Originally Posted by
BarracksSi
Wow -- that guy was an idiot.
My LBS seems to pay attention to what I order through them. The example that comes to mind was when I ordered an Incredibell bell that you stick into the end of the handlebars and twist to ring. They got just one for me, then about a month or two later, I saw a half-dozen on a peg on the bells n' mirrors wall.
Normally, I'd say to just order it through them so that they learn what their customers really want. However, I'd hesitate to do so since they (or at least that guy) don't even know what they have on the premises.
The really bad part is I think it was the owner, might have been their fitter.
Don't get me wrong, I have had some good experiences with them. I bought some tires and tubes for my old P8 Peugeot and one of the tubes leaked. The counter guy warrantied it even though he felt I may have pinched it when I was installing it (and its possible but I was being careful so I kind of think it was just a defective). He warrantied it with a smile on his face. I appreciated that. That same sales person spent a good amount of time talking to me about commuting when I started a few months ago including giving me tips on riding in the dark. The guy is teacher and works the LBS summers and evenings. He rides everywhere so I have a lot of respect for his advice since he lives what he speaks. I was very comfortable talking to this guy and I genuinely felt good with the info I was getting. Shame his employer doesn't carry a good selection of different styles of the gear he was recommending. It was one size fits all stocking.
They will order stuff as I need it but I'm an "instant gratification junky". I want to fondle it before I lay my cash down. Some stuff like lighting I think should be on the shelf. I didn't buy the stuff at REI after fondling it because I wanted to go check the net to see if the price was in line. It always has been or close enough that it was not worth the fuel to go drive to Performance.