Customer Service

[Geonz]

LIstening is the thing for me... it's gotta be a challenge, though. When does a customer want to be led and told, and when does s/he want to be listened to?
I love having a relationship with my bike shop. If I buy three tubes in a week - "hey, isn't that too many flats? Let's look at the tire." When I decided to do the RAIN ride and of course everybody was telling me "it's 160 miles, be sure to take it easy at first!" ... except Fritz, who said "you've been riding your clunkers all year at 14. Take it out at 17 and go for it!" ... and he was right.
So the secret is to be wise and all-knowing and perfect, to have everything for the newbie... oh, but also the high end stuff... to have all that commuter stuff... and the racing stuff too. That's all

Around here practical cycling is picking up some significant momentum - don't know if that's a trend or not.

We've got another shop in town that is supportive of cycling ... and it's fine, if you aren't going to ride a lot and only need basic repairs, and if fit isn't all that important... the owner means well but they just don't really know bikes as well. They probably know more about the other stuff they carry (fitness stuff). The staff may be "nicer." As in, they're better salespeople... more social skills than your bike geeks tend to have