The 'life can be expensive' thread

[Coolabah]

That's because so far it's only been two

LOL, well as we all know there are three kinds of people in this world - those who can count , and those who can't....

[Shpox]

I'd like to see a store rating system and general reputation introduced to BNA. I know it sucks to give bad feedback but in the same manner that Google Reviews works, you can praise a shop for good service and just as much, denounce them for bad service. It seems to work fantastic for the guys over at whirlpool re: technology stores and although you'd assume people would only jump online to complain, it actually didn't turn out that way. People are happily to vocalise any form of feedback aslong as they know it will have influence (whether by being read or being part of a larger spectrum of feedback).

I understand that some may be upset by feedback and they might contact you, but surely if they are willing to goto that length to register an online complaint, they'd be willing to smooth things over with a customer. A great example is Jack from Prolite that's always has a presence here to help out others with his product. I cannot see why shops couldn't share the same representation.

Good or Bad, Feedback is important. I believe you should be given the option to shame and praise a shop. Surely if a shop gets bad feedback, they'd be willing to increase their online presence and help their reputation. It's only good for them.

As you've mentioned, there's two sides to the coin. If a shop is charging what one might consider to be high prices, you'd at the very least expect an average service. We need shops to vocalize these processes too. I'm sure many of us will be happy to fork over cash for services aslong as they're performed correctly, whether it be fitting a tube or a complete custom build.

[sogood]

I really don't see how this has gone on for three pages...

Your ulterior motive has just been exposed now that you've just revived the thread for another round! :p

[Alien27]

I work in a demo company. The base labourers get about $25per hour, we need to charge them out at $70 per hour to make it worth while.

For what it is worth, i think the current positive naming only, works well. I'm sure there aren't many lbs owners driving around in bmw's and living in the eastern suburbs.

[elantra]

I think the central question here is, should tube replacement/repair be considered to be a loss leader or a profit making service for a LBS. In traditional ma and pa LBSs, these can be considered to be a loss leader while margins on other products more than cover the cost of running the business and make a living. These days, LBSs are seeing or needing these services to be revenue generators. Well, do the customers have the wrong expectation or the LBS have the wrong business model?

Yes i have been told by my LBS that doing minor services at a loss will become a thing of the past if you want to survive.

[jpgibson]

Oh well...that's inflation for you.

Ha! And the op was about a tube replacement!!