Forgive my ignorance, but I just purchased my first tri bike and I’m having the fit done this week (came with the bike package). Do you tip the fit guy? If so, how much? He said it would take between 1 and 2 hours so I would think $20 or $40 would do, but I wanted to see what the ST people do/have done. Am I way off base? Do I even need to tip the guy?
Thanks,
Tim
no
.
Do you tip people who respond to your threads?
only if there’s a happy ending.
i would say $20 would be sufficient.
Depends on the atmosphere of the company. The guy who fit me owns his own shop (and is a downright badass, not to mention the fact that he has since become a friend of mine), so I figure that what he makes on his fits goes to pay his bills anyway. The problem is that he didn’t charge me nearly anything - he spent about three hours tuning things on my fit, cutting down ski bends, tightening shifting, etc, and charged for “shop labor - one hour”. I slipped a fifty into the front slot of the cash register as we walked back into the shop. 
But if it’s a bigger shop, I imagine the fitter makes less. I’d ask someone else at the shop, and tip very well for their time - probably $40 or $50, depending on how long it takes. Remember that you’re riding a $5,000 bike…
Tip? You’re crazy…
Depends on the situation. If he’s an independent fitter charging over $150 I’d say “no tip” since I’m already paying through the nose. If he’s on regular hourly wage at a big shop and does a great job then it’s a different story.
Bike fitters aren’t like restaurants. Don’t imagine they even expect a tip.
It’s the manager of a smaller (but popular) tri shop in my area. I didn’t pay anything additional for the fit, just the cost of the bike. His shop sponsors the tri group that I joined (they do a SAG wagon for centuries, ship bikes for the tri group, stuff like that), so I’ll definitely run into these guys again. I was just curious if it was one of those things that’s expected, or just a courtesy.
So he sold you a tri bike and now he’s going to (retro)fit you to it? Sounds pretty backwards to me.
In any event, I would say no tip - if it’s included in the sales price, it’s included in the sales price.
So he sold you a tri bike and now he’s going to (retro)fit you to it? Sounds pretty backwards to me.
In any event, I would say no tip - if it’s included in the sales price, it’s included in the sales price.
Yup, I bought it this past weekend and scheduled the fit for Friday (it was the only opening he had this week). He said I could take it then or he could keep it until the fit, I took it home.
Right on, makes sense. Thanks.
Not required but if you like the service telling others is the best tip.
On a personal note I have received bottles of wine for example. It was nice.
So you do not need to think in terms of cahs only if yuou would like to tip.
We don’t tend to tip over here, but I remember the best tip I ever received was:
“Always dust your scones’ bottoms. Stops them sticking to the tray.”
No. I assumed that the $325 I paid had the tip already built-in.
My fitter also consulted with me at length in my selection of bike, components, did research on different tweaks I was looking for, etc. So, at the end of it all, I gave him a gift card for $50 to a local restaurant. He gave me great service and I wanted to let him know. It’s probably not widely done though, and certainly not expected.
I’m philosophically opposed to our tip-crazy, greedy culture.
as far as I’m concerned tips should be reserved for service that goes far above the expected.
Never tip in a situation where somebody sets their own pricing.
Get a massage in a shop where the therapist is an employee - Your RMT does a stand out job? - tip appropriate
Get a massage in a private shop where the owner is both setting the pricing and doing the massage - they have already told you what their services are worth. Now you want to tell them they are wrong and enter some sort of bidding war? That would be silly.
In this case, if the fitter is an employee in a bike shop, drop off a case of beer or buy them pizza by way of thinks - it will be appreciated, and go a lot farther when you need their help down the road.