Are LBS taking advantage of Customers using Cyclescheme ?

[Downward]

You may be right, but I'm not sure I can think of an example where another's taxes are used as a direct subsidy to any of my other hobbies. Indirectly, for sure, but directly into my pocket....... a tough one.

Library's ?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Library's ?

i get your drift. but not a good parallel. the govt don't give me a voucher for money off the books i buy in waterstones and let me pay for them income tax and vat free.

 

[dellzeqq]

Frankly, either you have got the timings wrong or he is wasting his time building and servicing bikes.
A build from a box into a ready to ride condition otherwise known as PDI should not take more than 45 mins as a rule by a competent mechanic.

he's a very good mechanic. In fact he's the best I know, and I know a lot.

He takes the trouble to check and correct the alignment of the derailleur dropout when they sell a new bike, to check every spoke with a tensionometer, to true the wheels, to bleed and top up hydraulic brakes, and to re-grease all the bearings, replacing the cheaper Shimano bearings with Dura-Ace bearings of the same size.

I'm with Mr. Paul on this. Goods have to fit for purpose. My brother is in a small town and relies entirely on his reputation (and he's been doing it for over 20 years). He can't compete with big shed operations or the Wiggle prices, but he can stand by the stuff he sells.

 

[festival]

he's a very good mechanic. In fact he's the best I know, and I know a lot.

He takes the trouble to check and correct the alignment of the derailleur dropout when they sell a new bike, to check every spoke with a tensionometer, to true the wheels, to bleed and top up hydraulic brakes, and to re-grease all the bearings, replacing the cheaper Shimano bearings with Dura-Ace bearings of the same size.

I'm with Mr. Paul on this. Goods have to fit for purpose. My brother is in a small town and relies entirely on his reputation (and he's been doing it for over 20 years). He can't compete with big shed operations or the Wiggle prices, but he can stand by the stuff he sells.

I take my hat of to him for his dedication to his craft .
But does he only sell premium bikes? does he do all that for all bikes up to, say £1000?
What would you say to the customer who buys a value for money bike, say £ 350 upwards but has little understanding of how things work & little bike handling skills and jams his gears due to cross over of the gears and poor riding and rips the rear mech off the hanger, twists the chain beyond use not to mention damage to the paint work. Is that fit for purpose?

 

[dellzeqq]

he does it for all bikes, regardless of the price - £300 or £1500. And he'll swap out the tyres if he thinks they're not up to the job

 

[Hilldodger]

This link from Bikebiz seems to sum up why a lot of shops don't do the scheme.

 

[monnet]

From LBS owners/ staff that I've spoken to there seems to be a definite bias against the C2W schemes. In the town where I live there are three or four large local employers (1 of whom being civil service who don't get the VAT back on their C2W, making it somewhat less attractive). Regardless, there are plenty of people with access to the C2W schemes and make use of them. The view in the shops (from the guys I know and ride with) is that C2W is an awful lot of hassle, but it has brought them a lot of business just by sheer volume of people coming through the shop. So, they suck it up and take the business because why would they do otherwise?

In my home town, the cyclemarket is dominated by one of the larger web businesses who operate a shop out of their wharehouse now. The LBS I use told me that C2W is something he does mainly because he believes it helps get people on bikes, but he can't stand the time and admin it takes out of him. He's a proper bike shop - runs a team but still fixes kids trikes and sells to both groups. He reckons overall, C2W as a stand alone costs him money but in a town so heavily dominated by one business (who even he has to buy trade stock from), he has no choice if he wants to get customers through the door. The larger retailer even turns stuff around on behalf of other schemes (from memory, Halfords being one).

And then of course there are the implications (some related to the above) of the article linked by Hilldodger.

 

[2Loose]

This link from Bikebiz seems to sum up why a lot of shops don't do the scheme.

5 months is an awfully long time and in those circumstances I can fully understand - I notice there are no names given of the slow payers...perhaps there should have been.

 

[Norm]

This link from Bikebiz seems to sum up why a lot of shops don't do the scheme.

Indeed, but this, and monnet's post, are reasons not to use voucher companies, not reasons not to sell bikes for use with a Cycle To Work scheme.

The scheme I set up, for instance, involved the employee choosing the bike and accessories and getting a quote from the shop, the employer then raised a cheque for that amount which the employee took down to the shop and used to pay for the bike. The bike shop receives payment in full before the bike can be collected.

 

[festival]

he does it for all bikes, regardless of the price - £300 or £1500. And he'll swap out the tyres if he thinks they're not up to the job

I would like to visit this shop and spend some money, any chance you could tell me were it is?

 

[Downward]

Seems we are looking to Tender for a new provider from cyclesheme. I wonder if they will notify the staff the savings are no longer around 41% due to the HMRC final valuation ??!