Originally Posted by
DropDeadFred
before I got into the sport I was fully explained to the severity of eliteness that surrounds it. I don't expect anybody to give me a wave when I pass, I don't expect employees at a shop to give me the attention I feel I deserve. In a world of browsers how often do the people who know about bikes really really need the people in the shop to do anything other than pull the bike off the rack and let them test it out.
From what the majority of people are saying is that they are more educated than the people on staff at the shops. That's offensive...as a former auto mechanic, I used to hate when a customer TOLD me what was wrong with their car...or how to fix it. 98% of the time, they are wrong. If you go into a shop full of interweb knowledge and know the answers and feel you need to quiz the employees, then you don't belong there...you can buy online, where you got your education. If you want to support your LBS and know what you want...go in...with a sheet of paper with your bike and specs and price range...let them go from there....close the transaction....make sure you get a free shirt.
Rudeness is a different subject. Theres a difference between being rude and being short with somebody who walks in with a sense of self entitlement.
As a mechanic, you'll appreciate this.
I recently pulled and repaired the transmission in my truck. No great feat, really; a pretty basic job. But the guy at the dealership who sold me the parts didn't assume I was constipated with self-entitlement. Instead, he explained why it broke and what the ROOT CAUSE of the failure is. He told me where to look, how to test it, and how to make it right.
He was the only place to get the part, and he didn't know me from Adam. However, he didn't test me to see if I was worthy. Nor did he assume I was one of the elite who understood the "secrets" - he just told me, without fanfare. He explained it clearly and asked me for my understanding. He educated me.
Being the sole source of what I needed, why did he bother? Because he knows service means commitment to the customer... every customer.
Unlike the LBS, his business does not rely on a select, captive clientele who "gets it."
His business does not rely on customers who must first measure up to some standard which only he knows.
His business, in fact, very likely relies on every guy who walks in the door.
You are right about rudeness. When the folks at the LBS assume the people who come in are dolts, browsing rubberneckers, or not "real" cyclists, then they have committed an affront of rudeness. That we allow ourselves to be schooled in the normalcy of this and may actually pay them to let us into the clique, well... that is our fault, isn't it?