Originally Posted by
invwnut
Hey Larry (Platypius)....I love your shop and hope that Rob finds it in his heart to let me work there part-time this summer. I'm the one with the Louis Garneau. I meet you the evening you were remodeling the back room. I like what Verne is about. I think it's good to have a niche LBS. Service will always be the money maker. It just has to be marketed well. I tell anyone who wants a road bike or needs service to check you guys out. My gf had her Klein serviced there. Customer service is very important and so is personability. I understand what many of the people here say. I too have to look at my budget but if I can support someone I'll do it. I want to maintain some kind of rapport with you guys. I think I could learn a lot from you guys and you guys take pride in the shop. Hope the shop does well. Hit me up on a PM sometime.
Hey man! I wondered which thread you found that gave away who I was. lol
This guy is a good customer. He brought in this gorgeous Louis Garneau bike and had us service it. When he came to pick it up, he hung out for quite a while talking about bikes, cars, etc. That's the kind of customer we like, AND that's the kind of customer who will get "preferred" treatment.
It's all about the attitude. He bought his bike elsewhere, and we're cool with that. He didn't come in acting like we were going to screw him over, or that we were charging way too much for our parts, bikes, or accessories. That's the whole secret to getting good service and good deals at your LBS. It isn't being rich (although we have plenty of those, too), being a Cat 2 racer, or anything like that... it's about coming in, having fun, being friendly, and not being an arsehat.
When this guy comes in again, I'll give him a bit of a discount. If he needs a minor adjustment, I'll do it for free. If he tacos a wheel and we don't have a replacement, I'll give him a loaner until a new one is built or arrives from the distributor. That's all it takes, really.... be friendly and don't be a arrogant
pr!ck.