I was finalizing a bike for pick-up today after a gentleman purchased a very fine bicycle, around $3,000 worth, when I questioned what is a normal amount of time to spend with the bicycle shop's staff before making a purchase?

I have worked at various bicycle shops for about 7 years now, and have seemingly forgotten what might be normal. To give a background, we are a small shop in the midwest, right now having two employees, me and the owner, and are constantly busy. In the summertime we had at most 5 full time employees. To fit this in the road forums, we sell mostly road bikes, on the middle to higher end spectrum.

Thinking back to my first road bike purchase at $750 dollars, with another $200 worth of accessories, I spent about an hour with a guy at a big store and felt satisfied. So I ask...

How much time would you expect to spend, or did you spend, with a sales guy to feel satisfied on a $500 purchase? $1,000 purchase? $2,000 purchase? $3000 purchase? $5,000 or custom purchase?

What about accessory add-ons after the bicycle decision? 30 minutes? An hour?

How about specific accessory trips? $30 lights versus $1,200 wheels?

How many times would you or did you visit the store before making your final decision?

Were you influenced more by the sales staff or by personal research?

What factors made you choose a particular store to buy from? Brands, product knowledge, store experience?

Maybe you bought online, why, and what could have made you buy from a bike shop besides lower prices?

And for a little more background, I am a lifer, as they call it. My job is to sell bicycles and accessories, but also to repair bicycles and keep them running. It is my passion to bring more people to cycling and help them have the best experience they can while doing so. I studied psychology and sociology in undergrad, and have a great interest in understanding people and society. So these questions are for my own personal benefit, hopefully to be used to help others in their cycling experiences.

Lets discuss.