LBS woes

[ridenread]

My LBS unfortunatley closed this winter so I have been searching for another shop. I had a great little shop where I was treated like a cyclist and not a middle age lady with a new little hobby. There are not many too pick from in this part of the world.

My husband had a great experience at a new shop. He just started riding, is about 80 pounds overweight and hasn't been on a bike in about 17 years. He had great customer service was treated well and respectfully. He was asked what kind of riding he was doing and they spent time with him finding shoes and pedals, made suggestions for bike upgrades etc.

He was so impressed he bought me a gift card for my birthday so I could go get some new shoes.

So we went yesterday. After about 20 minutes waiting for someone to assist me in the shoe department, I heard someone ask my husband, who was looking at socks, if he needed help. He replied I don't but my wife has been patiently waiting for assistance with shoes.

So this young guy comes over to me and says "Hi so I assume your are looking for some inexpensive spinning shoes." Now I am not at all a violent person and have never hit anyone in my life but I just wanted to deck the guy."

No, I am actually training for another century and want to upgrade my shoes and pedals. I have big feet a 10 or 10.5. I told him I have big feet and may need to see some men's shoes. No No he told me there is really not that much difference between them, the mens are just wider. Yes I know and I just told you I have large wide feet. So he preceeded to bring out every womens shoe he could find in a 10. Any guesses as to whether or not they fit?

So I still have a gift card to a shop I do not want to see again.

[artifactos]

I'd reccommend speaking to the owner about the way you were treated by that particular employee. There's a good chance he's the only mysogynist they have working there, and that he will get reamed for treating you the way he did.

My LBS has a woman working there who really doesn't know much, and is kind of a sarcastic meanypants sometimes. I never get the right answer from her, and she can usually rub me the wrong way (and I find she does that with a lot of people), so I just deal directly with the owner. It helps that he has become a friend and I have his cell phone number to find out if he'll be in the shop on a particular day.

[sundial]

So I still have a gift card to a shop I do not want to see again.

Remind your husband that *he* needs a new pair of shoes in a size 43 and send him in.

[Thorn]

I feel for you. Really I do. Around me there was a lovely bike shop, but they really catered to the hybrid crowd although they carried low-end road bikes. When I outgrew them I was at a loss. Given my proportions I knew my upgrade bike needed to be custom. That meant one shop in town.

I went in on a weekday so that I knew they wouldn't be busy. There were 4 sales guys sitting behind the counter.

Me: "I'd like to talk to someone about a custom Seven."
Sales Guy: "Why a Seven?"
Me: "Because I'm looking for a high-end bike and I don't have standard proportions. Long legs, short arms, too big for WSD." (while thinking...Dude, can't you see that 36" inseam and these stumpy arms?)
Sales Guy: "Have you looked at the Trek Pilot? It comes in pink."
Me: (swallowing explicatives..I've got a bike with 105) I'm looking for better componentry than that. (also thinking...Pink?!?!? Do I look even the least bit like a Pink?!?!?)

I walked out shortly there after totally depressed. That was the best option and they treated me like a little girl. I wrote a letter to the owner and was told in summary, "My sales guys are wonderful. Perhaps you should have considered that Trek Pilot." While the letter writing was cathartic, the result was less than. Still, do it. It does you good.

Long story short, I eventually found a good shop a little out of the way that sold custom steel. Two bikes later, we're now building DH's bike. Best part? All the quote and build questions are sent to me, not DH because they know I'm the techie cyclist in the family.

Hang in there. You'll find a shop. It may be a little farther, but it is out there.

[PinkBike]

i nearly spewed my starbucks-iced-venti-decaf-skinny-caramel-latte all over my monitor when i read the owner's response!! unbelievable.

[Jiffer]

Oo that got my blood boiling when he assumed you were looking for a pair of spinning shoes!

I can relate to your big feet problems, but in a different way. I also have size 10 feet, but mine are very narrow and I ALWAYS have trouble shoe shopping, especially for a sport where you need "snug" shoes. Went through this with snowboarding boots and should have known better when shopping for my first pair of cycling shoes. I actually started with men's shoes (can't remember the brand), then switched to Sidi's, but still men's because for some reason my husband was convinced I was the same length shoe he was and they didn't make that length in women's. So I got the men's in narrow.

I eventually figured out I am a shorter length than he thought and Sidi does make that length in women's. My feet are so much happier now that I have the right fit. YAY!!!

So, I'm sure you are right that you would fit well into men's shoes. Like one of the other posts, I also wonder if your bad experience at this shop might be limited to this one dorky guy. You might want to go in again and see if someone else will give you better service, and if you feel you aren't being treated well again, speak up. Ask to speak to the manager or owner.

When my husband got into cycling, a few years before me, he went to our closest LBS several times until he got tired of feeling like they were "all that" and he was "not". He felt like he had to be a racer for them to take him seriously. Sad for them, because he ended up finding another shop where we have both developed great relationships with the owner and employees and have spent a ridiculous amount of money there. I call the owner the pizza delivery boy, only he delivers bikes and bike parts instead of pizzas.

Anyway, like I said, you might want to try the shop again, since you don't have any other options in your area. See if another sales person will treat you better and complain if they don't.

[sundial]

Me: "I'd like to talk to someone about a custom Seven."
Sales Guy: "Why a Seven?"

Are they still in business?? They could have made more $$$ on a sale of a Seven than the Pilot.

[Thorn]

Are they still in business?? They could have made more $$$ on a sale of a Seven than the Pilot.

Yep. They are a local chain. While the only Seven dealer in the area, they are really just a huge Trek dealer. They make up for lack service and repair by just the volume of bikes they sell. Around here, road riders are either mechanically astute enough not to buy from them or committed to the percieved deals and buy new every couple of years.

But, turning away a Seven deal is proabably the reason I didn't say anything to the sales guy--I was in such a state of shock. At the time the Pilot was about 1/4 to 1/5 of what I had committed to spend. I never had a store that was empty of customers turn away a sale.

[Kubla]

My LBS unfortunately closed this winter so I have been searching for another shop. I had a great little shop where I was treated like a cyclist and not a middle age lady with a new little hobby. There are not many too pick from in this part of the world...

Ridenread, we are in the same geographical area. I have to wonder if we visited the same LBS recently. (Though in my case it was a well-known, established shop.)

I ventured out of my comfort zone (i.e. an unfamiliar city) 2 weeks ago to test ride two Masi bikes that were not available nearby. While far from an expert in the world of cycling, I had done some homework and knew what type of bike I wanted.

I had my older helmet with me that day, and immediately was met with "Ma'am, you need a new helmet!" (I don't particularly care to be called "Ma'am"-especially when it's followed by a condescending tone-so they were starting off on the wrong foot...)

Before I had ridden Bike #1 10 yards, the chain fell off. I walked it back to the sales person, who asked, "What did you do-shift it or something?" (Well yes, why test ride a bike in just one gear?) Then he shrugged and informed me that I wouldn't be needing the larger front ring most of the time, anyway. (What!?)

Bike #2's ride went more smoothly. I actually liked it, but could not get past my first (red flag) impression of the shop. I'd read some mixed reviews before I had made the trip. As much as I liked the second bike, I decided against it and went back to a shop where I'd bought my hybrid last year. The contrast in between these two shops was like night and day.

I've been to a number of LBS's in this area-both good and awful. Please feel free to PM me if you need a recommendation.

[ridenread]

I will give them another try and hopefully will have a better experience with a different person. I do have the gift card and need to use it, so will end up going back and trying to find a pair of shoes to fit my big feet.

Kubla, the shop I went to is actually in RI.

I also detest being called Ma'am. I know, as has been discussed here before, in many regions it is a sign of respect, but it always sounds condescending to me.