I had to take my bike to a LBS for a warranty issue with my suspension fork. The bike is a Canyon so I did not buy locally but this shop is my shop of choice locally and I’ve bought more than 10 bikes in the past 10 years from them and countless other items. I’ve never had them service my bikes as I do most of that stuff on my own.
Question, what kind of tip should I give them? I feel like I should give them something for handling the warranty issues and making the repair. 6 pack of beer? Case of beer? Cash? No tip?
I had to take my bike to a LBS for a warranty issue with my suspension fork. The bike is a Canyon so I did not buy locally but this shop is my shop of choice locally and I’ve bought more than 10 bikes in the past 10 years from them and countless other items. I’ve never had them service my bikes as I do most of that stuff on my own.
Question, what kind of tip should I give them? I feel like I should give them something for handling the warranty issues and making the repair. 6 pack of beer? Case of beer? Cash? No tip?
I’m confused. Your LBS is performing the warranty work on your Canyon for free? Are they not being paid for the labor?
I had to take my bike to a LBS for a warranty issue with my suspension fork. The bike is a Canyon so I did not buy locally but this shop is my shop of choice locally and I’ve bought more than 10 bikes in the past 10 years from them and countless other items. I’ve never had them service my bikes as I do most of that stuff on my own.
Question, what kind of tip should I give them? I feel like I should give them something for handling the warranty issues and making the repair. 6 pack of beer? Case of beer? Cash? No tip?
I would charge labor to remove the fork(disconnect brake etc.)
charge shipping to Fox or SRAM
charge to reinstall fork.
warranty process is kind of a p.i.a
*cash is always nice😎
I’m confused. Your LBS is performing the warranty work on your Canyon for free? Are they not being paid for the labor?
I don’t know if SRAM pays the shop for labor, I do know they provide the parts and I’m not paying for anything. I’ve never heard of the customer paying for warranty parts/labor for any product but I’m thinking there must be some type of compensation for the LBS from SRAM.
My understanding is, since they (LBS) are an authorized SRAM dealer, as part of their dealer agreement they are obligated to assist with warranty issues on these products, regardless of where they were purchased (proof of purchase is the only requirement). SRAM does not work directly with customers on warranty issues and Canyon does not work with customers on warranty issues related to non-Canyon parts.
ah, ok. that makes more sense. This isn’t a Canyon warranty repair, it’s a SRAM repair. My guess is they are compensating the LBS for the work. I would just simply ask them if SRAM is covering the labor for the work and if they aren’t, then absolutely offer them something (i.e., tip, lunch, etc). If SRAM is paying for the work, then it’s all good.
Canyon, I know, pays the customer directly and asks you to provide the receipt from the shop for the warranty work.
I would charge labor to remove the fork(disconnect brake etc.)
charge shipping to Fox or SRAM
charge to reinstall fork.
warranty process is kind of a p.i.a
*cash is always nice😎
You’re saying the shop should charge me (customer)? If so, then what’s the point of a warranty?
The damper is the issue so that’s all that needs to be replaced, SRAM is providing the replacement and the shop in installing.
A warranty is not a carte blanche for the customer. Manufacturer is responsible for cost of replacement part and associated labor charges; however, in most cases, customer is still responsible for the cost associated with return shipping to manufacture.
You saved $ upfront by going direct to consumer. Can’t very well complain about it when there isn’t a local dealer who can take care of it for you.
Even though the shop is “obligated†as a SRAM dealer to handle the warranty work, it seems you are getting good service even though the shop didn’t make the original sale. Thats probably because you’ve been a customer over the years. Somebody new walking in cold with the same issue might have to pay some small amount to cover any shop expenses SRAM wouldn’t normally reimburse in this situation, or at the least have to wait in the queue until the shops “gets around to itâ€.
tldr: you don’t owe the shop anything but dropping off a 6 pack or some breakfast tacos would be appreciated.
ah, ok. that makes more sense. This isn’t a Canyon warranty repair, it’s a SRAM repair. My guess is they are compensating the LBS for the work. I would just simply ask them if SRAM is covering the labor for the work and if they aren’t, then absolutely offer them something (i.e., tip, lunch, etc). If SRAM is paying for the work, then it’s all good.
Canyon, I know, pays the customer directly and asks you to provide the receipt from the shop for the warranty work.
SRAM does not pay the shop for the labor, they provide the new part or parts.
EDIT: I see that you have a long-standing relationship with this LBS. They will be straight-forward with you. They want your future business.
Operating margin for LBS is narrow. Direct-to-consumer purchasing makes it more narrow.
Not faulting you. You made the right decision for you in the open marketplace.
But now you need them. Not only for this task. But for future tasks. You need them to continue to exist.
I recommend clear communication. “It’s important to me that you are appropriately compensated for your work and I do not know the specifics of how that happens. Please educate me.”
Personally I have zero knowledge how the warranty process works. I don’t recommend guessing.
Outcomes range from having them draw up a ticket and charge you whatever they need to charge you, to tippage, to free service.
Some of this is pure economics. Some of this is hard to quantify: your relationship (or lack thereof) with an LBS.
Their response, and your response to their response, will clarify the relationship.
I put a lot of emphasis on the relationship and I have never regretted it. From my penniless days as a bike-hungry teen willing to trade my soul for the privilege of ransacking the leftover parts bin to my cash-abundant days as a middled aged man who hopes that paying full price trickles some love down to the next penniless teen.
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I just called the shop to see what I will owe for the job and to make sure SRAM was compensating them for the work. I was told I owe nothing and SRAM takes care of them, in which case, a nice cash + beer tip will be left for the machinic.
Had to deal with warranty issues with frames, and had to pay for labor (not covered by warranty)
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I just called the shop to see what I will owe for the job and to make sure SRAM was compensating them for the work. I was told I owe nothing and SRAM takes care of them, in which case, a nice cash + beer tip will be left for the machinic.
Do you tip your auto mechanic? Everyone expects tips these days. Let’s be clear, shop raises prices because they have to pay increased wages, increased costs for parts and they pass off the increase to customers. I pay for the increase and I’m expected to tip? Not a chance.
I don’t tip my auto mechanic. I’ve never met him/her.
I tip everyone who provides good service in the service industry. I served the public for 30 years. Tipping feels good and it matters to the one getting the tip.
But then again, I grew up when it was commonplace to give your postman and garbage man a Christmas gift every year, too.
Do you tip your auto mechanic? Everyone expects tips these days. Let’s be clear, shop raises prices because they have to pay increased wages, increased costs for parts and they pass off the increase to customers. I pay for the increase and I’m expected to tip? Not a chance.
I just assume that the bike mechanics are lid a normal wage unlike a waiter or bartender who make most of their money from tips. If people want to tip a bike mechanic that’s fine but I just expect that the cost of doing business in built into their fees.
Do you tip your auto mechanic? Everyone expects tips these days. Let’s be clear, shop raises prices because they have to pay increased wages, increased costs for parts and they pass off the increase to customers. I pay for the increase and I’m expected to tip? Not a chance.
Just to be clear, I’m presuming that you posted in good faith (which one shouldn’t if one were to go by your sig-line).
With that out of the way, your actual comment is at best tangentially related to the specific issue at hand.
The present issue has to do the lack of clarity as to who “eats” the cost of disassembly of parts that have to be shipped back to the manufacturer, and it isn’t clear (at least at first), if the shop gets compensated for the time by the manufacturer or if the shop would need to chalk it off as a “loss leader” in the aim of preserving a relationship. The tipping part becomes relevant only if the shop has to eat the cost of disassembly.
Funny you bring in the issue of auto mechanic. Say you have a warranty issue with your car made by Brand A, do you 1) bring it to a Brand A dealer for the repairs or 2) bring it to just any shop? Obviously, most would do 1); in which case, the mechanic gets paid for disassembly, and the “externality” is baked into the cost of business by either the dealership or by Brand A. If alternative, you do bring it to just any shop, do you think the mechanic would just perform work on it for free?