Had a customer insist on cheap brake pads, then the worst happened

Last month a guy brought in his commuter bike and demanded the $8 no-name pads from the bargain bin instead of the decent ones I recommended. I warned him they wear fast and grab poorly when wet, but he was firm on price. He came back three days later after locking up the rear wheel on a damp bridge and sliding into a curb. Bent the derailleur hanger, cracked a fender, and he was honestly lucky he didn't go over the bars. I fixed the hanger and swapped in the better pads at cost, no lecture this time. Still, it made me think about how much we can push back on customers before we just do what they ask. Do you guys draw a hard line on safety parts, or do you let people learn the hard way?

1 comments

1 Comment

patricialee14d ago

Three days and he already found a wet bridge? That's like the universe was just waiting to prove your point for you.