Originally Posted by khatfull

That sounds pretty much like price fixing, "We all agree not to sell our product for less than X."

Originally Posted by khatfull

That's rather arrogant. If you have a bike, at the best price, compel me with the service you provide, and have knowledgeable, friendly employees why would I go elsewhere? If you're missing one of those shouldn't you fix it or expect business to go elsewhere?

I'm a network consultant. Part of my job is going to small companies, doing network audits, and writing up a proposal for that company to address the issues we found in the course of the audit. Sometimes we get the work, sometimes we don't, and sometimes they use our quote to price shop and play other company's quotes trying to get what they need for the best price. We understand we need to provide the most compelling proposal based on thoroughness, service, and, yes, cost. Sometimes we get the work at a higher cost because the company determines we're a better fit for them than another provider. Do we get bent out of shape when we lose a proposal or know that folks use us to price shop? Well, it's not fun and yes we "waste" time when that happens but it's an essential part of our business or any other business.

Face it, if nobody walks though the bike shop door for a test ride they aren't going to sell a lot of bikes. The goal then should be to convince the customer when you have them there that the only logical decision is to buy from you. But referring to people as jack@sses because they might not buy from you because you couldn't (or wouldn't) provide them a compelling reason to do so may be the reason you're not selling them in the first place. From your description it sounds as you're describing a very confrontational selling style, "Test ride this bike ONLY if you intend on buying it from us." That's not going to get anybody anywhere.

I don't know if you work at an LBS, but it sounded like you did...