Thursday, 3 October 2024
NewsWorkshop

Ask the Trade: How do you display your workshop pricing to the customer?

If you have read CI.N contributor John Styles’ comment on store layout you may have re-assessed the prominence of your workshop pricing. The bicycle industry is perhaps guilty of being a little too vague at times on workshop pricing and certainly not displaying a tariff sheet in the same way you might expect an automotive mechanic to.

With that in mind we speak to five independents on their approach to pricing and displays.

Do you have workshop tariffs on display in store or are jobs quoted on arrival?

David Lucas, Bike Spanner
Absolutely. We push very hard the fact that our pricing is 100% transparent. We have very detailed pricing listed on our website, and these are replicated in-store.

Upon inspection, we use an automated menu system whereby we add all the required jobs and the prices are auto filled, with upcharges (for internal cables, etc.) added automatically. At the end of the inspection, a job sheet is produced and mailed to the client if they decide to progress with the job. They are then sent regular updates and a final job sheet once complete.

Roman Magula, London Green Cycles
We try to offer both, plus a prominent listing on the website, though a lot of jobs are charged on a per hour basis.

Alan Shaw, Garage Bikes
Both. We have pub-esque black boards with our fixed prices prominently displayed as you enter the shop. We also give the bike a quick look over, discuss with customer then give them the top sheet of a carbon copy job book with the estimate written down.

Howard Wagstaff, Pedal and Spoke
We have set pricing, but also offer quotations on arrival.

Neil Holman, George Halls Cycle Centre
Both. We have a printed workshop guide price list, including VAT and then when customers bring their bicycles in we can access the state of it and give them a closer quote.

Catch the rest of our trade opinions series on the workshop here and don’t forget to let us know how you approach the topic in the comments below.