Originally Posted by Rowan

Yes, but the thing is, this new generation of bike stores isn't geared to customers like you and me who are relativley bicycle savvy. They are geared to (a) the newbies who wouldn't have a clue as to whether they are being sold good value or not, but are distracted by the glitz and will likely make a decision based on shininess and colour; and (b) the customers who want "schwag", cache, "superior" product or whatever other descriptor you want to put on premium price (even if the quality doesn't actually match that price).

Unfortunately, the consumer world relies almost entirely on glitz and marketing spin, and people are prepared to accept a basic lack of knowledge by customer service staff because in all likelihood, they don't have a clue what's being said.

It's no different in electronics. I and my girlfriend went into a high-profile store in Canada looking for a digital camera. We asked about several and I was interested to note that the customer service employees were reciting off the specials posters, adjacent to the cameras and behind us, all the features said cameras possessed... the posters we already had read and fully understood. Needless to say, we went elsewhere with our purchases.

Bikes on display have little cards with the features listed on them. With resources like that, who needs actual knowledge to fool the potential customer into parting with cash?

I am at the point these days in a bricks-and-mortar shop of any sort of saying bluntly "I'm right thanks" whenever a saleperson is within earshot and headed my way (especially when they are high-school kids). I can read the information on the packaging and sales posters as well as they can, and probably have a better grasp of what it all means.

The paucity of customer service and lack of sales staff knowledge are the reasons why forums like this thrive on the "Why do I hurt?", "Why won't my bike work?" and "What do I need to fix a flat?" questions. Worst among all this is that people depart shops with bikes that don't fit them and then wonder why anyone would go bicyclng if they suffered such sore butts!

Likewise, these forums also thrive for the more aware cyclist, who can at least do a search on a product and get a broad and fair cross-section of opinions before committing to a purchase.

Whether the bike shop owners are aware of the threat the internet plays in their sales strategies is moot. Somehow, I think not in many cases.

Several bricks and mortar shops have a web presence in Australia. I have tried using their communication systems off the websites (hat is, Contact Us email addresses) to ask questions about product. In one case it took a fortnight to get back to me, but which time I had bought new from eBay at less than half the price and had already fitted the item. In another, I never received a reply; with that same store, I tried ordering twice a jersey of a particular design 18 months apart... only to be told on both occasions there were none left.

It demonstrates to me that bricks-and-mortar shop owners don't have a clue as to what web marketing is all about. It's left to the sharp business models such as BD and Chain Reaction Cycles, and Pro Bike Kit to do the job, and very well they do it, too.

To lead this back to the thread title, one benefit "exclusive" dealerships might offer is a guarantee that what is offered on a website or in a mag or newspaper ad will in fact be delivered by the shop, wherever it might be. That is, a consistency in product and its delivery to the customer Judging from the anecdotes here, however, it appears Specialized is already failing that test.