I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, but since I mainly hang around this forum and the Women's forum, so I thought I'd post it here.

I called one of the LBS's in my area that I have gone to once before, and had a wonderful experience with. Last night, I left them a message on their machine, but they did not contact me this morning, so I called them again, and ended up taking Lola in to get her fenders, rack, and Reelights installed. The quoted price was much better ($30-$40) for all of it, instead of the $30 I paid for the installation of just my Monkey Lights from another LBS, and received a less-than-satisfactory/rude attitude from one of the mechanics. Although, come to think of it, he may have just been moody/on a time crunch that day when I asked him if it was possible to get it back by 5 pm that day, because I needed to be in downtown by 6 pm, so that was probably the upcharge that they priced it at. Although, they had my bike back to me on time, I don't think I'll be going back to that particular shop, but it is what it is.

Anyway, I took Lola this other LBS, and dropped her off. The guy told me it would be ready between 5-6 today, or at the latest tomorrow, which was fine with me, since he was up front regarding it, and very polite/wiling to help (unlike the other one - see above). Later in the day, I received a phone call from him telling me that the installation would take until tomorrow to complete, but he wanted me to come in (if possible) today to discuss my seat height/bike fit. Then, he started talking about the Linus line of bike, how they fit/line up, and how if my bike does not fit me, there is not much that can be done etc. I went to the shop, and we discussed it, and he was very polite/understanding regarding why I originally purchased my bike, how much I love it etc.

My point/question is that, although, this guy was great, I still got the feeling that he was trying to get me to purchase another bicycle to replace mine. Although, he was very polite/understanding in the end, I still felt kind of weirded out by it (for lack of better terminology at this time of the night).

I, also, kind of got the feeling that he was putting down my Schwinn, albeit, in a covert way. I get the feeling that shops like this on that specialize in European-type bikes (which I love - as you all know), and bike restoration tend to lean one way or the other. I have noticed that it is like that with a lot of the shops I have gone into (I can only think of one where I get great service by the sales people/ & good service by the mechanics - see my other LBS post for more on that - nope, scratch that, two, not including this one, so all in all, not too bad, I guess). I feel that they tend to lean one way, or the other (i.e. racing, mountain biking, vintage etc).

It is my dream to one day open up a bicycle shop that offers all kinds of different bicycles/accessories/parts/services etc. to the public with only helpful and heartfelt advice/sales etc.

Anyway, thoughts? Just thought I would post my little story.

p.s. Lola comes home tomorrow! Although, I made this post, I am truly grateful for the service I receive from these people, and the vintage/European feel of the shop (it is even located in an old auto-detailing shop ... ).

Working on my bikes is something I really enjoy now, but I never would have started doing it if I hadn't had so many unpleasant experiences talking to bike mechanics. Obviously there are many, many exceptions. But it does seem like a bit of a trend, and I'm not sure why.

One never knows what his intentions were. If he was sincere in that he didn't think your current bike was a fit then he did good. If he called you all the way in just to see if he could sell you a bike then obviously that isn't good.

I've had it happen as well. I ride an older bike that many people have said for me to get a better bike, and all that. When it is a pretty darn good bike with no real cosmetic defects, decent equipment even albeit older. A lot of bike shop sales people are like car dealers and I try to avoid them. Thus requiring me to learn a lot more about maintenance of bikes and parts, but its interesting and keeps me out of their grasps. I had a lbs strip out the bolt on my quill stem that was down in the headset, that did it for me, no lbs's touch my bike. The idiot that did it wouldn't even fix it when I confronted him with my father there.

I also used to ride a schwinn that I bought at target. I took pride in it. I wish I didn't sell it. To this day it was still my favorite most comfortable bike that I've had.

Don't worry about it. It's the same moral hazard of taking you car to the dealership for service.

My lbs is run by someone who is a vastly better human being than I, but man is he surly. Thusly, like Penny, it lead me to explore tinkering with my own. I only go down there for the odd tool. He sells Fuji, but spares any longwinded tracts on my Schwinn.

Having worked as a salesman there is always this want to push one's own product. It feels like a victory when you sell something. When I worked in shipping I was Mr. Serivce Pusher, and probably got sales up 25% on my own, at least. However, it always has a cost - inflated prices in my example, or the need to skew and disparage in yours.

Also, til we have a women's forum. No wonder the rest of the place is such a damn sausagefest.

M.

I really don't like people trying to sell me something I haven't shown an interest in. The best long-term business strategy is to cultivate a good relationship with customers by only selling them things they actually want. Sure, maybe you can pressure me into spending money once, but you can bet I won't be coming back twice!

Get lots of their sales stuff in the mail, but I've never had a car salesman accost me with a sales pitch while getting my car serviced at a dealership. Even with my 10 year old car.

That's what puzzles me, too. I've run into a lot of salespeople who try to sell me something that I'm not interested in. Most notable are the car salespeople who, after being told I have NO interest in buying a car at that point, still ask me what it takes to get me to buy one right there. They obviously have no idea what a long-term business development is.

That's what comes of paying people on commission. They have to make sales NOW, because that's how they pay the rent. I find that customer service is usually much better when salespeople are paid regular wages... less pressure on them = less pressure on me.

Does your bike fit you? Did he say it does not, and why? Has he seen you on it?

So, let me give you perspective from a shop employee:

Shops all try to make their cash one way or another, each of us are in the field, compete for the same local individuals, in a market that does not pay great dividends. Some shops try to sell bikes to make the bottom line, others charge for service, others try to make it with accessory sales. Each of these are valid ways to make money. One shop here gives away alot of service but tries to get people to buy accessories, another shop tries to sell bikes (And high end ones at that) and will instantly begin to try and price match other shops, my shop makes its money on service and it's reputation for doing strange types of service (You want to mount that thing that was never designed to go on your bike? We will do it), another even does repair classes/ rents out bicycle stands.

Mechanics especially have good and bad days. Trust me on that one, I know. Basing your experience with a bike shop on a single visit is trying to understand someone's life by looking at their photos, you get some idea, but very little context.

One thing I will say about your bike though (I am not trying to be snobbish, truly I just want to give my perspective). Is that Schwinns are "Walmart Bikes" or BSOs (Bicycle Shaped Objects). Many shops have horrible experiences with these bikes and draining arguments with customers over the cost of repair work. Typical conversations go like this:

*Schwinn rolls into the shop*
Customer: "My pedal is loose"
*Shakes pedal, entire crankset moves indicating that bottom bracket needs replacement*
Mechanic: "No, it's not a pedal issue. You need a new bottom bracket which costs around X"
C: "WHAT! That is how much I paid for the bike!"
M: "Sorry but that is what they cost."

*Back and forth arguing continues*

Now I have one customer that indeed rides a schwinn as her commuter. I will heckle her about it to this day but she spends money to make it rideable. I have no issue with customers/ bikes like this. The thing is that your bike sadly does categorize you pretty quickly. I am not saying that it is right for us to do that but we do become biased after having 9/10 schwinn (Or Huffy, or Mongoose) bikes where we get arguments over a price on labor greater than 10$.

And in the end we are all sales(wo)men. We need to make the money one way or another. Perhaps the guy that was trying to sell you a Linue noticed your bike was a frame size too big/small. Ask him for clarification, most of us mean well some of us just don't really know how to express it unless we can use a 5mm allen wrench.

I don't think her bike is a Walmart bike - from the looks of it, definitely a clear step or two up from that.

LC - maybe the guy at your LBS truly thought a different bike would fit you better. In my experience, once I have been to a shop enough times that they know me and know what kind of riding I do, know that I mostly do my own work on my bikes, then they simply help me with what I need and maybe chat for a bit about whatever and then I'm on my way.

It is a little strange, Literary, if they guy called you in just to pitch a completely unsolicited sale. If you'd expressed some concern about your setup when you dropped the bike off, or maybe while on the phone when he called to say it would be delayed, then I could understand him using the opportunity to show off the Linus stuff, but otherwise, it's kinda weird.

That shop, SIC Transit, is pretty new to 'new product' sales, having started as a used sales & reconditioning shop, so maybe they're really trying to secure their position as a full-service bike shop and driving the sales hard. I don't know, but it's a pretty neat shop, though hard on the hipster/alt culture tip. It's definitely better than those big brand, corporate sell-out bike shops that just pimp company brand products.

So yes, I understand your dream to realize a great bike shop, because in this day and age, the indie bike shop is virtually disappeared, and the ones that do exist have to cater to such a narrow segment that it influences selection in almost the same way an actual brand does. The costs of doing business today, the price depressing effect of internet sales...it's just very hard to to do it right, now.

The older heads might remember Cycle Cellar here in Ann Arbor; that was a great shop for a long time. That's the kind of place I miss and crave. Velocipede Peddler in East Lansing was awesome in the late 80s and early '90s, too.

And many owners of "Walmart Bikes" do not have horrible experiences.
Sounds snobbish to me.

I assume that (s)he's discussing it from a service-the-vechicle standpoint.

Uhhh, my bike began life as a Wal Mart bike. Granted the only thing still factory on her is the frame, forks, and handlebars... yet, thats where she began life. And I did a century on her. Granted with a buttload of modifications at my LBS..which brings me to my point

There's a shop in my town which will remain nameless, that has sat downtown since I'm pretty sure before Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. It's "A Greenville Institution" and apparently if you don't get your stuff there, you're a terrorist.

Ok, I hate that shop. With a complete passion, hate it. And I'm a pacifist so for me to hate anything is a feat. They are the most condescending and snooty jerks I have ever seen run a bike shop. Unless you're in their cute little EC Velo club, you're a second class citizen who doesn't deserve eye contact. On top of this, these guys are worse shysters than personal injury lawyers and car mechanics combined. I have literally seen them charge $45/hr labor to merely take a look at a bike, come back and say there's nothing wrong with it, charge for the entire three hours it was in the shop waiting to be worked on, and then when the people come back with the identical issue? Double the parts charge to do the actual repair they could have done the first time. I hate this shop and if it ever burned down, I would happily be there making s'mores and singing Camptown Races.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town.....

Babits Bikes (yeah im giving them a plug) is owned by this one guy who literally just digs on some bikes. Sells normal equipment at barely above cost. Will do repairs at minimal labor, stays often till after 11pm to get bikes out when promised, and is hands down one of the nicest people you've ever met... because he likes seeing new bike riders. They have one employee (who is smoking hot) and she is equally as friendly and nice. Both of them will flat out tell you they operate the way they do because the other shop is such a grease fire, and they know how to treat people and not be greedy.

And they have never once frowned on my bike because of her origin, and actually looked at the "tricking out" process as a neat project.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
There is always another game in town. If you're less than thrilled... take your business elsewhere. As the cliche goes, if you dont make the customer happy, someone else will.

+1 ... vote with your wallet.

but, to be fair, a LBS is not required to be nice to all customers, nor cater to low-margin customers. in a capitalist society, an LBS does exist solely to make a profit and not to provide a community service.

so, i am glad that you did vote with your wallet and hopefully they'll feel the pain

Ahh yes, but what a magnificent business model to do both!

Knowing how many people in our town are disgruntled with the other nameless shop... and catering to them? They're new, but over time... it's a killer model!

Doesn't hurt the girl who works there is reeeeeally hot.

Wow, just Wow. I always forget that in BF people find a way to take offense when they want to take offense.

What's interesting is that it's not possible to do both and the second shop (everyone not upscale) probably couldn't exist without the first (upscale only). also, it's much easier to open an upscale only bikeshop first because you only need a smaller number of customers because they'll drop big bucks (i.e. your repair is a distraction at best).

Situations like this are why my parents needed to get off my back for flunking Macroeconomics my freshman year in college. ​This stuff is hard, okay?!?!?

Compare that to the EU where everything is regulated ... number of bike shops per area ... all shops must have one meister (master) and a certain number of apprentices to maintain ability to stay open ... wages are regulated, etc...

Where I was before it was a flat fee of €45/hr labor and I booked online, dropped it off (next to a subway stop) and picked it up at the end of the day. Service was perfect (to German standard) and fast (as long as there was a slot open) but not cheap. Master mechanics made a reasonable wage as well ... about the German average (although Frankfurt is somewhat expensive to live).

To paraphrase Johnny Cochran: "If the bike doesn't fit, you must acquit."

Pictures?