TexMac

Do you tip your LBS? Last week at LBS this lady gives one of the Mech $10 after fixing break issues with bike. I had to question myself since i don't tip but then I spent lots of $$ at the shop and i felt that was justified.
you?

I-Like-To-Bike

There is a joker/sucker born every minute, last week you witnessed one in action.

Seattle Forrest

I've occasionally done stuff like stop nearby when I'm riding past the store anyway, pick up a six pack of good beer, and leave it with the mechanics. When I needed a new tubular tire quickly, they didn't have one in stock so they lent me a wheelset (Zipp) with the tires I like until a new one came in. The shop in Winthrop held my bike for me for a few days so I could go backpacking and not worry about my car being broken into, they refused to accept payment for holding it, and they didn't sell me the bike.

TheLibrarian

I don't tip my car mechanic so I'd say no. I don't bring the bike to the shop for anything anyway. I I ask their advice on a part I'm uually buying the part.

vanguardx3

The "request" for tips is becoming endemic.

Pretty soon, you're going to need to leave a tip if someone smiles at you.

CliffordK

I think there was a recent poll about tipping.

I SHOP at the LBS, and don't believe tipping is appropriate when I'm buying stuff. I don't tip the grocery store checkers either.

For maintenance? Maybe. The mechanics only earn minimum wage, and a tip might show you appreciate their work. Or, the next time you come in for another tune-up, they may drop everything to help you Unless, you're the person's bike they stuff into the back corner

I-Like-To-Bike

I am always ready to give a good tip:


Buy low, sell high!

vanguardx3

Bike shops are struggling these days. I'd say it doesn't really matter one way or the other, if your intention is to keep the LBS afloat.

fietsbob

If You have a taste in expensive bikes you can afford a tip to the people who give you good service.

The Wages are usually Near Minimum, thats why mechanics dont stay Long enough to have the skill-History

Unless they Married a College Professor ..

TriDanny47

Tips on the spot, no. Year end/holiday gift cards to the key personnel who helped me out/put up with my dumb questions - yes.

kickstart

I think it would be appropriate for special services like fully custom builds, but not for normal retail purchases or services.

CliffordK

If you're having work done on the bike.

But, if you're just shopping, it would be like saying one should tip the grocery store clerks to prevent turn-over.

I'm not sure how much the shops are struggling. Around here we lost a couple of major bike shops in the 70's and 80's including the Schwinn shop.

I think there are a few new shops that have cropped up in the last decade including a new Performance shop, and I don't know of any major shop that has closed in a long time.

I think some of the shops are doing very well. Some are probably struggling. I think the "Arriving by Bike" is doing reasonably well in Eugene. It has a very small footprint, and quite a bit of traffic. Others, I don't know. Inventory costs must be high.

The one group of consumers that the shops need to work on keeping are the home-mechanics. I used to get 90% of my parts from the LBS (some from big catalog mail-order houses). That percent is quickly dropping to 10% or less (with small, non-local shops still picking up a good part).

It hurts when I go into a shop and they don't have a basic innertube for a bike model they have for sale on the floor.
It hurts when I get stung with paying $8 for a tube that other places sell for $5, and is available online for $3
It hurts when brake pads or other parts are just not stocked. I suppose I should ask about things like cones, but it gets to the point where I just can't count on the local stores having the stock I need.
Plus, it is so much easier to order from the living room and have it arrive in the mail.

As a consumer, I also am sometimes looking for relatively rare items. My last order included 24x1 (520) Schwalbe Durano tires, as well as 20x1 (451) Schwalbe One tires, both of which came from Europe.

I could imagine some brutal competition if 1000 shops started dumping their inventory on the internet, but there is no reason why a small shop should blame internet competition on everyone else without joining the fray themselves. And, it may help with product turn-over which could help with rounding out the inventory.

fietsbob

I bought Jeremy the Mechanic at The LBS a couple PBRs at the Pub down the street .

Grocery-Chain-store Clerks Have a Labor Union https://www.ufcw.org/about/ufcw-history/retail-clerks/

Seattle Forrest

I have an interest in having the same mechanic, who knows my riding style and preferred routes. I don't have an interest in having the same grocery clerk.

VegasTriker

I'm 99.5% positive that this same question was asked multiple times on this forum with the same results. For me it a moot point as I haven't used an LBS for repairs in several years.
https://www.bikeforums.net/fifty-plus...ke-fitter.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...-mechanic.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...-mechanic.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...-your-lbs.html

GlennR

Last year I purchased 2 bikes from the LBS. They come with free one year service. I deal with one specific mechanic and depending on how much time he spends, I toss him $20. It buys me highly personal attention and I get all my questions answered for bike that I did not buy from the store.

For the $40-$60 I tip a year it buys me access to an lots of great advice and it just means one less meal a year for me.

CliffordK

Wow... a "regular".

I can't think of when I've handed my bike to a "mechanic" for repairs or a tune-up. I've been doing 100% of the work on my bike since I was about 10, maybe even younger.

Oops, nope, sorry. There was one instance in Italy when I got my broken bike rack welded at a neighborhood shop. It only lasted a day or so, but that was enough.

And, this is part of the dichotomy. I can imaging tipping a person for unpaid warranty work (although their wages are the same).

But, the bike stores serve two vastly different communities.

1: The do-it-yourself people who use them as stores.
2: The do-it-for-me people who use the mechanic services, as well as parts inventory.

And, the best stores deal with both types of customers.

But, one isn't tipping the store, but rather is tipping the bike mechanic (hopefully he or she gets some of the dough).

mconlonx

I'm still a PT bike mechanic, formerly FT for about 5 years. I like getting tips...

...but I don't expect them. Paying the asking price for service gets you top notch service, as described, on time. Someone who tips? The same top notch service. But maybe the bike gets a bit of detailing that is not usually included in the service. Or it gets squeezed into the schedule between other bikes or after hours, where time spent working on it will not affect other schedules.

Most of the time, a tip is not expected and a complete surprise for providing the same level of service we'd do not expecting a tip... because a tip is mostly never expected.

Beer seems to be stock in trade tip fare, but there must be non-drinker mechanics out there. For me, it's the women who bring in home-made cookies. Cash works, too.

I tip my car mechanic...

Hypno Toad

I tip my mechanic with beer (bourbon once for big projects). He saves me buckets of money with his work, and always works on my bikes right away (while I wait). That's worth the price of a good six-pack every month or two. It's a win-win.

noglider 

Beer is cheaper than a good tip, and mechanics seem to respond better to it. Weird.

Sy Reene

Did she pay for the brake service independently.. or perhaps was a bike she had bought there that was serviced under the umbrella of free adjustments in the first year.. or somesuch?

Jim from Boston

Tip your LBS

Here’s my usual reply.

Personally, I think tipping in anything but cash is condescending. As described above, I have a congenial, but respectful relation with all the mechanics at my shop, but I don’t think any of us have intentions to be “buddies,” and share some brews, bourbon, doughnuts, or whatever; or even know their preferences.

Imagine offering a non-cash tip to those workers who are traditionally tipped in cash…waiters, hotel bellmen, cabbies, hairstylists…For me, my bike mechanics provide a vital service that I think about for example when hurtling down a steep hill, secure that the bike won't fall apart.

veganbikes

I know I appreciate a tip especially if I have gone above and beyond what was asked or were able to fit someone in more quickly. We work hard, get paid very little and most folks wouldn't want to do what we did. Some people can work on their own bikes but buying all those tools can be expensive and we cannot do it all plus as a home mechanic we don't have to deal with customers who aren't as nice or patient or understanding of what they did to the bike (which they will blame on us sometimes) so we don't understand the frustration.

Bring your mechanic beer or cider (or hard orange soda/root beer in my case cause I love that stuff) or cash is nice for lunch or dinner and it will pay off in the end. You don't have to tip but it sure is nice.

noglider 

@Jim from Boston, I will consider your point about condescension. Maybe I should bring both cash and beer.

I know there are cultural differences in different regions. It seems the northeast is heavier on tips than the rest of the US. So be it. My outlook is that the money is small for me and probably big for the person receiving it, so I see no reason not to tip very well. In restaurants I tip over 20%. If that sounds like a lot, the difference between 18% and 20% is often a dollar or so. Who needs the extra dollar, the server or I? The server, for sure.

We don't often order food for delivery, as we see it as a luxury, but in my neighborhood, it's a booming business. We did so this weekend. Our order was $60. I tipped the delivery man $10. He was very grateful. Maybe I'm a fool, but I bet the guy put the money to good use. If I can afford that kind of money on food (occasionally), let the guy bringing it to me have a little of my fortune. The restaurant isn't paying him a complete living.

Dave Cutter

A few years ago. I tipped a LBS mechanic who quickly did a warranty adjustment. He actually took a bike he was working on out of the repair stand to fix/adjust my bike. It was a Performance Bike store... so I know he was an employee (not the owner). Normally owners are not tipped... only employees.

At another shop (just last year) a son of the owner took my bike and wrote-up the repair ticket. I have no idea who repaired the bike. The next day when I returned. The cashier retrieved the bike and took my money (less than $25) for a part and minor repair. I didn't offer a tip... and wouldn't have known who to offer it to.

I am pro tip.... at least as far as attractive waitresses are concerned. I understand Beer is currency among cyclists and bicycle mechanics. Although... I get the impression the bicycle mechanics in my area would often prefer to... smoke their tips. And I have neither beer of pot.

$9 would have been 15%. 10 sounds reasonable to me.