[TheThinkTank] DHSPAM Re: bike thieves in the shop?

Thu Jun 26 18:36:51 PDT 2008

Will some one PLEASE take me richardrivas at comcast.net )off your e-mail list. 
Thank you Richard
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Velocipede Bike Project" <info at velocipedebikeproject.org>
To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank at bikecollectives.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] ***DHSPAM*** Re: bike thieves in the shop?


> At velocipede we are still struggling with the kid issue.  We basically
> have banned kid's from the shop unless they have someone with them to
> supervise them.  We help kid's sometimes when we can and if they are
> respectful....this is not our ideal situation, but it doesn't seem to be
> another way with out making ourselves crazy.  We tried having a kid's day
> a long time ago but it didn't work out too well.  Hopefully in the future
> we can get funding to have a kid's specific day....
>
> However we have gotten good at dealing with "Jockish" volunteers.  What
> has really helped with that is...
> 1. having a greeter and volunteer coordinator so people are met at the
> door, given the speil and then sent to someone to get a task or assigned a
> stand....I can't stress how helpful this is!!
> 2.  Making sure that people do volunteer hours before they work on their
> own bike
> 3.  having a women/trans mechanic night.
>
> We do have to occasionally pull people aside and talk to them about when
> was the last time they put in some volunteer hours...but if people are met
> at the door and start off on the right foot, then there usually isn't
> problems....
>
> -beth
> velocipede bike project
> baltimore, md
>
>> What UBP is doing about similar issues, The Outline:
>>
>> 1. No EAB's during regular shop hours
>> 2. One or two people assigned to work with kids, in a specific area if
>> possible.
>> 3. Kids with minor repairs get help first, then the bigger projects.
>> 4. Volunteers get assigned specific tasks/roles (read: idiot proof) with
>> specific guidelines
>> 5. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Have excess volunteers sign up for
>> another
>> day.
>>
>> What UBP is doing about similar issues, The Ramble:
>>
>> UBP is just coming off of our youth ban tonight after some thefts. 
>> Before
>> the ban we were, like you, struggling to help kids with EAB as well as
>> helping adults that come into the shop.  It didn't work. At all.  Adults
>> would leave because there were so many rowdy kids and kids would just,
>> well,
>> be kids.  Putting a number cap on kids didn't work because they wheedled
>> their way in anyway (wouldn't you?) and by the end of the night the shop
>> was
>> overrun.
>>
>> We like Sopo's idea of having one designated person to work with kids and
>> them having their own tool kit and work space.  We also recognize that
>> doing
>> EAB and open shop at the same time is impossible as each child needs
>> constant supervision/guidance and a structured environment to learn
>> effectively.  EAB is on hold/stopped until we come up with something more
>> meaningful and concrete.
>>
>> There will be a triage of sorts when youth come to the shop. The first
>> bikes
>> fixed are the ones that have the best chance of being completed (flats,
>> popped chains, bar/brake adjusts) and then with whatever time is left we
>> can
>> work on the baskets.  No matter how badly the kids NEED to ride their 
>> bike
>> home that night (which they all do...) we help with the basic repairs
>> first.  Kids that aren't working on their bike must wait outside, which
>> creates another issue, but at least they're not wandering around the
>> shop/building.
>>
>> As far as "jockish volunteers" we have a hard time with some volunteers
>> doing all the work on peoples bikes. There's nothing you can do other 
>> than
>> constantly stressing that your goal is to teach and their hand shouldn't
>> be
>> holding the wrench.  Call them out if you must, usually it still goes 
>> over
>> their heads, try assigning them to other tasks. We also have experienced 
>> a
>> surge of "volunteers" lately.  The reason that's in quotes is because
>> these
>> people show up to hang out, work on their own bikes and bring more
>> "volunteers" with them.  I've found that these people are
>>
>> To deal with this we've gotten specific about our volunteer roles.  There
>> is
>> a Greeter, One Mechanic per workstand, Head Mechanic, Youth 
>> Mentor/Helper,
>> Back Room Help and Back Room Supervisor.  Each of these positions is
>> spelled
>> out in great detail.  When people show up to help on open shop days they
>> get
>> assigned a position that is appropriate.  If they're not needed and the
>> shop
>> is busy, they're asked to wait outside or to sign up for another day 
>> ahead
>> of time.  That's the theory anyway....we're working on it.
>>
>> Good luck, this past couple months have been a wealth of relavent
>> information on the Think Tank and I/UBP really appreciate the ability to
>> learn and share ideas with other organizations, big and small.
>>
>> Brian Windle
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 3:24 AM, <jirs0004 at umn.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Bike theft lead the Grease Pit to close the shop to kids for two weeks
>>> the
>>> end of last summer. When 15 bikes were stolen by kids who we were
>>> helping,
>>> but could not identify by name or face later we knew that something
>>> needed
>>> to change. The week long session of meetings lead to a shop manual to
>>> help
>>> us understand how to focus and think of ways to earn the respect of
>>> these
>>> kids.
>>>
>>> Despite all of our best efforts to learn names, focus our attention for
>>> Earn a bike kids onto a special day, and to keep shop security tight, we
>>> have had little success. Kids are stealing out of our donations jar and
>>> taking bikes from under our noses.
>>>
>>> Because our space is shared with a theatre, security needs to be tight,
>>> but
>>> this would leave us with too few collective members in a space that is
>>> already over-run with people needing help.
>>>
>>> While all of this is going on we are also experiencing a mass of
>>> volunteers
>>> who are bike jock-ish and act as if the shop is theirs. In order to help
>>> maximize the shop accessibility and friendliness, we need to figure out
>>> a
>>> solution and proto.
>>>
>>> Question 1: How can we give kids the attention they need while not
>>> limiting
>>> the number of commuters that we are helping? (as they are already
>>> discouraged by the lack of assistance and excessive quantity of kids in
>>> the
>>> shop)
>>>
>>> Question 2: How can we effectively utilize our volunteers without
>>> constantly monitoring them and having to call them out or hear about
>>> them
>>> later?
>>>
>>> I would also like to know what success orgs have had with limiting the
>>> number of kids in the shop.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Thethinktank mailing list
>>> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>>>
>>> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Urban Bike Project of Wilmington
>> --a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop--
>> 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the 
>> building)
>> Wilmington, DE 19801
>>
>> Hours:
>> Thursday 6:30-9:00
>> Saturday 1:00-4:00
>>
>> Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org
>> _______________________________________________
>> Thethinktank mailing list
>> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>>
>
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