> To give shop mechanics some defense, they are not stupid in many cases.
They
> are unappreciated and underpaid and undertrained in an under capitalized,
> low margin industry. A $300 or $600 bill for brake work on your car is
paid
> with little arguing and haggling, but a $100 tuneup/ overhaul at the bike
> shop is met with cries of price gouging.
> Yes there are yahoos working at bike shops that don't know a spanner from
a
> spacer but lets not blame them- lets look at why the yahoos are under
> trained and the pros are underappreicated.
>
Well, yeah, that's fine, but I too have been the victim of some idiot who,
untrained and underpaid, or not, can't find his own ass with a search
warrant in each hand. Anyone who would just toss loose pedals and other
goodies into the carton, to bounce around with the frame across the country,
has zero common sense and probably shouldn't be trusted with something as
sharp as a screwdriver. This has nothing to do with "training" or low
wages. Has more to do with brain cells, or lack thereof. It's, for my
money, indefensible. And, lets face it, it's not like this type of "service"
is an isolated incident. My 2 cents, YMMV.
John Dunn in Boise, who realizes that lots of good LBS's exist, but will
still never have an LBS pack a bicycle again unless I can stand over them
while they do it.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J.Dunn" <bikehunter@msn.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 1:19 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Packing a bike for shipment
>
>
> >
> > " One would > have thought that a bike like this would have received
> special
> > treatment,
> > > but I can only speculate on how or why someone working as a
professional
> > > mechanic would treat a vintage bike so poorly. "
> >
> > This is a malady commonly known as "stupid, untrained employees, with no
> > supervision" syndrome. Its havoc is not limited to bike shops. It's
very
> > wide-spread.
> >
> > John in Boise, bent on overpacking a frame later today.