Originally Posted by
heckler
I don't know how your world works, but in my world telling someone you will do something than not following through is a way to burn bridges and lose customers. Plus the "no deposit, it will be fine" comment implies to some degree than he was willing to offer a deposit and was told not to worry about it. I would be upset too, but clearly they know they are in the wrong hence the $100 off deal. You need to decide if $100 is worth their mistake to you. (myself being a cheapskate it certainly is)
It implies nothing more than that they had no expectation of selling the bike in the next 24 hour period. That's the unfortunate reality of the bike shop world, especially with the next model year coming out.
If the OP wanted to guarantee that the bike would be held, he should ask what size of deposit would ensure them holding the bike until he came to pick it up and pay in full, and then insist on paying it.
And I'm not saying that I would do that, in that situation. It feels sleazy to get a fit, decide you don't want the bike and ask for the deposit back. If I was hesitant or otherwise less than 100% sure that I wanted the bike, I would probably make the same decision and figure that it's incredibly unlikely that they will sell the bike in less than a day. And I would be totally bummed to come in and find it gone, but
c'est la vie. The LBS has to stay in the black, and selling bikes is how they do that.