LBS...wah....

[Tuckervill]

I had great hope for the new shop that opened up to the north of me. I heard they were backed financially by a Walton (Wal-Mart family), so that means they might have better longevity. The first time I walked in, all I could see was WSD everything--clothing, bikes, baby trailers, etc. The decor is somewhat funky with a couch and mountain biking videos playing on a screen (alarm bells about that-something incongruent between the front and back of the store). The owner (probably only 30-ish) was very friendly and helpful. Gave us his business card.

Unfortunately, all his employees are under 25 and male (I have 3 kids under 25 and male so I"m familiar with the breed). If any of them have been to bike mechanic school, I'd be surprised. They don't know what quill stems are. I've been in to the shop 3 or 4 times, including once to have my son's vintage John Deere checked over by a "pro" after we rebuilt it. I had been having trouble with the front brake, and they should have made an adjustment, but they didn't, and I had forgotten to point it out. They did true the wheels, though. They would have sold me forever on their wrenching if they had caught that front brake out of alignment. Then they mismeasured the seat post and ordered the wrong size, which I didn't know until I got home with it.

Not once in the times I've been in there since the first time has the owner been there. The age of the employees and owner is relevant to me because I'm into vintage bikes. They were not even BORN when our John Deere was made (and they don't know what a quill stem is!). The oldest bike shop around here, whom I thought I could count on for old parts, told me they got rid of all their boxes of old parts a couple of years ago. ("threw them all away"!) So, I need a good bike shop who is willing to build a relationship with me.

I know a bike shop can't be all things to all people, but I do have modern bikes, too. When I needed work on my Trek 1000, I had to repeat several times what kind of bike it was like they'd never heard of one, and they are a Trek dealer AND they have an IDENTICAL ONE IN THEIR FRONT WINDOW! (This was the young man behind the counter with the mechanics apron on, not the owner.)

I'm also disconcerted about the pro-woman/fitness/hybrid vibe at the front of the store and the pro-hucking vibe in the back, with the couple of young shop groupies hanging out on the couch and distracting the employees.

Anyhow, good customer service follows the same principles no matter what the industry. Greet the customer, be helpful, don't be afraid to say "I don't know, but I can find out!"

Karen

[Running Mommy]

Karen that's one thing that scares me about opening up our own shop. We DONT know all there is to know about bikes. Neither of us are vintage bike lovers, so we would have probably had that deer in the headlights look if you had brought it to us. BUT we are going to try our best to gain as much knowledge as possible in all things bike before the shop opens.
We are both going to school- yep bike school- tho I call it bike "camp" since we will be there for 2 weeks.
And one thing I've learned over the years is it's ok to say "I'm not sure, but I will find out"...

We do hope to hire a good wrench with oodles of experiece, but i hear they are hard to come by... sigh..

But yeah, we can't be all things to all people, so we are just going to do our best. When you think about it, there are so many facets to the industry. It would be hard to be a complete expert in all of them.

As for the women in the front, huckers in the back... Heck I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as overall the shop is inviting. We have a big BMX scene in our area, so I'm going to devote some square footage to them. At least your shop is trying to target women riders. Most don't even bother.
As a shop owner it's tough to strike a balance and keep everyone happy.