Lbs refuses service due to insurance?

[Roamers]

I maintain a relationship with 2 LBS. Over 45 years I have bought from both. One is "we'll take anyone's $"; don't know if that applies to ebikes since we've only taken analogs. The other only does "bought here". We got my wifes ebike there, they didn't have my size in stock and couldn't get my size, but still treat my out of town purchase as in house purchase.

Lot depends on how busy they are, the one that is "bought here only" has one tech that appears very busy, but if we call and need some thing easy, we can bring it in and he takes care of it now. The one that takes anyone's has several techs and usually sits for a couple weeks before it's done.

Long time relationships matter!

 

[PCeBiker]

I've wondered if it would be possible to go to an LBS and ask if I could purchase a DTC ebike and have it shipped to the LBS to have them assemble it and set up properly for a price, then honor a "bought here only" agreement?

 

[AlanDB]

I've wondered if it would be possible to go to an LBS and ask if I could purchase a DTC ebike and have it shipped to the LBS to have them assemble it and set up properly for a price, then honor a "bought here only" agreement?

I did that with my Evelo Compass trike. Evelo arranged it with the LBS to accept shipment and do the assembly and setup. I don't know how much Evelo paid the LBS for that service. I have not had to have the etrike serviced yet, so I don't know if the same LBS will be willing to service it.

 

[PedalUma]

I trained another shop in my town to work on my bikes. They have even done conversions in my style. It is so I can provide the best level of service to my customers. Providing options is more important than having a local monopoly. I do not say just No to some bikes, I will give a referral to a place that is better suited for their needs. Yesterday morning I got a call from a guy that I have know for 15 years. He wanted to give me the business. Instead I met him at a shop when they opened because they are better with installing Sram Force AXIS.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I’m not calling you local bike shop liars but is the “insurance” thing an excuse not to work on your bike since you didn’t buy it there.

I can chime in from the shop perspective should anyone wonder why they'd get that answer.

For us there's a few big variables that dictate what we're willing to have in our building and deal with.

1) We want short queue times for clients that DID purchase bikes from us. This is getting more challenging as the longer you're in business the more clients you amass (hopefully). This means if you take in a bike you're not a dealer for and it turns into a nightmare you're potentially making those clients that purchased bikes from you have to wait longer to have service work done. That's simply not part of our company culture and support.

2) Lack of dealer support makes servicing a complete nightmare. Magnum does have legit dealers for those shops wanting that brand in their store. We're not one of them, and don't desire to be. Meaning when we do need brand support it often turns into a runaround usually leaving the customer in a bad spot. Again, we've made tomorrow's problem today, why do that?

3) Staffing. We've got 1 full time tech and living costs/hiring struggles are REAL. I've got to prioritize my clients and make sure my staff are excited to come to work and we're all aligned in our interests. As someone that's wrenched plenty, working on price point/budget/cheap things is NEVER rewarding and often incredibly frustrating. We like to do a good job and when something is low quality to begin with, it's never going to be that good. It's demoralizing, honestly.

It's better to deliver the honest truth up front, in my experience, then to have to pick up the pieces after the fact.

Edit: The insurance "excuse" is quite legitimate after the building fires that killed people.

 

[PDoz]

I work in a service provision industry where insurance is a major consideration ( and cost) - my personal annual indemnity fees would pay for a new specialized of my choice. EVERY YEAR , for 25 years...damn, I wish I hadn't done the maths on that!

There are LOTS of things I've stopped doing because "my insurance doesn't cover that now" . Some of those are because the policy or provider has drawn a line , more often it's an awareness of court rulings and the potential for legal disaster . I've chosen to stop doing some of the warm and fuzzy parts of my job because I can't justify $10 k extra insurance and a much higher legal risk for the 30 people a year who wanted that convenience locally - why would I put myself at risk of a prolonged and expensive court case for the convenience of a customer, when I know Mr X is willing to provide that service only 200 km away and at 10 x the cost ? " I wouldn't sue you" is not a legally enforceable verbal contract.....in fact, we have case law to that effect in Australia - a rural general surgeon provided emergency care to a patients hand because the patient refused to travel to see the appropriate hand surgeon. The courts ruled that general surgeon was still accountable for hand surgeon level of care.

Sorry, my insurance doesn't cover that.

 

[sc00ter]

I'm pretty good friends with the owner of one local ebike shop owner and he said he refuses to work on ebikes he didn't sell because 1: He doesn't have the software to trouble shoot them and he sees no sense in throwing parts at a problem. And 2: Its only him, he really doesn't have time to work on outside ebikes. He knows the brands he sells and has gotten pretty good at getting in and out at a reasonable time.

He will do mechanical repairs on competitor brands but is very upfront on the turnaround time being slow. He suggest YouTube as well for learning the basics. He's actually allowed me to hover over his shoulder to see how a Bafang hub comes apart, Bafang mid-drive breakdown and other electrical troubleshoots.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I moved in May, wanted to find a new lbs because my seller became far away. Only 2 nearby, and both have refused to work on my Magnum Metro. Both cited their insurance. One said it was due to non-UL battery, the other because my bike had a throttle. In both cases I was inquiring about mechanical repair.

Is this common? Why can’t a bike shop fix my rear wheel flat?

I’m getting mad. I’m a low income retiree, no car, dependent on my bike, very limited ability to fix things. Looks like I have to pay my seller to transport my bike to their svc center.

What a predicament — buy locally and still end up without LBS support! Maybe some pretty lame excuses from the OP's new local shops in this particular case, but still plenty of understandable reasons for them to refuse even mechanical service. What a mess!

Not moving ever again. (I really mean it this time.) But my ebike dealer could go belly-up someday. Then what? Surface 604 has other dealerships, but not many, and none near me.

So, I plan to do everything I can to keep my dealer in business. At least that's what I plan to tell my wife when she sees all that bike stuff on the credit card.
;^}

 

[Slaphappygamer]

have medical rights as an Ontario citizen.
I was stitched up for free.

Do you have any vacancies?

 

[pathfinder]

I moved in May, wanted to find a new lbs because my seller became far away. Only 2 nearby, and both have refused to work on my Magnum Metro. Both cited their insurance. One said it was due to non-UL battery, the other because my bike had a throttle. In both cases I was inquiring about mechanical repair.

Is this common? Why can’t a bike shop fix my rear wheel flat?

I’m getting mad. I’m a low income retiree, no car, dependent on my bike, very limited ability to fix things. Looks like I have to pay my seller to transport my bike to their svc center.

Had the same issue, asked if I removed the battery and took it with me if it solved the issue and he said yes.

GL