velocipedio

okay... i need to vent...

yesterday, a woman came in to buy new tubes for her 700x35c schrader hybrid tires. another salesman dealt with her and sold her a pair of specialized 700x28/38c schrader tubes. end of sale.

today she comes in, incensed that we "knowingly sold" her the wrong product. she showed me the box for an axiom [norco house brand] 700x30/43c schrader tube and said that she had asked for this exact tube.

me: well... it really is the same tube.

her: no it's not, this is a 700x30/43c tube.

me: true, but the specialized tube will be fine.

her: but the tubes you sold me are for 700x28.

me: no... they're for 700x 28-to-38. they will be fine.

her: it doesn't say that on the box.

me: well... yes, it does... see?

i kept my cool, and politely explained that inner tube rubber will expand to a range of tire sizes and that 35c was well within range. besides, the axiom tubes were probably made in the same plant and just labeled differently, so we didn't mislead her and she didn't really need to return the tubes.

i should say that we're mostly a performance bike shop, though we do have a department for hybrids and comfort bikes, and we do our best to serve both the high end and the low-end of the price spectrum.

my explanations fell on deaf ears, she insisted that we had knowingly sold he a product that she couldn't use and insisted on a refund. i was getting a bit steamed by her strident attitude, but i kept my cool and asked for her credit card to make the refund. she had paid with her atm card, but i explained that we were not set up to refund atm cards. she insisted for cash, so that's what i gave her.

as she's walking toward the exit, she huffs: "just because you're in [an affluent neighbourthood of montreal], you think you can treat your customers like this. i called [insert name of the relatively low-end bike shop in the adjoining neighbourhood] and they have exactly these inner tubes, and they're cheaper! "

i almost lost my cool there. we charge $5 for the specialized tubes, and the other bike shop sells the axiom tubes for $4.50. we cater to a wide range of cyclists, from pro racers and millionaires to students and bike couriers. the insinuation really cheezed me off.

as she turns to leave, i invited her to never shop at our shop again.

okay... rant off.