We keep things pretty simple and have a rack that is in our (admittedly large) loading dock/entrance area and volunteers/visitors just lock their bikes up. It keeps them separate from donations and secure. Similarly, we have lockers that volunteers are encouraged to use to keep their possessions safe from unscrupulous folks or from thinking something is a donation.
We also have a "project room" for bikes that are being worked on, and each bike that doesn't belong to the co-op gets a tag with the owners name, number, project start date, and project 'log' to make sure people are actively working on bikes, along with a basic release stating that OCBC isn't responsible in the case of damage etc that the shop user signs. We also technically require that projects be removed within 2 months and be worked on at least every 2 weeks, though have been lax about enforcing this.
*----------Joshua GoranAdministrator, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op* 1840 Columbus Rd Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216 830 2667 OhioCityCycles.org http://ohiocitycycles.org/
Subject: [TheThinkTank] In-shop bike check/claim ticket? We're in the midst of a nasty situation where a new visitor parked her bike in our Donated/To Be Assessed pile, then left it there for a week. It was a good bike, and it sold quickly. Fortunately we know the buyer, and we're probably going to get it all sorted out.
Does anyone use a bike check-in or claim ticket process to avoid this sort of thing? We've also had some issues with visitors either claiming a shop bike was theirs, or ownership of a visitor's bike coming into question (one visitor claiming another stole it). It seems like some way to check a bike in could help, but we don't want to add much drag to our shop process.
Any ideas?
Andy
Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop Lexington KY