I have three shops in a local town that are on street corners across from each other. When bike shopping it is kind of funny to watch folks go from one store to the next and then finally back to whichever store suited them best.
When I first started riding last year I was 277# and did the three store dance. The first store had Specialized and Gary ?? (whatever that is?). This store didn't seem to have any interest in helping pick a bike.
I went to the next store. It sported Kona and Raleigh. These guys were the college skate board grinding, BMX crowd. All that was missing was an empty swimming pool and the boys of Dogtown. They looked at me as the old, suburban, overweight Dad type. During my time in this store I would ask questions and get smirky condescending answers. The funny thing was that probably if we had played a game of war with cards of our life experiences, they would have made me their king after they uncovered all the dope I've smoked, women I have encountered and brushes with the law. But again, they saw me as old and boring. Another funny thing about this encounter was that I was hell bent on dropping $1000 this day. They lost!
The final store, a Giant - Canondale - Schwinn dealer: I walked in and the owner met me and introduced himself. He was me
He was seasoned, a little beat up by life and a bit heavy in all the wrong places. He asked what I wanted and listened. He then offered me multiple solutions within my price range. When I left, I walked out with my new Giant Ranier. Over the next four months I dropped an additional $400. He WON! (Three Cheers for Phoenix Cycle in Carbondale, IL)
I have also patronized Cumberland Outdoors in Nashville, TN a couple times in the last year and they were extremely nice and helpful.
I think that most store owners and employees scrap to keep the doors open. Because of that I also think that if they have been in business for a while, they know that the fat people probably have just as good of money as the skinny people.
Jay