Some Shit Up With Which We Will Not Put

Sorry for the lack of correspondence folks. Being a full-time shop manager, wiping the asses of colleagues and customers alike, biking, beering, and womanizing, all whilst getting another degree really takes it out of a guy.

A drivetrain is only as strong as its weakest link. Or your legs. Actually, I’m pretty sure your legs wear out first. Anyway, I've identified my shop's weakest link. Beyond a certain point, there is no right or wrong way of doing things. Maybe you finish off your bar tape with a whip of cord or with a tidy, single width of color-matched electrical tape. Either is fine. What is not fine is cutting the tape haphazardly and winding a two inch wide gob of black tape around it simply because it’s easy. That is some shit up with which we will not put.

To expand on the above analogy: beyond a certain point, there isn’t a right and a wrong way to run a shop. As long as customers are satisfied, you can hang whatever the fuck on your walls and stock whatever the fuck on your shelves. What is not fine is dropping the ball on customers. Again, that is some shit up with which…you get the picture. It’s Bad Business.

My shop, very unfortunately, has a reputation for dropping balls.  Case in point: when writing service, it is generally accepted that you pull parts while filling out the work order. Thus, if an item is out of stock, you may get it before the bike is to be worked on. This is Good Business. Owner cannot get the hang of it. Furthermore, he’s been fucking up for so long the habit is ingrained, and it remains to be seen whether my influence can make the difference. So, we pull a repair tag tonight that’s been on the wall for a week, a week during which we’ve received orders from all our vendors, to find that we need to replace a wheel that’s out of stock. Call the customer, tell him we need to order the part, the bike won’t be finished when promised, etc.

PULL THE FUCKING PARTS WHEN YOU WRITE THE REPAIR!

Dead-in-the-water repairs are inefficient time-sucks, and lemme tell you something: inefficient time-sucks do not boost The Number, and if The Number does not get boosted, I have little hope of ever making what I’m worth. Can’t dwell on this any more tonight. Fuck it all…