enjoi07

give me some ideas.
my bike shop is sponsored by the best beer company (STONE), so that rules out beer.
I already did chocolate chip cookies...thanks Jamie Smith of Roadie for that one.
so what else can i give my shop to say thank you for the free (worth $100) bike fit?

chrisvu05

pizza/food. usually once a month during race seaon I'll bring in a case of beer or some pizza...needless to say I can't remember the last time I had to wait on a repair unless they were absolutely slammed.

Cyclist0383

I usually go with a bottle of fine brandy or whiskey.

Dick Rhee

I occasionally bring my LBS "crack cone", their nickname for a ridiculously good ice cream shop down the road. Pizza is a surefire winner as well.

How about homemade energy bars? Alton Brown (Food Network) has a really good recipe involving oats, honey and dried cranberries.

Sapling

How about swearing off Internet bike stuff purchasing for the year?

sstorkel

I was thinking the same thing: the bike shops in my area really aren't that good. In this economy, my gift to them is that I continue to do business with them despite their lackadaisical approach to customer service, the fact that they rarely have the stuff I need in stock, and that I have to go through the hassle of getting them to price-match every single item I buy... And that's the top shop!

kyriefurro

Yes, especially with the way the economy's going. MY "gift" to the three guys who literally spent hours helping me select the right bike two weeks ago was a carefully thought out letter to their boss (with a CC to the corporate office) letting him know just how happy I was with the service and citing specific examples of how each one helped me. In this day of store closings (four LBS's within 10 miles of my office have closed in the last 12 months ) and frequent layoffs, a letter like that in your personnel file could make the difference between a raise and the unemployment line.

Of course, I'll keep the pizza, beer, icecream and other ideas in mind for later in the summer . As much as I've been bugging them, they'll have more than earned it lol.

enjoi07

oh man...this one is tuff...tires, tubes, bar tape, i can deal with, even the $900 caad9 i just bought from them...but take, for example, the Fizik Aliante i have been swooning over and my whole shop swears by...they sell the carbon railed version for $300, i can get it online for $170... i really want the shop to get the money, but the deal is just too good...should i ask the shop to bring the price down?

Ed in GA

Tell/show them what you can buy for on-line and ask them if they can meet you somewhere in between. You might be surprised.