Customer asked me to fix his brakes, refused the new pads, now I get it

Had a guy bring in a road bike last week, brakes were squealing like a dying cat. I pulled the pads, they were glazed and about 60% worn. Told him $25 for new ones, he said no, just wanted me to clean them with sandpaper. I did it, told him they'd last maybe 300 miles. He came back yesterday, same squeal, but this time he said "you were right, put the new pads on." Funny thing is, I used to fight customers on stuff like this, argue with them, waste 10 minutes. That conversation made me realize sometimes people just need to hear it once, do it their way, then come back. Has anyone else stopped pushing back and just let the customer hit the wall first? Does it actually save time in the long run or does it just annoy you more?

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rowanw3116d ago

Ha, that's the classic "I'll learn the hard way" special! I swear half my customers treat me like I'm trying to upsell them on gold-plated parts when I'm just trying to keep them from crashing. But honestly, yeah, letting them hit the wall first is way better than arguing. You plant the seed, they come back with a busted part and a bruised ego, and next time they actually listen. Plus, you get to look like a genius twice for the price of one job. Just try not to smirk too much when they roll back in, that's the real challenge.