LBS Politics (LONG... sorry!)

My comments are going to be a bit more general. I work in a music store and we constantly have people coming in to have work done on guitars that they bought cheaper somewhere else. We charge them full price on labour and make decent money off it. When people bring in instruments that were bought at the shop they get a heavy discount on the labour and get priority on bench time. We do get annoyed at the customers who bring in guitars bought elsewhere and then expect free labour, as long as the stores are making money on the work and the customers are happy to pay it shouldn't usually be a problem. Shops should feel comfortable charging enough to make this worth their while too. A good service department can make decent money.

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Originally Posted by emily_in_nc

Not everyone can afford to buy everything brand new, be it bikes or parts, and I believe in recycling and reusing when possible as well. So, do LBSes understand this at all? Or can I assume the folks at this shop were cursing me behind my back? :(

Emily

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Emily-

I think it depends on which shop it was....My LBS would be cool with it. I also think purchasing a couple year old pretty expensive fork is *way* different from ordering a rear cluster for $5 less from performance and then expecting them to install it. Just my 2 cents.

Slightly OT - how did you guys learn so much about maintenance??

CA

a lot depends on the individuals. Bike shop folks can be opinionated :) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L1m1QIFTtg is a pretty amusing depiction of one of our local character who professes that he's "fired a few customers.")

Still, I see this going in one of two directions: if you don't bring this in there, you may start buying stuff for it online more... you could drift further from the shop and more to online... not good for their business.

I'm going to be arrested for metaphor abuse but:

YOu aren't married to the bike shop, but you feel you've 'cheated' on it. Welp, it doesn't have to be the end of the relationship ;) YOu just had needs that were met by somebody else for a little while... and they bore fruit... so you're asking the bike shop to help you take care of the 'baby' but ... you're payin' them to do it. It's not love, it's business. Kinda like if you got your hair done by another hairdresser - you can still go back to the original and patch things up?

I am really surprised by this thread. How can any shop complain when a customer brings them business? We are not talking about someone bringing in ebay parts and expecting free installation, we are talking about a customer making use of a shop's service department. My personal experience is that I have always been warmly receieved when I have done this (and I have done this with both frames and parts). In fact, the guys complimented me on the great deal I got on my last frame on ebay, and were more than pleased to transfer the parts from another frame, and at what I thought was a reasonable cost (I didn't dicker, let them name the price). And this is a shop I have never purchased a bike from. And I didn't get the sense they were cursing behind my back, in fact, they won't info. on the framebuilder that had done such a great job with the s/s couplers and paint that I brought it to first. Sure, I know the owner is hoping to sell me my next bike, but at the same time I also feel that he appreciates whatever business I do give him and his service dept. now.

I also thinks it helps when we bring them quality bikes and parts (even interesting ones they get to inspect, bike fridays, terrys, s/s cut bikes, etc.) and see we are genuine bike enthusiasts. Its the wally world bikes that many refuse to work on, rightly so in my opinion.

We've had a couple of people come in and ask us to install used parts. We don't mind that. We just do it and charge them appropriately. Lot's fo people swap around parts. It's no big deal.
I also don't mind wally world bikes. They are just another service item.

What would get to me is if someone came in with a brand new component in the box and said "yeah I got a steal on this at price point. Can you install it". Mostly because that person didn't even give us a chance. We would still do it, but we would charge them full pop on the install, and in the end it would probably wipe out (or put a big dent) in their "savings". Now if they had bought it from us we would have most likely installed it for free.

In the end the we are a "full service" shop, meaning we do just about everything. It's part of our business model, so we don't think twice about it.
But as a brick and mortar owner it's really hard to be constantly hearing about how cheap things can be picked up on the net. We work hard to keep our prices low, but we have overhead. And the thing with giving the lbs the business is that they will be there to install it for you. Those places on the net don't have mechanics on staff waiting for you to bring them your shiny steed.

While we're thinking about supporting businesses that provide value & which earn our support, let's remember Team Estrogen, right?

:)

Well, I would never expect to get a discount on installation of a part I bought elsewhere, but I won't feel bad about buying from Performance or other places on the Net. My husband isn't a certified mechanic, but close enough. He does all of our work. We bought our road bikes from a local shop that sells lots of high end stuff, along with Giants and other "cruiser" type bikes. They do a good job helping casual riders, but they mostly cater to racers and serious riders. The owner lives in our town, but this is his "branch" office. His other shop has been open for several years. The only time we had them do work on one of our bikes is when the brake on Steve's mountain bike broke last summer. We don't ride the mountain bikes that often and we bought them at another shop, before this one was open. We don't have the tools to work on hydraulic brakes. Once in awhile if we run out of something and need it "now," we will buy it at the shop, but that doesn't happen very often. Why should we pay full price on parts, when we are doing the work ourselves? When my son was racing and Steve was riding 4,000 miles a year, we spent thousands of dollars on-line for parts, etc. I shudder to think what it would have been at a local shop. The cost of the clothing is outrageous there! I buy only from Terry, because that is the only brand that consistently fits me in everything, and from TE once in awhile. Those prices aren't always cheap, but I am not going to pay 185.00 for a pair of shorts!
The owner is very nice to us, as we bought expensive bikes from him, after going in "just for a fit," on our Treks. He dissed the Treks quite a bit, but didn't hard sell us on his bikes. He also made a shim for my cleat when I went back and told him about the pain I was having (for free). So even though I wouldn't buy a part elsewhere and expect the labor for free (which is crazy), I feel like I can buy parts anywhere;I don't "owe" him because I bought my bike there.

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

I think it depends on which shop it was....My LBS would be cool with it. I also think purchasing a couple year old pretty expensive fork is *way* different from ordering a rear cluster for $5 less from performance and then expecting them to install it. Just my 2 cents.

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It was the Bicycle Chain on Hwy 70 in Raleigh. An easy drive from work during lunchtime, great parking, etc. The shops in Chapel Hill, which are closer to where I live, are more difficult to park at, and going there means I have to give up valuable weekend time. I'm relieved reading some of the newer posts that they probably weren't peeved at me under the circumstances!

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

Slightly OT - how did you guys learn so much about maintenance??

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I don't know much at all, but Barry is quite mechanical. And frugal. :D So he is able to fix a lot of stuff on our bikes that break, but we rarely have any serious problems. It's mostly installing new chains, tires, cogsets, pedals, saddles, lubing, etc. He has that huge bike mechanic book from Performance that has been very helpful with stuff over the years. He doesn't do builds from scratch or anything like that, though. When I bought a bare frame on ebay a few years ago, I took it to a bike shop and ordered the gruppo, handlebars, etc. from them, they installed all that (and made a LOT of money off me -- can you say Campy Chorus?! :cool:)

And Barry doesn't know about mountain bikes so when I need help with that, I take it to a shop. The shop I'd used when I first bought the bike and wanted some parts changed out, checked, etc., I gave up on this time, since they were too busy with custom bikes and servicing same to handle something as petty as a fork replacement. Kinda snobby... So, a mountain biking friend recommended the Bicycle Chain, and I am glad I tried them out -- I'll be back. But I will still shop at Performance for a lot of things (not things I expect the other shop to install!) because they're convenient (we can bike there) and cheaper.

Emily

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Originally Posted by Robyn Maislin

The owner is very nice to us, as we bought expensive bikes from him, after going in "just for a fit," on our Treks. He dissed the Treks quite a bit, but didn't hard sell us on his bikes. He also made a shim for my cleat when I went back and told him about the pain I was having (for free). So even though I wouldn't buy a part elsewhere and expect the labor for free (which is crazy), I feel like I can buy parts anywhere;I don't "owe" him because I bought my bike there.

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Thats one thing I would never do- dis another bike! All bikes have merit IMO.
The only thing I tell people is that the reason why we don't carry Trek or Specialized is because I don't want a bike company telling me what to carry- or more important- what NOT to carry. I would rather carry some smaller brands and have more variety.
I had someone that works in another shop come in and say that the reason the owner of his shop gives for only carrying one brand is that "if you give the customer too many choices it will only confuse them, and they won't buy.".... :confused::eek::rolleyes:
Ummm..... Ok... ????

That's exactly what the owner of our shop does; he carries small, often unheard of brands. No one else carries Kuotas, which we bought, and now I don't think he is, either! I saw a bunch of bikes with a name that begins with a "W," that I don't recognize when I was there last week.

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

I am really surprised by this thread. How can any shop complain when a customer brings them business? We are not talking about someone bringing in ebay parts and expecting free installation, we are talking about a customer making use of a shop's service department. My personal experience is that I have always been warmly receieved when I have done this (and I have done this with both frames and parts). In fact, the guys complimented me on the great deal I got on my last frame on ebay, and were more than pleased to transfer the parts from another frame, and at what I thought was a reasonable cost (I didn't dicker, let them name the price). And this is a shop I have never purchased a bike from. And I didn't get the sense they were cursing behind my back, in fact, they won't info. on the framebuilder that had done such a great job with the s/s couplers and paint that I brought it to first. Sure, I know the owner is hoping to sell me my next bike, but at the same time I also feel that he appreciates whatever business I do give him and his service dept. now.

I also thinks it helps when we bring them quality bikes and parts (even interesting ones they get to inspect, bike fridays, terrys, s/s cut bikes, etc.) and see we are genuine bike enthusiasts. Its the wally world bikes that many refuse to work on, rightly so in my opinion.

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This is exactly what I was going to say. I bought my MTB from my current favorite LBS, and have had them service my Glorius and my road bike. They fixed up my Craigslist pink mixte, and now they've turned my old MTB into an Xtracycle. I got handlebars and shifters from Rivendell, and paid them to install them. They like it that I'm a bike enthusiast, and I pay them for the work they do, and they don't seem to care that I got some parts elsewhere.