Bicycle Mechanics - Do male bike mechanics really treat females differently than guys?

BE honest. Many women feel invisible in bike shops. What's your take on this?

My take: I always get adequate attention in my favorite bike shop, Bikeline in Newark (not my LBS). In my LBS, it's a given. They know me by name, and they know how many bikes I have and their history. So they don't count. I can't relate to what some women complain about. What do you say?

BE honest. Many women feel invisible in bike shops. What's your take on this?

My take: I always get adequate attention in my favorite bike shop, Bikeline in Newark (not my LBS). In my LBS, it's a given. They know me by name, and they know how many bikes I have and their history. So they don't count. I can't relate to what some women complain about. What do you say?

well, i'm a guy and i often don't get very good service at LBS's i haven't been too before. it seems to me the same attitude you find among record store employees can often be found in bike shops. sometimes it's hard to get them off their perch.

Now think about what you just asked? If you substitute any other large group of people for "male bicycle mechanics," would you expect to get a valid answer?

An identical (almost) thread currently in women's forum:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=57801

Depends........is his other job selling cars?

My underlings tend to focus on the women to the detriment of all the other customers. We had one college age guy, that would drop everything for a cute girl with a flat, then tune her bike for free.

I'm a woman in my 40s, ride a hybrid ... don't look the racing part that's for sure. But, my experience has been great with mechanics. At 3 different shops they talk to me regular ... the salesmen, however, seem rather indifferent. So much, when I walk in I drift immediately toward the wrenches and hope that the regular sales staff will be busy enough that the mechanic will help me with whatever I'm looking for!!!

I'm a chinese guy.. most people ignore me... heh.

Did someone say something???

Did someone say something???
Likely reply. :rolleyes: :D

Seriously, guys. What is it about females you have something against when it comes to customer service? Some ladies in the Women's cycling could swear they are being ignored or treated unfairly by sales and service people because they are "women." Those who are in the service dept. do you find yourselves onsciously or unconsciously doing that?

BE honest. Many women feel invisible in bike shops. What's your take on this?

My take: I always get adequate attention in my favorite bike shop, Bikeline in Newark (not my LBS). In my LBS, it's a given. They know me by name, and they know how many bikes I have and their history. So they don't count. I can't relate to what some women complain about. What do you say?

Not in this town. The contigent of female riders is too big to ignore and too good to make fun of. Most of the girls here rip it up better than a lot of guys.

Now if they have never seen you before, man or woman, they aren't the friendliest of people. They do the job and move onto the next.

For the less enlightened of our gender, it can be hard to offer proper customer service while ogling (and trying not to look like you are ogling). Remember that men are simple creatures.

Did someone say something???

LMAF! :roflmao:

For the less enlightened of our gender, it can be hard to offer proper customer service while ogling (and trying not to look like you are ogling). Remember that men are simple creatures.
Indeedy!! :D:D

I know my ex-GF gets a lot of free service at more than one bikeshop that's ignored me completely... Sort of the opposite of what the OP wondered about!

-chris

Some ladies in the Women's cycling could swear they are being ignored or treated unfairly by sales and service people because they are "women." Those who are in the service dept. do you find yourselves onsciously or unconsciously doing that?

Mageline, I doubt you're going to get anybody to say "i'm a sexist bastard."


What is it about females you have something against when it comes to customer service?

I have nothing against females and I hope you have nothing against males. That said, I'm disappointed but not surprised to hear that there exist some sexist mechanics. I suspect many of them are accustomed to working with men and not so much with women, and in that environment it may be easy to hold on to old sexist habits.

peace,

[quoteI'm a chinese guy.. most people ignore me... heh.[/quote]

Ditto that.

I guess because I spend lots of money in my bike shop I don't get ignored. Because I'm a small rider they have gone out of their way to find and order components that meet my needs in a timely fashion. They are very knowledgable about the various companies and recommend the best. Sometimes, I come up with unusual ideas, like changing my 51 chainring on my double to a 46. They didn't think it was crazy, recommended the size I should go to, ordered it in and I'm as pleased as can be.
If someone new is working there one of the guys who knows me takes over.
I have always had respect from this shop which is why I deal with them.
Kathi

It all depends on the shop. My favorite LBS always treats me royally even though I've only gotten 1 of my 4 bikes from them. They respect my fitting problems, and do good work on all of my bikes when I need their expertise. They special order things for me. They know that I research a lot of stuff on the web, and then come ask them if they can get it for me. They usually can, and usually are competitive with the web + shipping prices. Other shops have also treated me well, so on the whole I would say I have been treated like a customer, and at 57 it can't be because I'm eye-candy. However, there is one shop, part of a local chain, that has always given me poor service both in the shop and on the floor. I don't know if that is because of sexism, but I suspect it just the shop attitude.

BE honest. Many women feel invisible in bike shops. What's your take on this?

My take: I always get adequate attention in my favorite bike shop, Bikeline in Newark (not my LBS). In my LBS, it's a given. They know me by name, and they know how many bikes I have and their history. So they don't count. I can't relate to what some women complain about. What do you say?

My LBS has a woman on the sales floor and a woman in the shop. They both ride. The shop sponsors a women's only weekly ride. They're pretty serious about making sure women get good service.

[quoteI'm a chinese guy.. most people ignore me... heh.

Ditto that.[/QUOTE]

It's weird cause at golf shops, they pay attention me, something about asian people and golf...

Jean Beetham Smith, I have seen some pretty tasty ladies in their fifties. :)
I treat all customers the same, until I know them, then they get treated in kind. Those that are nice and buy nothing, get treated like old friends. Those that buy a bunch but are tools, get to deal with an employee more tolerant than me, because I do put them on ignore. I don't care if it is a guy, a girl, a hippie, or a punk, they all get a "Hey, can I help you"? Then it goes up or down hill from there.
I admit to be more sympathetic to a womens technical problems because (As A guy that can fix mostanything) I feel a guy shouldn't need the instruction. Example This past weekend a women asked "How do you change a tire?" She is not a big buyer but is a regular. I pulled the wheel off a new bike on the floor and showed her all the steps to change a tire and look for the puncture. I would be much less inclined to do this for a guy over the age of twelve because he should know already. Maybe a little chauvanistic (sic) but I am getting old, so what :)

I'm a chinese guy.. most people ignore me... heh.
'cept on this forum :D Dude we love ya!

'cept on this forum :D Dude we love ya!

Sweet! I love attention. :D

Try being the guy with about 75 extra pounds - CLEARLY not a cyclist willing to spend money, and therefore not worth anyone's precious time. I have to flag down help at every bike shop I go to, and even then I can't get any enthusiasm from the sales people - it seems like I'm always keeping them from something more important.

Since starting cycling, I've become the guy with about 50 extra pounds. Not much better, but I'm working on it ;). Maybe when I look the part of a cyclist I'll get more service.

Granted many guys here wouldn't admit being sexist pigs, I believe the majority is saying that don't women get ignored in a market-driven field anymore than your average consumer. To do otherwise is shooting themselves in the foot. Everyone knows who control the guys' spending ability. God knows how many men I've heard who say "GOTTA ASK THE MISSUS FIRST" before purchasing yet another bike or accesories. Talk about buying power. We women have it and we know it. Those who whine about not getting good service have the power too. The legs have it. Just turn around and head out the door.

Granted many guys here wouldn't admit being sexist pigs, I believe the majority is saying that don't women get ignored in a market-driven field anymore than your average consumer. To do otherwise is shooting themselves in the foot. Everyone knows who control the guys' spending ability. God knows how many men I've heard who say "GOTTA ASK THE MISSUS FIRST" before purchasing yet another bike or accesories. Talk about buying power. We women have it and we know it. Those who whine about not getting good service have the power too. The legs have it. Just turn around and head out the door.

Especially after the 90's. I have tapes of old TV shows and a lot of the commercials are geared almost 50/50 towards males and females. Nowadays, most commercials are geared towards women as the largest driving force controlling spending. Just look at nascar sponsors like TIDE washing detergent, frosted flakes cereal, cell phone service, rubbermaid, m&m's, cheerios, k-mart...
Like it or not, it's reality.

I've never been a bike mechanic, but have always treated females differently than I do males. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I think the real question here is if anyone (males) has noticed the treatment or perhaps the lack of treatment the women (wives) give their husbands after leaving the LBS? ;)

Granted many guys here wouldn't admit being sexist pigs, I believe the majority is saying that don't women get ignored in a market-driven field anymore than your average consumer. To do otherwise is shooting themselves in the foot. Everyone knows who control the guys' spending ability. God knows how many men I've heard who say "GOTTA ASK THE MISSUS FIRST" before purchasing yet another bike or accesories. Talk about buying power. We women have it and we know it. Those who whine about not getting good service have the power too. The legs have it. Just turn around and head out the door.


Sure we have the buying power, but I don't see very many cycling commercials that are directed towards women and cycling. We are not talking about all commercials or every type of shopping situation, we are simply talking about walking into an LBS. In those situations, it seems as though the majority of the women here say they have to wait for the service, and it also seems as though the majority of the women DO turn on their heels and walk out. I still saw some posts where the women waited. I don't think it's whining when we are making legitimate observations about what we perceive to be a biased attitude slanted towards men at the LBS!

Very true, though. If you think you're getting bad service, leave. I think there are definitely women out there that go to the LBS and don't even think twice if they can't get someone to wait on them or have to wait for service. But for those of us who regularly go to the LBS or have a passion for cycling, we do tend to notice it more, and in these cases, we've made our observations here. To be sure, there are some women who have absolutely no problems when they go to their LBS- they get fair and equal treatment, and that's great for them. I wish we could all be in that situation, but unfortunately, it is not a level playing field out there. I haven't gone to one bike shop that is more biased towards women because they recognize our purchasing power, and I've noticed at bike shops that the women will wander around a store longer before they get service than a man. I've also noticed that more women are pushed towards buying a hybrid, whereas a man gets encouraged to get a road bike. My first purchase was a hybrid because I had no clue when I went to the LBS, then after I managed to snag a salesguy, he listened to my concerns and my specifications in what I wanted for a bike, and he pointed me towards a hybrid. Nowadays, of course I know better, and if I walked into a shop and gave my specifications and got pushed in the hybrid bike section, I would probably spit on the bikes and walk out of the shop! But I'm lucky- I've been through about every shop in the city, and I've found the best shops for me that are close to home and give great service and don't treat me like an empty headed female who they can't be bothered with. So I'm all good, but I feel badly for the women that do walk into a shop and are subjected to bad customer service and are treated like second-class citizens. I don't demean the women who tell us their stories and make the assertion that it's all in their heads and tell them to suck it up. I know it happens, and if they perceive it, and they're seeing it, who am I to state otherwise?

If there are guys out there in the industry that do notice a woman walking into a shop, all I can do is ask that you treat her equally, and if she doesn't have the knowledge, don't just roll your eyes and get her on a hybrid and out the door. Take the time to patiently explain what she lacks the knowledge for, and I bet you anything, you'll increase your customer base, because not only will she be grateful for your help and understanding, and for empowering her with the knowledge to make a good choice, she'll also tell her friends, and her friends will come in and buy bikes and bike equipment too. Now THAT'S what I would call the buying power of females!

Koffee

Well, I'll admit I worked in a bike shop for years and I always treated my female customers differently.

I gave them much more respect and attention than any of those chumpy guys that came in!!

Well, I'll admit I worked in a bike shop for years and I always treated my female customers differently.

I gave them much more respect and attention than any of those chumpy guys that came in!!
That's exactly what has been my experience. Thank you.

My last bike was bought over the phone. I know I sound like a girl on and off the phone, so there was no doubt that the salesman knew my gender. Yet, and I didn't get the run around or the incorrect information we women are supposedly susceptible to. On the contrary, when the sales guy told me the bike I was looking for (a year older model on sale) was sold out, he didn't end the conversation right there and hung up. He asked me if I would consider getting the 2004 model for the same price as the one I wanted originally. What the f--? I had to ask 2x just to make sure i heard him right. He was serious. He even threw in a pair of pedals my way at 15% off.

The bike came in the mail a week later. After putting it together I discovered that the standard seat post it came with was tapered so I couldn't lower it enough and tighten it on the seat tube. I called them back and explained to them my problem (not theirs). The sales man gladly offered to send me a new seat post and asked what kind I wanted. I thought he'd charge me the difference so I requested a sort of high end carbon fiber. No problem. He told me to just send him back to old one and we'll call it even.

Then the pedals came next. Being wishy washy that I was, I called them again and told them I changed my mind about the type of pedals I wanted and that prefer Look instead looking it over their catalog. Again, no problem. The sent me Look pedals and I sent them back the other pair (speedplay). No extra charges made in my bill, even though the Look cost more than the speedplay. I don't know what kind of service the ladies here are complaining about, but EVERY SINGLE ONE of my encounter with bike guys had been very positive with the exception of one punk in my LBS. And he was fired for treating EVERYBODY like sh^t, and not just women.

I think it's safe to say that in general, men do respect and treat women well if not better in this line of business. I'm sorry you've had some bad experience, KoffeeBrown. And I'm sorry that I can't relate to it. Maybe I live in the La-La land.

I think you live in LaLa land, because seriously, just because you happened to have a good experience, doesn't mean the other women who've testified in this thread and the other one are hallucinating. No one doubts that there are some women that get normal treatment- so I fail to understand what you're arguing here. Because that is not what we are talking about. Why did you even bother to start the thread? It makes no sense to me to ask the question, then sit at the computer and deny there is a problem. It's a bit baffling what the point of the thread is to begin with. You ask the question and claim you can't relate, then when several women point out our stories, you claim we are whining, and you insinuate that it's all in our heads. So what's the story here? Are you concerned, do you really care what the responses are, or are you just working on getting your post count up?

I'm real glad you have a positive experience with your LBS. As I stated before, I did have several negative experiences. BUT now I have three LBS stores in Chicago where the people know me and I get along with the staff, and they are attentive to my needs and actually treat me as though I have something between the ears other than air. They take me seriously when I come into the store, and they give me good customer service. But I had to go to many many bike stores in Chicago before I found these stores. I got lucky, I think. So please don't ridicule me by stating that you had such and such give you a good experience when you mail ordered your bike, so therefore, we are all just a bunch of whiney complainers who just need to be head shrunk. If you don't want to hear the responses that the women give, or you don't like what we say, just don't bother to ask it.

Koffee

I'm a chinese guy.. most people ignore me... heh.

slvoid... werd? me too! but i guess it's probably the way i dress when i go in.. in shorts and chinese flip flops. when they see me, they would help other people first before they ask me.. probably cuz i LOOK poor... hehe...

but i don't think they ignore me because i'm asian.. i think... most lbs i go to are all white people.. so i have no problems with that. in a way i am use to it.. try growing up in all american neighborhood in Pasadena district in Houston, TX and ur the only asian kid on the block.. haha. anyway.. it's all good...

but back to the topic... i personally think most lbs would help out gals more often times than guys. at least in the lbs around me... they are very attentive to women of all age/nationality. so does that count?

Koffee my question is for the mechanics (guys). Maybe it is a dumb question because as someone said, no one will admit to be a sexist pig. But it's good to hear that your experience isn't as prevalent judging from what the respondents said in both this thread and the women's forum.

what the hell kind of question is this?

what the hell kind of question is this? Given the fact that it's been asked and discussed to the extent that it has, it's one to which the answer is probably often "yes".

...or...

If you have to ask, probably no explanation will help.

everyone is different, there is no answer to this question and saying the answer is yes is stereotypical of women

Not a bike mechanic.

Its a weird thing, if you give too little attention its bad, if you give too much attention its bad (in the view of others). There is a fine line somewhere.

"just treat em the same as everyone else"

Sorry years of rigorous guy training and hormones will not allow that to be a reality any time soon. And they know it and use it against me every time! (LOL)

everyone is different, there is no answer to this question and saying the answer is yes is stereotypical of women No one (esp. not me) said "the answer is yes". Re-read my post. What you obviously missed is the equally obvious fact that there are many answers to this question (quite the opposite of "there is no answer"). What is less obvious, but much more germane, is that, for some, and to varying degrees, the answer is yes.

your missing my point, every man is different, so there isnt an answer for whether or not men treat women differently because everyone is going to treat them differently

...when the sales guy told me the bike I was looking for (a year older model on sale) was sold out, he didn't end the conversation right there and hung up. He asked me if I would consider getting the 2004 model for the same price as the one I wanted originally. What the f--? I had to ask 2x just to make sure i heard him right. He was serious. He even threw in a pair of pedals my way at 15% off.

The bike came in the mail a week later. After putting it together I discovered that the standard seat post it came with was tapered so I couldn't lower it enough and tighten it on the seat tube. I called them back and explained to them my problem (not theirs). The sales man gladly offered to send me a new seat post and asked what kind I wanted. I thought he'd charge me the difference so I requested a sort of high end carbon fiber. No problem. He told me to just send him back to old one and we'll call it even.

Then the pedals came next. Being wishy washy that I was, I called them again and told them I changed my mind about the type of pedals I wanted and that prefer Look instead looking it over their catalog. Again, no problem. The sent me Look pedals and I sent them back the other pair (speedplay). No extra charges made in my bill, even though the Look cost more than the speedplay.

Uh, I think I'm going to have my wife buy my next bike!! : )

your missing my point, every man is different, so there isnt an answer for whether or not men treat women differently because everyone is going to treat them differently Actually, that was my point. It still doesn't mean "there isn't an answer". It means there are MANY answers.

Analogy: A passenger on an airplane is having a heart attack. A flight attendant comes to his aid, and asks, to the cabin, "Is there a medical doctor on board?" There are two (or more) medical doctors on board. By your thinking, the answer to the question would be "no", because there isn't "a" doctor on board. It's marginally correct, but useless. Reminds me of the Microsoft / "You are in a helicopter" joke.

I asked my friend, "do male bike mechanics really treat females differently?"
And this is what he said: "you gotta, you can't slap a female on the chest and call it a joke without being slapped."

All kidding aside, certain things like customer service, etc, should be equal by all counts. Things that count on physical ability OTOH, it's just a fact of life that males and females are different for a lot of things.

BE honest. Many women feel invisible in bike shops. What's your take on this?

My take: I always get adequate attention in my favorite bike shop, Bikeline in Newark (not my LBS). In my LBS, it's a given. They know me by name, and they know how many bikes I have and their history. So they don't count. I can't relate to what some women complain about. What do you say?


I have no answer for this directly. I can say that when I decided to grow a full beard I suddenly got more respect everywhere. Apperance is everything.

Likely reply. :rolleyes: :D

Seriously, guys. What is it about females you have something against when it comes to customer service? Some ladies in the Women's cycling could swear they are being ignored or treated unfairly by sales and service people because they are "women." Those who are in the service dept. do you find yourselves onsciously or unconsciously doing that?

I personally think this statement is rediculous... at all 3 shops I have worked at, any of the mechanics will pretty much drop anything they are doing to help a female customer, even more readily than if it were a male customer. There aren't enough female bikers and any that we can poptentially add to the population we make an extra effort to do so.