Thieving Bastards

Whilst I was grateful in my previous post for the excellent work done by the ex-Triumph dealer in Gloucester, I fear that my gratitude for the work done on my motorcycle clouded my mind somewhat and allowed me to miss a vital part of the story.

When I arrived at the bike shop the gentleman was delighted to tell me that it was ready. I was delighted to hear it! However, instead of telling me the price immediately, he started to lament on the hard work that they had put into the bike over the course of the afternoon. My mind started to guess how many pounds this was adding up to:

"Well of course sir, we had to remove the rear wheel and completely scrub the tyre with detergent to ensure that all traces of oil were removed. Then the rear disc had to be cleaned, and we did our best with the brake pads. Keep an eye on these and if they don't improve then have them changed: we fear that the oil may have seaped into them. The bike had lost a lot of oil due to the leak, and we had to replace the oil filter..."

Which brought us to a grand total of £92 (not the £96 I originally posted). Not too surprised, and simply relieved that the bike was well again, I passed over the Switch Card and took the copy of the bill. I glanced my mathematical eye over it. The values were roughly as follows (all plus VAT): 1 Hour's Labour, £40; 1 Oil Filter, £7.50; 4 Litres of Oil, £7.50 per litre (ouch).

Nothing out of the ordinary there I hear you say. The last item, however, upset me slightly:

1 Sump Plug Washer, 42p.

In a somewhat perplexed voice I questioned this item on the bill.

"You're actually charging me for the washer? 42p for a washer, on a bill that totals £92? You're joking, I presume?"

No chance. The bastards had the nerve to itemise the 42p at the end of bill. The washer represented 0.4% of the total value of the work done. It would have come from a drawer somewhere in the workshop which contained loads more of these washers, purchased in bulk for a pitance. They could have included it somewhere else and I wouldn't have objected, include it in the cost of the filter, for example. But alas, no.

Thieves, I tell you, they're all thieves.

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