A rider has a puncture-prone wheel, a creaking bottom bracket and a ride on Sunday. He rings three shops, and the only question he asks each of them is when he would get it back.
Two of them say they will check and call him. The third says Thursday, and gets the bike.
Publish the current workshop wait
Updated, in days. It is the deciding question, it changes weekly and almost no shop publishes it.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a shop might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Rider: How long is the workshop waiting list? Assistant: The workshop page shows the current booking lead time and the service levels available, with what each includes and the price. It also explains which small jobs can be done while you wait. Could you tell me what the bike needs and whether you have a ride you are working towards?
Rider: Can you fix a puncture today? Assistant: The page explains the while-you-wait jobs, including punctures, gear adjustments and brake bleeds, with the times to allow and whether booking is needed. Could you tell me roughly when you were thinking of coming in?
Rider: Do you need the bike for the whole time? Assistant: The page explains how the workshop schedules work, including whether bikes are dropped off on the booking day or held beforehand, and where bikes are stored. Could you tell me the day that suits so I can pass a booking request to the workshop?
Separate the while-you-wait jobs
Punctures, adjustments, a chain, a cable. Publishing what can be done in half an hour converts riders who assumed everything meant leaving the bike.
Publish the service levels with prices
What each includes, what it costs and how long it takes. Riders cannot choose between a basic and a full service described only by name.
Be honest about parts
A repair waiting on a part is the most common cause of an overrun, and saying so, with what is stocked and what is ordered, manages the expectation.
Explain the diagnostic position
Where a fault needs investigating, that the quote follows an inspection and what that costs. Riders describing a noise cannot be quoted from a description.
Ask what they are working towards
A ride, an event or a commute tomorrow. It determines priority and sometimes reveals that a temporary fix is what they actually need.
Publish seasonal reality
Spring is busy, and a shop that says so in February, encouraging early booking, spreads its own workload, which is the pattern in bike service and repair bookings in spring rush.
Explain storage and collection
Whether the bike is kept overnight, whether it is secure, how they are told it is ready and how long it is held. Riders worry about leaving something valuable.
Say what you do not work on
Certain systems, electric bikes of particular brands or older components. Saying so prevents a bike arriving that cannot be worked on.
Capture the booking at any hour
Riders think about this after a ride, in the evening, which is when the shop is shut, and the same coverage question appears in answering service area questions.
Fit questions arrive from buyers too
They are covered in bike sizing and fit questions before buying online, and servicing turnaround behaves like watch servicing enquiries and turnaround questions.
Getting started
Publish your current workshop wait, service levels and while-you-wait jobs, then capture bookings at any hour. SpideyChat for retailers answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.