A cursory search for alternatives to the word ‘cheap’ suggests ‘low-cost’, ‘budget’ or even just ‘poor quality’ as handy alternatives. Sadly, I can assure you that no fancy language could ever have calmed down the many customers I quoted for a repair that amounted to something close to the value of their £350-ish hybrid, which they felt was anything but how I had described it; cheap.
If set up well and serviced regularly, a bike of that budget should provide years of hassle-free service to those who require no more than a bike to scoot around town on. But sadly, the majority of the cheap bikes that passed through my shop did not have an easy life.
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Enduring the inclement climate of my native Edinburgh, they tended to look more like they had been used every day to commute to Atlantis along a sea-bed of cobbles.
Of course the blame often doesn’t lie solely with the customer here. It is the responsibility of any bike shop to make it clear that bikes wear out and a cycle will require regular maintenance, regardless of the bike's price.
I know sales targets suck and it’s hard to explain to someone that they’ll have to spend more in the future, but it’s not as bad as bickering with the public and potentially tarnishing your reputation. But often this responsibility is forgotten and if a customer knows no better, why wouldn’t you assume a bike shop is trying to rip you off? So in many encounters like these, the customer would grumble a little, doors would be slammed and I’d feel unnecessarily guilty for the rest of the day.
Horror show
Being brave
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