Yes, broad brush strokes. I'm not an expert on retail stores, but in my mind, stores compete on 3 legs:
1) Price
2) Convenience / availability of products
3) Customer Service
On pure price competition, a LBS will lose on price to internet retailers, ebay, etc. Heck, LBSs lose the cheapest consumers to Walmart and the like.
As far as product goes, LBSs have better product that Walmart, hands down. However, if a town has more than one LBS, each LBS will have decent product.
Therefore, that leaves customer service as the area where LBSs compete against each other. Furthermore, the customer service experience should be better at an LBS than Best Buy or Staples.
Originally Posted by
RollCNY
This seems like really broad brush strokes. If bike shops are globally failing over customer service then Central New York must have missed out again. I have been treated far worse at Worst Buy and Staples (known as "The S word" in my household) than I have ever been at a bike shop.
It seems many employees at stores selling technical products think that expertise is magically bestowed with employment. Try buying PC parts in many retail stores. Noone wants to say "I don't know" or "That is not something that I have dealt with." Its nerd ego at work.