Dealing with a boss who wanted to skip brake checks for more jobs

Last month, a regular brought in their mountain bike for a chain clean. I saw the brake pads were thin but still had a little material left. My manager told me not to note it on the work order, hoping the customer would return sooner for another paid service. I argued that this puts the rider at risk, especially on steep trails. We ended up replacing the pads and charging only for parts to keep it honest. It made me think about how shops balance profit with safety. Other mechanics, have you faced similar pushes from management?

3 comments

3 Comments

bethjones7d ago

Tell me more about the manager's reasoning here, was it just about the money for the next service or did they try to frame it as doing the customer a favor by not upselling? That gray area is where things get really messy for shops because you can convince yourself it's customer service when it's really just greedy. I've seen similar stuff where the pressure comes from owners who only look at the weekly sales numbers and don't think about long term trust or, you know, someone getting hurt. Did you get any pushback after you did the right thing and just charged for parts, or did they let it go?

janar637d ago

Actually used to buy that line about helping the customer. Saw how messed up that priority was after this.

laura9166d ago

That "gray area" talk reminds me of a friend's brake job last year. The shop said her rotors were dangerously thin and quoted $600 for replacements. She asked to see the measurement, and the mechanic got flustered saying the tool was broken. They claimed they were "saving her from future trouble." She took the car to our old trusty mechanic who showed her the rotors were still well above the minimum thickness. She never went back to that first shop, obviously.