Difference between revisions of "Handbook"

Revision as of 16:12, 2 May 2009

This handbook is the official source of information on how the Bike Kitchen works. Proposed revisions of this handbook must be voted on at a staff meeting.

Mission Statement

The Bike Kitchen teaches people of all ages and backgrounds how to repair bicycles. Through bike repair and bicycle related projects, the Bike Kitchen promotes personal development and provides leadership opportunities. Operating as a cooperative shop, we provide affordable ways to acquire and maintain a bike, offer youth programs, encourage re­use and recycling, and work with community groups to get more people on bikes.

Patrons

Patrons visit the shop during open hours, and must either be members or pay a $5 "day use" fee. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Membership

Memberships are annual and cost $40-$80 (sliding scale: pay more if you can), though they may be earned by volunteering for six hours. Membership provides:

• access to shop and tools during open hours
• 30% discount on used parts
• access to classes

Digging Rights / Earn-a-Bike

For any parts you can find to build one bike, you can purchase "digging rights" for $30 or volunteer for six hours (often called "earn-a-bike"). Guidelines:

• you 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
• a person may acquire digging rights only once per year (not once per membership)

It is likely that a patron will not find all of the parts that she needs to complete her bike in the Bike Kitchen parts room. Other parts may be bought from the Bike Kitchen or from other shops / sources.

Bike Storage

Bike Kitchen members may store up to one "project bike" at the Bike Kitchen as long as she makes regular progress on the project. A "project bike" is a bike that a member is building from parts mostly acquired from the Bike Kitchen. The project bike must be clearly labeled with the member's name, the phone number, and the date of the last day it was worked on. Members are responsible for keeping their tags up to date. Project bikes will be integrated into the Bike Kitchen parts room and offered to other patrons if:

• The project bike is not labeled properly
• The latest date on the tag is more than two weeks past. In this case, the Bike Kitchen will try to reach the member by phone to warn that your project bike is going back into circulation.

Staff

A Bike Kitchen staff member is a volunteer that makes at least one of the following commitments:

• Commits to volunteer during a specific three ­hour open hours shift every week.
• Consistently "floats" at least 9 hours per month at open hours
• Consistently takes responsibility for a specific task related to the Bike Kitchen such as website management, membership management, etc.

Prior to becoming staff, the volunteer must fulfill at least one of the above commitments for three consecutive months. To remain staff, the volunteer's commitment must not be interrupted for more than two consecutive months. If a volunteer resumes her commitment after an interruption that exceeds two months, staff benefits will resume six weeks after her staff commitment resumes.

Bike Kitchen Staff enjoy the following benefits:

• Free used parts for personal (for your own, non-income-generating) projects
• order parts at cost + 15% from wholesale catalogs for personal use
• Vote at Staff Meetings
• Enroll in Bike Kitchen classes free of charge
• A key to the shop to use it during times when the bike kitchen is closed

Mechanics

Bike Kitchen Mechanics are Bike Kitchen Staff members that assist patrons with bike projects during open hours and / or teach classes. The more mechanics we have, the more hours we can open, and the more people we can serve.

Becoming a Mechanic

To become a Bike Kitchen Mechanic, you should start by volunteering during open hours to get a feel for things. When you're ready, you can enter the Mechanic Apprentice Program.

Mechanic Responsibilities

As a mechanic, please keep the following points in mind while assisting patrons:

• Be open to teaching. Strive to keep the tools in the hands of the patron, not in your hands. Unlike a traditional shop, the Bike Kitchen's purpose is to empower patrons to fix their own bicycles.
• Be open to learning. If you don't know how to diagnose or repair a problem, are unsure in your diagnosis, or have never performed the necessary repair before, ask another mechanic for help. No mechanic is expected to be omnipotent.
• Use your discretion. As a mechanic knowledgeable of Bike Kitchen operations, you are permitted to adjust prices on used parts depending on their quality, to adjust day use fees, to delegate tasks to capable volunteers, and to award hours to volunteers for their work.
• Wear an apron and name tag during open hours. This makes it clear to others that you are a mechanic and available to help.

See the Opening / Closing Checklist page for those logistics.

Communication

As an entirely volunteer­-run organization, the staff are rarely all together at the same time. To fill this need, we have staff meetings and an email list.

Staff Meetings

Staff Meetings (aka Mechanics' Meetings) are held on the last Sunday of every other month, usually at 7pm. These meetings are vital to the development and success of the shop. At the meetings, we discuss and vote on various issues related to the shop, and establish the shift schedule for the next two months.

Staff Email List

The Bike Kitchen Yahoo Groups page administers the staff email list. You can view / search the list archives through the groups page, and you can subscribe to the list through the groups page or by emailing bikekitchen@yahoogroups.com. If you are subscribed, you can email the list by sending email to bikekitchen@yahoogroups.com. Anyone, not just staff, can be on the email list.

It is crucial that staff read email on the list. Decisions and policy are made over email, and it is a staff member's responsibility to be up-to-date.

Before emailing the list, ask yourself three questions:

1. Is my message relevant to only one or a handful of people? - if so, email them directly.
2. Should I use a subject prefix? - if your message addresses a specific topic. A few recommended prefixes are:
   • ATTN = Attention, use this only if everyone should read your message - ATTN: Shop closed Tues for election
   • ED = Education, related to classes - ED: Please comment on tune-up class curriculum changes
   • WEB = Pertaining the the www.bikekitchen.org web site - WEB: please post the fundraising party info
   • OT = Off Topic, use this for emails not related to running the BK - OT: anyone have a good herbal remedy for saddle sores?
3. Am I being constructive? - Negative reviews are helpful for avoiding poor experiences but not nearly so as alternative suggestions.

Parts

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 shop (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.

See the Minimal Inventory page for basic parts we should keep on hand.

Special Ordering Parts

See the Special Order Protocol page.

Used Parts

Prices are always subject to the discretion of the mechanics on duty. The price list near the cash register offers a guide of prices which reflects the range in quality of used parts. Mechanics should offer a ~30% reduction on prices for members.

No part leaves the shop unless it is on a bike. We are not trying to supply the universe with used parts; we're helping people build and repair bikes.

No BK frame leaves the shop. All BK frames are for EAB/digging rights projects and should be built up as complete bikes before leaving the shop. A frame or partial bike that is walking out the door should throw up a red warning flag -- please confirm that the patron brought in the frame that they are leaving with.

Trades

It is the Bike Kitchen's policy not to trade parts because:

• it can drain our stock of useful parts for our patrons
• we could be accepting stolen parts in exchange for legitimate parts
• it can eat into our used part sales, a portion of our income

Handling Money

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.

Cash Register / Money

Ledlie: This section needs to be written

For the time being, see the posting next to the cash register in the shop.

Greeters

During open hours, it is immensely helpful to have a greeter who welcomes people, describes how the shop operates, collects money, operates the register, and signs patrons in. Being a greeter is an excellent way to regularly contribute to the Bike Kitchen that does not require mechanical expertise. The greeter may be a volunteer working towards a membership or digging rights, or may be fulfilling the staff requirement of volunteering consistently.

Volunteers

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. Determine what their skills and interests are, and consider assigning them a task from the Task List so they can become more engaged with the shop and community.

Volunteers with specific skills (i.e., web design, graphics, event organizing, fund raising, woodworking, etc.) are encouraged to contribute using those specific skills. Volunteers with quality bike mechanic experience are encouraged to become volunteer mechanics. Regular volunteers are often needed to greet, wrench, and perform the many mundane tasks that keep the shop going. When a volunteer commits to working consistently at the Bike Kitchen, she can become staff.

Classes

The Bike Kitchen usually holds a monthly class of some kind, often of one of the following types (though we encourage new classes):

• Tune Up
• Rolling Repair
• Wheel Building

See the Classes page for more information.

Open Hours

See the staff schedule for the current open hours, which are reevaluated at each staff meeting. Each open hour shift must have a shift leader, at least two supporting mechanics, and a committed greeter. New open hour shifts can be launched if the shop is available and these roles are filled.

WTF Night

Women, trans/genderqueer, femmes (WTF) night is geared towards patrons who have had gender be a barrier to learning mechanics or do not feel as comfortable around the somewhat male-dominated atmosphere of the shop during regular hours. See the staff schedule for the current WTF hours.

Past Handbook Versions

Here are past versions of this Handbook: