Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Wait! Ya mean to say that all the fine LBS's we hear so much about on BF don't pay all their employees a decent living wage despite their being passionate enough to treat every bike they sell or work on with loving passion? Say it ain't so.
There are 10 LBSs within an hour's drive and NONE of them fail to pile on the obligatory haughtiness and derision for bringing them a bike to work on that wasn't purchased in *their* store. Nevermind my intention to buy accessories there. Nevermind that I was willing to pay their $80/hr for making sure the person that assembled my Walmart bike wasn't having a bad day. No, clearly I came into your store seeking abuse and a condescending attitude.
When LBSs learn customer service and can get off their pedestal to deal with someone that doesn't have the money to drop $1500 on a bike, I'll think about going into an LBS. When an LBS offers lifetime warranty on the frames they sell (some may do, I don't know), I'll think about looking there again. But until then, I'll continue to brush up on my mechanical skills for my own repairs, I'll continue to buy the cheap throw-away bikes Walmart sells. And I'll do so without feeling guilty that another condescending LBS owner folded.
It's all about attitude. I'd rather be left alone than blatantly and obviously ignored or told, "We don't work on those here". If you, as a shop owner, look down your nose at me, as a paying customer, you'll lose that income (as little as it may have been) and you'll never see me or my friends again.