Give me some dialogue from your day

[ColinJ]

If it affects car drivers then it'll be dealt with pretty quickly I expect.

You have lived in Germany for too long... UK roads these days are almost more pothole than tarmac!!

I have been given a few lifts on Devon A-roads since my other post and those road surfaces are still really bad. Drivers were swerving left and right to try to avoid the potholes.

Some of the worst bits of the smaller roads that I cycle on down there have been repaired, but the council had little choice - even in the UK, a hole 4m x 3m in size is not acceptable! There is a lot of lesser damage still apparent though. I spent a couple of slow rides learning where the holes are so I could avoid them when riding more quickly.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Had a series of telephone conversations today with a rather angry customer. For context, I work in a workshop for people with difficulties finding work, which usually means some long term illness or another: this isn't a normal bike shop.

One of my team asked me to assist because the customer was "escalating" on the phone.

Customer was frustrated because his bike had been in for repair for six weeks, which is fair enough.

Shouting at my team member on the phone and trying to bully them was not, however. I am fairly protective of my team. If a customer shouts at my team without a bl**dy good reason, I am, to say the least, not disposed to he helpful*.

I tried to talk to the client and he got more aggressive. so I hung up.

He called back and got aggressive again and I told him if he didn't calm down, I'd hang up again.

He didn't calm down.

I hung up again.

Ten minutes later the phone rings, a nice lady asking about her bike. I take details and go and look for bike.

It's the same bike; Angry Man had got his wife to call.

In the meantime we'd found and resolved the issue and they could pick up the bike.

As I left, a largish middle aged bloke with a grumpy face walked into the workshop; I suspect that's the same customer; I'll find out next week.

*And If there is a good reason: I'll do the shouting, thank you very much.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm having a Déjà vu moment here...

I've been doing a couple of shifts in our second workshop. This is smaller than the main workshop on the outskirts, and has less stock. On Thursday a customer asked for a specific part that the small workshop doesn't carry, but as I was going to the main workshop afterwards for some other parts I offered to collect this item was well. When another colleague came I went and collected the parts; so far all was well. Parts needed, parts collected, repairs could continue, part waiting for customer.

Mechanic arrives for second shift. I suspect you've met people like him: fairly limited skill set, and a bit insecure. Like a lot of people in this situation, he has a tendency to try and put others down to make himself feel better. He also likes to make it clear this is his workshop, and he makes the rules. One way he does this is by not listening to the handover, so he doesn't know about the components I've collected. I tell the late shift cashier about the item on the desk and go to catch my train.

Today, I'm in my usual workshop. Phone rings. It's the mechanic. He's rather upset because "you promised a customer a component we don't have and this really isn't good enough, and you should have made sure we had the component before promising it to a customer because now I have to deal with the situation because you didn't think to check that we have this component..."

When he stops for breath I point out that I'd collected the component and placed it on the counter for the customer to collect.

He can't find it.

"Where did you put it? Why isn't it there now?"

I point out that this was two days ago: I can't be held responsible if an item I delivered has been moved by someone else. He gets even more wound up.

"Now you're making excuses. This is the sort of stupid excuse I have to deal with every day and..."

This is highly entertaining. Unfortunately, it's not very productive. He's also getting increasingly wound up.

I hang up the phone before he does himself an injury.

Ten seconds later the phone rings again.

"What do you think you're doing hanging up the phone when I'm in the middle..."

I hang up again.

I'm paid to deal with psychologically ill clients having issues; I'm not paid to deal with colleagues having a tantrum. Still, it livened up an otherwise dull morning...

 

[Andy in Germany]

At work today we had a visit from my hideously competent former colleague: she now runs her own bike workshop, and we have an arrangement that she can buy the odd part from us at a reduced price: it works for both of us because we make a small profit and she saves delivery costs.


She turns up on a lovely 80's Peugeot touring bike which I hadn't seen before. I asked where she got it.

"I bought it..."

"How much did it cost?"

"Six bottles of Radler beer".

 

[Andy in Germany]

Ah, customers, bless 'em. This is from earlier this week:


Customer comes into workshop at 12:15pm with a cheap and nasty no-name E-bike
Customer: My back brake doesn't work. Can you fix it?
Colleague: Sure, I'll see if we can fit you in.
Customer: That's not good enough: I just need the cable changing.
Colleague: That's why we may be able to fit you in. Let me talk to the supervisor.
Customer: But it's just changing the cable (the bike has mechanical disc brakes) it'll only take ten minutes.
(a couple of minutes pass with the customer grumbling to no-one in particular; colleague returns.)
Colleague: Okay, the supervisor says we can fit you in, you can pick the bike up at 2pm?
Customer: That's far to late I need it done now:
Colleague: Unfortunately we can't do it right now. You can let us do it by 2pm, or bring it tomorrow, and we'll see if we can fit you in tomorrow,
Customer: But it's an easy job; I could do it in ten minutes...
Colleague: That's also an option, you can buy a cable and fix it at home.
(Customer realises my colleague is quite serious. Customer exits shop complaining bitterly, sets up outside the door and starts removing the cable. About ten minutes later my colleague happened to go outside and realises the customer was badgering clients to help him).
Customer: (Holding up the now thoroughly dismantled rear brake assembly) But It's dangerous to travel like this: I need you to fix it.
Colleague: (Trying not to laugh) Mate, you took it to bits, that's your responsibility.
Customer: Fine, I'll take my money to another workshop... stomps of in a huff, pushing bike which is now dragging its brake cable along the road.
Colleague: Good idea (closes door)