Pedaling Uphill: One Shop Owner’s Staffing Struggle

Welcome back to On the Job. I'm your host, Avery Thompson. Can you believe we're already at the end of another season? Geesh, where does the time go? But don't get too upset, because we've still got this episode to enjoy, and I figured why not end things on a fun note. So today we're headed to Austin, Texas, a city known for its music, barbecue, and laid back lifestyle. And really there's no better way to check out this vibrant city than

My name is Devin Lantman, and I am the co owner of Barton Springs Bike Ground, all Austin's longest running and largest bike rental in tour company.

You've probably heard the city's motto keep Boston Weird, Well, Barton Springs Bike Rental certainly abides by that ethos.

We got aren't made from bike parts. We got wire sculptures with dogs made by former employees. Yeah, it's definitely not like a corporate bike shop. We're more of like the vibe of Austin, trying to keep Austin, you know, the way it used to be just kind of funky. You know, everybody has their own flavor, everybody has their own character, so we try to keep that a big part of our company.

But despite the shops bohemian vibe, Devin runs a tight ship. Yeah.

I mean when you walk to the shop, you might see a bunch of guys with long hair and mustaches and tattoos. But we're also hustling really hard, always moving, and we got to do it with smile on our face, keeping the customers happy.

And that begins with making sure that he and his staff greet every potential customer who walks in with a hearty Texas welcome. Guys are going, y'all looking to rent some bikes? Uh?

Yes, oh you're looking to do e bikes or regular bikes?

E bikes perfect.

So part of the job is just me showing enthusiasm, saying the same thing over and over again. But also a lot of times it's great to joke with the customers where they're from, and make jokes with them and play up the Texas stereotype for them, and they laugh and I laugh, and it's a great time. So where y'all coming from, We're coming from Denver, Colorado. Oh nice, that means you all gonna melt in the seat out there.

Devin knows just what a good time you can have riding a bike around Austin, because for years of his

I asked they were hiring, and he asked me if I knew how to work on bikes, and I said, yeah, I know to work on bikes, and he said start tomorrow.

Though Devon was hired to be a bike mechanic, it quickly became apparent that the owner saw something in him and started giving a more responsibilities.

So I've been very lucky the owner saw potential in me. He really has trusted me, and he has really guided me through the years. Without like a formal education, I essentially got a business education while doing the job.

Devin will admit that sometimes it wasn't easy to step up to the new responsibilities being thrust upon him, but looking back, he's really grateful to the owner who saw his potential and molded him into the person he's become today, or should I say the co owner he's become today, because in twenty nineteen Devin was offered a partial stake in the business.

That went from being a bike mechanic to kind of being the manager. Now I'm the co owner. So yeah, it's changed quite a bit.

And Devin has changed through those years as well.

Yeah. When I first came, I was just a young kid trying to ride BMX all the time and have a good time all the time. As I got older, I had a daughter and I had to really focus on my career, my future and put in the work to make it happen.

But what's that phrase, heavy as the crown. When we come back from the break, our former BMX bro learns what it takes to be the boss.

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We're back with Devin Lantman, who for the last fourteen years has been helping people enjoy the fun and sun in Austin, Texas. My day to day is come.

In, unlock the shop, put all the display bikes out, the reservations, and essentially try to get everything ready for the day.

And once that day gets going, it tends to be a busy one. In the last ten years or so, Austin has become a major tourist destination. On most days, their little bike shop can feel like Grand Central Station or maybe lax flowing with people from all over the world.

We've got a world map here that we let customers put pins in where they're from, and we got most of the world covered, pretty much all the continents. That's actually our second map we've gone through one. I had too many holes in it, so I had to get a fresh.

One to keep up with demand. Devon will usually have four people working on the busy days, and even more if they've got lots of tours, which brings us to the hardest part of the job for him, and it's not fixing flats or explaining how to shift gears. It's staffing, making sure he's got the right team to keep up with the shops often crazy demand.

So the challenges of somebody are Weekends and holidays are our busiest times, and that's when most people want off, so that's a huge challenge for us. Also people who are going to stick around. I don't want to waste a lot of time training somebody and get them them to know the whole system and then we're only just want to stay for two three months and then leave.

Over the years, Devin has tried all sorts of methods to finding new team members.

So I've tried everything everything from Craigslist to word of mouth to referrals from other bike shops. We've really explored every avenue of finding employees.

One or two guys he's hired just showed up at the shop with a resume in hand, the way he did fourteen years ago. Other times he's asked his better employees if they know anyone that might be a good fit.

So I have hired one guy and I really liked him, he was really good. I asked him if he had any friends or knew anybody who needed a job, and actually his brother started working for us.

Another longtime employee got his cousin working there, So Devin will take his good employees anyway he can get them. But it can be hard to figure out who will be a good employee based on a resume alone, because unlike more traditional jobs where there's a very defined set of tasks requiring specific skill sets, work at the bike shop is varied.

Yeah, it might seem like an easy, care free kind of job, but you do have to wear a lot of hats. You have to do a bit of everything. Ideally, they're able to ride bikes, they're able to take reservations over the phone and on our website, and they are our tour guides. So they do need to know the city.

Do them efficiently. But if someone doesn't know how to fix a derailer or replace a bike chain, that doesn't necessarily disqualify them from the job.

Yeah, when someone hands me a resume, I do look for prior tour got experience or bike shop experience, but it's not the end all, be all if they don't have either of those things. I more ask them questions and try to find out who they are as a person, how they handle being around people.

Hiring is hard for any business, but for small operations like the bike shop, it's especially difficult. In fact, sixty six percent of small businesses across the country report hiring being a significant challenge. At Barton Springs Bike Rental, there's no HR department, no recruiters scrolling through resumes, just Devin casting out nets however you can and trying to get a read on those that apply.

I've had people with rough paths who have been great. I've had educated college kids who didn't work out. I've had people from all walks of life, and it's really more about what clicks and and what works for the shop.

And maybe just as difficult as hiring people is letting them go, something Devin never expected he'd have to do when he first took the job as a bike mechanic.

When I first took this job, I didn't expect to have to be reprimanding people or firing people even and I'm very anti conflict and it's been a challenge for me to have to do those things.

But as Devon rose up to manager and then co owner of the shop, he had no other choice.

Yeah, I totally have to get in the right mindset to you know, this isn't anything personal, but sometimes their actions have made it to where there's no other.

Options for me. Learning at a fire someone was one of the many skills or life lessons you might say that the owner of the bike shop taught Devon over the years an unavoidable and necessary part of running a healthy business.

Sometimes sometimes it's sometimes they give me a reason to fire a minute, and that's that's still hard, but it's got to be done.

But thankfully these days, Burton Springs Bike Rental is running smooth with a team that Devon can depend on.

Mike, I'm gonna have you do the nine am e bike tour, Rob will have you do the ten am Nutshell and the one o'clock Pece.

Devin never set out to own a business. He didn't write a five year plan or chase some grand vision. He just wanted to ride bikes and pay rent.

I never saw myself owning a business. I really had no solid plans. I was always just trying to have as much fun as I.

Could, But sometimes the job we take to get by becomes the job we're meant to do.

I'm very proud of my job. I feel like, you know, it's allowed me to live a life that I enjoy. I get to go to work and I don't hate my job every day. It's a fun place to work. It's a fun environment to be in showing people good time.

So yeah, I'm very proud of it. For on the job, I'm Avery Thompson.