Crabby Deb

Here we go....my pet peeve. I need to know: is this a female problem, unlucky problem or a butthead LBS problem?

I LOVE my LBS. Husband and wife own it, she's on a big manufacturer mountain bike team and he's very active on the local level. Every time I or one of my female friends go in, we get spoken to nicely and treated as though we know our ***** from a hole in the ground. I (and most all of the other biker chicks) drive over an hour to get there and pass up 3 shops.

This has happened before, and happened again today--------I was a victim of Bevis and Butthead. I was out of town and saw an LBS. I went in looking for new gloves. I was in a business suit and obviously have biker legs (requisit scars and calfs). First, all of the boys wait in the back of the shop talking waiting for me to leave, talking about their weekend, etc. Finally, one of the boys came and asked me what I "wanted". When I told him, he pointed out the guys gloves. COME ON! I'm 5"2" 130. My hands don't look like Mickey Mouse's! After BSing me for a minute, he said "That's all we got" and scuzzied back to his buddies. Guess what? No sale.

My question is: is this a pervasive problem, is it a female problem or (worse) am I just unlucky?

This is better than asking the Magic 8-Ball!!!

NealH

I think many bike shops employ seasonal people which, often means school kids on break. The economy is great and, hiring good competent people for what the shops can pay is difficult. Bike shops are mostly anything but a high profit business. Anyway, I've seen this behavior around a couple shops near me but, the owners are sincere and dedicated so, I don't let it bother me. Just give it a couple days or so, then go back and purposefully seek out the owner or other employee (if there are any). Once I find someone I like, I usually go to great pains to stick with this particular salesman or employee.

atomship47

i think it has something to do with your name. just shorten it to "deb."




j/k.

deskjockey

How annoying. Sounds like some shops around here and how they treat guys too. Lame. You should call the owner and voice your complaint/concern. If you don't say anything, the terrorists win.

JBS103

For a store owner, good help is hard to find. And when they find it, it's expensive.

Sometimes you find a knowledgeable employee, other times you get people who don't know what they are doing I guess.

Sprocket Man

I don't think it's a female problem. I don't think it's an experienced cyclist vs. newbie cyclist problem. It's a problem with the store hiring idiots who don't care about helping people.

Write a letter to the store owner. It may help, who knows?

Crabby Deb

<SNORK>

Atom, don't make me pinch you.

Glad to hear it's not a girl problem. Equal opportunity *******s are much easier to tolerate.

orcanova

I've felt dissed in a LBS too. I understand the nuances of what was said and HOW it was said, that doesn't translate well in a BF rant, just wondering what part of this story is specifically related to women...?

Crabby Deb

30% of road cyclists are female. This makes us out of the norm. I guess if I was black, deaf, blind or any other minority, I'd wonder about that too.

If I was a guy, I'd wonder if it was because I was short, redheaded or freckled. It related to women as we are treated differently by Bevis and Buttheads on many occasions. It appears this isn't one.

Nachoman

You mean they treat me like crap because I have freckles?

cparekh

This is a bike shop problem. I am not saying there are not bike shops that are great all the time, and I am not saying that some bike shops are not great some of the time, but in general, I feel that bike shops treat customers far worse than any other type of retail experience I have ever had. As an economist, I theorize that this is about information-they have it, and we don't. Still, it is frustrating that many bike shops let you stand in the store and never bother to address you.

When I worked retail, we were instructed to greet every customer. If they customer didn't want help, so be it, but anyone who wanted help got help right away. If we were already helping someone, we acknowledged them and let them know that we will help them as soon as possible. Beyond that, the first rule of retail is to sell the customer what they need. Otherwise the item comes back, and the customer doesn't. Bike shops seem to ignore all of these rules. Male or female.

orcanova

I doubt it is a woman thing, but you probably got dissed nonetheless...

I started a similar LBS rant thread and a lot of people thought I was just overreacting, so I think these kinds of things don't translate well in words...you just had to be there...

dogpound

I know what you're talking about.
I've been ignored and passed over for men in the store.
When that happens, I dont go back. I tell my female riding buddies, of which there are a lot, and they dont go either.

scotch

doesn't sound like a problem just for women. they would've been rude to anyone who had just interrupted their joint smoking session.

Kris Flatlander

Just a little heads up from a guy who works at an LBS. Finding one employee is great but don't shun those of us you haven't met because you found one who you like. I've had a few customers who come into the shop 3 times in the same week looking for the one part time guy who holds down another full time job and is rarely in because he's "their guy". That's great but don't hate me for being different than him! Usually having one or two nice LBS employees breeds many.

mezza

Oh jeeez. Do I have to be the one to say it??

Dopey guys + Hot bike girl = Confusion + Intimidation = Rudeness.

Its a simple formula that doesn't only apply to bike shops.

I've said it, I feel better.

You said it yourself, you have great legs. You were wearing a suit. I bet you looked damn hot. Thank goodness he was intimidated cos another bloke might have licked your ankle. I would have.

Looneytuna

It is not just a woman thing... but those idiots in that shop definitely dissed you.

Many LBS's help are wanna be racers or X-racers and think their S**T doesn't stink...
I have a great relationship with my LBS and am treated well, respected and questions always answered.. (could be because I spend a heck of lot of cash there). When traveling, I vist other LBS's in the USA and in Europe, I am treated like I don't know which end of the bike is the front.... I don't get offended any longer from a cycling shop or any other type of shop that has poor customer service... I just won't spend any money in them..

BTW, it happened to me not only in LBS's, but in car dealerships, clothing stores, etc.. I guess I should wear a cycling kit when visiting a new LBS, borrow a friends Porsche when going to a car dealership, and dress in high end name brand clothes when going to buy clothes.... Maybe then I will get the time of day from the sales staff....

Remember the "pretty woman" scene... I did that with a Porsche saleman 25 years ago. he wouldn't work with me.. so I went to another dealer in the same ripped jeans and tee, bought a car, and drove back to the other dealer to say hi to the idiot that lost the sale...

orcanova

You go, Girl!!!

kleng

We don't seem to have this problem down here, a lot of shops have sections reserved for women specific items from frames to clothing, some even employ women as they realise women bikers are growing part of the market.

yonderboy

Bob, tell him what he's won! .... A NEW CAR!!!

Yeah, it's a problem no matter your shop, gender, or country.

Attitude is 95% of going into a shop. If they're being lame and not helping me, I'll either walk out, or come up with something crazy to ask for. "Pardon me sir, but your quandry vexes me."

DinoShepherd

In this case, it doesn't really matter if the salesguy was Zig Ziggler himself, the shop didn't stock what you wanted. Or ordered them for you, which most customers aren't interested in.

Sorry, it sounds like you just didn't fit their business model. Maybe its a good model, maybe its a bad model. We really can't say right now.

Looking at it from a strictly objective business standpoint, I can't say whether I disagree. Its expensive and a hassle to stock gear for a small segment of the cycling population. Some shops make that choice, others don't.

Its not a personal slight on you. It just is.

-Z

DinoShepherd

Not saying that this is neccessarily the case here, but good sales people have an excellent sense of value.

Its the nature of the beast in sales. You need to quickly sort the wheat from the chaf, to spend time (a salespersons only asset) on the highest value customers.

Looks and impressions can be deceiving. But not usually.

For every person that comes in looking like they just came from behind the counter in Jack in the Box that actually buys a high dollar product. There are 1000 that want to come in and waste their time. The behavior is perfectly logical.

Porsche's were pretty hot in 1982. A seller's market for sure. I am sure he didn't loose any sleep over the 924 you purschased elsewhere.

-Z

orcanova

Who the fark is Zig Ziggler? And what kind of good sales people are selling bicycles (other than the ones that love cycling)? The primal and avaricious ones are selling real estate and Ferarris. The ones in bike shops are either people who are into it, or kids. Seriously, there is very little middle ground. The good thing is that there are plenty people who are into it, and great to work with.

Anyway, a shop that doesn't have women's gear is not a complete shop. But that wasn't her point. Her point was that she got dissed...

She did feel it was sexist, but she was the one there, not us...

In general, I think people drule over women cyclists, so Crabby Deb doesn't need to look far for the right attention...IMO

halfspeed

As an economist I'm sure you're familiar with Steven Levitt's popular musings about the role of information disparity in determining business models and how the internet is upsetting them. I think this has a lot to do with the angst over the internet/LBS wars that play themselves out on this forum.

orcanova

Ummm...say that a little more slowly, please...?