Handbook
Contents
Membership
Policies
- $30-80 Membership includes:
- access to shop and tools during open hours
- 30% discount on used parts
- priority enrollment for classes and discounts on classes
- $30 "Digging Rights"
- Must be a member
- Includes any parts you can find to build one bike, kept track of with a 'punch sheet'
- No guarantee that the BK has all the necessary or desired parts
Forms
Membership signup form and agreement - use these if we run out at the Bike Kitchen.
Open Hours
At every mechanic's meeting, one of the first agenda items is who will cover what shifts for the next two months.
We are only limited to these hours by the number of mechanics who wish to volunteer their time, though. We have also occasionally had Friday open hours, and there is currently a regular monthly monday WTF night geared towards LGBTQ patrons and those who do not feel as comfortable around the somewhat male-dominated atmosphere of the shop during regular hours.
But really, if you have a key, or can team up with someone who does to open the shop, it's fair game (though some sort of publicity would likely be helpful in getting people in to do actual work in the shop, natch).
Earn a Membership / Digging Rights
A patron may volunteer to earn membership (six hours volunteering) and digging rights (six more hours, only for members). See the volunteer task list for things to do.
Mechanics
The basic BK philosophy is that patrons fix their own bicycles. For a mechanic, this means that you will not perform repairs on patrons' bicycles; instead, you will show, describe, and otherwise teach the patrons what they need to know. The Bike Kitchen is a learning institution, premised on teaching, rather than a repair shop for older, “trailing-edge” bicycles.
The focus should be on our patrons learning skills with guidance. If you don't know how to diagnose a problem, are unsure in your diagnosis, or have never performed the necessary repair before, ask another mechanic for help. No mechanic at the BK is perfect; one of the biggest institutional strengths we have is that our mechanics find the right person to help if the first mechanic doesn't know. Remember, there is no shame in learning more.
In our operations, the BK emphasizes mechanic's discretion. This means that mechanics price used parts, adjust fees for those who can't pay, and create tasks (and award hours) for short-term volunteers without needing to ask a manager (which we don't have) for the ok. Other mechanics will occasionally—and after the fact—initiate discussion on why certain choices were made, but each mechanic has the latitude to do what is, in her opinion, best for the shop.
Becoming a mechanic
Anyone can come in and work as a mechanic at the bike kitchen as long as they have a basic knowledge of bike repair and a willingness to teach people. You don't have to be an ace mechanic, but you do have to know what you can do and what you can't. A general guideline is that you should feel comfortable building a bike from parts at the bike kitchen.
Within a month of putting on an apron or regularly giving advice, all mechanics should attend a mechanic's orientation. After attending the orientation, the mechanic will be 'shadowed' by a head mechanic (someone responsible for running a shift) while helping one customer. The head mechanic will then designate the person a 'mechanic' or advise the person what they need to work on.
Staying a mechanic
Once designated a mechanic, you are welcome to come and put on an apron and help people whenever you wish. If you want to be able to order parts through wholesale catalogs, take parts for personal use, or vote at meetings, you need to volunteer for a specific 2 hour shift once per week (e.g. saturdays: 12-2)
Mechanic Responsibilities
Opening
- Turn on the main lights (near far door) and lights in the WW (near forks)
- Set up sandwich board and BK sign at either side of courtyard on sidewalk
- Put on apron and name tag
- Check to see that all workbenches are stocked with their color coded tools, grease, cleaner, etc. If a tool's missing replace it from the backup tools (color code it), and write it down on the shop "want list".
- Check rag supply and put out fresh rags if necessary (also a good volunteer task if short on time).
- Open rollup door near greeter desk (make sure it's unlatched first!!!)
- Log into Freehub
- If patrons show up before you're ready to open please ask them to either wait outside or to volunteer to do a task on this list
TUESDAY: Please bring the trash cans in from Florida St. and put them in garbage room. The key is in the office key box if room is locked.
During Open Hours
Introduce people to the shop. If someone shows up and looks confused, ask them if they need help or have a question. Be welcoming into the space because it can be very intimidating. Explain policies and encourage them to put away tools. Explain that we are volunteer-run. Greeter and Volunteers can help immensely with this.
Try to maximize the bike stands and truing stands. Don't be afraid to ask someone to get off a stand if a) they've been on it for a long time or b) they aren't really using it.
Walk around and make sure that everything is running smoothly. ASK people if they need help even if it looks like they know what they are doing... frequently people are too shy to speak up.
Parts are for sale. Use your judgment on how much to charge. Take into account the following when pricing a part:
- Consider the price list on the bulletin board in the cage
- What the parts will be used for (maybe charge someone who builds and sells bikes more than someone who is working on a bike for themselves.)
- The relative abundance of the type of part in our shop (maybe charge more for parts that are scarce in our shop)
- Quality of the part
- What the person can afford
- Membership (members pay less)
Closing
- Announce clean-up 15 minutes before closing.
- Put away all tools and parts left out on the shop floor. Bring in stands from outside.
- Check to see that all workbenches are stocked with their color coded tools, grease, cleaner, etc. If a tool's missing replace it from the backup tools (color code it), and write it down on the shop "want list". Please also check the tool board over the large workbench for the same.
- Put especially filthy rags into the hamper (also a good volunteer task if short on time).
- Bring in sandwich boards from Florida St. and Alabama St.
- Empty the shop trash into large can in the trash room. Key is in the office key box.
- Sweep the shop floor
- Is the stereo off?
- Turn off all lights (WW, main floor, and office)
- Lower any roll-up doors and LATCH THEM!
- Check all 3 doors to ensure that they are locked when you leave!
MONDAY CLASSES AND WTF: Please take the trash cans from the trash room to Florida St. Monday is trash night.
Mechanic benefits
Once you attend an orientation and volunteer for 4 shifts as a mechanic or a greeter or manage a critical task (website, membership, finance, etc), you may:
- order parts at cost +15% from wholesale catalogs for personal use
- take used parts at no cost for your own personal use
- vote at mechanic's meetings
People who volunteer regularly may run a shift and become a keyholder. Anyone with a key is welcome to use the shop during times when the bike kitchen is closed, and may open the shop for 'random' open hours.
Anyone who volunteers an average of at least 12 hours per month can vote at meetings.
Greeter and Volunteers
Greeters
The greeter serves as both the gatekeeper to the shop and as a welcoming position. It's a position that's often neglected in a busy shop, but it's important to give people their orientation and first steps in solving their problems -- and it's very important in terms of collecting the fees that keep the shop going. Without a greeter, many people won't bother signing in or paying, especially because a lot of them don't even know where to go.
A greeter is a good role for a first-time volunteer or earn-a-biker, because it doesn't strictly require any technical knowledge, or intimate knowledge of how the shop functions. They can just punt questions to mechanics on the floor.
The greeter role is also surprisingly interesting for experienced mechanics. It gives you a broader view of what kind of problems come into the shop, with a chance to answer a lot of short technical questions before referring people to other mechanics. People feel more free to come up to you with questions after they've learned your name, so it's never a boring job.
Other Volunteer Roles
We often have a steady stream of people coming in asking to volunteer, whether to put hours towards a membership or digging rights or just to help out. Feel free to assign them tasks from the Task List in order to help them become more engaged with the shop and community.
Parts and Sales
Stocking New Parts
The bike kitchen stocks new parts when:
- members frequently have to leave the shop to buy parts to complete projects they are working on at the bike kitchen (such as seat binder bolts)
- the new part will let us reuse parts that are incomplete and the used part cannot be easily found at the bk (such as a barrel adjuster)
New parts are of basic but durable quality. the Goal of Stocking new parts is to encourage people to reuse the parts that we already have at the bike kitchen, and to ensure a positive experience for members. Like used parts, new parts are sold only to people who use them at the bike kitchen. Along with stocking new parts, we can make a better effort to get parts donations from local shops and members.
See the Minimal Inventory page for basic parts we should keep on hand.
Receipts
In all cases....
- If you can't tell from the receipt, write down what it was for. Also say what 'department' it's for - shop supplies, fundraising, etc
- If you can't read the dollar amount, write that down too.
If you took cash out of the register....
- Put the reciept and the change in the register.
If you need to get reimbursed....
- Write your name and that you need to get reimbursed on the receipt.
- Put the receipt in the Accounting In Box folder.
If you used a BK card....
- Write that you used a BK card on the receipt.
- Put the receipt in the Accounting In Box folder.
For other financial-related information, see the Financial Cluster page.
Classes
The Bike Kitchen usually holds a monthly class of some kind, often of one of the following types:
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we wholeheartedly encourage new, off-the-wall, so-crazy-it-just-might-work approaches to cycling skills education.
Since classes are a significant source of income for the Bike Kitchen, we try and have at least one every month. If you would like to teach a class you should mention it at the bimonthly mechanic's meeting or express your intention to teach one on the email list.
See the Classes page for more information.
Forms
Email List
The SFBK email list is hosted by Yahoo Groups at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bikekitchen/. All staff should be on the mailing list to keep up to date on announcements and discussion. Members and patrons may be on the mailing list if they want to stay in tune with the daily activity at the Bike Kitchen.
There is a fair amount of activity on the list. In order to avoid being buried by email, we have a few rules.
Subject Prefixes
Use subject prefixes if your email does not need to be ready by everyone on the list. Be aware of your audience and respect their precious time.
A few recommended prefixes are:
- ATTN = Attention, use this only if everyone should read your message
- ED = Education, related to classes
- OT = Off Topic, use this generously for emails not directly related to running the BK
- WEB = Pertaining the the www.bikekitchen.org web site
For example:
ATTN: Shop closed Tues for election
WEB: please post the fundraising party info
OT: anyone have a good herbal remedy for saddle sores?
Be Constructive
As one mechanic posted to the list:
- Negative reviews are helpful for avoiding poor experiences but not nearly so as alternative suggestions.
If you have a criticism or complaint, it will be more readily received and substantially more helpful when coupled with a suggestion or alternate solution.
Freehub
Freehub is the system we use to track people, the services they have access to and their visits to the shop.
See the Freehub project wiki for details on Freehub.
Official Handbook
In addition to the descriptive wiki pages, the Bike Kitchen has an official handbook. What makes it official? Bike Kitchen staff approve the policies in the official handbook at regular staff meetings. The stuff in the official handbook is inspired by the contents of this wiki, and the correspondence on the Bike Kitchen Yahoo! group. The drafts are below with the most current one on top. Below that is a list of TODO items to improve the handbook.
| Title | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|
| BK Handbook Draft 02 | 21 March 2007 | pdf doc odt |
| BK Handbook Draft 01 | 28 January 2007 | pdf doc odt |
| BK Handbook Draft 00 | pdf doc odt |
ToDo
- Make wiki contents reflect official handbook
- Reformat handbook in a more printable fashion (This would be considered a new draft)
- Add a section about the cash register and general money stuff
- Add a section about this wiki!
