Kwik Fit servicing bikes

[Grant Fondo]

this poor chap only wanted some 32c Marathons putting on his recumbent ....

 

[tinywheels]

I often wonder why buying services at fast fit operations is so awful. Frankly their as bad as each other.
That's why faff free is not how I describe them.
Surely its not difficult to improve the low standards of these operations.

 

[Tom B]

re Kwik Fit, I'm 64 and as long as I can remember the buisness has had a dodgy reputation.
I have bought tyres in the past , tried to buy 4 michelins only a month or so back.
They pulled out after I'd paid online.
A call to customer service got nowhere .
The refund eventually arrived and I went elsewhere.
Not a great experience with them. Looking forward I will just wait till the memory of my pain fades,then retry,in a few years.
Bottom line their service sucks,but we need tyres.

Again YMMV but my recent expirence of main stealers was that I took my Mrs Honda Jazz in for a recall (well worth doing as they give it a full wash and valet for free). The kindly presented me with a report on the car after a visual inspection. Telling us it indeed pads and disks all around and two new calipers totalling £1300, but good news they could do it next week.

What it actually needed was pads and disks (in the boot) at £100. It went of for years without the calipers being looked at.

Sister in law acquired the use of a Skoda on PCP (don't get me started). The main stealer sold her a service plan and at yr 2 told her it needed pads and disks all around at £800.

Measuring the disks showed they was about 30% worn, rears less so. When asked why it needed disks they could only say "worn out" they couldn't give figures, when given the figures they said "ahh we always change them with pads.
Local independent did the job for a fraction of the price.

 

[tinywheels]

Again YMMV but my recent expirence of main stealers was that I took my Mrs Honda Jazz in for a recall (well worth doing as they give it a full wash and valet for free). The kindly presented me with a report on the car after a visual inspection. Telling us it indeed pads and disks all around and two new calipers totalling £1300, but good news they could do it next week.

What it actually needed was pads and disks (in the boot) at £100. It went of for years without the calipers being looked at.

Sister in law acquired the use of a Skoda on PCP (don't get me started). The main stealer sold her a service plan and at yr 2 told her it needed pads and disks all around at £800.

Measuring the disks showed they was about 30% worn, rears less so. When asked why it needed disks they could only say "worn out" they couldn't give figures, when given the figures they said "ahh we always change them with pads.
Local independent did the job for a fraction of the price.

I find the local bmw/mini boys prices not much different from an independent I used when they could not do an oil change.
I'm sure there are cheaper independent garages out there, but I want a competent mechanic and the pukka oil etc.
You pays yer money and takes yer choice.
Yes I know Fred the mobile mechanic can do it for a fraction of a dealer.However I need to know I can drive Sevilla without drama.
Thank you in advance for your tips on saving a few bob.

 

[freiston]

https://bikebiz.com/bike-repair-startup-handlebars-rebrands-to-fettle/
https://bikebiz.com/reinventing-repair-fettle-plans-crowdfund/
https://bikebiz.com/kwik-fit-partners-with-fettle-as-it-enters-bicycle-service-and-repair-market/
Lots of changes at Fettle, all within 2 years, seems they may well be good fit with Kwik-Bodge after all

When I first saw Fettle's advert (below), it put me off them. Reading those links does the same.

 

[DRM]

When I first saw Fettle's advert (below), it put me off them. Reading those links does the same.

Even the name of the business sounds like something from the apprentice

 

[Jameshow]

When I first saw Fettle's advert (below), it put me off them. Reading those links does the same.

Anything with apps and online makes me run a mile. I want to take it some where fixed in time of a coffee and be on my way.

Not wait for a pick up then loose my bike for days followed by a big bill saying we did this, this and this!

 

[stephec]

Funny that someone just mentioned Kwik Fit. I was looking for a car park in the city centre for tomorrow and realised there's one of their places near where I need to get. Turns out it's actually cheaper to drop of the car in the morning, let them do the wheel alignment, and pick it up in the afternoon, then it would be to pay for parking. Win-win.

That's genius.

 

[Tom B]

Funny that someone just mentioned Kwik Fit. I was looking for a car park in the city centre for tomorrow and realised there's one of their places near where I need to get. Turns out it's actually cheaper to drop of the car in the morning, let them do the wheel alignment, and pick it up in the afternoon, then it would be to pay for parking. Win-win.

The same can be done with car washing valet.
It's £8 to park or £10 wash and vac. I hate vacuuming the car so whenever we go to the in-laws I leave the car in town, do my town jobs walk up to the in-laws, drink their brews, eat their food, fill my pockets with biscuits and come back. If I eat enough it's almost cost neutral 😐

You pays yer money and takes yer choice.
Yes I know Fred the mobile mechanic can do it for a fraction of a dealer.However I need to know I can drive Sevilla without drama.
Thank you in advance for your tips on saving a few bob.

And there is the value argument. What price that feeling for everyone it will be different and a very complex equation.

Even the name of the business sounds like something from the apprentice

Fettle is a word I use and have grown up with in the NorthWest.

Outside of the northwest a lot of people don't understand it. A colleague from Stoke thought I'd taken leave of my senses when I said I'd fettled the light in the office.

Straight away I imagine folk with be confused

 

[Brandane]

When I first saw Fettle's advert (below), it put me off them. Reading those links does the same.

"Book a service".....
That would have me running a mile.
Bicycles do not need a "service". They do need TLC and ongoing maintenance on an as and when required basis.
Do people really think they need to get a bike "serviced" by these sharks when their gears are not changing sweetly? It probably needs 10 seconds of your time to twist an adjuster which tensions the gear cable.
Even modern bikes are not complicated machines. A minimal level of DIY knowledge can save a lot of money, not to mention inconvenience.

 

[freiston]

. . . Fettle is a word I use and have grown up with in the NorthWest.

Outside of the northwest a lot of people don't understand it. A colleague from Stoke thought I'd taken leave of my senses when I said I'd fettled the light in the office.

Straight away I imagine folk with be confused

I reckon "fettle" is understood more widely than that - indeed on these boards, the word is used frequently - there's even a What Have You Fettled Today? thread that has reached 949 pages to date.

But to use it as a company name in a grand rebranding gesture as part of their "continued plans for expansion . . .ambition of a UK network of workshops within five years" is what persuades me that this is more about some attempt at trendy empire building (in an "Apprentice" stylee) than it instils confidence that the outfit is trying to do a job well - especially when they announce partnership with a company that has a reputation for not doing a job well and corporate style empire-building.

I would have similar reservations about, for example, a pub called "Quench" or a sandwich shop called "Fuel" - especially if the owner said they plan to have a nationwide chain within five years

 

[FishFright]

"Book a service".....
That would have me running a mile.
Bicycles do not need a "service". They do need TLC and ongoing maintenance on an as and when required basis.
Do people really think they need to get a bike "serviced" by these sharks when their gears are not changing sweetly? It probably needs 10 seconds of your time to twist an adjuster which tensions the gear cable.
Even modern bikes are not complicated machines. A minimal level of DIY knowledge can save a lot of money, not to mention inconvenience.

When I worked at the bike recycling workshop servicing was a major part of our business. I now service a handful of the local commuter's bikes for free (not parts) as they are on minimum wage and can't afford the bike shops . My servicing their bikes mean they get to work every day without fail.

 

[DRM]

The same can be done with car washing valet.
It's £8 to park or £10 wash and vac. I hate vacuuming the car so whenever we go to the in-laws I leave the car in town, do my town jobs walk up to the in-laws, drink their brews, eat their food, fill my pockets with biscuits and come back. If I eat enough it's almost cost neutral 😐



And there is the value argument. What price that feeling for everyone it will be different and a very complex equation.



Fettle is a word I use and have grown up with in the NorthWest.

Outside of the northwest a lot of people don't understand it. A colleague from Stoke thought I'd taken leave of my senses when I said I'd fettled the light in the office.

Straight away I imagine folk with be confused

It’s quite common across Yorkshire too, it refers to someone who ground or sanded imperfections from ceramic castings or filed needle points apparently

 

[Tom B]

It’s quite common across Yorkshire too, it refers to someone who ground or sanded imperfections from ceramic castings or filed needle points apparently

That definition sounds familiar.

Its used in these parts as "he's a fettler" - he repairs things usually low budget tinkering sorts. Take that old hoover to Bob he'll fettle it with a length of string and a tube of glue.

It's been fettled... It's been repaired.

I'll fettle it up - I'll take care of that job.

I've taken a day off work to fettle the house / to do some house fettling.

Roger, I saw your dog Boner take down three old ladies in high street, steal a length of sausage and bark at the policeman.... He seems in fine fettle.



Demic is a word we use lots, but many folk out of the area don't get it.

My car is a demic.

Owd Bob is a bit of a demic

 

[Brandane]

When I worked at the bike recycling workshop servicing was a major part of our business. I now service a handful of the local commuter's bikes for free (not parts) as they are on minimum wage and can't afford the bike shops . My servicing their bikes mean they get to work every day without fail.

Enlighten me then; what does a "service" without parts include?
I can only think that it means check and adjust brakes, wipe and lube chain, pump up tyres, index gears, check smooth operation of wheel/BB/headset bearings, check fasteners are tight..... so basically; 5 minute pre ride checks to anyone that values their life!