Originally Posted by
graciela
Will an LBS really turn away business and/or give you bad customer service or attitude because you come in with a BD bike or one that you didn't buy from them?
If a salesperson spends hours coddling a customer only for them to go out and buy a bike on teh interwebz, there might be some hard feelings.
If a customer is up front about just finding out what size bike will fit them because they are ordering a bike online and will be bringing the bike in for setup, that shop would be shooting themselves in the foot to turn that customer away -- profit margin on bike sales are pitiful compared to margin on service, and good service leads to a regular customer who might be interested in a shop bike at some point, not to mention upgrade parts and install service fees. Might also result in a discussion about bikes the shop can get from their vendors which might be competitive with BD offerings.
Shops are like the people working there, though--all kinds of different attitudes and outlooks.