First I’m proud to say that after deciding that i did not want to scrap my Veloflex Carbon after a puncture last week I have (so far) been successful in repairing the tube and thus saving me ~$25 for a send away repair or $90 for a new tire. Next step is to replace a whole tube in my other tubular witch has a broken valve (extender sheered off in the valve) but that requires alot more sewing than I’m currently up for.
The second part of the story is that wile at the LBS getting a patch kit a guy walks in with a 2008-9 Zipp 202 with a Powertap that has sheered off a spoke. This guy might weigh 130lbs so my first thought is wow, who laced it up. Anyway, the LBS guys says that he does not have any oval spokes, and would the guy mind a round replacement? WTF? Then says he will have to measure to find the spoke length, and that if there are none in stock he has to order them, but he can’t order ovalized spokes because they only come in boxes of 72 and the guy might have to pay for the whole wheel to be rebuilt and the spoes might cost $15 each or something? Honestly it took everything I could not to tell the guy to run out of the shop.
Seriously, who contemplates putting mis matched spokes in a $2000 wheel? Not to mention if that is even a good idea from a durability or saftey standpoint. Any reservations I had about taking my Zipps there to get tuned up have vanished, NFW.
Am I over reacting simply because I’m the kind of guy who must have matching tires on his bike or what?
Unless the build had a warranty for X amount of time, the lbs isn’t doing anything unusual. They probably don’t build alot of wheels and would need to order a full set of spokes just to fix the one. Pretty common really and nothing crazy about it. Why should a shop be out $60 to fix a wheel from a kid who probably hit a pothole.
Actually I think they were his race wheels. He said he had some 303 clinchers with a PT for training.
I never heard the guy say he was in a hurry, just that the shop couldn’t get a simple Sapim CX-Ray spoke (available for $2.45 from wheelbuilder) to lace into the guys wheel.
let us assume the bike shop would charge this guy about $20-30 in labor for the repair on his 202. A spoke that he my charge the customer $15 for (an oval spoke he needs to order-by your account). If he has to order a box of 72 spokes and can only sell one seems like a losing proposition for the shop to me…assume they are making alot of money for that spoke and the price quote is accurate the shop is paying alot for that box of spokes, probably much more than they would recoup in labor for said repair…what are you going to do? hope 71 more people with 202’s come in with a broken spoke just to get the exact spoke? Whats better…waiting for an oval spoke or having a (round) replacement to ride until you can get it fixed?
Perhaps the shop contacting Zipp for a single spoke would be the thing to do, but no I dont think the shop acted unreasonably and the customer should not be angry, pissed, etc…
this example is just one of many times where the customer (or bystander) has an unreasonable expected level of service…me, me, me…
im not giving you a hard time, but it happens alot…customers need to be understanding AND the shop needs to be understanding of the customer at the same time…it works both ways (or should)
reminds me of this saying:
whats the best way to make a million in the bike industry? Start with 2 million…
I guess working as a machinery dealer in sales and service has given me an unreasonable level of expectaion then.
I have come to expect that this perticular LBS will never have exactly what I’m looking for since they are a Trek store and I don’t ride Shimano, so I usually only go to them when I need something like a patch kit that I think they might have. But really, as a SARIS dealer, how hard could it be to get the proper spoke? I think something like a 2 min call to Saris and about another 3 min on the computer and he could have the spoke faster than having it trucked over form one of the 5 other affiliated stores in the area. Heck, he could have done it all while the guy was there and given him a quote and still made money on the deal. It’s not like it was Saturday afternoon and the place was full, it was me and the other guy and about 5 employees.
Again, maybe you are right, and I expect too high a level of customer service, but if what I saw was the level of customer service i should expect from a LBS, I’m glad I do most of my own work.
saris doesnt sell spokes, the shop would go through Zipp or a myriad of other distributors…
if you expect customer service at a high level, find somewhere that provides it instead of going back to this other shop that you implies sucks and you would only buy a patch kit there…with any luck you will be happy somewhere else instead of starting another rant against the LBS thread here on slowtwitch…which FAR outnumber the success stories/happy customer stories here(this is because everyone loves to complain about stuff)…its easy to be the first to complain and always the last to praise
maybe you should have taken the guys wheel, ordered a spoke from wheelbuilder or where ever and fixed it yourself…(and made a few bucks)
and then there is always the chance we didnt get the whole story too…internet complaints, forums, message boards and reviews are always selective and/or embellished. The beauty of anonymity.
and last:
Again, maybe you are right, and I expect too high a level of customer service, but if what I saw was the level of customer service i should expect from a LBS, I’m glad I do most of my own work.
I kindl re-wrote this for you:
Again, maybe you are right, and I expect too high a level of customer service, but if what I saw at this shop was the level of customer service i should expect from this particular LBS, I’m glad I do most of my own work.
Dont lump all LBS together…there are great LBS, Decent LBS, Poor LBS and everything in between. Spend some time and find a great one (they do exist, I promise) and you wont have to complain anymore. You do have a choice.
On the last point you are 100% correct. I almost added to my previous post that I usually go across town to another smaller shop who handles my special requests with a smile and a “No problem”, and has helped me out on numerous occations.
Perhaps my strong reaction to the situation stemmed from my belief that lacing a different spoke into a 24h carbon rim might not be a good idea due to the need to balance tension in the spokes and have the spokes keep tension especially in a wheel with so few spokes and internal nipples. Of course, I’ve been wrong before, and that may make zero difference. In that case it is more about vanity than safety/performance.
Most LBS’s exist only in their little world and are clueless about the world around them. It took me 10 seconds to find Sapim bladed spokes for $2.45 on the wheelbuilder.com site. It seems that every LBS I have ever been to claims they have an expert “wheelbuilder mechanic” in house. And I have found out the hard way this is total BS. For repair issues or new builds, please people, go to an expert shop like Wheelbuilder. Building a great wheel is for the experts, don’t let a LBS learn to build a wheel on your dime.
It wouldn’t be any big deal to have one ood spoke. If they offered it as “Hey this will keep you on the road” its a good idea. If it was going to be a permanent fix it shouldn’t been offered, not because of any real problem, but no one that buys that wheel is going to want a less optimum solution.
One reason LBS are less relavent today is that a LBS used to be all things to all people. Now they specialize. I’ll use Tom Demerly’s shop for example. Want a tri bike or tri bike part, geart. High end road bike stuff and repair, no problem. Wan the internal valvings on the rear shok of you mountain bike changed to suit a very light rider, and maybe some different weight oil? Go somewhere else. Now a days there are family bike shops, MTB bike shops Tri shops, etc.