Fixing friends' bikes - favour or fee?
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
I do it for family. My sister and bro-in-law actually just paid a maintenance thing for their new bikes, but they live round the corner from a decent Halfords. Their reason was not to mither me - busy with work, kids etc. which is fine.
I've got shafted by the odd mate. One wanted his MTB servicing but it was a state, so I did it for a couple of pints. One was using my garage as his bloody storage as his wife was on a clear out.
I usually sort out the guy over the road once in a blue moon.
I've got shafted by the odd mate. One wanted his MTB servicing but it was a state, so I did it for a couple of pints. One was using my garage as his bloody storage as his wife was on a clear out.
I usually sort out the guy over the road once in a blue moon.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I do it free for friends or family in the understanding the If the bike then explodes and blows off their scrotum then they've never heard the name Bernard Farquhar. I'll accept payment in Guinness form if they absolutely insist.
Friends of friends, don't have the time to save the whole world.
Friends of friends, don't have the time to save the whole world.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
I'm usually the guy to go to in an emergency at work.
One of the ladies couldn't unlock her bike last week. She had seen me on the way back from the shops. I went in and unlocked it easy, but explained you sometimes have to wiggle it in (yeh yeh @Fnaar ) and do it carefully as the keys can snap (ooch !!!)
One of the ladies couldn't unlock her bike last week. She had seen me on the way back from the shops. I went in and unlocked it easy, but explained you sometimes have to wiggle it in (yeh yeh @Fnaar ) and do it carefully as the keys can snap (ooch !!!)
annedonnelly
Girl from the North Country
- Location
- Canonbie
It's the same issue however you help people out - I occasionally will help with PC problems. If people want to pay and you don't want money then you could suggest that they donate to your favourite charity (or theirs). It's nice that people appreciate that what you're doing would cost them elsewhere.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
You should be an advertising copy writer!
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
Mostly just for friends, Co workers, wife's Co workers,and a couple of relatives. Sometimes I stand about and advise, or lend tools. But most of my work on bicycles gets done on the local bike rehab project.
puffinbilly
Veteran
Not so hot on bike mechanics - so never really asked on that level. However, on a professional level often asked to give advice or help with others financial problems - never accept any payment - however when asked if I would consider doing the work on a commercial basis I usually make it clear that I'm time poor.
Words fail me - on your generous spirit @fossyant
Words fail me - on your generous spirit @fossyant
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
I'm the one who does the paying in beer and odd jobs. Not the one who can't decide what to charge, so i can't comment.
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classic33
Leg End Member
Or a VIP PR for McLaren F1!You should be an advertising copy writer!
Tojo
Über Member
- Location
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
[QUOTE 3942076, member: 43827"]I've been fixing my own bikes all my cycling life and for the last five years have volunteered one day a week as a mechanic at a community bike workshop.
I've built up a big set of bike tools and parts and love working on bikes in my spare time. Over the years I've become the go-to bloke for my friends and neighbours when they are having problems with their bikes. I don't mind it at all, in fact I enjoy it as there are only so many times you can work on your own bikes, but the one thing that sort of embarrasses me is the battle about payment. I want nothing, other than the cost of parts, for the work - it's a favour for friends - but they always want to give me some payment. I'm a pub drinker and rarely drink at home, so the result is that I now have a growing wine cellar (which gets passed on to my son or daughter).
If it's friends of friends then I have no problem in charging, based on around a third of Halford's charges, and if I don't really want the job I hike up the price a lot.
Do others here have the same issues?[/QUOTE]
Yes, Defo, always done it as I used to always build and maintain my bikes from being in my teens and all my mates have come to my when they had probs, now I am recently a qualified level 2 ( last year ) and sucking and see about starting up a service centre or mobile mech after losing my previous employment due to an individual
( driving a F***ing corsa ) nearly cutting me in half whilst home out on my fireblade, anyway they stopped asking.... for a while as I think they thought as I now had the ''ticket'' I would charge more, I haven't , I still don't charge my mates for my time, its still pints in the local but what that has gained me is word of mouth from them to all the others they know in cycling circles and I am getting more and more as I have been, unbeknown to me helped by the incompetency of the LBS's in the immediate area, I only wish that after 4.5yrs they would pay out so I can afford to start up on my own......
I've built up a big set of bike tools and parts and love working on bikes in my spare time. Over the years I've become the go-to bloke for my friends and neighbours when they are having problems with their bikes. I don't mind it at all, in fact I enjoy it as there are only so many times you can work on your own bikes, but the one thing that sort of embarrasses me is the battle about payment. I want nothing, other than the cost of parts, for the work - it's a favour for friends - but they always want to give me some payment. I'm a pub drinker and rarely drink at home, so the result is that I now have a growing wine cellar (which gets passed on to my son or daughter).
If it's friends of friends then I have no problem in charging, based on around a third of Halford's charges, and if I don't really want the job I hike up the price a lot.
Do others here have the same issues?[/QUOTE]
Yes, Defo, always done it as I used to always build and maintain my bikes from being in my teens and all my mates have come to my when they had probs, now I am recently a qualified level 2 ( last year ) and sucking and see about starting up a service centre or mobile mech after losing my previous employment due to an individual
( driving a F***ing corsa ) nearly cutting me in half whilst home out on my fireblade, anyway they stopped asking.... for a while as I think they thought as I now had the ''ticket'' I would charge more, I haven't , I still don't charge my mates for my time, its still pints in the local but what that has gained me is word of mouth from them to all the others they know in cycling circles and I am getting more and more as I have been, unbeknown to me helped by the incompetency of the LBS's in the immediate area, I only wish that after 4.5yrs they would pay out so I can afford to start up on my own......
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
I only accept payment for labour in the medium of grape or grain.
Many years ago, I was commuting and came across a coule of young lads, one of whom had a classic "derailleur in the spokes"
As they lived some distance away and there was no answer to the phone, I stripped it off, put all the parts in a bag, shortened the chain to a single speed and dispatched them on the way
... only to have an irate parent demanding that I pay for the repairs as i had "destroyed" the gears on the bike.
Spoke to bike shop concerned (who had a totally different version of events) who told him that he was welcome to make the threatened claim, but their "expert" evidence was that my repair was reasonable, and all the damage to the derailleur had been the original event
This is where the issue lies for me. I will do repairs at work and assist cyclists on the road, but I always make it clear that it is a favour and not a professional job. Once you accept payment it becomes the latter
As they lived some distance away and there was no answer to the phone, I stripped it off, put all the parts in a bag, shortened the chain to a single speed and dispatched them on the way
... only to have an irate parent demanding that I pay for the repairs as i had "destroyed" the gears on the bike.
Spoke to bike shop concerned (who had a totally different version of events) who told him that he was welcome to make the threatened claim, but their "expert" evidence was that my repair was reasonable, and all the damage to the derailleur had been the original event
This is where the issue lies for me. I will do repairs at work and assist cyclists on the road, but I always make it clear that it is a favour and not a professional job. Once you accept payment it becomes the latter
