customers why a given course of action, while possible, is not necessarily in their own interests.

[Motu]

You know what use to piss me off most was when I'd book my bike in for a service/tyre/whatever, drop it off first thing, and find them still rushing to finish it when I arrived after 5 to pick it up. Why the fuck was my bike left to last, coz I'm a nice guy and didnt moan to much? but honestly I'd rather not seeing them rush to finish it on time, mistakes happen huh... You know you be cool about it but why not do the job when it was booked in for, like morning job. When I worked in a bike shop use to try and get the mechanics to try and get the small jobs out of the way first, but no, its only a 15 minute job I'll start at 4.45 then they find its actually taking a "little bit" longer than 15 mins Guess the time management class wasnt too well attended with our exam sitting mechanics?

The customer is not always right,and getting their own way doesn't go far with me - explaining the best course of action is what it's all about,but it's their decision,and that's why mechanics get pissed off!

gav - as you say,it's time managment,just because you brought your bike in first doesn't mean it will be worked on first.As I said I run a car shop,I prioritize the jobs,bring them in,strip them down and order parts as required,this is the most important part of the day,everything else hinges on getting parts.The ''easy'' jobs will be left to later,fitted in as time allows,it doesn't mean
you are not important,just the work reqiuired on your bike may not be a priority in the day.

Oh,for the good old days,when we were trusted(?),able to make our own decisions on the customers behalf,to be thanked for doing the right thing,not blamed for a larger bill.I still have the odd customer who says....I brought the car in for you to fix,just do it and I'll pay the bill,it's your job and you know best.

[Mongoose]

gav - as you say,it's time managment,just because you brought your bike in first doesn't mean it will be worked on first.As I said I run a car shop,I prioritize the jobs,bring them in,strip them down and order parts as required,this is the most important part of the day,everything else hinges on getting parts.The ''easy'' jobs will be left to later,fitted in as time allows,it doesn't mean
you are not important,just the work reqiuired on your bike may not be a priority in the day.

.

You do make a point with this posting BUT, as a customer I book my bike in for first thing in the morning because its an 80 odd k trip to the bike shop. I want it done that day, not started today and maybe finished tomorrow. Why else would I book it in? If it is started first thing, that leaves time for any Ooops to be dealt with before I ride home.
In short, it does make a difference to the customer when he/she books in for first thing that they get service first thing.

[Motu]

Well,in my branch of this industry there is no 'it'll be finished tomorrow' all jobs that come in today go out today,if we need it more than a day you will be told when you drop it off.A hard act to juggle - but other areas of our trade work a bit different...I just had a job towed in froms a trans shop,it's been in there for 10 weeks and hasn't been completed,my job is to fix their stuff up and make it a runner,and will only get a few days to do it,not weeks!Specialist shops...bikes,autos,outboards etc are kinda protected in that they have very little competition,no Iranian shop up the road working at half price to push them along.But for those who want a job done right now,or to pick it up at lunch time - uh,no...our hours are 8 to 4.30,you can pick your vehicle up at the end of the day.But I work druring the day - yeah,so do we,that's how we fix your car.

[Brian d marge]

ok
1st off the bike mechanic is a SERVICE industry. you are a 24 hour printing company and your copier breaks down damn sure cannon will send a tech round ..ours arrives within an hour or so...Yes they do come at 3 in the morning ..u pay.. but they come! Actually its not that bad ..we had our copier go at 10 pm and had a new one installed by 11 ...a bit off topic but to illustrate the point

You ( the bike owner are MY customer YOU bring YOUR bike to me because you trust my knowledge and experience .....

You want to see anal retentive you should see an older Japanese person that has Just spent 2 million yen on a bike ....

Now if you bring YOUR PRIDE and JOY to me ..( you may have little money and this may be your first bike BUT you love it ...( My Enfield ,,,,, carrillo rod , special piston ..NEW reworked cylinder head , kibblewhite valves set up.....its stiil only an Enfield but it MY pride and Joy)

It gets treated as you one would assume u treat it ..( a steam clean and a polish adds min to the final total and is a great way to double double check your work....and any other safety things that you may have missed Such as a cracked side stand on XT600 s )

Closing on Saturdays is another point ...when do most office worker work ..monday to friday ,,when do they go shopping ,,Saturday and sunday ... christchurch was a ghost town on sunday when I was last there ....
you open sat and sunday AND you offer free pick up and delivery ( or at min cost ) ,,,closing at 5 ..yeah right .. I start at 2 and work to 10 at nite others start at 7 and finish at 3 or 4 ..and they will stay on if they are needed ..for the same money ,,,,( loyalty to the customer and company)

As to undoing those oil fillers ..the ones I hate are the screwdriver slot ones ...not many are dissimilar metal . Magnisium being quite low on the galvanitic table alumin being slightly higher ....anyway they get quite tight ..and there are a few ways to remove them ...

1 make a tool with SOFT nylon insets /and a long handle ( or aluminium if slotted and a Longggggg handle
2 HEAT the engine up hot,,...as usually the bike was given a test ride then the oil checked AFTER the ride ..the case expands and a now cooling cap get screwed back into a hot case ...thats how u hold main bearings in heat the case cool the bearing and drop in ,,,
3..use n1 with no 2 AND localised heat from a hair dryer...
4 it all goes south ......Ring customer and ask.......

Remember the customer ISNT paying for the bike sitting while some chemical/heat....thinking time.... is doing its work....( well it might come under consumables ) BUT you do have to tell the customer what is happening ,,,as they may need the bike on sat morning to go on a trip thats why they are getting the bike serviced ...then they MAY give u permission to be brutal....

And as for charging ...Honda provide a guide line in the parts book for how long it should take ...these are pretty accurate ( what happens if a bolt is stuck ..the customer gets informed ..u stick the part in plus gas , and leave over nite fore which the customer doesnt get charged ,,,,)..I like price per Job..as its my skill u are paying for ...So if I give you a price its my experience and skill that makes me the profit !..I dont like over estimating in order to say no to the work I prefer just to be honest,,,,,( i really have difficulty in saying no ,,,)

I would be quite happy for me ( so I could edit out all the bad words when I find the part I ordered is the wrong one!!!!! ) to take a video of everything I do ..in fact I think there is a company in England who does just that )
I personally like having the customer sitting at a table not far from me watching say a bike video , so that the service manager / me / anyone can talk to them and they can see what I am doing ,,,,

and if you think thats a bad Idea ,,, look at the car world ..I am a bike mechanic and I was doing that ( having the customer sit with me while I worked ) for a few years before I changed position ,,you get to know your customers real well...( which I like as I like people..) and sometimes your customers suggest way in which to tackle a problem ...which is cool because they feel important ..and the bike gets done quicker ,,once u get over I am the mechanic rock head mentality ,,,,,

Well look like I went off at the deep end ..but I have spent half my life working with the classic Ive been a mechanic for ...... and was sick of it so now I race mx ( as cheaply as poss, as the wife will - insert very painful things here- ) In the mornings I can design new bits ,,,,( BIG PLUG for F1 engineering who gets all the difficult bits one offs and stuff that costs a fortune to do here ,,,and he still smiles at me when I met him at wanganui!! )

Finally before anyone jumps in ,,,my numbers on a bike shop ,,are fifty an hour min...As an owner /mech.. if I and my family are to have a AVERAGE income, That is with ME owning the building ie not paying rent !!

as Quoted before Sports zone@ 60 per hour in chch arnt probabaly making much money on the workshop side and I know the costs on their bikes they import ..which isnt a lot this side of the water ....

Stephen
Who is very busy at the mo trying to get 2 bikes ready for a big Enduro in fukushima in June ,,,,on the money the wife drip feeds me ....( she the money boss.... .makes me stay within budget!!!! )

[jazbug5]

Brian?

Did you see the date of the last post.....?

[gav]

And obviously not that busy if he's reading all these old threads Why not post this reply in the service cost thread?

[Brian d marge]

Brian?

Did you see the date of the last post.....?

errr does the date matter ? ( for someone who posted AFTER me ,,,,, and no not that busy after work...always like an intersting read ....thats why I was searching ....
beats what color do you guys paint your sidestand or other mindless post

Stephen

[The Tazman]

Maybe it's just the fact that I stutter, and look like a f*ing retard, so they treat me as such, and don't take me seriously, nothing new there....) ANYWAY....

I have not had time to read all this thread as it takes my computer about 3 days to down load a page. So here's my little bit

I know the owner of Sawyer is Brendon. He lives next door to a very good friend of mine who Stammers. They talk from time to time so he should be a little more understanding. You could try asking to speak to him as he is the boss and should care a bit about his business!!

Taz

[The Tazman]

Brian?

Did you see the date of the last post.....?

Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger Bugger

I must start looking at that. I am still trying to get to grips with everything on this site.

oh well it is upping the number of posts I have done. I want that senior position ;o)

[James Deuce]

STOP POSTING IN THIS THREAD!!