My shop's rush culture has me questioning my job

Lately, my boss has been pushing the team to finish repairs in half the time to meet some new sales goals. Just yesterday, I sent out a mountain bike with a misaligned derailleur because I was rushed, and the customer called back furious. It's not the first time this has happened, and I feel awful putting my name on sloppy work. I got into this trade because I care about bikes being safe and right, not just fast. Now I'm dreading going in each day, worried about what might go wrong next. Has anyone else faced this kind of pressure from management? I'm thinking about jumping to a different shop, but I don't know if it's better elsewhere. How do you stand up for quality when the boss just wants speed?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_taylor1d ago

A buddy of mine was a mechanic at a car repair place that got bought out by a big chain. The new managers only cared about turnaround time, not if the job was done right. He ended up signing off on a brake job that wasn't fully tight because the shop was pushing him to hurry up. The customer had a scary moment when their pedal went soft, and my friend quit the next day out of sheer guilt. He found a smaller shop that values quality, and he's so much happier now, even if the pay is a bit less!

morganwood2d ago

I once rushed a concrete pour to meet a dumb deadline and the curb looked like a melted candle. That feeling when you know it's wrong but the clock's yelling is the worst. Honestly, I'd start quietly looking at other shops.

rivera.sam1d ago

Ugh that's the worst kind of pressure. So what ended up happening with that curb? Did you have to go back and tear it out later, or did the boss just make you leave it there looking all wrong? I mean, having to explain that to a client or just see it every day would eat at me. How do you even handle that after the fact?