Tales from the LBS.... When the day starts like this you KNOW your in trouble..

[Triskeliongirl]

I think the problem with refusing to work on department store bikes is the customers never get educated. For example, my hairdresser just thought their refusal to service his bike was 'snotty' and 'elitist'. I tried to explain to him that it was not cost ineffecient to repair them, so the shop just didn't want to deal with it, plus there were safety/liability concerns if the bikes failed once they left the shop. But, I still think that if instead of saying no, you explain very clearly to the customer what it would cost to repair, and why it still might not perform as expected, you end up with more new customers than by being rude or posting a sign on the door 'no department store bikes.'

But there is something about the tone of this thread I don't like that does smack of elitism. So what if the customer doesn't know its called a seatpost, or can't understand the technical problem with his wheels? That doesn't make him a caveman. It just makes him a customer who happens to not be as knowledgable about bikes as we all are.

I really don't think the way the OP was treated was about sexism. I think she was just talking to him at a level he couldn't understand, whereas the shop employee, who happened to be a man, was able to explain it to him at a level he could understand. But, I could be wrong, I wasn't there, so its just a thought.