I tell ya'll what. I appreciate the folks here that get it but basically in my search for help and I suppose understanding, this forum has been in general a very negative experience. I wish ya'll well.

Welcome to the world of online forums. All of them.
Your OP was negative and you had no experience to back it up with.
Not sure what you expected.
The nonsensical waited 2 hours ‘mixup’ was just icing on the cake :thumb:

I encourage you to stick with cycling whether or not you enjoy the forum. It's a great pastime and getting along with others is not a requirement. You don't even have to wave!

Buy Park Tools Big Blue Book of Bike Repair, if you're trying to learn and if you have time and there is a co-op; you have a place to apply your skills, people willing to help and basically free tool usage. Not all shops are like that, they are probably more sale oriented... mainly new bikes and along with probably an elitist/pretentious mentality on bikes; push new parts. They probably wouldn't even take a trade in, bet.

Then you have shops that although they might be a dealer(most are); they are more shop focused. They might push parts, but it won't be always top of the line, they'll most likely have used parts. You can tell, if you can see customers bikes in repair stands and on hooks; if practically any bike is in there getting worked on from a Roadmaster, to some full carbon Scott, to some 60's stove pipe Columbia, you just might have found a more repair get'm-on-a-bike type shop. These people probably won't be as judging, expecting everybody who walks in, can drop 5k on a bike, they might offer you a better brake pad versus a whole new brake system.

There's a shop here that's almost like that. Walked in once and asked for a part and as soon as I said "beach cruiser;" it was nope; we can't order that. I bet if I said bmx bike; they'd have been right on it. Shops like that are about money and they'll turn away some small money and not bat an eye. A shop like that, I probably wouldn't even mention I turn my own wrenches. Honestly I only ever get a bike fixed at a shop when it's something I can't do or am too lazy to do it myself.

Is it any wonder that the majority of the population in the USA prefers to purchase their new bicycles from WAL-MART, TARGET, AMAZON, and Walmart/Target's & others' Ebay stores?

Sadly, too often, this type of helpful reception that R H CLARK has received here in this bikeforums thread is where things seem to be in certain bike shops.
R H Clark simply expressed the experience that RH CLARK had. Neither you or I were there.
I think that suggesting that RH is wrong or not truthful is extremely disrespectful.
Differences of opinion and personalities contribute greatly to an interesting world.

Perhaps, maybe those bike shops are taking the approach that the customer is wrong. It seems it might be the case. Obviously, there is no debate that RH Clark received what I would call poor customer service at the bike shop that he visited. There is absolutely nothing wrong with mentioning that you'd like to know what the most cost effective solution. Everybody wants to know this and usually does ask this before any other service provider/contractor/parts supplier/repair person begins any type of work. Why should his inquiry here be any different?
All I can say is vote with your pocketbook!
Poor customer service tends to come back to haunt businesses as those who feel they have not been treated well will tend to tell others of their "less-than-great" experience there. Now if the business had shown attentive friendly service with a smile and respect, perhaps that bike shop business would have him telling folks how wonderful they are. Sometimes, in business you must do just a little more for the customer, if you intend to thrive and be around a long time. Sometimes it is not only what gets ringed up at the register that matters, but the overall impression of that person who just walked out the door.

I'm well aware of the quality of posters online. You are a great example. How old are you, 25 or less would be my guess. Most folks get better sense after 25 but you may be a late bloomer. Do you work at a bike shop and try to milk every customer? Now that would really be icing on the cake.lol

I counted 2 hours because that's how long I was there.No interest in helping me before I left or after I came back. If I leave a car with a mechanic and he doesn't get it fixed for 3 days, I'll say it took 3 days regardless of how many hours he actually spent working on it. If I wait in line for 2 hours it matters not at all how long the actual transaction took. I was still there 2 hours with no help.

But obviously many others felt that the original and subsequent posts were both uninformed and entitled. Different views:beer:

This one is mild compared the Road forums. There some of those folks eat their young!

That’s it, the bike shop was rude! Not a open minded charmer such as yourself.

I’m 54 and I have never worked at a bike shop.
I also am unbiased and experienced enough to talk intelligently about bike shops.
That makes one of us.
You waited 2 hours before you got service at your LBS.
Still a really cool story bro :thumb:

That sums it all up in one sentence. And this works for any business, regardless of type. If nothing else never forget that. Without a doubt. In fact, I'm drafting not one but two letters right now in a complaints about service from local establishments. As someone who spent a great many years working and training other in the service industry, I'm all about letting the businesses know when they've done well and when they need improvement.

In both cases the employee refused to identify themselves after I asked. Always clear indication they've done something wrong. A poorly trained employee can destroy your business. No wonder a lot of bike shops are going out of business.

Two letters this week alone eh?
You must be a joy to take care of...

Buh-bye.

Part of the problem is people with money (read: A LOT of disposable income) who just want to ride their bikes and not worry about learning how to maintain or repair them take their bikes in and tell the mechanics, "Just give it whatever it needs." Of course they're going to take advantage of that and replace a lot of parts which don't need replacing. Once they get into that mindset, it's hard to get out of it when an average Joe comes in needing something fixed or adjusted on their bike, and of course they want to upsell as much as possible and suggest replacing things which are perfectly fine.

And a poor customer service experience will really hurt a business, because if someone has a great experience they might tell a few people, but if someone has a poor experience, they'll tell EVERYBODY.

If that fails, we could do another chain lube thread, or "Why are people so dangerous on bike paths?" thread...

Check your chain--leave it for anything like 10 years like you said, and you'll have to replace the entire drive train in order to save a few bucks now.

Outside of that, I don't see where you actually asked for help. Go to a different bike shop or learn how to do stuff yourself is about as helpful as it can get.

As for understanding:

There, there, you will be ok.

Better?

Ring bell vs, announce pass, protecting yourself from dogs, platform vs. clipless.

Or, if you really get bored, go into A&S and find a post containing a video of a car/bicycle collision, and explain at length how it was the cyclists' fault because they weren't riding safely enough.

Short answer: No.

Some people -- esp. business owners -- just don't get this. Then they wonder why their business fails.

Only the dishonest ones, which I'm met. However, if you find an honest dealer then that's the one to stick with. I did, and my mechanic wouldn't let me buy anything I didn't need. When I'd pick up a new part ready to get it for my bike, he'd tell me I didn't need that.

Rather, he'd repair what I already had and give me advice on how to maintain it for maximum life. The result was I was a loyal customer for over a decade and bought all my cycling apparel and two of my bikes from them within that time.More are than aren't. IME, I'd say 1 in 5 are honest sellers. If you find an honest one, consider yourself lucky.

The real challenge in A&S is finding a post that doesn't fit that description.

I have three shops all 45 minutes in different directions. All three of them are amazing. Even the snootier one is very helpful and has great mechanics. I shouldn't even call them snooty because they are not. They just sell high end bikes and accessories and you pay for their location as well. But the half dozen times I've been there to have a wheel worked on, get a new pair of bike shorts or just mull around the store drooling, they have bent over backwards. So... I have been in shops with rude employees that didn't seem to have the time of day for me, but I think that out of all my cycle shop experiences most have been pretty good

The owner of a LBS 12 miles from my house built me this. I rode it home from the shop. :D

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb32fa5a29.jpg

As someone who runs a small automotive shop, I can totally agree with this. There are some jobs which are going to take a lot of your time & effort and give you little profit. I hate to turn anyone away, or be rude and ignore them, so most of the time we just grin & bear it. On some occasions, the customer just has to be told that there's not much we can do for them.