I live in a small town where biking is a pretty big deal. We are blessed with two good sized local bike shops and a few other small specialized ones. Of the two bigger ones, one is the largest and has been around for 30 years and prides itself on catering to the cycling enthusiasts (they carry the higher end stuff and also sponsor the local racing).

Just last week, Performance Bike opened a huge store in our town. The location they picked is less than a quarter mile from the big shop I mentioned above. When I test rode both the bikes I bought at the LBS, I test rode them in the parking lot of the building that now houses Performance Bike...that's how close it is. Plus, Performance is on the main road and the LBS is on a side street. There is a lot of local bike club email traffic about supporting both of the original LBS's instead of Performance.

DH and I both somewhat were welcoming Performance because we think it will do 2 things....1) it will force the local shops to get their prices more in line with what's out there (we expect it to be higher...but in some cases is astronomical) and 2) it will force both LBS's to focus a bit Personally, we would much rather give our $ to the local shops when we can, but we also don't plan on paying double for something unnecessarily, of course.

Ok...so last week Performance opened. Everyone is buzzing about it and 'Oh, the poor LBS's'... So coincidentally, on the day it opened, DH bought me a bike from Terry (online). We have no Terry dealers within 50 miles. I immedately contacted the bigger of the LBS's since I've done the most business with them (purchased 2 new bikes from them in less than 2 years plus countless parts and accessories). They told me that they would do it (hesitatingly), but that it would be a $150 assembly fee. When I gave the owner's name and number to the woman at Terry and she called them, they told her that they wouldn't do it. Frankly, I'm furious. Yes, I understand that they don't want to take responsibility/liability, but at the same time, you'd think that they'd be thinking about what this means in terms of their customer service and the competition. Am I wrong for being annoyed? It's not like I'm asking them to do anything illegal!

My company team for our local MS 150 was going to go to this particular shop for sponsorship this year, and now I'd rather not. I'm the person in charge of member relations and new recruits and frankly, I no longer want to send my new recruits to that particular store to outfit their bikes. Am I being petty?

I guess the reason I'm annoyed is that the other LBS (which is actually a small chain of 2 stores...one here and one about 45 miles away) agreed to take delivery of the Terry and assemble for me. I would rather send our team members to them (they've always been really nice and helpful, too...they just don't carry the bike brands I like).

OK, I'm sorry this got so long. I guess now that I see this all out, I really see that I obviously shouldn't take it personally. I'm a big stickler for customer service (after spending most of my life in the service industry in one form or another), so this gets to me. Anyway, I guess I just needed to vent. Tell me to go away and I will.