A Customer brought me FLOWERS!!!

[Running Mommy]

Wahine-
Phoenix- easy in and out- and today it was about 77 degrees!

[Mr. Bloom]

Not to hijack the thread, but isn't that a Dave Ramsey line?

Yep...

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/stupid...ContentID=4405

And just for the record: Dave Ramsey has a great perspective and learned the hard way...

I have one of those and I'd have to agree.

Jorn, my mechanic, told someone I know the other day what a great guy I am

Well, duh! I was 15% of his revenues last year!

[Wahine]

Jorn, my mechanic, told someone I know the other day what a great guy I am

Well, duh! I was 15% of his revenues last year!

Not to thread hijack, but we had to have a valve job done on an eight cylinder engine last year.....

Maybe we should start a support group?

OK - back to the scheduled program.

[Melalvai]

WARNING: Thread hijack ahead!!

And just for the record: Dave Ramsey has a great perspective and learned the hard way...

I wouldn't call myself a diehard fan, but I did get inspired to pay off and get rid of the credit cards. Now we're making headway on my husband's student loans, even as he accrues more each year. His scholarships went a long way to reducing that but my meager postdoc salary doesn't quite pay everything that needs paid without his student loans.

The best feeling was being able to replace the clutch with our emergency fund instead of having to "figure out" how to deal (=use a credit card). In my ideal world we'd just get rid of the car and have far fewer dips into the emergency fund!

<<Thread hijack complete. Returning you to your regularly scheduled topic.>>

[Running Mommy]

But as said.... She is so dang CUTE!
You see I grew up in a mercedes family. My grandfather being German, that is all he drove. I always said that one day I would have one.
I haven't yet, but I'm close. I have a bmw 5 series. But I do have a special place in my heart for the older mercedes.
I remember driving with my grandparents once. I was in the back seat and my Grandpa was at the wheel. We were speeding through the countryside of western sonoma county, and my Grandmother was admonishing him for driving too fast with "the grand daughter in the car".. He liked to think of those roads as the autobahn I guess..

Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming...

[Running Mommy]

I'm going to send handmade thank you cards to my customers who bought bikes from me. I'm thinking of using the rubber stamp that I used to make my Christmas cards. So some of you TE'rs will know what I'm talking about.
Inside the card I'm going to enclose some tips on keeping your bike in good running order, and fit reminders.
Of course I'll also enclose a coupon for them to use on accessories. (the hook to bring em back in )...
How does that sound??

Ok, on to my next topic... The homeless guy...
Last week a man came in with a wheel in pretty bad shape. He needed the cassette removed so he could replace some spokes. Tony wasn't in, so I told him to come back the next day. This man appears to be homeless. His bright yellow jacket is black with dirt, his face is blistered from being in the elements, and he has what appears to be all his belongings on his bike. But he is a very soft spoken man, and very polite. He asked what we would charge. I told him as long as it was something easy- then not to worry about it. He told me the shop down the street wanted 10.00, and you could tell that 10.00 was a LOT to him.
So the next morning I was driving down with Spencer when I saw him cruising down the street about a mile from here. He had the wheel in his basket, so I told Spencer the story. Sure enough he came in that day and Tony helped him out. Spencer said he felt sorry for him because he was so nice, and he pondered out loud how one comes to be homeless. I explained that unfortunately it can happen very easily.
A few days later the man returned. He had repaired the broken spokes and asked Tony if he could true up the wheel. Tony did the best he could, but the wheel's in pretty bad shape. The man pulled out a couple of crumpled dollar bills, but Tony told him not to worry about it.
Well this morning the man came back with a bike. He came in and asked in a very soft voice if Tony was in, as he didn't see him right away. He had a frame that he had salvaged and was trying to fix it up. Tony is back there with him as I write this trying to help him. The man is so soft spoken it's kind of sad. It's like life has just beat him down. And you can tell by talking to him that he's a very kind man.
So anyway, they are back there toiling away, and I'm here appreciating all that I have been given in life. We really are a blessed family. And I really am blessed to have all of you in my life.
Have a happy valentines day, hope you get to get out for a ride and enjoy the day.
Ciao!
Denise

[Tri Girl]

Regarding the thank you cards. Oh MAN that's a great idea!!!! Talk about great service to keep them coming back to you for many years! I wish my shop had done that for me. Would've really made my purchase feel really special. I LOVE it!!!!! Dang- why aren't you closer to me or me closer to you????

About the homeless man. That story made me so sad. Made me feel suddenly very guilty for having so many bikes in my house, and so sad that I don't ride them all more often, and so thankful that I can have all the things I do. I'm glad you were so kind to him, and I think that maybe it'll be one bright spot in his day when he knows someone cares for him enough to help him out. I hope you get to see him every so often so you can help lighten the load that life has put on his shoulders. I hope he brightens your days just as much.

[Melalvai]

I hope you can find extra parts lying around to help him out. I'd contribute bike parts if I lived in the area.

I feel guilty sometimes because one of the bike shops guys gives me stuff frequently, which I can not afford otherwise. I just keep telling myself that one day I'll pass it all along to the next poor but happy cyclist (maybe not these parts specifically, but bike parts in general).

[Running Mommy]

Mel and Tri-
Yes, he is a good guy. Tony asked his name- it's Douglas. Tony told him that he will keep his eye out for old parts for him.
While he was in picking up his bike one of our regulars who happens to be a local police officer came in. He said that he's talked to the guy, and was glad we were helping him. He (the officer)said he's not on drugs, a drinker, and doesn't have mental problems. Life has just dealt him some tough blows. He even said he'd bring by some parts to help the guy out.
You know I may have been raised catholic, but I am a true believer in karma. So I try to practice acts of kindness whenever I can. Am I perfect? Heck no. But I do my best.
And as for freebies, I have always tried to pay it forward with my old bikes and accessories. Whenever I buy a new bike I find a good home for the old one. My first road bike went to an aspiring triathlete who happened to be a starving college student. My sons mtn bike went to a child who didn't have a bike, and my old mtn bike just went to a large family who doesn't have a lot of extra $$ to buy mom a bike. Now mom has one.
I do the same thing with parts and accessories, if I'm not using them I try to find someone who would.

Now back to biz related stuff...
I just got my first saddle test kit in. I've ordered test kits for WTB, Terry, and Selle Italia. They are kits with 6-8 test saddles in them. So the customer can borrow the saddle and take it on a test ride. I'm going to give them 48 hours with the saddle and take a CC # just in case they don't bring it back.
When I saw these test displays I got all excited! I wish I had a saddle test center when I was weeding through all the "frogs" looking for my prince!

[Blueberry]

Test saddles!?!?!?!?!??!

How cool!!! Man I would have loved that too

[Running Mommy]

YAY!!! Another TE'r came a callin today!
I feel like a loser too! She came in and I was eating my sandwhich. It was 2:30 and I was STARVING! I was actually feeling woozing because I trained this morning, and my blood sugar was dipping. So I said to her "excuse me, as I eat my sandwhich. It's been crazy today and I'm just getting lunch"...
So we chatted for a moment and then she said who she was.
She caught me eating a sandy!!
It was great to meet her. I hope the weather warms up for her ride tomorrow. We were 77 a couple of days ago, and it feels like 55 out there right now! Brrrrrrrr!!!

[DirtDiva]

Ha! It's less than that here and we're supposed to be having summer!

Anyway, glad to hear things good things are happening at the shop. I think the cards are a great idea.

[Mr. Bloom]

Regarding Douglas:

For many years, I lacked compassion.

Then, I changed.

The, I became a board member and ultimately board president of the Evansville Christian Life Center. That's when I went from lacking, to changing, to understanding!

People like Douglas have high intrinsic value, regardless of circumstance, and deserve respect.

Among other things, at the ECLC, we served nearly 50,000 free hot meals/year. Not in a soup line, but with volunteers providing "sit down service". We didn't preach, we didn't charge, we simply said come in and be served.

I applaud what you did with Douglas...not only because you didn't charge him, but because you cared enough to know his name, to notice him, and to treat him with respect.

[tulip]

Regarding Douglas:

I applaud what you did with Douglas...not only because you didn't charge him, but because you cared enough to know his name, to notice him, and to treat him with respect.

+++1!

[Wahine]

+1 here too. Well put Mr. Silver.

RM - you and DH are a class act.