The owner at my favorite LBS and I were discussing online purchasing vs. purchasing local. The owner said he understands that online could be cheaper and doesn’t discourage it but, would like a chance to compete for the business. He said that a lot of times if customers would talk to him he could point out better and cheaper alternatives than what the customer was looking for. What really frustrated him though is the person who comes in to the shop with a situation and the shop spends time diagnosing the problem and suggesting the solution, the customer leaves the store. The next time the bike is in the shop it is sporting the equipment that the LBS recommended.

On my recent equipment purchase I provided the LBS with my list and asked them what they could do. When I went in to the LBS yesterday the owner went through each item on my list and in some cases suggested alternatives (he even showed with his product why I would want something not on my list in lieu of something that was on it). Bottom line is I am walking out with my equipment today at a cheaper price than I could get online and I didn’t have to hassle with shipping.