Changing Our Expectation

A little while ago a customer came to me apparently sent by a friend of his who knew me. This guy happened to be in town for the weekend and he rolled in on his team Chipotle replica Felt. Or, replica so I thought. He simply wanted me to adjust his headset but was unsure how the compression plug worked. In process he asked if it wouldn't be too much trouble to cut the steerer tube; "no problem," I said. As we talked he told me that he was from Texas and knew some of the managers from the Chipotle team and that he was able to buy this frame from them. It seems that this particular frame was a back up bike for David Zabriske at one point. So, pretty cool deal. Guy obviously was an elite rider, raced here and there, and apparently hung out with a rather elite crowd. Anyway, as I was finishing up I pulled out my torque wrench to torque the stem bolts (which is standard procedure for me) and this guy, without batting an eye says, "Ooh, fancy." WHAT?

On a different day I again pulled out the torque wrench to do the stem faceplace bolts and a friend who has been a mechanic for several years himself says, "wow, you're thorough."

Then I came to a sort of epiphany.

Have we allowed such mediocre service across the board that that we percieve the use of a torque wrench as a "fancy" thing? I would think that a rider of this caliber, riding a bike of this level, should not only expect, but demand, a mechanic's use of a torque wrench on his bike. That should be so commonplace at this level that my use of a torque wrench should be exactly what we expect when dealing with this high end equipment. But instead we have an elite rider with one of the best bikes available who has ridden for years, raced, and hung out with professionals in the sport thinking that a torque wrench is "fancy." My opinion: this shouldn't be. I want my customers to expect and demand the best from me because they seek to ride the best for themselves. My customers have every right to ask me which tool I used for what job, and I am determined to never let them down in that respect.

I think we need to change our expectations, raise them, and always follow through. . . but maybe that's just me.