what is the worst thing you've ever heard at a bike store?
08-02-10, 01:56 PM
#301
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The point was that selling a bike takes a long time (that seems to be a base assumption of this thread, and it in fact does). Buying one of the hundreds of other products available at a bike shop often takes little time.
Similarly, a couple in for a quick dinner doesn't take very long. A big party for dinner and drinks takes a long time.
Please don't misconstrue this by assuming that bike shops "sell bikes." They in fact sell more than just bikes.
Edit: Maybe I'm not getting what you mean. Maybe you mean that dinner right before close is obnoxious no matter what. Frankly I could care less. There are plenty of restaurants open until ridiculous hours that I never need to go in right before close...
Similarly, a couple in for a quick dinner doesn't take very long. A big party for dinner and drinks takes a long time.
Please don't misconstrue this by assuming that bike shops "sell bikes." They in fact sell more than just bikes.
Edit: Maybe I'm not getting what you mean. Maybe you mean that dinner right before close is obnoxious no matter what. Frankly I could care less. There are plenty of restaurants open until ridiculous hours that I never need to go in right before close...
2) How do you know the bike buyer is not coming in for a quick purchase of a bike? Perhaps they know the size and model already. You don't, just as a server has no idea if the two top or four top that comes in late is going to have a quick bite or a full relaxed three course meal and drinks.
08-02-10, 02:09 PM
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1) I never said anything about coming in close to close being "obnoxious."
2) How do you know the bike buyer is not coming in for a quick purchase of a bike? Perhaps they know the size and model already. You don't, just as a server has no idea if the two top or four top that comes in late is going to have a quick bite or a full relaxed three course meal and drinks.
2) How do you know the bike buyer is not coming in for a quick purchase of a bike? Perhaps they know the size and model already. You don't, just as a server has no idea if the two top or four top that comes in late is going to have a quick bite or a full relaxed three course meal and drinks.
I kinda doubt anyone is bothered by any purchase you make that's completed before closing...
08-02-10, 02:16 PM
#304
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Shouldn't the bike shop do the same then? It'll take about an hour to sell someone a bike, so make your closing time an hour earlier than the time you'd like to go home. When the average person who works in a non-retail or non-small business retail store position see's a closing time, they figure they're fine as long as they walk in before said time. If you promise your wife that you'll be home for dinner every day at 6:30 or that you'll pick up your kid at practice at 6:30, then you shouldn't make your closing time 6.
08-02-10, 02:24 PM
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08-02-10, 02:26 PM
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Okay back to the topic...the funniest thing I heard was 'All you have to do is tap the stem bolt a few times to release the stem wedge'. He proceeded to do this and broke both of the tangs from my carbon fiber fork making is a nice paper weight. Maybe this was the worst thing I heard from a bike shop.
08-02-10, 02:28 PM
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08-02-10, 02:28 PM
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My point about simply being courteous stands. I'm not saying I turn away sales that occur outside business hours when I can help it. But to punish a shop that isn't able to accommodate you on a whim because you were too lazy to call and let them know you were coming doesn't seem like a fair way to judge a shop. Unless, of course, this rare issue is your sole criteria for judging a shop....
- positive experience
- neutral experience
- negative experience
Not just 2 - positive and negative.
My point was - given that an LBS competes on the personal touch, they should also try to make sure most experiences are positive and in the case of a-holes or jerk, at least neutral. A professional shop makes sure that no experience is actually negative.
The staying open late is an example - if you dont stay open late, fine, no big deal. You dont make a sale, customer has a neutral experience and may or may not come back, etc. Your choice. If you DO stay open a little late - even for 15-20 min, after which you can suggest to the customer that they come back later - you are providing a positive experience and are more likely to win a customer. If you take off on the customer for being a jerk and inconsiderate (as some people have posted on this thread), you create a negative experience.
Now, no one is saying that you have to bend over backwards for the customer every time. However, going by some of the responses here, it seems that a lot of people expect the customer to behave on their terms. That's what I find very strange. Maybe it is just people talking in extremes. However, if an LBS can afford to turn away customers consistently, then they must have a great and flourishing business, and should stop complaining about internet pricing.
Note - "you" here is in the general sense, not specifically YOU
V.
Last edited by guadzilla; 08-02-10 at 02:34 PM.
08-02-10, 02:29 PM
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Back on topic again:
This wasn't really a bike shop episode, but this weekend at a local frankenbike, I put my brother in charge of my wares for a few minutes so I could get a look around. While I was gone, he sold my like-new carbon seatpost for $5.
He bought me a burrito later to make up for it.
This wasn't really a bike shop episode, but this weekend at a local frankenbike, I put my brother in charge of my wares for a few minutes so I could get a look around. While I was gone, he sold my like-new carbon seatpost for $5.
He bought me a burrito later to make up for it.
08-02-10, 02:31 PM
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Point well taken. (Sorry for another post, I'll slow down I promise.)
But I was *****ing and moaning because this was a legitimately enjoyable thread until it got hijacked.
I'll stop now though (for real, kinda got carried away). (btw, what does post-count have to do with anything?)
But I was *****ing and moaning because this was a legitimately enjoyable thread until it got hijacked.
I'll stop now though (for real, kinda got carried away). (btw, what does post-count have to do with anything?)
08-02-10, 02:37 PM
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I had a mechanic tell me that my wheels were untrueable and i needed new ones. Luckily the manager and head mechanic came back and fixed them for free on the spot. Took him 15mins but i spend a lot there. He also just saved me a couple houndred if not thousand dollars. Great man.
08-02-10, 02:39 PM
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Point well taken. (Sorry for another post, I'll slow down I promise.)
But I was *****ing and moaning because this was a legitimately enjoyable thread until it got hijacked.
I'll stop now though (for real, kinda got carried away). (btw, what does post-count have to do with anything?)
But I was *****ing and moaning because this was a legitimately enjoyable thread until it got hijacked.
I'll stop now though (for real, kinda got carried away). (btw, what does post-count have to do with anything?)
E-dick increases in length. So suddenly you are infallible.
08-02-10, 02:46 PM
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08-02-10, 03:37 PM
#318
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08-02-10, 11:15 PM
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Standing over the top tube. I'm sure there are times you could make it work, but it was very clearly not ideal and looked ridiculously big. Her saying she wouldn't feel safe stopping at a stop light should have been enough for him to stop pushing that bike on her.
08-02-10, 11:24 PM
#320
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Having recently been shopping (for no good reason, mind you) for a new road bike, I considered everything, including Sora if it came on the right frame. This bike shop, not knowing me from Adam, told me to try and stay away from Sora. Now what would have happened if this were the apex of my budget? He can no longer sell me a Sora-equipped bike with any sense of credibility. I swear, bricks and mortar bike shops in general (and in this town) don't put a whole lot of thought into hiring people who actually care about riding bikes. I understand he is wont to say this for the sake of salesmanship, but if the roles were reversed, budget would be the first thing I ask, then level of experience - pretty much any combination of trying to get to know the customer before disqualifying an entire segment of the floor.
08-02-10, 11:25 PM
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A guy walks into a bar, orders 12 shots and starts drinking them as fast as he can.
The bartender asks, "Dang, why are you drinking so fast?"
The guy says, "You would be drinking fast, too, if you had what I had."
The bartender asks, "What do you have?"
The guy says, "75 cents."
The bartender asks, "Dang, why are you drinking so fast?"
The guy says, "You would be drinking fast, too, if you had what I had."
The bartender asks, "What do you have?"
The guy says, "75 cents."
08-02-10, 11:35 PM
#322
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Why do you guys never mention the bike shop? I don't see what the big deal it to point out the idiot shops. Would this not be helpful for other reading this thread?
08-02-10, 11:40 PM
#323
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At least in this town, it is a general observation. I was in an entirely different store looking for Kool Stops and all they had was black. The lucky clerk who got my question (how do these differ from salmons and will they fit on my canti-equipped bike) gave me an answer that was 100% incorrect instead of asking someone else. This is common.
We could all go around saving the local cycling industry one shop at a time, but there's no point in saying something on here that any shop owner would consider libelous.
I mean this sincerely, I glean a ton of information from this forum, Commuting, and Mechanics.
We could all go around saving the local cycling industry one shop at a time, but there's no point in saying something on here that any shop owner would consider libelous.
I mean this sincerely, I glean a ton of information from this forum, Commuting, and Mechanics.
08-02-10, 11:42 PM
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Just about every shop has at least one idiot working for it.
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It's like riding a bicycle
08-03-10, 12:26 AM
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I rode a bike like that for a while; it was definitely not a good thing in the city specifically because stopping was a process of staying on the saddle (rather than risk a top-tube wedgie) with both feet out, waiting until it leaned enough for one foot to hit. Starting off resembled side-mounting a unicycle, though everything fit quite well as long as it was moving.