Taking over the bike shop...

[Andy in Germany]

Progress...

Or: Why this job isn't like running a normal bike shop.

I've started hanging tags off bikes to show which I think should be scrapped and which we should keep. Today a client who barely spoke to me as yet came and asked, very politely, why I was scrapping a "valuable" bike and not some of the others.

I knew which bike they meant. It's a new arrival; a "supermarket special" full suspension lump with a smashed rear mech and a whole heap of other problems, mostly related to dirt cheap components. However, this is a win-win situation for both of us; bear with me here.

I explained why I had thought it should be scrapped and asked their opinion. My client thought it was worth renovating because it would be easy to sell, so I thanked them for explaining their point of view and suggested they give it a go and we'd see what happened.

I was delighted by this because not only is my client asking vaguely critical questions, but also because it's a win-win situation for both of us. Fixing the bike is a step for the client because they now know I'll listen to them and they can be part of decisions. Hopefully this will repeat and they'll learn that I respect them and we'll be able to work together.

If the bike then sells, then the client has a success and I can encourage them, and I've learned something.

If the bike doesn't sell, it's no big deal, and it wasn't the nasty boss saying "no"; we both learned something, and the client will find out they won't get an "I told you so" et c. (I'll do everything I can to get it sold, in fact).

Either way, hopefully, the client will learn something and become more confident, and be one step closer to moving on with their life.

It's a bit different to a normal shop but I wouldn't swap for the world...

 

[Andy in Germany]

A comedy in three acts...

Act 1:

What with Holiday, and then other work commitments, yesterdays was the first day back at work. The bike workshop is part of a bigger shop and I technically have an main boss, who is a social worker, and a Business Manager who makes sure we social worker types remember this is a business.
Business Manager tackled me on why there are so few bikes in the foyer, because customers are coming and asking for bikes and we needed to get as many ready for sale as possible. I explained that I'd found a load of quality issues so I needed to check them all, but that this was taking longer than normal for various reasons. She wasn't entirely convinced, pointing out that until I arrived they'd been selling bikes fairly quickly, but we agreed that we'd discuss it in the team meeting later that day. I thanked her for letting me know and went to make notes.

Act 2:

In the meeting I was asked why there aren't as many bikes as usual for sale. I explained that there were lots of quality issues and until I understood why I needed to check every bike. I used a bike I was checking that day as an example: I'd been told it was either ready or very nearly ready by a client who was absent that day. The gears were not indexed, so I did those first then started on the brakes. They were canti's and badly set and I'd spent a while trying to sort them before I realised the two sides were different, so I took them off and went to search for a new set.. I haven't been able to organise the stores yet and it took 30 minutes to find a matching pair. I set them up and went to the rear brake, which was in the same state. Rather than waste another 30 minutes I stole a set from an non refurbished bike.
I waved the mismatched Canti's to demonstrate.
Halfway through this the Main Boss came in, so he'd listened to most of this story. His response was; "No problem; we'll just change the priority from production to sorting out the workshop. We can reorganise the foyer so there's a different display, and if there's more bikes next week, or next month then we have more bikes, if not we keep the display; we've got accept that with all these issues, getting the workshop to work takes time and effort."

Act 3:

This morning a customer came in absolutely furious because she'd bought a bike (just before I started work here) believing it to be ready to ride, and had all kinds of problems. She took it to a bike shop who said it wasn't worth fixing, because the bike was only worth about 70-80€.
The receipt said 150€...

To her credit the Business Manager dealt with this very well, asked me to check it and when I quickly confirmed the bike shop's opinion (and found a few more faults) refunded the customer promptly. She also made it very clear to one of the clients why we needed to work on quality control later in the day.

We'll get there eventually, but it's good to see the Business Manager and Main Boss support me when I can make a clear case why something is happening. Now I need to work on a goal for the next few weeks and months...

 

[Rusty Nails]

A comedy in three acts...

Act 1:

What with Holiday, and then other work commitments, yesterdays was the first day back at work. The bike workshop is part of a bigger shop and I technically have an main boss, who is a social worker, and a Business Manager who makes sure we social worker types remember this is a business.
Business Manager tackled me on why there are so few bikes in the foyer, because customers are coming and asking for bikes and we needed to get as many ready for sale as possible. I explained that I'd found a load of quality issues so I needed to check them all, but that this was taking longer than normal for various reasons. She wasn't entirely convinced, pointing out that until I arrived they'd been selling bikes fairly quickly, but we agreed that we'd discuss it in the team meeting later that day. I thanked her for letting me know and went to make notes.

Act 2:

In the meeting I was asked why there aren't as many bikes as usual for sale. I explained that there were lots of quality issues and until I understood why I needed to check every bike. I used a bike I was checking that day as an example: I'd been told it was either ready or very nearly ready by a client who was absent that day. The gears were not indexed, so I did those first then started on the brakes. They were canti's and badly set and I'd spent a while trying to sort them before I realised the two sides were different, so I took them off and went to search for a new set.. I haven't been able to organise the stores yet and it took 30 minutes to find a matching pair. I set them up and went to the rear brake, which was in the same state. Rather than waste another 30 minutes I stole a set from an non refurbished bike.
I waved the mismatched Canti's to demonstrate.
Halfway through this the Main Boss came in, so he'd listened to most of this story. His response was; "No problem; we'll just change the priority from production to sorting out the workshop. We can reorganise the foyer so there's a different display, and if there's more bikes next week, or next month then we have more bikes, if not we keep the display; we've got accept that with all these issues, getting the workshop to work takes time and effort."

Act 3:

This morning a customer came in absolutely furious because she'd bought a bike (just before I started work here) believing it to be ready to ride, and had all kinds of problems. She took it to a bike shop who said it wasn't worth fixing, because the bike was only worth about 70-80€.
The receipt said 150€...

To her credit the Business Manager dealt with this very well, asked me to check it and when I quickly confirmed the bike shop's opinion (and found a few more faults) refunded the customer promptly. She also made it very clear to one of the clients why we needed to work on quality control later in the day.

We'll get there eventually, but it's good to see the Business Manager and Main Boss support me when I can make a clear case why something is happening. Now I need to work on a goal for the next few weeks and months...

Well done, you seem to be getting the idea accepted by the powers that be that quality of work and safety are essential when refurbishing bikes for sale if you want to establish the reputation of the workshop and encourage word of mouth recommendations from customers.

This is not just good for the workshop but for the skills development and work ethic of the clients and there is no shortcut.

 

[Reynard]

Exactly this.

Because the best advertising is the quality of the work being done / the product being put out for sale. It's far better to have a small number of well-fettled bikes up for sale than a pile of barely rideable wrecks. Good to see that the top brass are backing you up on this, @Andy in Germany

 

[Andy in Germany]

Well done, you seem to be getting the idea accepted by the powers that be that quality of work and safety are essential when refurbishing bikes for sale if you want to establish the reputation of the workshop and encourage word of mouth recommendations from customers.

This is not just good for the workshop but for the skills development and work ethic of the clients and there is no shortcut.

Thanks Rusty. Yes, this is exactly how I see it: we need to build a reputation for quality and service, which to be fair the rest of the shop already has. I've been able to point very clearly at very real issues so it's obvious I'm not just being snotty. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by their professional attitude, and that they really seem to have my back: I fully expected the manager to tell me to deal with the customer complaint yesterday, but she took the heat when she realised I hadn't been able to check the bike.

This is not just good for the workshop but for the skills development and work ethic of the clients and there is no shortcut.

This. Squared. I learned this in my Youth and Community Theatre days; don't compromise standards, but encourage people and help them to reach them. It really works and they end up better, more confident and capable.


Another breakthrough: in a conversation that began about bike parts, one client opened up about their past and mental illnesses. This happens a lot: a client will decide to trust me after a while and start being a bit more open. It's always an awe inspiring moment when someone trusts you with something so personal though: I always get goosebumps and the Hallelujah chorus in my head.

 

[Andy in Germany]

A spot of the old weirdness today: one of the clients walked out, apparently never to return. It happens occasionally but I really thought I was getting on with this client.

Some of his criticisms were unrelated to me, some were misunderstandings (easy enough when three languages are involved), and I think some may be down to a colleague who deals with this client more than I do, but I wonder if they were a bit upset because I was checking their work after they said it was ready for sale.

I wonder if I'm getting too focussed on the organisational and business side of the job and not concentrating on spending time with my clients enough. Normally by now I'd have a pretty good relationship with most of my clients, even starting from scratch, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or of it was just an impossible situation to begin with.

I sat down and had a chat with my last remaining client today, partly to apologise for a balls-up I'd managed to achieve, and we had a reasonable discussion. The manager reckons we should let them finish their contracts and then we can reorganise the workshop and move on. On one hand that makes sense, especially with the disaster I inherited, but on the other it feels uncomfortably like writing people off.

 

[classic33]

A spot of the old weirdness today: one of the clients walked out, apparently never to return. It happens occasionally but I really thought I was getting on with this client.

Some of his criticisms were unrelated to me, some were misunderstandings (easy enough when three languages are involved), and I think some may be down to a colleague who deals with this client more than I do, but I wonder if they were a bit upset because I was checking their work after they said it was ready for sale.

I wonder if I'm getting too focussed on the organisational and business side of the job and not concentrating on spending time with my clients enough. Normally by now I'd have a pretty good relationship with most of my clients, even starting from scratch, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or of it was just an impossible situation to begin with.

I sat down and had a chat with my last remaining client today, partly to apologise for a balls-up I'd managed to achieve, and we had a reasonable discussion. The manager reckons we should let them finish their contracts and then we can reorganise the workshop and move on. On one hand that makes sense, especially with the disaster I inherited, but on the other it feels uncomfortably like writing people off.

It sounds like they don't like the way you want to run things compared to how things were run before. Less supervision?

Possible that they don't like the extra work, checking each others work and others checking theirs. What you have to bear in mind is that their, and your, work if it goes wrong can have serious consequences.

 

[Rusty Nails]

It is important that your clients know that the checks on the bikes are not because you do not trust them, but because they are an important part of the quality process of the workshop.

Where I volunteer every bike has to have a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) by one of the professionals in the workshop, even though I have been there for 11 years, as the final stage before releasing them for sale. It is part of good practice.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or of it was just an impossible situation to begin with

Andy, don't underestimate the challenge that you have taken on.
Going into a place with "staff", systems and habits in place, as the "new boss" to make changes and improvements is not easy. There are entire libraries on the subject.
Except you didn't inherit staff - you inherited clients all with specific and individual needs that you need to work with not against.
Give yourself a break.

This is an area where you need to hammer out the details and priorities with your manager. There may well be conflicts between the needs of the store and the needs of your clients. For your peace of mind you need to know the basis on which you can make decisions. If you're anxious your clients will be too.

The manager reckons we should let them finish their contracts and then we can reorganise the workshop and move on.

I'm confused and it's probably just me but if I was in your shoes I'd be worried about what my manager thought, not the manager.
It's not clear to me if the manager is your manager.

If I've followed the thread correctly there will be a new batch of clients in September? If so that gives you the opportunity of a completely clean slate to start from.

Taking a big picture perspective it also means that someone walking out now is not as severe as a new client walking out in October. Sorry if that sounds harsh but to my mind a certain level.of conflict is to be expected in your situation.


Do you have a written plan? Do you have a "process" documented that shows how the workshop and shop is supposed to work?
Do you have dates* for things to be completed? (For example a tidy and usable storage area?)
I understand that there are language and communication problems but if you don't have a plan clearly in mind (and committing it to paper clarifies it) then it's going to be a struggle to keep everyone ticking along at the right pace and in the right direction.
If not, now may be the time to do it. If yes, it may be time to look at it fresh with the experience of the last couple of months.


*By dates I don't just mean picking a date at random but an estimate of how much time is needed and then scheduling that time, say x hours per week until it is done. If falling behind schedule then the x hours can be increased the following week.

If there are new clients coming in September and I was in your shoes I'd work hell for leather to get the place in order, to get the back of house (the bike disassemblers) humming so that the new clients walk into a set-up that is designed to work and flow. In that environment you should find it easier to work with your clients and develop the relationships you need to do your real work. (Not saying bike mechanicing isn't real work!!)

I'm assuming the rest of the store operates the same way. Is there any other section, furniture perhaps, where goods are brought in, decisions made on acceptance or rejection, repairs carried out and products sold? Maybe a day or two for you in that environment might help or a trip to one of the similar stores you came across?

I'll say it again. A professional bike mechanic walking into your situation would have a tough job. And that's with professional staff.
It's the weekend, give yourself a break, relax.

Best of luck!

 

[DCLane]

+1 to the above.

 

[Andy in Germany]

It sounds like they don't like the way you want to run things compared to how things were run before. Less supervision?

There was lax supervision for several years, then pretty much no supervision for at least three months before I arrived. As you say, this is part of the problem.

 

[Andy in Germany]

It is important that your clients know that the checks on the bikes are not because you do not trust them, but because they are an important part of the quality process of the workshop.

Where I volunteer every bike has to have a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) by one of the professionals in the workshop, even though I have been there for 11 years, as the final stage before releasing them for sale. It is part of good practice.

Agreed. The narrative there was set by the boss though, because when they suggested I was overdoing the control, he told them about the situation on the "cycle Sunday" when I had to take a lot of bikes off the sales stand and repair several more. I suppose from his point of view it both explained the problem and why he'd said specifically that I needed to check the bikes.
Explaining in more general terms may have been better, I see the point.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks as usual for the well considered thoughts @HobbesOnTour.

Andy, don't underestimate the challenge that you have taken on.
Going into a place with "staff", systems and habits in place, as the "new boss" to make changes and improvements is not easy. There are entire libraries on the subject.
Except you didn't inherit staff - you inherited clients all with specific and individual needs that you need to work with not against.
Give yourself a break.

Probably a fair comment, thanks; I do tend to put pressure on myself, especially in this sort of project.

This is an area where you need to hammer out the details and priorities with your manager. There may well be conflicts between the needs of the store and the needs of your clients. For your peace of mind you need to know the basis on which you can make decisions. If you're anxious your clients will be too.

I'm confused and it's probably just me but if I was in your shoes I'd be worried about what my manager thought, not the manager.
It's not clear to me if the manager is your manager.

Sorry, that is a bit confusing, especially as I'm obviously cautious about giving out details that could identify people. The shops all have a manager whose focus is mainly the commercial side, but who also works with the clients. There's also someone who runs the whole organisation, and all the shops, and who gave me this job, who I refer to as "The Boss". The Manager is responsible for the day to day operations in the shop I work in and therefore most closely connected with the bike recycling.

If I've followed the thread correctly there will be a new batch of clients in September? If so that gives you the opportunity of a completely clean slate to start from.

Taking a big picture perspective it also means that someone walking out now is not as severe as a new client walking out in October. Sorry if that sounds harsh but to my mind a certain level.of conflict is to be expected in your situation.

September is the earliest anyone will be able to start the programme at the moment because there's a temporary freeze. My one remaining client is here until November. This one sadly frequently didn't turn up, and

Clients walk out, get jobs, or sometimes just vanish all the time, so it isn't a shock to anyone, and this client has already said they wanted to find work. As you say, there's a lot of conflict in this job as well, and we need to allow clients to walk away; that's their choice.

Of course, they than have to deal with the consequences from the Job Center...

I know what you mean about "sounding harsh" but you are right: we have limited resources and energy and we need to focus on people who want help, not get it all soaked up with people who want to faff about (and some do) or need more specialised, medical assistance.

On the other hand, if a client leaves it's important for some self-reflection to make sure I'm not inadvertently causing more problems.

Do you have a written plan? Do you have a "process" documented that shows how the workshop and shop is supposed to work?
Do you have dates* for things to be completed? (For example a tidy and usable storage area?)
I understand that there are language and communication problems but if you don't have a plan clearly in mind (and committing it to paper clarifies it) then it's going to be a struggle to keep everyone ticking along at the right pace and in the right direction.
If not, now may be the time to do it. If yes, it may be time to look at it fresh with the experience of the last couple of months.


*By dates I don't just mean picking a date at random but an estimate of how much time is needed and then scheduling that time, say x hours per week until it is done. If falling behind schedule then the x hours can be increased the following week.

Yes we do; the preliminary part is following a minutes from a meeting last year with the then bike mechanic where lots of things were agreed but nothing happened; I'm working on making those things happen and then moving on from there.

I also have a plan. I really need to remember to stick to it and not get distracted by the current crisis...

If there are new clients coming in September and I was in your shoes I'd work hell for leather to get the place in order, to get the back of house (the bike disassemblers) humming so that the new clients walk into a set-up that is designed to work and flow. In that environment you should find it easier to work with your clients and develop the relationships you need to do your real work. (Not saying bike mechanicing isn't real work!!)

This is pretty much what I'm doing; it's good to see I'm not just being random, with the addition of getting as much experience as I can as a bike mechanic (I have some, limited shop experience but not as much as I'd like when I have to show other people how to do stuff), so that the new clients will, as you say, come into a reasonably organised workshop. In Autumn/Winter the store and workshop will be emptied and redecorated, and then the tools take, out of the old kitchen draws where they currently reside and put on wall mounted holders, so I can tell much better what we have, what is broken, and what we need. I'll be pushing to sort the stores out as well, and get a door put on them so people can't help themselves; petty theft is an issue...

I'm assuming the rest of the store operates the same way. Is there any other section, furniture perhaps, where goods are brought in, decisions made on acceptance or rejection, repairs carried out and products sold? Maybe a day or two for you in that environment might help or a trip to one of the similar stores you came across?

Yes it does, and I work in another shop for two days a week so I have some experience. Actually that's part of the problem: I have to do all this on a three day week.

However, doing triage on a bike is hard until it's on the stand, and I don't have a lot of experience in this so it's hard to know what is worth saving an what isn't. I'm working on that though and learning what to look for.

I'll say it again. A professional bike mechanic walking into your situation would have a tough job. And that's with professional staff.
It's the weekend, give yourself a break, relax.

Best of luck!

I think I'll put that on the door. Thanks again...

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Sorry, that is a bit confusing, especially as I'm obviously cautious about giving out details that could identify people. The shops all have a manager whose focus is mainly the commercial side, but who also works with the clients. There's also someone who runs the whole organisation, and all the shops, and who gave me this job, who I refer to as "The Boss". The Manager is responsible for the day to day operations in the shop I work in and therefore most closely connected with the bike recycling

Thanks for clarifying.

I don't want you to be doxxing people! All I meant was (to my reading) the structure was confusing.
First of all, I have tried several times to get my head around the exact nature of your job and I'm flummoxed. That's absolutely not a criticism, more a comment on how I'm in uncharted waters.
That being said, I'm working on the assumption that the main objective of your job is to help your clients and that commercial objectives come a distant second.
Is that correct?
Do the Manager and the Boss (your terms) both subscribe to that? If so, do their actions match that belief?
I ask, and the point of my confusing paragraph was (out of concern for you) to make sure that your manager (The Boss) understands and agrees with your basic priorities.
From my experience where my work fell under the remit of different managers in different departments it was essential to recognise who my manager was (the one who deals with my contract, who allocates or removes resources that I need).

My understanding is that previous to your arrival a "professional" bike mechanic was in charge, presumably not equipped to deal with the complexity of your clients. Is that correct?
Now, you are in charge, which suggests (to me) a different focus. From Commercial to "People" (for want of a better term).
That's a big change!
It's not just the bikeshop that's changing but also the relationship between bikeshop and "Management". At the very least the expectations of "Management" should have changed from then to now

On the other hand, if a client leaves it's important for some self-reflection to make sure I'm not inadvertently causing more problems.

Of course! And with your training I'm sure you're better equipped than most of us to carry it out. I'd hope that you keep perspective though.

Yes we do; the preliminary part is following a minutes from a meeting last year with the then bike mechanic where lots of things were agreed but nothing happened; I'm working on making those things happen and then moving on from there.

For me, this is very interesting.
You're effectively responsible for carrying out a plan that you had no input into, that was put together with input from a mechanic who allowed all kinds of bad habits to develop and who I'm presuming had little training in the needs of your clients? And one who knew he was leaving and wouldn't be responsible for implementing the plan!
Andy, that's not an easy thing to do.
Repeated for emphasis:
Andy, that's not an easy thing to do.

Are you happy with this plan?
Is it achievable?

I also have a plan. I really need to remember to stick to it and not get distracted by the current crisis...

Well, that's the main advantage of a plan in my book. It's like a roadmap and we have to keep checking on a regular basis that we're going the right way. And make changes to the plan or corrections to our efforts as required.
I know you've followed some of my travels and it probably seems hypocritical (in the extreme!) for me to prattle on about plans, maps and following routes. However, at work, I always had a plan.

work in another shop for two days a week so I have some experience. Actually that's part of the problem: I have to do all this on a three day week.

OK, this kind of threw me and elevated your status towards Saint!
There are so many issues with this.
I don't know if clients work a "normal" 5 day week, if it's part time or even if the bike store is open every day.
Presuming a 5 day week does that mean that clients are unsupervised 2 days a week? No wonder there's a problem with petty theft!
I think you're being asked to do the impossible here.
You're not a mechanic (no offense meant) but a keen amatuer.
You're working with people with complex needs.
You've been charged with making it better.
And do this in three days a week!

Away from the problems for a moment, how is the other shop working in comparison to "yours"?

Thanks as usual for the well considered thoughts @HobbesOnTour.

I'm not sure that all my inputs are always welcome and there is a real danger that I'm overthinking everything and adding to your problems not reducing them.
There's no need to answer my questions on here (isn't that good of me! ) but answering them for yourself may be helpful.
It's perfectly fine to tell me to butt out. I won't take any offense.

My understanding is that you're living away from your family, working in a very demanding field, in a foreign country (although well assimilated) with even more foreign clients and colleagues.
And if that wasn't challenging enough your clients have a variety of issues and needs.
That is not easy!
I'm a firm believer in that airplane safety message "Put your own oxygen mask on before assisting another". It may sound selfish but is actually pretty sound advice.

Look after yourself!

Something I have found very helpful is to look for the positives. There may be days when they are very small and hard to see but with practice they become easier to spot. Maybe write them down so that you have a "hard copy" to read after a tough day or to gee yourself up.
You have a lovely story upthread to focus on.

Best of luck!

 

[tribanjules]

One thread that I look forward to seeing updates, real inspiration @Andy in Germany , “chapeau” and keep going 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻