I have suggested to BF during my visits to the mother ship that they would benefit from a standardized range of stock bikes that hit the sweet spot needs of ~75% of their customers. This would not only simplify things for the customer, but also for BF. They could then offer full-custom options for the 25% who weren't well served by the stock bike lineup.
I have talked extensively to folks at BF and I don't believe there is any devious up sale motive going on for the desire to talk to the customer. I think they offer too much choice that most people don't need which then begets far more communication than simply picking from a range of stock bikes.
Nobody is getting rich at Bike Friday and nobody is acting greedy. They are trying to make bikes they believe in and keep people in their town employed.
Vik, I did suggest exactly to Hans Scholz many many times what you told them about more than a decade and a half ago, and his line up has since improved. Now he offers the value package which was then not available. Then, it was more custom.
Having said that, I understand the futile attempt in convincing North Americans and the world to buy into Made in America. The problem with the 75% of customers is not they are not willing to spend on a BF. The problem is with the price tag and their willingly supporting Asian enterprises. How many stuff you buy nowadays aren't made in China or one of the asian countries? Back many many years ago, there were more made in Canada and USA? Why not now?
I do not think BF employees would work for Asian wages and settle for a lower standard of living either.
In the terms of upselling. I had done some upselling for BF in the past as a rep, but it is not out of greed. It is usually out of passion and the best fit for the rider in question. Most of the time I find that the riders are just clueless as to what they want and they are fixated at the lowest cost possible to obtain the bike. This may not be the right bike setup for the rider. In the case of some bikes with flat bars, adding a drop bar with some brifters is an upgrade or an up sell. Whether this is done out of greed from the sales person at BF is someone's opinion. To me, it is the right thing to do to achieve a better fit.
Hope this helps.
