crustedfish

That my favorite LBS is totally WANGSTER!!!!

I stop in for some tubes for my neighbor, and asked if they had any extra leather straps laying around...

The guy says to me "They don't make them anymore. All you can get now is plastic or nylon ones..."

Well, no **** sherlock!!! How 'bout you get your ass behind the counter and ORDER me some!

ebay, sheldon, business cycles, marcus....they're gonna get my biz from now on!!!

On The Route, Lincoln and Belmont and Ashland...

****s!!!!

braddk

I had a similar experience. A friend was rebuilding some older Time ATACs and needed new seals, dustcap, etc. We went into one of the LBS here, and they told us, "just buy new pedals." Perhaps these guys forgot how much Time pedals cost.

We said, "screw that," and went down the street to another LBS where they promptly ordered the parts and guaranteed our future business.

skitbraviking

Just some food for thought:

I haven't boughten much from the owner but when I have he always gives me something free first. A seat post, a chainring bolt wrench thingy. He says, "Take this and come back when you need something bigger." Sounds fair, no?

Did you talk with the owner or one of his knob employees. Some of them are knobs.

I don't feel that I need to be very loyal to him, but is he/the shop really that bad?

fore

he thinks they're not made anymore. you show agreement with that statement by your "no **** sherlock!!!". if you agree with his idea that they're not made anymore, how can you reasonably expect him to order you a set of straps?

something gives me the feeling that even if he did get his ass behind the counter and ORDER you some you'd probably be the type that would scoff at the price and tell the poor dude to go **** himself while you hop on ebay and buy them for four bucks less than what the shop dude quoted you, then pay an additional five bucks shipping.

don't mind me. i'm just a disgruntled shop dude.

by the way, what you're looking for is part # TS1112 from QBP. almost every bike shop in the country has an account with QBP, and can order these straps for you.

pitboss

Welcome to free enterprise. With an attitude like the "better known" shops in Chicago, no wonder they sink like stones. And I say farewell to them and any other shop that does not extend knowledge or passion of cycling to ALL customers.
Mind me...I am a potential customer and a cyclist with a pocket full o' knowledge...

fore

i'm willing to share as much knowledge with my customers as they're willing to take in, and i think i'm hard pressed to find anyone that comes into my shop that's as passionate about their bicycles as i am. even compared to other employees.

what upsets me is when customers come in and do a couple things:
1) tells me how to do my job.
2) acts as if my shop is a flea market. our margins are low enough as it is. there's really no point in haggling. if we could go any lower on our prices, rest assured we would.
3) storms in waving a mail order catalog in my face demanding i match these prices. i've seen some products listed in catalogs at prices below what i pay for them.
4) the same customers getting pissy over the labor fee when they bring in their mail order stuff to get installed/fixed. buy it from me, it'll cost you a couple dollars more, but i'll either throw it on at no charge or at a reduced fee.

in short, i guess the easiest way to put it is that i very much dislike being treated like an idiot. it's sort of funny, as the same people that treat me like i am an idiot are paying me money (sometimes lots) to fix their bikes.

crustedfish

whether or not they are made is not the point..the point is, is that I can get the damn things from any one of five (at least, right now tha I can remember) online sources... I was implying that I was trying to bring my bizness back to a shop that I've bought 3 bikes from....and how I was disappointed that he only offered wangster plastic straps..

crustedfish

[QUOTE=fore]

don't mind me. i'm just a disgruntled shop dude.QUOTE]

since when did the title of this thread become "disgruntled shop dude complains..."

welcome to the club, dude. Anybody who knows anything about track bikes KNOWS how important leather straps are, and how DANGEROUS plastic shiite is.

fore

the point is whether or not they're still made. i'm still curious how you expected him to order something he didn't think was made anymore.

we don't stock leather straps at my shop. why? well, the number of people in the past 12 months that have asked me for leather straps: 0

i'll assume it's the same at the shop you went to. why would i (or him, or anyone) stock parts that don't sell?

i'm sure if he knew they were still made he'd have offered to order a set for you. i think i'd have if i were in his situation, anyway.

oh well. there's no point in making a big deal out of this. it's just a set of toe straps.

pitboss

three cheers for eBay!
Thanks for proving our point for us. Now go back to selling Colnagos to asssholes

crustedfish

aight dude...for real...if he KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT TRACK BIKES, then HE"D KNOW WHERE TO ORDER THEM!

I can order them from anywhere...sheldon, businesscycles, hell, even nashbar might have 'em..shoot, I can stop by yojimbo's..he's got lots of leather straps.

just because something isn't currently being produced doesn't mean it isn't available.

keep turning this into some psycho-babble-LBS-BS, will ya? I need the entertainment.

manboy

If you're going to get so pissy about some guy who sounds like he's being perfectly honest with you, just visit your local hobby/craft store and make your own leather straps. Or: https://www.tandyleather.com/. Leather isn't that hard to cut and punch, and you can probably use the buckles from an old set. (Tanning your own leather would probably be overkill.)

fore

because EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD knows EVERYTHING about track bikes.

businesscycles and yojimbo's do a lot of track business, so it only makes sense for them to stock that sort of item. sheldon receives a lot of fixed-gear business, so it's logical that he'd have them as well. nashbar has such a wide customer base that the odds of them actually selling these straps are higher.

your LBS, if it's anything like most, probably has sold maybe half a dozen fixed gear bikes in the entire span of their existence. since they do so little business in that market they have no reason to stock things oriented towards that niche. along the same lines, they've got little experience with anything associated with a fixed gear bike, such as these coveted leather straps. as far as being able to order them, one can't expect someone to be very knowledgable about things they've got little experience with.

i'm not terribly sure you're getting what i'm trying to say. i'm trying to come up with an analogy to maybe make things a little easier but i'm having a hard time doing that.

165: i only wish my shop sold colnago. sort of. i'd rather not deal with some of the types that would come in looking to buy one. i'm not sure what point of yours i've "proved", but if something i've said has made you feel better about yourself, you're welcome.

Thylacine

Woah, some guys didn't take their Prozac this week.

If I had a shop and I didn't know if they made leather toe straps anymore or not, and said the logical thing "They don't make those anymore, all you can get now is nylon or plastic ones", I probably wouldn't respond well to someone demanding me find some and order them. If I was the customer, I'd probably say something like "Oh, Brand X makes them, they're distributed by Wholesaler Z. Do you have an account with them?" because I'm fücking well researched and courteous, and know how to get what I want.

Now, I don't expect every mom and pop retailler to know everything about everything, and I think that's unrealistic. Also, your typical fixie rider, with the 'down with the man' and 'I'm a schemeing, tight arse bastard' attitude sure isn't going to have a sales monkey jump through hoops.

I think the best policy is, is that if you don't get the service you want from a shop, or a shop isn't your style, then just go to a shop that is. Mutual support is a wonderful, sustainable thing. Whinging is just boring.

redfooj

i agree with everything fore has said. so hes not sure if theyre available anymore... and you expect him to dig through a haystack to find you a pair of 10$ straps. i wouldnt have done it either

pitboss

Wow...I am amazed at the amount of customer service that exists (SARCASM) based on the passion for cycling that also exists here. If "almost every" shop has a QBP account, why the **** didn't this a-hole check the book? Sounds pretty lame to me. The QBP catalogs are like bibles to shops and ANY time we were confronted with a part we didn't know of or thought was gone, we checked the book.
As far as anyone who wouldn't want to spend the time to help a cycling customer - get out of the business. Crusty's request wasn't that difficult, PLUS he is a repeat customer. These customers are the ones that help establish your extended customer base. You know that if a business does something good, the average person tells 2-3 people; if that same shop f's up, the customer tells 10-15.
Sounds like a case of pissing where you sleep.
Businesses that choose not to help repeat customers (Crusty bought 3 bikes from this shop and shoes and etc...) deserve to lose business. End.

skitbraviking

It seems pretty clear who wants to keep your (crusted's) business and who doesn't. Let those who serve you keep your business.

On a related question: Crusted, you mentioned that plastic straps are dangerous. How so? The reason I ask is that I picked up a spare set of nylon Campy straps and you now say that they are dangerous. What gives?

HereNT

You could get beat up for having silly nylon straps...

That's the only thing I can think of.

hammye

The shop that I got my new bike from did something alot like this as well. I went in asking about something or other(I don't remeber what) Guy said he would go check in the basement, 10 minutes later I see dude man sitting there eating a burrito talking with his friend in the back. So I just left and now do all my shopping at Harris cycles or I go downtown and buy from Community bikes. Hell if Community would have had the bike I bought in stock I would have used them.
I have had a few bad times with nylon straps breaking on me and I really did not appreciate that at all.

familyman

My story has been told, but I brought my pinarello frame in to get a BB for it. The guy tried to find one that fit, said he didn't have any, handed back the frame and said to have a nice day, I then asked if he could measure it to see what sized it took. This was the head manager dude. I told him that it was probably italian, and he says 'oh, um, ok I'll see if I can call around and see what will fit'
I've tried to support my LBS, but they really don't seem to care if I shop there or not since I don't pay them for labor. Such is life I suppose.

riderx

Just an FYI, they still make leather straps

al5

ON THE ROUTE.. i was just in there yesterday afternoon - some guy had a CRC shirt on - seemed like a decent shop to me

MKRG

Go to another shop. Don't deal with people that aren't willing to deal with you. I went to a shop (one I know I don't like) in the hope that they might have a 32mm seat post collar. I asked if they had one and he said of course we do. He comes back with a 31.8 mm collar. I know it only 0.2 mm difference but I didn't want it. I figure there is a reason the manufacturer put a 32 on in the first place. He says "they don't make a 32". I say "yes they do I saw one on line last night". He comes back with "Well it's so close they probably just labeled it as a 32". I say, "No they didn't because there was one labeled 31.8 right next to it and the broken one I have here in my hand says 32" Finally I just left determined to never buy anything at that shop. I went to a bike shop that I like and ask for the seat collar and he looks but can't find one in stock that fits...instead of trying to sell me something different that may not work he orders it and tells me it'll be there in a few days. Simple.

Yes I know how small a difference it is but I just prefer to have the proper parts on my bike. I find that things generally work better that way.

crustedfish

[QUOTE=Thylacine]I probably wouldn't respond well to someone demanding me find some and order them. If I was the customer, I'd probably say something like "Oh, Brand X makes them, they're distributed by Wholesaler Z. Do you have an account with them?" because I'm fücking well researched and courteous, and know how to get what I want.

Now, I don't expect every mom and pop retailler to know everything about everything, and I think that's unrealistic. Also, your typical fixie rider, with the 'down with the man' and 'I'm a schemeing, tight arse bastard' attitude sure isn't going to have a sales monkey jump through hoops.

QUOTE]

not a mom and pop shop. a good shop that has sold almost a hundred track bikes in the 7-8 years they've been around.

I never told the guy to order me any, I never gave him any lip...he said "All they make are nylons and plastic ones..." and i said "oh, that sucks. see you later."

Perhaps my quick post needed more precise "He said this, and I said that..."

I've probably spent over $3000 in that shop... 3 bikes, lots of gear, clothes, shoes... I dunno..I expected more service.

crustedfish

my point EXACTLY...