LBS...wah....

[elk]

I took my bike in to get some help switching out my handlebars...(another thread)...I can't put any more spacers on, so I opted to get some neato nittos from Rivendell (Albatross)...swept back, upright posture bars. I want to sit more upright. And my cables aren't long enough. And I don't feel ready to do that job myself.

Anyway.....I called the closest BS...been around since the 30's and I've never seen any other customers in there, so I figured I could maybe get it back sooner. They are not as hip as other other LBS in PDX for sure. The guy who owns it is an old racer.

I called yesterday and talked to the mechanic ( he was pleasant). when I brought it in, the owner was a little gruff and was giving me a hard time about wanting it back ASAP...which I was NOT demanding about...I just said I would miss my bike...which I do.
"What do you think every one ahead of you wants?" he says.
"They want their bikes back ASAP of course," I says. "They miss them when they're gone."

I left it and can get it back at 3. But I am not happy....I'm hoping that the job they do is not necessarily proportionate to how nice they are....if they've been around since 1938...they have to do something right!!!

But I just feel dissed. I will not go back there. I could easily "have a talk" with him, but don't want to. I just want my bike to be ok....

[mimitabby]

everyone does NOT want their bike ASAP. I dropped off a bike right before i went out of the country for two weeks.
Some of us can't GET to the bike shop until the next weekend. what a loser!

[elk]

now I know why no one is ever in there! But how do they stay in buisness?

Anyone else in Portland know what I'm talking about?

[Running Mommy]

Ok, so here is my beef with the BS industry as a whole...

At Interbike I sat through a seminar on the state of the Industry- Independant retailers were the target audience. To say the trend is flat would be an understatement. Actually it's trending down.

In order to reverse the downward spiral the mindset has GOT to change.
The speaker had some great idea's, and was IMPLORING everyone in the room to change tactics and step up to the plate.
He spoke about how unfriendly bike shops can be, from an asthetic point of view, to the attitude of the staff.
He made a point of saying that the bike shops are targeting the wrong customer. They need to be targeting women, and the casual cyclist. As THEY are going to be the consumer who will keep you in business. He stated the % of spending decisions that are made by women. I think it was like 80%. Thats HUGE.
He also talked about how intimidating it can be for a casual or newbie cyclist to walk through the door and see all the metal, and fancy looking parts that they have no idea what they are looking at.
Merchandising needs to be softened up, Instead of looking like a dark machine shop it needs to be pleasing to the eye. Think about when you walk into a shop that is well merchandized. Your drawn to the racks to see what they have because the store is so nice. It's a subconsious thing I think, but it's true. If the store is pleasing to the eye you will spend more time browsing.
AND the staff (owners on down) need to learn some people skills at the very least. Snippy replies, sarcasm, and an elitist attitude are NOT skills that one needs to work in a bike shop. I just don't understand how bike shops have gotten away from giving good service?? It amazes me sometimes that they even stay in business with some of the things I've seen/heard!

Sure it's also important to be able to satisfy the hardcore dude. But they are more prone to already know exactly what they want when they walk through the door, AND they just want to know a few key things- can you get the part/bike/wheel/ etc, How much will it cost me, how long will it take.
Answer those key ?'s to their satisfaction and you have the sale.

Sooo as I step off my soap box, I am pledging that Estrella Mountain Cyclery will be a pleasing place to shop, have a good selection, and most importantly will treat EVERYONE who walks through the door with the utmost respect.
I demand that our shop be the friendliest bike shop in town!

[Duck on Wheels]

Ok, so here is my beef with the BS industry as a whole...

At Interbike I sat through a seminar on the state of the Industry- Independant retailers were the target audience. To say the trend is flat would be an understatement. Actually it's trending down.

In order to reverse the downward spiral the mindset has GOT to change.
The speaker had some great idea's, and was IMPLORING everyone in the room to change tactics and step up to the plate.
He spoke about how unfriendly bike shops can be, from an asthetic point of view, to the attitude of the staff.
He made a point of saying that the bike shops are targeting the wrong customer. They need to be targeting women, and the casual cyclist. As THEY are going to be the consumer who will keep you in business. He stated the % of spending decisions that are made by women. I think it was like 80%. Thats HUGE.
He also talked about how intimidating it can be for a casual or newbie cyclist to walk through the door and see all the metal, and fancy looking parts that they have no idea what they are looking at.
Merchandising needs to be softened up, Instead of looking like a dark machine shop it needs to be pleasing to the eye. Think about when you walk into a shop that is well merchandized. Your drawn to the racks to see what they have because the store is so nice. It's a subconsious thing I think, but it's true. If the store is pleasing to the eye you will spend more time browsing.
AND the staff (owners on down) need to learn some people skills at the very least. Snippy replies, sarcasm, and an elitist attitude are NOT skills that one needs to work in a bike shop. I just don't understand how bike shops have gotten away from giving good service?? It amazes me sometimes that they even stay in business with some of the things I've seen/heard!

Sure it's also important to be able to satisfy the hardcore dude. But they are more prone to already know exactly what they want when they walk through the door, AND they just want to know a few key things- can you get the part/bike/wheel/ etc, How much will it cost me, how long will it take.
Answer those key ?'s to their satisfaction and you have the sale.

Sooo as I step off my soap box, I am pledging that Estrella Mountain Cyclery will be a pleasing place to shop, have a good selection, and most importantly will treat EVERYONE who walks through the door with the utmost respect.
I demand that our shop be the friendliest bike shop in town!

Dang! Now we all have to move to Arizona???

[SalsaMTB]

Ok, so here is my beef with the BS industry as a whole...

At Interbike I sat through a seminar on the state of the Industry- Independant retailers were the target audience. To say the trend is flat would be an understatement. Actually it's trending down.

In order to reverse the downward spiral the mindset has GOT to change.
The speaker had some great idea's, and was IMPLORING everyone in the room to change tactics and step up to the plate.
He spoke about how unfriendly bike shops can be, from an asthetic point of view, to the attitude of the staff.
He made a point of saying that the bike shops are targeting the wrong customer. They need to be targeting women, and the casual cyclist. As THEY are going to be the consumer who will keep you in business. He stated the % of spending decisions that are made by women. I think it was like 80%. Thats HUGE.
He also talked about how intimidating it can be for a casual or newbie cyclist to walk through the door and see all the metal, and fancy looking parts that they have no idea what they are looking at.
Merchandising needs to be softened up, Instead of looking like a dark machine shop it needs to be pleasing to the eye. Think about when you walk into a shop that is well merchandized. Your drawn to the racks to see what they have because the store is so nice. It's a subconsious thing I think, but it's true. If the store is pleasing to the eye you will spend more time browsing.
AND the staff (owners on down) need to learn some people skills at the very least. Snippy replies, sarcasm, and an elitist attitude are NOT skills that one needs to work in a bike shop. I just don't understand how bike shops have gotten away from giving good service?? It amazes me sometimes that they even stay in business with some of the things I've seen/heard!

Sure it's also important to be able to satisfy the hardcore dude. But they are more prone to already know exactly what they want when they walk through the door, AND they just want to know a few key things- can you get the part/bike/wheel/ etc, How much will it cost me, how long will it take.
Answer those key ?'s to their satisfaction and you have the sale.

Sooo as I step off my soap box, I am pledging that Estrella Mountain Cyclery will be a pleasing place to shop, have a good selection, and most importantly will treat EVERYONE who walks through the door with the utmost respect.
I demand that our shop be the friendliest bike shop in town!

Hey, Dh and I attended the same seminar! We just opened our shop 1.5 years ago and the seminar was definitely interesting. It helped to confirm we were doing some things right (focusing on the customer, tons of group rides, active in the community etc) but also helped us to see the trends and help us generate new ideas for the store.

I do think that the seminar would be most beneficial for the type of shop that OP attended. I recall before we opened our shop, we visited many of the locals together and I told them I was shopping for a bike. I think only 1 shop actually talked to me, not my dh. It was a HUGE eye opened for my dh. Hopefully other shops will be able to take something away from the seminar.

For the OP, just because the guy was a bit grumpy doesn't mean the quality of work will be poor. There's no excuse for him talking unprofessionally to you, but hopefully (for your sake) it's the quality of the service, not the personality that keeps the shop running!

[Sheesh]

The reason we continue to frequent our shop of choice, versus any of the other shops in town, is because of the service we receive from the moment walk in the door. We've waited for what seemed like forever before even being acknowledged in empty shops, and then just walked out the door because nobody even looked up. The minute we walked into our now-favorite store, the owner looked up, acknowledged us and asked if he could help us find anything. The rest of the people in the shop are not nearly as helpful, but the owner tries to get them to be that way.

When I went in with my husband to talk to the owner about getting a cross bike, he called me behind the counter to show me some catalogs and some stuff on his computer. He talked directly to me, asking me what I wanted, and pretty much ignored my husband. It was great!

For these reasons, I will continue to give my hard-earned money to this guy, rather than any other shop.

And, from an outsider's perspective, I think every bike shop needs a coffee stand included (or a bar). It gives the guys some other way of spending their money, and an excuse to hang out and chat. If you're going to hang out and chat anyway, you may as well give me some money for a cup of coffee or a beer.