I was looking for bike shops near my place that can take walk ins for bike repairs (as my usual…read morespot in Villeray was closed, what a bummer!). This place had glowing reviews on Google so I've called ahead of time to ask if they were taking clients for repairs today and they told me yes, they're open til 6pm. Perfect, I decided to drive over.
I should mention that this happened today, during the times of COVID-19, so I've worn my rubber gloves and masks. Upon entering the place, I've greeted the owner and his staff. They didn't speak English, so I spoke French to them, explaining that I wasn't sure if it was my bike chain or derailer is broken because the chain keeps skipping. They've made condescending remarks about how could I not know what's wrong with my bike (like you guys are the bike pro's, if I knew what was wrong, I probably would've tried to fix it on my own...) They've asked me to bring my bike in, and then the owner snapped at me 'You and your mask can stay over there." Oh, I also happen to be Asian. I was really pissed, like what does my mask have to do with anything?
They told me that the derailer is crooked and they can 'try' to fix it for $30/hr but there's no guarantee that it's gonna work.
I was shocked and pissed over that mask comment, so I just told them that I'll take my bike elsewhere for repair.
"Well, if you take it elsewhere, they're going to tell you to replace the part and it will cost you $100!"
"That's fine, I'll take my bike"
I ended up taking it to Maglia Rosa nearby for repair, sure enough, it cost $108 to replace the part+labour, but I've happily paid more to repair my bike elsewhere than to put up with this kind of rudeness.
