Taking over the bike shop...

[DRM]

I've been drawing again: I need to make a new plan for the workshop because it was thrown together and the current layout wastes a lot of space. It also encourages people to claim different parts of the room and dump bikes or other items in different corners.

The basic idea is to keep the workbenches around two sides of the room so there's more space for moving bikes into and out of the workshop, while moving my desk next to my repair stand on the window end of the workshop.

View attachment 658125

I'm also aiming to make the store lockable and organise it better so people coming in for the first time can find what they need quickly, we've improved this: it no longer takes half an hour to find a spare part, but we need to improve it more so it's more professional.

Looking good, especially the work stations being next each other, as you may find that if one client gets stuck with a job, another one may have done it before and can help, rather than you getting involved, it takes a lot of sorting out, but once you’ve done it things are much easier to keep on top of.

 

[Andy in Germany]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Toyota_Way
Have a read through the above, it’s a bit long winded but ultimately it could really help to organise your workshop, especially the 5 S side of things, which is what you’ve made a start on already, namely

• Sort: Sort out unneeded items
• Straighten: Have a place for everything
• Shine: Keep the area clean
• Standardize: Create rules and standard operating procedures
• Sustain: Maintain the system and continue to improve it.
  I think that it will ultimately help you and your clients as it’s a way of helping them to be more organised too, but from what I’ve read already you’re on the right track with this and I wish you all the best with the bike workshop.

Thanks for this: it's thoroughly encouraging because it is putting into words what I'm trying to do, and also that the things I'm focussing on aren't a waste of time. I've scan read the Wiki link as well and I'll go back for a proper look when I'm at work; from what I've seen it's also very useful as a set of guidelines.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Looking good, especially the work stations being next each other, as you may find that if one client gets stuck with a job, another one may have done it before and can help, rather than you getting involved, it takes a lot of sorting out, but once you’ve done it things are much easier to keep on top of.

That reminds me, I've scanned that and meant to put a translated version up. Will get to that ASAP...

 

[Andy in Germany]

I think Andy would need to know more about his current and future customers. If they are rich and altruistic enough then it could be great, if however, they are looking for a bargain or just plain hard up they may not want to or cannot visibly subsidise others.

I've been thinking about this; one possibility would be to offer people the option of say "+10€" on the price tag, so they have the option of adding 10€ to their purchase to support building a bike for below cost. If no-one wants to then I stop after a month or so.

 

[annedonnelly]

I've been thinking about this; one possibility would be to offer people the option of say "+10€" on the price tag, so they have the option of adding 10€ to their purchase to support building a bike for below cost. If no-one wants to then I stop after a month or so.

Like those cafes where you have an option to "pay it forward" to buy a coffee for someone else.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Like those cafes where you have an option to "pay it forward" to buy a coffee for someone else.

Exactly; I reckon I can sell the idea to people if they ask about it, especially if we can up the quality so they feel they're getting good value for money.

If we assume a 45-50€ cost for each bike I could explain that it takes 5 customers paying the extra for us to select a bike for someone who can't afford it otherwise but needs to get to work so they can be part of society.

 

[Andy in Germany]

This could be frustrating. I was away on holiday and it looks like everyone went back into their old habits of selling unrepaired bikes. I had a customer today wanting to pick up a bike that I was halfway through repairing for 10€; the bike in question was here before I arrived and apparently he made the arrangement with the previous mechanic. I went along with it this time because they'd worked here and other people knew them, but I could have sold the bike for 60€ when it was repaired so I'm going to have to make sure it doesn't repeat before I go on holiday again.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

the bike in question was here before I arrived and apparently he made the arrangement with the previous mechanic.

I thought the thread title was "taking over the bike shop"?
That makes you the boss!

I think it's a bit cheeky to be coming in months after the old mechanic has left for a €10 bike. I would have thought that the fact you were working on it was enough reason to say no or to bump up the price.

In any case it's a good opportunity to draw a line in the sand and let people know there's a new sheriff in town. I think you'll be getting new clients soon? Good to have a reminder of some of the things you want to change.

Not suggesting that it happened here but it wouldn't be unheard of for staff/customers to play the "but the old manager used to let us do X......"

Good luck!

 

[Andy in Germany]

I thought the thread title was "taking over the bike shop"?
That makes you the boss!

I think it's a bit cheeky to be coming in months after the old mechanic has left for a €10 bike. I would have thought that the fact you were working on it was enough reason to say no or to bump up the price.

In any case it's a good opportunity to draw a line in the sand and let people know there's a new sheriff in town. I think you'll be getting new clients soon? Good to have a reminder of some of the things you want to change.

Not suggesting that it happened here but it wouldn't be unheard of for staff/customers to play the "but the old manager used to let us do X......"

Good luck!

There have been other cases where people have tried the old "But the last manager said". and have left disappointed. We can usually tell if someone is playing silly burgers and the background information from the manager was that this guy wasn't. I delivered the bike yesterday so it's out of the shop and now the matter is closed.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm trying to clear the backlog of wrecked bikes in the graveyard towards the back of the shop. Some can be sent back to the other centre ans stripped for parts, but that's a fine line: we are supposed to be recycling bikes after all...

This is a case in point: the frame in the foreground had a red "Scrap" tag because it was missing so many components but as I get a more clear view of what is in the store I'm finding spares and bikes which can be cannibalised, such as the monstrosity in the background which was once a sort of early E-bike with a smashed motor and a few decent parts, so the foreground bike got a reprieve. Hopefully it'll be done by Monday.

Alongside this I'm slowly sorting bikes by rough type (mountain bike, city bike, trekking/touring bike, 'retro' bikes). One goal for winter is to reach a point where I have at least one of each type on the shop floor and one in the store ready to replace it.

There's a meeting next week where I'll hopefully find out how long we will e in the current building (and therefore what alterations are possible), and how my work time is to be divided between the bike workshop and general shop.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

This is a case in point:

Given where you have started from and where you want to get to I hope that you're not expecting perfection from yourself in making these kinds of decisions.
I'd imagine priority one is to get the place organised and flowing. Sometimes that will mean a less optimum decision in terms of recycling in favour of organisation.

Or to put it another way, I hope you're stopping every now and then to give yourself a pat on the back for what you have achieved.

One goal for winter is to reach a point where I have at least one of each type on the shop floor and one in the store ready to replace it.

That's a very good idea. Simple, easy to understand and communicate, and helps priorities and decisions.

There's a meeting next week where I'll hopefully find out how long we will e in the current building (and therefore what alterations are possible), and how my work time is to be divided between the bike workshop and general shop.

Do you have the option of "fighting your corner", so to speak or are decisions such as where and how long you'll be working in different departments handed down from above?

You mentioned a personal goal of getting experience in the café/bistro I think earlier? Is that something you can argue for?
And don't forget to clean all the oil from under your nails before going there!

Good luck!

 

[Andy in Germany]

Given where you have started from and where you want to get to I hope that you're not expecting perfection from yourself in making these kinds of decisions.
I'd imagine priority one is to get the place organised and flowing. Sometimes that will mean a less optimum decision in terms of recycling in favour of organisation.

Or to put it another way, I hope you're stopping every now and then to give yourself a pat on the back for what you have achieved.

Many thanks for the encouragement @HobbesOnTour, it's much appreciated...

 

[Andy in Germany]

Moving forward again.

I was in a meeting with the Boss and the two shop managers today; they are happy with the situation and were asking how they could help; to my surprise the question of how my time should be divided wasn't mentioned; I'd wondered how on earth they thought that would work to be honest. In the event they just said we would continue to have the system we have now, where I'm on call if they have a gap on the till or similar. Other than that they want me to keep fixing bikes.

On the question of what I needed I'd prepared and gave storage space for tyres and wheels as my #1 priority, because I can then use the space now full of tyres and wheels for other things. The hooks for the wheels have already been made and just need to be mounted, so one of the managers will go and remind the client in question to finish the job; said client has short term memory issues, but he's a great guy for fixing and making things so that shouldn't give too much trouble.

I put forward the idea sent many weeks ago by @Rusty Nails that we have wheels hanging from the ceiling and this is the likely option. One manager used to be a construction supervisor so he knows the best way to make them:all I have to do is provide dimensions and we/the workshop will make a prototype soon. After that we can start making the store room.

On the other hand I need to keep much better records, detailing which parts I use on bikes and send a list to the admin team each month; we're a charity so they want to be able to prove I'm not buying saddles and selling them on Ebay...

Overall, everybody is happy, which is always a relief. I think I'll ask my boss/manager to send questions in advance next time though so I can prepare more succinct answers...

 

[Andy in Germany]

First proper bodge bike finished; I had to replace half the components so it's good to know I can make a bike almost from scratch. It is also the first time documenting the parts so we can include them in the price; I've not held back on new parts this time because I want to see if we can recoup the costs and make a profit.


This is partly motivated by this bike which I priced too low. It went out today with a very happy customer, so I'm a bit more confident about charging more in future.

 

[Reynard]

They both look really good, you know. Chapeau xxx