Category: | Bicycle Store |
Address: | 141 W Washington St, San Diego, CA 92103, USA |
Phone: | +1 619-296-0618 |
Site: | m.facebook.com |
Rating: | 3.7 |
Working: | 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–7PM 10AM–5PM |
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Robert Driscoll
Deceptive and deceitful. Short story: after paying $296 I have a bike where the one item I explicitly told them to fix is still broken as their attitude clearly is: why fix what what the customer requested when you can charge for other things instead. For the long version, read on... Long story: I took my commuter bike in to Mission Hills Bike Shop as the bottom bracket had clearly cracked (for context I bought it new for $600). I explicitly told them that a cracked bottom bracket was the problem. After looking over my bike they recommended a complete overhaul as they said there was a plethora of other issues with my bike. They gave me a flat fee of $284 to overhaul and fix my bike. They explicitly would not itemize the components they were going to replace even though I asked multiple times for it. After thinking it over I agreed to pay the money as my bike had been riding very slow recently and their prior $75 tune-up I had them do six months ago had failed to fix the this. The day before Im to pick my bike up they call me to let me know that I have a cracked bottom bracket and it is going to cost additional if I want them to fix that. On the phone they adamantly state that they never agreed to fix my bottom bracket even though that is the explicit issue I brought the bike in to have fixed. They say look at your itemized receipt as there is no mention of fixing the bottom bracket. Confused, Im very rudely told by them that the claim ticket they gave me has an itemized list of what they agreed to fix on it and the bottom bracket is not on it. In a nutshell they told me one thing, but intentionally wrote down another thing without telling me so they could keep adding additional charges. When I told them I explicitly brought the bike in to have the bottom bracket replaced, multiple employees stated over and over that it wasnt on the itemized list such that it became clear that this was a standard business practice for Mission Hills Bike Shop. I even talked to the guy who gave me the original quote and he wouldnt admit that I brought the bike in to have the bottom bracket fixed as it wasn’t on the itemized list. I suspect that they train their employees to say one thing but write down something else so they can double charge you to get the original item fixed. In short, after paying $296 (they forgot to add sales tax in the first time) I have a bike that is still not rideable. More than slightly irritated by this, I called around to other bike shops in town and it became clear that the prices Mission Hills Bike Shop charged me were around 25% higher than other shops. If you want to stop by and talk about bikes with people who obviously are very passionate about cycling, yeah I can see this being a great place to go. If you want to have your bike serviced by honest professionals, then I strongly suggest looking elsewhere as both honesty and professionalism are in short supply at Mission Hills Bike Shop.
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Joe Rodkey
A year ago, 2016, I went here for some minor work and was. impressed with the gentleman who helped me. So I went back this year to have a front wheel replaced after it was stolen. Last years fella wasnt there and oh what a difference that made. Wheel had to be ordered and I was told my bike would be ready in 2-3 days at the latest. Cost would be $70 and they would call me when ready. By the 5th day and No call, I called them. I was told that the wheel had not arrived yet. I was previously told the wheel was ordered on Monday when I took the bike in. Turns out that was wrong and the wheel wasnt ordered until days later. Finally, 9 days after dropping the bike off, I got a call that it was ready. When I arrived, the charge was $88, not $70, and I noticed the new tire was a Much thinner than the original one and did Nit match the rear tire. When I questioned that, I was told that tire was what they had in stock, but he would order another if I wanted. What, and wait another 9 days for it. No thanks. Question: why wasnt the same tire, if not in stock, ordered when the wheel was ordered? Who knows??? I expressed my total disappointment with the whole situation, paid my bill and left. A totally frustrating, expensive, and time consuming experience. If they treat all of their customers this way, I dont know how they stay in business. Maybe I am the only one with this experience, but its certain that I will never deal with them again. There are many bike shops in SD to choose from. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong one. I
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Eric Ciccone
All the other times I went here, the mechanics were very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, one day I asked another mechanic there for some help with some grinding somewhere in my crankset. I just wanted to change the crankset, but he insisted on also changing the bracket and front derailleur (In his defense, the derailleur was campi, and the crank would be Shimano, but I knew I could make it work since it was only two speeds and I had done it before). He became very rude and stand-offish, cutting me off and being very disrespectful. He said I was only allowed to ask two more questions, I tried asking him what the price would be, and he just told me it would be parts and labour without even giving me a numerical value, which was not useful to me. Seeing that he didnt even have the patience to talk to me or address any of my concerns and just made me stressed and upset, I realized that I wouldnt feel good about leaving my bike in his hands. I went to another bike shop. They actually took some time to check my problem and found the teeth on the front chain rings were worn out, and explained that to me without being condescending. I got a new crankset (I didnt even need a new bracket as the last mechanic insisted), and they installed it. Bike works great now, as simple as that.
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A Private User
I like this shop. I hate to write a review - but I feel that only the bad gets aired in these review thingys anyhow. Heres the other side - this is the shop of bike glory. I love this shop in fact because I remember when it was a Schwinn shop back in the 70s....and it was reborn. And its punk and zen and all that! Unlike my youth where mom and dad took care of all biking misdeeds, Ive learned to be an adult about entering the whole bike repair situation. Riding a bicycle has always been a nasty, dirty mechanical habit - especially on the crap roads the city gives us. A darn bike gets abused and Ive learned to face it just as if I was seeing the doctor. As for the attitude - what the heck does anyone expect? These people love bikes, not the sass from some recent car driving enthusiast who just learned that bikes dont burn gasoline! Nobody has been rude to me there. In fact, the owner, Eryn was thumbs up on the cheap ride ($340!) I bought over a year ago, which gets worked almost every other day. He stands by his merchandise with pride and I stand by that! Maybe if more people would cool their heals while in the shop they could dig the scene and appreciate the fact that these greaser service folks are doing it for the love of the sport.