bike mechanic school: final days

(This is the fourth of four posts: you can find the first here, the second here, the third here.)

The emphasis in the last two days of mechanic school was on making a profitable business, whether as a mechanic or in some associated role in the bike industry. The practical work was a complete bike service, including breaking down and servicing all the systems, but at every step, we were also talking about maintaining customer service, minimizing liability, charging rates that were reasonable both for the customer and for the shop, informing the customer of unexpected charges, and the like. I found if difficult to both do the service on the bike to a level acceptable to the instructors, and do a writeup that was appropriate. 

Today we did no practical work. Instead, we had discussions of the bike industry generally, regional variations, sources of supply, community relations, and the like through the morning. 

After lunch was the exam: 100 questions in 90 minutes. There are different tests (although they may be the same test with the questions in different order). We had access to the book and our notes, to the tools in the shop, and to the information tables at every workstation... but if I'd counted on bei.ng able to look up all the answers, I never would have completed on time.

I got the certificate of completion, and I'm reasonably sure I passed the class and will get the certification; I'll post the results in either case. I can't give a picture of the completion certificate, because between the 6lb student manual and some specialty tools I bought (at a good discount), my luggage would have been overweight. The secretary of the school offered to have the tools and manual shipped to me... and the certificate will be in that box. So more will be revealed as it occurs.