catastrophic rear brake failure

[corey]

note to self.
re-torque rear caliper bolts next time in garage.
i bet he accidently tightened the SMALLER bolts that hold the caliper together.
I did that the first time i had mine off when i was torquing them. luckily they didn't back out  completely before i got home that night...

[FastAndLight]

Got a call from the owner of the shop today.  Even though they are closed he pulled the bike in out of the rain.  Either the owner or the service manager is going to call me back tomorrow after they take a look at it.  It was a very nice message, gives me a lot of faith that it will all be handled properly. 

[rgramjet]

Alex is a good guy as is Jeremy.  Both extremely conscientious and I'm sure they will do everything to make things right.  This was a good lesson for not only the parties directly involved but I think everyone who has read this.  Thanks for keeping us posted!  Ill be retorquing my shizzle in the next couple of rainy days.

[Jarvicious]

snip....

So sometimes they have to trust that they are doing the right thing at their workbench. In the meantime, this tech will end up probably paying for it all in the end, even though the shop will take care of the intial expendature in making sure the bike is repaired properly and returned to the customer in the best possible circumstance.

While I agree that an owner/manager has to have 100% trust in his/her employees, this type of thing is one with zero room for error.  People come in to work tired, hungry, preoccupied, or hungover and they're going to make mistakes.  Double checking is THE only way to ensure that something like this doesn't happen to someone in a much more serious (or fatal) circumstance.  If I'm paying someone $80 an hour to do something, they can take an extra 6 minutes at the end of a job to retouch every fastener that they just worked on.  If the guys who change oil at Walmart give their tire changes a second look, so can any reputable shop. 

/rant

It sounds like the guy's you're working with here have a pretty good attitude towards their customers, good luck with the whole thing. 

[ducpainter]

Who pays the owners "living wage" during the slow Winter days when he's struggling to keep the guys on board?   

Ive seen very competent 18 year old bike techs that can rebuild a brake plus.  Unfortunately there are too many entitled types that feel they deserve 15-20 per hour without making their bones....  A "non living wage" drives one to learn, to hustle and be reliablebecome a union member, hence making themselves more marketable.

Fixed it for you.

[zooom]

While I agree that an owner/manager has to have 100% trust in his/her employees, this type of thing is one with zero room for error.  People come in to work tired, hungry, preoccupied, or hungover and they're going to make mistakes.  Double checking is THE only way to ensure that something like this doesn't happen to someone in a much more serious (or fatal) circumstance.  If I'm paying someone $80 an hour to do something, they can take an extra 6 minutes at the end of a job to retouch every fastener that they just worked on.  If the guys who change oil at Walmart give their tire changes a second look, so can any reputable shop. 

/rant

It sounds like the guy's you're working with here have a pretty good attitude towards their customers, good luck with the whole thing. 

while I agree with you on a person rechecking his own work, the comment was in having an owner or manager recheck his work for him...the realm of responsibilities and duties of a manager aren't busy enough already? now you want them to recheck every thing that goes out the door? they'll never get anything done that way. it is inefficient to do so in that way.

[rgramjet]

Got it backwards Bro, a Living Wage handed over to  an unskilled worker creates complacency.  

At my shop, Ive got a kid that sweeps the floor and cleans up, scuffs and sands wood pieces.  Told him he will get a $2 raise when he gets his license.  He can then haul trash and pick up materials and make deliveries.  Ill probably throw a couple more $$ at him once he gets to be proficient with a dovetail jig.  My point is an 18 year old has to start somewhere and aspire to reach the next step.  

Keep them AWAY from those Unions!!

[ducpainter]

Got it backwards Bro, a Living Wage handed over to  an unskilled worker creates complacency.  

At my shop, Ive got a kid that sweeps the floor and cleans up, scuffs and sands wood pieces.  Told him he will get a $2 raise when he gets his license.  He can then haul trash and pick up materials and make deliveries.  Ill probably throw a couple more $$ at him once he gets to be proficient with a dovetail jig.  My point is an 18 year old has to start somewhere and aspire to reach the next step.  

Keep them AWAY from those Unions!!

You're missing my point.

I'm talking about the maximum wage a skilled tech can make. The 'journeyman' that was originally mentioned.

Not what a kid that scuffs parts gets.

If you had more first hand knowledge of the moto industry you'd know that techs make shit money for the most part.

That's why you see very few guys that stay with it...and the shop owners know that there will be a line of 18 year olds with no experience willing to work for short money to fill the spot.

[rgramjet]

You're missing my point.

I'm talking about the maximum wage a skilled tech can make. The 'journeyman' that was originally mentioned.

Not what a kid that scuffs parts gets.

If you had more first hand knowledge of the moto industry you'd know that techs make shit money for the most part.

That's why you see very few guys that stay with it...and the shop owners know that there will be a line of 18 year olds with no experience willing to work for short money to fill the spot.

No different from any other seasonal business....

Define "shit money"; less than a school teacher?  Whats the max a moto tech can make?  Seriously, I dont know.

One thing I do know is the shop owner in mentioned above used to work for a local "big shop" and made his bones through amazing customer service and learning everything he could.  Through hard work and risk, he now owns a sizeable shop.

Whats the "Max" that he can make?

[ducpainter]

No different from any other seasonal business....

Define "shit money"; less than a school teacher?  Whats the max a moto tech can make?  Seriously, I dont know.

One thing I do know is the shop owner in mentioned above used to work for a local "big shop" and made his bones through amazing customer service and learning everything he could.  Through hard work and risk, he now owns a sizeable shop.

Whats the "Max" that he can make?

You'll never see a moto tech making what car techs do. I don't buy the seasonal argument because it's not seasonal everywhere, and many powersports shops have lines for every season.

In my area $20/hr max....and that's the lead guy or manager. It's probably more in larger markets...I'm not there.

Car guys are making double or more in the southern towns, and that's with some benefits. I don't know of any moto shops with a group health plan regardless of funding.

There's only room for so many shops, and not every good tech is a good business man even if he does have the guts to try it.

I'm not disputing your point that everyone has to start at the bottom...I did at 9 years old sweeping floors and greasing trucks...I just think we, and I mean we as consumers, shouldn't cap the top.

I think we do that by whining about the cost of repairs.

edit:

We should probably quit jacking the thread.      We can discuss this further by pm if you want.

[FastAndLight]

That was quite a thread-jack there gentlemen .

An update.

I spoke with the owner today and he is going above and beyond to make this right.  The wheels I had on the bike are apparently exceedingly difficult to find and no one seems to have one and won't be getting any for months.  He is taking some extra steps to ensure that my wheels match and everything is how I want it and the bike is back in my hands as quickly as is reasonable.  I'm incredibly impressed with how he has handled everything and won't hesitate to take my bike back there in the future. 

[J.P.]

Good to hear!
Same thing happened to me - w/o wheel grooving. Didn't even hear the the bolt leave. Luckily the rear brake was in bi-annual the down phase, noticed it when I went to bleed.
Been doing my own brake work for 27 years, guess you're bound to miss one eventually.
Luckily Ave hardware stocks Stainless bolts.

[rgramjet]

That was quite a thread-jack there gentlemen .

Anytime I can corrupt, and enlighten DP, is a good time in my book! 

Sorry about the jack!

[silentbob]

He is taking some extra steps to ensure that my wheels match

What do you mean by that?  Is he attempting to repair the wheel or find you a used one of the same type?  It might be time to call MotoWheels and order up a set of forged 10 spokes.  You can get those for the price of the cast Marchesini wheels from Ducati.  The shop buys the rear, you buy the front and they cover all the labor.

[TAftonomos]

See the avatar?  Ask yourself next time you are flying would you rather have a govt employee that is paid just enough to survive, or someone happy at his job and enjoying life guiding your cluelss pilot around the sky 

Unions have their place.  Air Traffic is one of those places.