Originally Posted by dgregory57
I had a similar thought for a moment, until I thought about it...
Why is it that bikes don't belong in stores? ..
And one thing that too many retailers forget today... "The customer is always right."
They don't belong because they are cumbersome, few people keep theirs clean so allowing bikes will make things messy (particularly when it's wet outside), many can't stand on their own so riders may lean them on things and damage displays, and most importantly, because it's perfectly reasonable to expect people to leave them outside.
It's another matter entirely if the store makes it clear that they welcome bikes. There may be certain areas where the culture is especially bike friendly. However, very few places fall into one of these categories.
Some customers think that they should be able to do anything they want. I used to work retail in a former life, and my experience was that most people are very reasonable, but there's a miniscule percentage that abuse the system to make life hell for everyone else. If what you're doing bugs many people, it's time to reconsider your actions.
I would love to bring my bike in a store but never have and probably never will because except under very limited circumstances, I think it shows lack of consideration for the other customers and possibly the workers as well.