Mountain Biking - People At Bike Shops...SO RUDE!

Ok, so i was paying a visit to 3 seperate bike shops today. All of them, i rode my bike to. So i pull up to the first one, and the guy see's me and my bike, and i go in. First of all, i was the only one in there, and he ignored me for like, 10 mins, then as soon as someone else came in, he went and helped him right away. Then finally, i get to talk to him. And ask him about prices for new hubs, wheels, and disk brakes. And he says "oh, about 400$-500$, it doesent look like you can afford it anyways" and im like "excuse me?" and he then replies "Ok, ok, what kind of bike do you have?" i say "2003 diamondback sorrento" with that he just laughs and goes off an helps someone else. Just because im 15yr, doesent mean i should be treated like garbage. And i know my bike isen't top of the line, but it's a good bike, and i worked hard to buy it. The same thing happend to me at the other 2 bike stores. It seems if you don't have an expensive bike, they just laugh and ignore you. If you work at a bike shop, and you are mean to people who want to really get into mountain biking, then you should really get a life. I'm trying to get some parts, and they all just shrugged me off. And now, the only bike store that wasent TOO mean to me, is closing down in a week, so now im stuck dealing with @$$holes who will probably rip me off....So if you guys who own those 3 bike stores in newmarket ontario are out there, shame on you...shame on you all.

It is truly too bad that you were treated like that. But you need to understand that they put up with young kids asking them all kinds of questions then not purchasing anything; not that it right to treat you like that.

Just curious, did you actually have money to spend at that time, or were you window shopping?

^ I told him right upfront, "im interested in getting some prices"

that sucks man.. sounds like you need to give them a heads up next time youre in there.. let them know that you have money and you can take your business elsewhere

thats why i buy from the internet :D

It's pretty common knowledge that bike shop employees are generally stuck up and rude. It's not just that you are 15, either. They consistently treat me like I've never ridden a bike before, too. There are always those few exceptions, though... you just need to search them out. I hope you find a better shop to spend your money at.

I second what superjoe95 said. Most of the times its a bit cheaper too with no tax but then shipping is added on. So it has its bad sides. But we have lbs here that has great service then one down the street that is pretty bad. Looked down at me once cause i didnt have clipless pedals. Shrug

i live in canada and even with shipping and converting the dollar its still cheaper for me, better selection too.

It is truly too bad that you were treated like that. But you need to understand that they put up with young kids asking them all kinds of questions then not purchasing anything; not that it right to treat you like that.

Just curious, did you actually have money to spend at that time, or were you window shopping?

does not matter one iota if he was window shopping or not. word of mouth gets around. he may have only been window shopping but that doesn't mean he's not saving up for a major purchase. sounds to me like he's in the market for a whole new bike build or enough of one that they should be paying attention. he tells his friends about the shaddy service and people will stop going. i know i spend alot at bike shops so most around here see me coming they make sure i have good service because if they don't i don't go back. and i HAVE pulled an ower beside before and told him how much i spend in a bike shop and that i will not be coming back because of so-n-so service. they don't like hearing that but ya come back in 6 months later and low and behold they have all new staff who wait on you hand and foot.

cheers
kat

Why the heck would he blow you off? A sale is a sale right? Whether its to a 15yr old kid on a Diamond back or a professional rider on a top of the line FS.

My uncle owns a car shop and if any of his employees behaved the way you described they'd be fired so fast they wouldn't have time to complain. Needless to say, he doesn't get any complaints about how his customers are treated.

What are the names of the stores that treated you like crap?

No, the reason I asked if he had cash so he could say: So this money is no good here and walk out.

I would recommend posting the shop names that treated you this way.

Cyclepath
SpokleMotion
and the one that treated me worst.. Bike Sports

All in Newmarket Ontario

I would try and complain to the manager. Have him talk to the employee that treated you so badly.

You would be surprised at how many times managers don't even realize that their employees behave so badly.

Yah, i know what you meen. I don't have any good bike shops around me so i have no real experiance with guys selling equipment, but i do have experiance with real jerks. :p

Sorry, but I dont like the title of the thread. Its a very general statement, your calling me rude. Anyway, I cant believe that people at a bikeshop would treat you like they did. I would have REALLY let them have it if I got treated like that. I saw that some people in this thread are also generalizing that bikeshop employees are rude. "Thats why I only buy on the internet". Not all bikeshops are rude, but I know some can be. If you ever stopped into ours as an individual that we have never seen before, you'd be treated almost as good as the guy that has spent thousands in the store.

muahahaha....wait.. didnt those guys we rode with say that they worked at one of Newmarkets shops?

hmmm... perhaps we should find them... they seemed nice enough... even when they some me on my UBER crappy bmx :P

the one man in the one bike shop i used to go to got married,had a daughter (his wife did),moved to DC and now wears a tie for a living not a bike apron.now the only help i can get at AGEES,or any other shops is whats in stock,on sale and the flavor of the month.there is a man that just opened his own shop that has great service,prices, and expertice but not a lot of inventory,hes letting the market decide what to carry besides the basics.his shop is called Pedals, Chains&Things.if you are in the richmond-chester area he is worth the trip

to dopefush...^ yeah, they did...those guys were really nice that we rode with...but i dont think they're from Newmarket

teehee.. you called me 'dopefush'...

and i think they were.. cuz they hid that piece of a skid they were using as a jump for later use... implying that they did...but..anywho...

Sorry, but I dont like the title of the thread. Its a very general statement, your calling me rude. Anyway, I cant believe that people at a bikeshop would treat you like they did. I would have REALLY let them have it if I got treated like that. I saw that some people in this thread are also generalizing that bikeshop employees are rude. "Thats why I only buy on the internet". Not all bikeshops are rude, but I know some can be. If you ever stopped into ours as an individual that we have never seen before, you'd be treated almost as good as the guy that has spent thousands in the store.
if the shoe fits

I'm with Klein on this one, I'd hate for people to see the subject and think they're better off spending their money online.

My girlfriend and I got our bikes from a bike shop that sold the mayor of new york his bike along with a lot of celebrities. One of the employees took the time to walk us through the product line, fitted us, offered to transfer everything off the old ones onto the new ones, took us down to the shop to walk around and everything. Everytime I go there they're friendly and supportive. Even though my bike only cost $300, never did they once walk away so they could help some wall street banker buy his $3000 bike. They even let us hold the old bike their when we rode there to get a new one.

Find a good LBS and support them. When things start going wrong, I'm glad they're always there in real life to help me on the spot instead of sending my bike half way across the country to get fixed.

dang. that sucks man. i woulda told the guy off.

of all the bike shops i've been to here in toronto, the employees have all been pretty friendly and helpful.

you guys need to move down to toronto :D heh.

I've been on both sides of this argument. I've worked in shops off and on for close to 20 years. (crap I'm getting old!).

I also drive my wife nuts when we travel because I MUST stop at any shop I see.

I think there are a lot of shops that genuinely care about their customers and treat them with sincerity and respect. I've also been treated like crap when I've come in on a weekend wearing shorts a T-shirt and a ball cap. Then returned during the week wearing a shirt and tie and have had my butt kissed!

All I can say is don't spend your money where you're not respected and find a good shop and support them with all your business and give referrals as often as you can. The better shops will stick around for years and the snob shops will come and go.

L8R

It sounds like you chose three elitist shops, not all bikeshops are like that. Shops like that the newbies are generally ignored until they have a question, which is in my opinion not a good way to run a business. First come first serve should be proper running order in a perfect world, but sadly it is not a perfect world.

Tell them to piss off and learn to install the parts yourself. That's what I did. I haven't spent a dime at any of those dumb LBSs unless I had to. I had enough of them treating me like crap and acting like a bunch of jerks. I don't ride a low end bike, either.

Hmmmm...Yeah, I can understand both sides of this story. I work at a shop too, but have also been to shops where i've have not been treated well. I guess the most important thing is not not loose faith in IBD's (independent bike dealers) because they do need you. I agree with the others in saying go to the manager and talk to him. I know I've been rude to people before, but it's not something i'm proud of. Sales people are people too, we are not perfect. Maybe you just caught people on a bad day. Granted, that would be three people's bad days, but it could happen. I guess to summarize, don't lose faith, and take some action.[FONT=Arial]

I agree that you shouldn't write off ALL LBS's...It seems EVERY bike shop I walk into has a different personality. Of the three local ones here, 1) is really cool, easy to deal with, gives you educated answers, but their prices aren't always comparable (I buy here cause the service far exceeds the extra dollars) and 2) is pretty cool, but you never know what to expect: somedays it's the flavor of the month, somedays everything's right there at a good price and 3) is the typical "if you look like money, we got time" shop

I've bought from all three, but I only go back to one regularly now...They pretty much understand I'm broke as a convict but I'm also a bike junkie...they also understand I dig building/rebuilding/tinkering with my own stuff...I only ask for free advice when I NEED it...I don't ask unnecessary prices...I tell them what I'm looking for and get THEIR recommendations, then the price...then I tell them when my wife gives me my next allowance, I'll come see em'...(they usually get a kick out of that)...

Fact of the matter is...give the shops another chance...the same dude that told you to basically "get lost" was probably in your shoes at one time...he may even feel bad about doing what he did...but honestly, some of my best friends are people that blew me off/ignored/disregarded/disrespected me when I first met them...It's really weird how it happens, but it does...

THEN if you have a REAL friend in the shop, not just someone who recognizes you for your dollars, you can get almost anything you want when you want...just like any other relationship, it takes time, an investment of time, to build it correctly...

and at 15...what else have you got but time?!??!? (just pickin' with ya...)

It's not just bike shops and young folks. I've walked out of two stores in the last month because of poor responsiveness and I'm 64. Many people are just not suited to work with the public and that's just the way it is. One of the places I left lost a $700 sale. I ordered the truck tires on the WEB instead. I'll have them installed at a small shop that does good work and wants my buisness. I'll save a little ($100) too.

A smart way to deal with young folks is to consider that if you treat them well, weather they are just wanting information or going to purchase something, is that they could be good customers when the become adults and have more discretionary spending money. My local LBS has endured many "information only" visits from me over the years. It's paid off in a lot of buisness. They really like to talk to me now. If any store employee won't provide "just" info, I'll shop somewhere else.


Al

This is a bigger issue than just a bike shop issue. It is an issue about how people in our society treat those whom we perceive as not being able to fulfill our short term needs. In your case, the salesperson perceived that it was unlikely that he was going to make a sale, and therefore snubbed you. It was unfortunate that you were treated that way. Most people find that, as they go through life, they are treated poorly at some step of the way. For many men, that step is when they are adolescent males. (I assume you are male.) It is my hope that you will learn from how you were treated, and do not treat people in the same manner as you get older. You may be a leader or other boss some day. Treat your subordinates well. Be nice to the person who makes your coffee. Hold the door for an old lady.

In my experience, the biking community is not as bad as the soceity as a whole, so I hope that you will stay a member of the biking community as you mature. Once you are in the workforce, it is unbelievable how rude people are.

Amen Albino...I just started working a public job after working for myself for 7 years...It's unbelieveable how rude and self-centered MOST people really are...but if you look at it as test of patience, you can come away better from it...

In my experience, the biking community is not as bad as the soceity as a whole, so I hope that you will stay a member of the biking community as you mature. .

While that may true for you, it's not borne out by my or my wife's personal experience. When we are on our road rides, either together or individually, we rarely get our waves to fellow bikers acknowledged by even a nod. The reason? We aren't cool. We ride touring frames, have fenders, wear Capilene silk weight vice fancier bike shirts and we are old (64). I cruise 16 miles an hour, use STI's and typically do 35 to 40 miles, so I'm not riding junk or going too slow.

On the other hand, I find the mountain bike folks more friendly, but not more so than the general population.

Al

Hey, well the cyclepath here in Kitchener Waterloo sucks. First, i walk in with my Giant Yukon, and they say, where did you buy that? I said I bought it in CyclePath in Toronto (Yonge/Finch) and the guy laughed and said haha, they sell sucky bikes. We sell Jamis which are better.

Also you know what's funny, it's supposed to be 5 yr warranty at ANY CyclePath, but the guys in kitchener said i can't do any work there. ****in losers. There's no point arguing with them, because if i bring it in the end, they will just fark up my bike even more and tell me they replaced some parts so i have to pay for it.

Also, where do you ride in new market? You should come to Toronto to buy your parts, their so much better and i heard there's a lot of good stores downtown. I have to shop at Cycle solutions, dukes and the others one day.

****** my LBS montgomery cyclery sucks, i wish they didn't put wright bros outta buisness

here in victoria we have many bike shop:

Marty's cycle: they have a good selection mainly MTB, Brodie, Banshee and I think some Oryx, if you know lots about bike and have some cash they will be very responsive.

Chain chain chain, very small local store mainly focused on DJ, trial, urban and such again if you know your bikes they'll be talkative and if you have cash too ;)

Reckless bike: biggest store in town 2 locations downtown, they sell pretty much every bikes from roadies to mtb, Brodies, Oryx, Rocky Mountain and some others, good price the staff is really great, I'd go there anyday in fact I'm gonna spend about 100$ more on a bike just cause it's from there.

there are other shops too but can't exactly remember them, which means the service wasn't incredible either

I find that when you know more then the salesman/mechanic, then you get what you want, and some respect too. There are about 5 LBS in my city, I've only gone to the 2 closest ones so far and was not impressed. However when I'm talking to the salesman about a new bike I usually know more about it then he does, this really throws them off when they are trying to sell you something that you know is crap. For instance, they might be going on about what a great fork such and such bike has on it, same one used to race and all the other BS they tell you. Then I usally pipe up and ask, yes but isn't this the same fork that everyone is having the crowns breaking on lately. Usually they turn red and say, "I haven't heard that" or "We haven't had any problems with that yet" Then they usually move on to another bike that they hope you know nothing about. In a way bike shops are like used car dealers, you can always spot the rooky buyers getting suckered into a fancy new hybrid by the salesman. So my advice, get some knowledge, knowledge is power, so do some research on bikes and components before you visit the LBS.

Another way to get great lbs service is to bike with the senior mechanic. He and I do single track once and a while. We have a great time discussing bike stuff too. Also, by belonging to the local bike club gets me extra attention and an automatic discount. If a major purchase is significantly cheaper on the WEB, I let the lbs bid on it. They more often than not come close enough. They know we shop online, so this way they can compete if they choose.

Al

I can't believe that the employee would actually say something like that. I worked as a bike mechanic when I was 16, definitely a good way to learn the trade, and make some cash at the same time. But, on a side note, is the sorrento even set up to take disc brakes?

What a shame. There is no excuse to treat anyone that way. If you have questions they should answer you. You are equal to anyone else who comes in there. At our shop it is encouraged to ask questions, hang out as long as you like look at everything. We have numerous manufacturers catalogs out mechainc shop is open so you can see what is being done, etc. Our social area is setup with Coffee pots, sodas, TV videos music etc.
Anyone who comes in is, is a customer, and is paying the bills, so one needs to accept that and show gratitude for it. It is that simple.

Biking is biking, no matter what age, what money and what you ride, you are a customer. Bike shops like that go OUT of buisness once their top-buyers leave town. I hate shops like that. "Oh if you don't gots no money get out". Those are TRUE idiots. You may just want to take a look at parts, and bikes and the latest news. The cyclepath here at danforth is pretty good. The guy asked me when I was to hit grade 9 and offered me a job oppurtunity. I love biking, and would want to work in thier shop, but Im aiming higher :).

The shop here in town is great. They have true experts(the one guy designed his own Seven trials bike). They are very helpful, and insightful, and awesome guys to hang out with. I had to get some spacers for my SS project, not only did he give me the spacers for free, he actually put them on, even though i didn't ask him to. Cool guys. They do not mind if you don't have much money or anything.