Mechanics Minutes Sep 2015

Called to order at 7:20pm on Sunday, 9/13

Present: Colin S (staff, Sat), Tati (volunteer, Sat), Esther (staff, Tues), Robert M (staff, Thur), John G (visitor), De Ming (volunteer, Thur), Ruben (staff, Tue/Thur), Scott (staff, Wed)

Quick D&R update [Recurring]

Esther - Had some interstaff issues with Tracy Chapman (?); D&R was going to approach her about issues when it came to a head in the shop with a more serious instance regarding her use of ethnic slurs and racial stereotypes; was unable to respond ‘yes’ that she understood this was not appropriate.

Scott - Board agreed that she shall be suspended for the three month period.

Robert - Suspension is indefinite until the key fob is reclaimed, she acknowledges suspension and recognizes inappropriateness of her remarks.

Making a minimum commitment to staff meetings an additional staff requirement [RM]

Robert - Communication is most important thing for an organization like this; best way to minimize miscommunication is to require staff to attend staff meetings.

Is this already a staff requirement? Can’t find evidence but seem to think there was something in the wiki.

Can we amend staff requirements to commit more time over a multi-month period as opposed to monthly? I.e., 27 hours over three months instead of 9 hours every month.

What would be the implications for WTF, considering they offer much fewer hours? Do a ratio of open hours?

Would like people to attend ⅔ of staff meetings.

Shall we vote? Don’t have quorom (need 7). Vote anyway? Feel handicapped because people aren’t here. Do we adjust quorum based on number of staff? Does it really matter? Sometimes attendance is high, sometimes low. Quorum doesn’t make sense unless we have a staff meeting requirement. If people don’t have to attend, then how can we ensure people show up to vote? Has been policy to contact those that haven’t attended or adhered to requirements and, with policy, no one can claim persecuted since we reach out to everyone equally. Great policy but needs to be enforced.

Will announce to listserv that in order to enforce quorom, have to ask people to attend.

Establishing a consistent message for greeters to deliver [RM]

We would like a ‘script’ for greeters to deliver to new patrons and volunteers. Very common for customer service roles. Wouldn’t it be too long winded? No, this should only be a 3 minute message. “No jerks, D&R policy, clean up after yourself and NO JERKS!” What about asking people to leave their bags behind the desk? Coming back to a policy which encourages us to be consistent and to protect us against claims of persecution. Consistent policy also ensures that we aren’t using stereotypes to judge patrons. What about safe bag storage?

Front desk training on the register, Square, Freehub for all [SM]

Want to update the register to allow for capturing new and used parts (‘cause we don’t pay taxes on donated parts), updating the documentation guide on the register, how to use Square, login and register patrons on Freehub. Can we change the numbers on keypad from 1-6, to ‘new parts’, ‘used parts’, ‘day use’, etc.

Time bank participation [RM]

No administrator for the program, neither here nor there, and don’t see the sense it makes for our shop. Volunteering here is a valuable process in its own right. People lose out who come in with volunteer hours elsewhere and just ‘jump in’ - they don’t understand how we operate, what our mission is, etc. Need to update listings out there that include us. Most would prefer we don’t participate. Could see (down the line), opening it up for open hours but not for build-a-bike. Also worth mentioning that build-a-bike is already a broken program and TB only exacerbates that.

Proposal - no longer accept Time Bank hours; ask Chris to get us off their list; update our paperwork.

Volunteer appreciation party [CdG, HB]

Parties in the past have ranged from $250-$1,000. Will start with a $250 budget then, when we have clearer pic, will update.

Cost of long discussed individual tool boxes and how/when to implement [SM]

Have talked about this one for a long time, have priced this out, would be under $500 for initial roll-out for the tool-chests. When re-design shops, would be awesome if toolboxes were in same cubby where bags were stored (so, swap from one for another). Could slow-down the shutdown process, since we would get all of the toolboxes back at the same time. Teamwork to breakdown would be helpful; greeter is counting cash, assistant is taking and counting toolboxes. Would also be another thing we would really want to keep all shifts on the same page. What will keep people from taking the whole toolbox? Some sort of collateral. One thing to consider for policy is how to deal with cases of missing/broken tools? Suggestions: make a note on Freehub, 2-strike policy? Abuse vs mis-use? Some amount of shrink is factored into everything, so separate policy for loss/theft vs breakage. “Don’t know what tool to use? Ask a mechanic!”

Bike rides!

Have people been eating the donuts and drinking the coffee? YES!!! Staff has definitely enjoyed the leftovers. Would like to continue twice a month (instead of every weekend). What about doing it post-shift? Would make it difficult to kick everyone out to close on time. Ideally, a lead would drag everyone away. Also, doesn’t make it easier for staff to join. What about starting earlier? Rides usually lasted about 2-2.5hrs, so would be nice if we could get out and back before noon.

Ways to keep costs in check (or things we should be charging for)

Two things - some things cost more than you might expect, a lot of little stuff gets wasted by falling on the floor. All agreed that it’s a good idea to have the small stuff at the front desk, to help control waste. Also, if need ferrules, they’re usually buying cable housing, anyway, so why not keep those together? When re-design, will also allocate more space to the front desk, allowing us to keep that stuff up there. What about gloves? Some of these things should be factored in to shop costs.

All agree we store the small parts, need to make sure all shifts are on the same page when it comes to charging for the small parts

Establishing subcommittees for fundraising/shop re-design

A lot of people interested in the re-design. Colin interested in sitting down and meeting with folks. Should really get a lot of feedback from greeters, since a lot of the re-design revolves around the front desk. We would have to shut down for a two week period. Probably best that we have some idea of what we want to do before we start asking for money. Also, should reach out to all of our patrons for non-bike things that can contribute through volunteering. Will put call out to list-serv.

New staff members

Tati and Deming want to be staff! Process is to announce on listserv, get +1s, then get the fob. Robert to send templates.

Meeting adjourned at 9:22pm