Sherlock & the Doggy Hotel

I’ve never had a relationship with a specific bike mechanic at any one particular shop. In the past, if I needed work done on my bike, I would make a few phone calls to find a shop that could take in my bike and have it ready for me in time for my next scheduled ride.

Once I figured that out (usually on a weekend), I’d load my bike into the car and drive over to the shop to drop it off. As I rolled my bike into the store, I started to get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I could never pinpoint the exact origin of my consternation. But the other day, the answer hit me.  We were headed out for a vacation and we had to drop off Sherlock – our Dachshund – at the doggy hotel. That familiar feeling set in as Sherlock passed through the gate to the place that he would call home for the next 7 days.  I began to worry and wonder – who exactly would be taking care of Sherlock, would they treat him well, would he have a nice place to sleep each night, would he have nice dogs to hang out with?

The worry was caused by a lack of transparency. We’ll never know the answers to the questions, because Sherlock can’t talk. And neither can my bike…….I roll my bike up to the counter and begin to check it in with a guy at the front desk (would he be the one working on my bike?). I make the noise of the clunking sound I hear when I pedal, and he writes down, “clicking noise” (it was clunking! – will the person working on my bike actually find the problem??).  After the ticket is written up, the guy at the front desk hands me a claim tag and says “I’ll take it from here”, and he rolls my bike into the place that it will call home for the next 7 days.  I hope my bike is treated well and gets to hang next to some other nice bikes.

At Beeline Bikes, we’ve solved the “transparency” problem. When we bring our Mobile Shop to your home or office, the mechanic who checks in your bike does the work on your bike. And the best part is that we do all the work right in front of you so you never have to feel like you are abandoning your bike at the the “doggy hotel” again.  Now I just need to find a better situation for Sherlock!

Pete Buhl, CEO

Listening to: Road Trippin’