May News

PBMA May Newsletter

PBMA Technical Workshops

The survey says mechanics and owners want affordable and accessible training. The PBMA is making that possible!

PBMA Technical Workshops are a mix of technician training provided by leading manufacturers as well as presentations and conversations focused on increasing service profitability. The 3-day workshops will take place Tuesday to Thursday so you can be at your business when it counts. Workshop costs will include all materials, lunch and a networking happy hour.

Workshops will cost $375 for non-PBMA members. Individual PBMA mechanic members can attend for $275, a PBMA member shop wishing to send more than one mechanic receives a further $25 off per individual ($250 per employee)

We are happy to confirm the following dates and locations:
Denver - November 7 to 9
Portland - January 9 to 11
D.C. / Dulles - February 6 to 8

Registration is limited to 120 participants per location and class sizes will not exceed 20 per class. The PBMA will offer 4 scholarships (two for men, two for women) covering workshops registration and lodging. Registration will open in June so keep an eye out!

THE PROFESSIONAL BICYCLE MECHANICS ASSOCIATION'S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE, DEVELOP, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL BICYCLE MECHANIC.

Why is the PBMA a Professional Association?

In interacting with the participants on the PBMA Facebook page over the 16 months, I've gotten into a number of discussions surrounding what actually makes a "professional mechanic" truly a "pro". I've been more than a little surprised at the responses that I've received. The large majority of the responses that came back in these discussions sounded like "You're a professional mechanic if you get paid".

Right. The only thing that determines professionalism is getting paid to turn that wrench.

Really? It's that simple? If that is indeed true, you should be totally terrified over your job security...or lack thereof. Because that means your shop owner can replace you with another "professional" mechanic just by paying them...and that means you're on very, very thin ice indeed.

Instead, you probably realize that what truly makes you a professional isn't your paycheck, it's the quality and meticulous attention to detail that you provide on every job, no matter how big our how small. Professionalism is about how you work, not whether or not you get paid for doing that work.

The PBMA is an organization of mechanics, formed by mechanics and we exist for professional mechanics. Our mission is to promote, educate and advocate on behalf of bicycle mechanics everywhere, that are seeking to improve their careers in all forms.

Because the PBMA was officially chartered as a professional association, I'm frequently asked why we decided to form our organizational structure the way that we did and, more frequently, I'm also asked why we didn't form the PBMA as a "union" or other labor organization.

The reason is pretty simple and straightforward and I'll put this very bluntly...it would be simply be totally stupid to try to form a mechanic's union. From day one, we never intended to be a union. Instead, we sought to create a platform to deliver value to mechanics in the form of benefits, discounts, education and training and by providing a mechanism for mechanics to connect and share experiences.

Unionizing bike mechanics in this economy would be foolhardy. In order to have an effective union, you need two key things. One, a trade that is technically difficult and equally hard to replace. Two, almost total agreement on the part of your membership. Unfortunately, neither of those would happen in today's cycling environment. Just ask the Air Traffic Controllers...or PATCO, as it was known back then.

The Air Traffic Controllers were a union that formed (as an professional association, by the way) in 1969. Over the years they kept trying to position themselves as a union instead of a professional association. No one would argue that they held a skill that was highly technical and difficult to replace...and they had almost total buy-in from the rank and file membership. You would think they had an ideal situation for a union to be "in control"...but you'd be wrong. When PATCO went out on strike, in the summer of 1981, then President Regan ordered them to be terminated. Though the firings caused a massive mess in the transportation world, the government replaced all of them relatively quickly.

In the cycling mechanic world, we neither hold total control of our membership nor do we hold control of the technology. YouTube teaches anything that anyone wants to learn. No, I'm not saying that you could go out and learn to be a highly skilled bike mechanic purely by watching YouTube videos, but you can learn a lot...and it's all free.

Instead, our core belief is that a highly skilled, highly trained, well-rounded bike mechanic is valuable to the individual shop and to the greater community as a whole. Our goal is simple, build a better bike industry by building better mechanics. We're providing high level, professional training to allow mechanics to increase their skill sets, and we're trying to do this at as low a cost as we can possibly provide it, because a skilled mechanic is going to be a very employable mechanic.

As a board, our PBMA leadership team is completely on board and supportive of this model and we're happy to discuss it with anyone that would like more information. Feel free to reach out and please volunteer to be a part of the continuing development of our association.

We're happy to have you involved.

THOUGHTS ON SELLING SERVICE IN THE BICYCLE INDUSTRY
Jenny Kallista of APPALACHIAN BICYCLE INSTITUTE

PART THREE: WHAT THE RIDER CAN DO THEMSELVES

Often when faced with a realization that maintenance has been neglected or something preventative may have kept a repair from being too costly,
customers want to know what they could have done better. One great way to educate the customer is through maintenance classes. Offering short, afterhours maintenance classes does a few things for the shop and for the customer.

For the customer:
-increases their knowledge
-boosts confidence in themselves
-offers a comfortable environment to build their experience with bikes

For the shop
-offers mechanics an added income source (charge for the classes and give the money to the mechanic)
-boosts customers trust in you and the shop
-increases sales

In addition to offering a bit of education via classes, offer tidbits of advice and education to the customers at every opportunity. When selling service, if the customer appears receptive to it, it is a wonderful time to educate customers on things to look and listen for so they bring their bikes in before problems get too big. Showing a chain checker is a number one strategy, as it often leads to a tool sale, or at least an impetus for more frequent visits to the shop. Having a set of worn brake pads on hand to show folks when it's time to replace, or having a worn out cartridge bearing to quickly demonstrate visually and tacitly what's going on can help quite a bit. Knowledge is power, and there's no reason not to convey some of this knowledge to the customer. It shows you care when you are willing to take a few minutes to share. Have books available for purchase so the customer can learn on their time at their speed.

PART FOUR: MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

This is the big one, and it all comes down to communication. The simple mantra of "under-promise and over-deliver" can do wonders in the service
department. When customers expect too much, either from not being explained things properly, being allowed to make assumptions, or whatever reason, then it is too easy for the service to fall short. Estimates should be made as precisely as possible, and always weigh on the high side… a repair should never exceed so much as a single dollar above what the estimate was. This again makes it crucial for the Service Writer to be one of your best mechanics, as that person will have a much better ability to assess the repair and what will be needed. While the bike is being checked in, all required parts should be checked for availability (ETA on those which are not), and very throughly written up, and then bagged and hung with the bike. Asking the customer as many questions as possible at this time is important, to get a full view of both what is needed and what the customer expects. As long as good communication practices are upheld, then there will be less opportunity for there to be discrepancies between the customers' expectations and what is delivered.

Of course, there are many times when something additional comes up by the time the mechanic doing the repair has the bike in the work stand, and the
customer needs to be called to approve further work, but again, a thorough assessment by the SW is the best line of defense against the call. When the
second call does need to be made, the mechanic must make a thorough list of added service, and estimate the costs precisely before calling. There's
nothing good about making a call, getting further work approved, only to come across another thing and having to call again.

When a customer comes to pick up their bike, and the mechanic who worked on it is available to speak with the customer about what was done, it can
enhance the experience and create a certain intimacy that people enjoy. When possible, it is a nice touch to throw a little polish on the frame, straighten out a reflector, tidy up a sloppy bar tape job or computer mount, or little things that show attention to detail and show that extra level of professionalism. It is always satisfying to have someone say, "wow, my bike looks so clean!", or come back after a service and exclaim their bike has never worked as well.
People appreciate that personal touch, and doesn't take much to provide. All of these ideas come back to developing and retaining trust. If good communication practices are observed and maintained, then there will be more reason for the customer to trust in the work, the mechanics, and the shop, and leave happy every time (and come back!).

Please take our latest survey.

It's Time

The PBMA is happy to announce we will be returning to Interbike in a bigger and bolder fashion. We will again be involved in the successful Mechanics Challenge, with new challenges in store for those who compete. We will have a larger booth with meeting space to sit and have meaningful conversations with our members and supporters. We will also be assisting in the technical education offerings with the Interbike Tech Clinics presented by the Professional Bicycle Mechanics Association.

We encourage you to register today... if you attend you'll also get a glimpse of our plan for Certification.