General Cycling Discussion - A brief story about some poor LBS service

Not quite a LBS horror story, just a tale of a shop that didn't really lift a finger to help when it could have. I went into a local bike shop in Richmond to buy a Yakima cargo box for the car roof. I could have gotten it cheaper online, but I would have paid a lot for shipping, and I was in a bit of a time crunch, needing the box for a trip this Sunday.

On my first visit, they had one Yakima box hanging outside the store, and several Thule boxes inside. The Thules are too wide to fit alongside a racked bike. I'm also partial to Yakima, so I asked about the one hanging, and the sales guy assured me he had several in stock. But I was in the wrong car that day, so I had to make a return trip to actually pick up the box.

The next day, I return with the right car and meet the same salesman. We pull the hanging Yakima box off its supports and test-fit it on the car. Everything looks fine. We carry the box back into the store, where he assures me again that he has several new, untouched boxes in stock. I make it clear that I don't want to pay full price for the one that had been hanging outside, because it has some scuffs and dings on the outside, and I don't know how long it's been out there. I give my credit card, he rings it up, then goes in the back to find a box.

He comes back out after a couple of minutes. No boxes in stock. The sister store across town (30 miles away) has them, he thinks. It's an hour until closing; can you have someone over there run a box up here? No can do. Can you sell me the demo box at a discount? Doesn't think so, but he'll check. Comes back out, no can do. At this point he's sold me merchandise he doesn't have, and isn't providing any options. You can drive over to the sister store and pick up the box there, he says. Yes, I can, but should I really have to? He shrugs. He's already made his sale. I need a box tonight, so I'm out of options. Get back in the car, drive clear across town, and 60 miles, four tolls, and an hour and a half later, I have my box.

Lessons for me: don't get into buying situations where you've gotta have it today, and don't pay until you see the merchandise. Lessons for the LBS: don't claim you have something in stock and take money for it without checking. There are plenty of other shops in town, including a brand-new Performance store just up the street. You just lost another customer.

what a jerk.

yeah. the problem with a lot of mom and pop joints is they can be super rude or oblivious. not always the case of course but man. i've had some lame service at little bike shops.


but on the flip there's other shops that have the nicest, most helpful people in the world.

it's always hit or miss with those places. most hit though.

I gotta tell you that cargo boxes aren't the easiest thing to stock. As you are aware shipping just one is prohibitively expensive. Stocking them is hard because they take up a lot of room for which you're paying retail rent by the square foot. My solution was to store them in an off site warehouse but that ment having somebody available to get it and an available vehicle that's big enough to transport it. There's lots of different shapes and sizes too so you might think that you've got a lot of boxes in stock and still not have the exact one that you need.

There are too many sucky shops now!:mad:

Yes, salesman made a mistake and charged for something they didn't have in stock. Sucks, but not that big of a deal. He could have always refunded. No harm no foul. Ofcourse you waited untill last possible minute to buy the rack, so that wasn't really an option for you. Frankly I don't think it's reasonable to ask an employee to drive all the way across town because you have to have something NOW.
As for discount. He did go and check, so he tried to be helpfull. Manager said no. Well not much he can do at that point.

Thats the cool thing about big chain stores like Walmart: you can intentionally destroy merchandice that you have bought and they will give you a refund :D

As for discount. He did go and check, so he tried to be helpfull. Manager said no. Well not much he can do at that point.

I'm not so sure about that. The OP didn't say that he actually heard the salesperson ask, only that he went into a back room and returned saying "No can do."

In all of the shops that I've worked in, all of the salespeople were on salary so they wouldn't have a personal stake in the outcome. If the salesperson were on some kind of sales incentive program, I could see them maybe doing something different.

Honestly, I was surprised that the salesperson or manager or whoever wouldn't jump at the opportunity to unload a slightly blemished demo box at a little discount. That leads me to believe the salesperson may be on some kind of incentive deal and holding out for a full margin sale to a customer whose obviously desperate.

Uh, dude, you handed someone your credit card and then paid for something that you weren't sure existed? Uh, we need to go over some shopping basics. :)

Thats the cool thing about big chain stores like Walmart: you can intentionally destroy merchandice that you have bought and they will give you a refund :D

Someday you'll reach maturity

I'm not so sure about that. The OP didn't say that he actually heard the salesperson ask, only that he went into a back room and returned saying "No can do."

In all of the shops that I've worked in, all of the salespeople were on salary so they wouldn't have a personal stake in the outcome. If the salesperson were on some kind of sales incentive program, I could see them maybe doing something different.

Honestly, I was surprised that the salesperson or manager or whoever wouldn't jump at the opportunity to unload a slightly blemished demo box at a little discount. That leads me to believe the salesperson may be on some kind of incentive deal and holding out for a full margin sale to a customer whose obviously desperate.
Well OP did need a rack the same day with shops closing in an hour or so. Can't get more desperate then that. You would think he would have jumped at aprotunity to make a sale even at slight discount rather then chance it that he might sell it in the future. Although we are both just speculating at this point. As someone else said it also boils down to OP paying first without even seeing that new box that salesman said existed.

There are too many sucky shops now!:mad:

Rather, you hear about sucky shops more often than you hear about good ones.

You should have asked to talk to the manager, not the sales person. It's easy for a manager to have a salesman say no to a customer than it is for him to say no face to face. Assuming they have an extra person to get the box from the other store isn't really reasonable either.

Rather, you hear about sucky shops more often than you hear about good ones.


:beer:

Just for those wondering about shipping a roof box. The last est. we got from Yakima was $80-100 depending on shipper and day of the week. It also ships motor freight, this means you usually need to have it dropped where an eighteen wheeler can park.

I went to the LBS where I bought my Sun EZ Sport to get a spare idler wheel. Definately a recumbent specific part I'd like to have on hand. They didn't carry them in stock. Hunh??? So I kordered one. They said they would call me in about 4 weeks. (?) It has been 8 months and no call. 6 months ago I ordered one online from Hostel Shop. Had it 3 days later. Guess where I buy my parts from now. bk

I'm not so sure about that. The OP didn't say that he actually heard the salesperson ask, only that he went into a back room and returned saying "No can do."

Retro hit the nail on the head, IMHO. ALWAYS ask to speak to "le grand fromage" herself/himself. Sales folks often have no authority to change prices and don't want to make the effort to ask.

Before you take your business elsewhere, call the store, ask to speak to the owner/manager, and tell them your story politely and without any blame. Explain that you're telling them because you thought they'd like to know. I'd be surprised if the owner/manager doesn't offer you some compensation and an apology.