LBS Politics (LONG... sorry!)

[VeloVT]

Thanks everyone.

None of the local shops carry Scott. So I guess that makes it a little better?

I think I would never have the nerve to walk in with a crankset I bought on Ebay or Nashbar or whatever and ask LBS to install it. Not to say there's no temptation, but I don't think I could actually do it. I do need to learn to do my own mechanical work though.

The shop I have a relationship with is OK. I really like one of the sales guys there and one of the mechanics. I've also gotten BS from both sales and service, though, and as mentioned, they sometimes do a pretty mediocre job fixing my bike, so... I feel loyalty to them because, as mentioned, they do know me and my bikes. It's a little like feeling guilty for going to a new hairstylist when you realize you've had a string of bad cuts though.

RM, I am sure that if your shop were in my town none of this would be an issue.

[Blueberry]

My LBS guys work with me on stuff. I bought a Surly Cross Check on Ebay. I got a good price. I brought it to them to work on. They oo'd and ahh'd over the bike, and I spent over $100 getting it "just right." I also get them to order parts for me that I could just as easily order myself for the relationship. They work on my Bike Friday - it didn't come from them.

If they aren't a dealer in that kind of bike, they'll probably be cool with it. Just explain and communicate. The bad service sucks - mine will re-fix any minor problem, but honestly the wrench who does much of my work is so good it's never an issue......

RM - there may be liability issues with installing an unknown part. Another good reason....

[Running Mommy]

Thanks everyone.

None of the local shops carry Scott. So I guess that makes it a little better?

YES it does.

I think I would never have the nerve to walk in with a crankset I bought on Ebay or Nashbar or whatever and ask LBS to install it. Not to say there's no temptation, but I don't think I could actually do it. I do need to learn to do my own mechanical work though.

Yeah sounds good in theory, but hard to do huh?

The shop I have a relationship with is OK. I really like o
ne of the sales guys there and one of the mechanics. I've also gotten BS from both sales and service, though, and as mentioned, they sometimes do a pretty mediocre job fixing my bike, so... I feel loyalty to them because, as mentioned, they do know me and my bikes. It's a little like feeling guilty for going to a new hairstylist when you realize you've had a string of bad cuts though.


This part concerns me!! It reminds me of my prime competition, and why I decided to open our own shop. I really tried to like this shop. I did for awhile- I think I even posted some positives about it back in the day. But then I started noticing that the bike was in worse shape when I got it back from when I took it in. The guy couldn't get what I needed etc. I tried to turn a blind eye to it, but finally realized it just wasn't working out. And now all I hear from my customers are complaints about this guy. It was hard to come to that realization, because I really like the guy. but he just couldn't handle my needs.
Ironically one of his employees came in lastnight and was chatting w/ us. He told me that the guy knows it's me that opened the shop and is super bitter. I had sent a lady there to get specialized spin shoes because he's a specialized dealer. I guess when she went in there she told him I had sent her over. The guy said the look on his face was priceless. It's hard to hate someone when they send you business. lol
RM, I am sure that if your shop were in my town none of this would be an issue.

See my replies inside the quote

[tulip]

RM has the right attitude and advice. I bought one of my bikes from my LBS, and the others I did not, but my LBS works on all of them. But I buy my tires and tubes there, and my shoes. I also buy my shorts there, even though shorts are cheaper at Performance. That extra $10 is worth it to me to shop local and to get my shorts right away. I support my LBS in small ways with tubes etc as well as in larger ways (bike). I also have them work on my bike when I can't do it myself. I would never bring in parts that I bought elsewhere to install.

Because of this, they pushed a repair up because I needed it done pronto. I would not expect them to do that if I was not a regular customer. You do get what you pay for, and in the long run, I'm not spending much more (if any) than I would by shopping at Performance or other internet bike sites (I'm not an ebayer).

That said, I do go to the original Performance shop when I visit North Carolina and check out their bargain room from time to time. I have found some great deals on jerseys there.

[emily_in_nc]

So, did I commit a faux pas? This week I took my mountain bike (which I purchased on ebay last year) to a bike shop I'd never been to to install a suspension fork I'd also purchased on ebay. I don't really have an LBS as we moved fairly far away from the shop I'd bought a couple bikes from before (road bikes), and my most recent road bike is a Bike Friday, which was ordered direct from BF. My DH or I do most of our own maintenance, so we only need a bike shop on rare occasions.

A mountain biking buddy of mine recommended this shop, so I walked in with my bike and my fork and asked them to install it. I certainly didn't dicker on price and paid their usual labor charge. I didn't feel too guilty taking in a fork I'd purchased on ebay, because suspension forks are pricy, and I couldn't really afford a brand new one. This was a 2005 model, lightly used, so I got it for slightly less than half the price of a new one. (A new fork like mine would cost in the $700 range from an LBS.) I didn't tell them I purchased it from ebay, and for all they knew, I could have bought it from a friend.

Not everyone can afford to buy everything brand new, be it bikes or parts, and I believe in recycling and reusing when possible as well. So, do LBSes understand this at all? Or can I assume the folks at this shop were cursing me behind my back?

Emily

[kat_h]

My comments are going to be a bit more general. I work in a music store and we constantly have people coming in to have work done on guitars that they bought cheaper somewhere else. We charge them full price on labour and make decent money off it. When people bring in instruments that were bought at the shop they get a heavy discount on the labour and get priority on bench time. We do get annoyed at the customers who bring in guitars bought elsewhere and then expect free labour, as long as the stores are making money on the work and the customers are happy to pay it shouldn't usually be a problem. Shops should feel comfortable charging enough to make this worth their while too. A good service department can make decent money.

[blueskies]

While we're thinking about supporting businesses that provide value & which earn our support, let's remember Team Estrogen, right?

[Crankin]

Well, I would never expect to get a discount on installation of a part I bought elsewhere, but I won't feel bad about buying from Performance or other places on the Net. My husband isn't a certified mechanic, but close enough. He does all of our work. We bought our road bikes from a local shop that sells lots of high end stuff, along with Giants and other "cruiser" type bikes. They do a good job helping casual riders, but they mostly cater to racers and serious riders. The owner lives in our town, but this is his "branch" office. His other shop has been open for several years. The only time we had them do work on one of our bikes is when the brake on Steve's mountain bike broke last summer. We don't ride the mountain bikes that often and we bought them at another shop, before this one was open. We don't have the tools to work on hydraulic brakes. Once in awhile if we run out of something and need it "now," we will buy it at the shop, but that doesn't happen very often. Why should we pay full price on parts, when we are doing the work ourselves? When my son was racing and Steve was riding 4,000 miles a year, we spent thousands of dollars on-line for parts, etc. I shudder to think what it would have been at a local shop. The cost of the clothing is outrageous there! I buy only from Terry, because that is the only brand that consistently fits me in everything, and from TE once in awhile. Those prices aren't always cheap, but I am not going to pay 185.00 for a pair of shorts!
The owner is very nice to us, as we bought expensive bikes from him, after going in "just for a fit," on our Treks. He dissed the Treks quite a bit, but didn't hard sell us on his bikes. He also made a shim for my cleat when I went back and told him about the pain I was having (for free). So even though I wouldn't buy a part elsewhere and expect the labor for free (which is crazy), I feel like I can buy parts anywhere;I don't "owe" him because I bought my bike there.

[Blueberry]

Not everyone can afford to buy everything brand new, be it bikes or parts, and I believe in recycling and reusing when possible as well. So, do LBSes understand this at all? Or can I assume the folks at this shop were cursing me behind my back?

Emily

Emily-

I think it depends on which shop it was....My LBS would be cool with it. I also think purchasing a couple year old pretty expensive fork is *way* different from ordering a rear cluster for $5 less from performance and then expecting them to install it. Just my 2 cents.

Slightly OT - how did you guys learn so much about maintenance??

CA

[Geonz]

a lot depends on the individuals. Bike shop folks can be opinionated ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L1m1QIFTtg is a pretty amusing depiction of one of our local character who professes that he's "fired a few customers.")

Still, I see this going in one of two directions: if you don't bring this in there, you may start buying stuff for it online more... you could drift further from the shop and more to online... not good for their business.

I'm going to be arrested for metaphor abuse but:

YOu aren't married to the bike shop, but you feel you've 'cheated' on it. Welp, it doesn't have to be the end of the relationship YOu just had needs that were met by somebody else for a little while... and they bore fruit... so you're asking the bike shop to help you take care of the 'baby' but ... you're payin' them to do it. It's not love, it's business. Kinda like if you got your hair done by another hairdresser - you can still go back to the original and patch things up?

[Triskeliongirl]

I am really surprised by this thread. How can any shop complain when a customer brings them business? We are not talking about someone bringing in ebay parts and expecting free installation, we are talking about a customer making use of a shop's service department. My personal experience is that I have always been warmly receieved when I have done this (and I have done this with both frames and parts). In fact, the guys complimented me on the great deal I got on my last frame on ebay, and were more than pleased to transfer the parts from another frame, and at what I thought was a reasonable cost (I didn't dicker, let them name the price). And this is a shop I have never purchased a bike from. And I didn't get the sense they were cursing behind my back, in fact, they won't info. on the framebuilder that had done such a great job with the s/s couplers and paint that I brought it to first. Sure, I know the owner is hoping to sell me my next bike, but at the same time I also feel that he appreciates whatever business I do give him and his service dept. now.

I also thinks it helps when we bring them quality bikes and parts (even interesting ones they get to inspect, bike fridays, terrys, s/s cut bikes, etc.) and see we are genuine bike enthusiasts. Its the wally world bikes that many refuse to work on, rightly so in my opinion.

[emily_in_nc]

I think it depends on which shop it was....My LBS would be cool with it. I also think purchasing a couple year old pretty expensive fork is *way* different from ordering a rear cluster for $5 less from performance and then expecting them to install it. Just my 2 cents.

It was the Bicycle Chain on Hwy 70 in Raleigh. An easy drive from work during lunchtime, great parking, etc. The shops in Chapel Hill, which are closer to where I live, are more difficult to park at, and going there means I have to give up valuable weekend time. I'm relieved reading some of the newer posts that they probably weren't peeved at me under the circumstances!

Slightly OT - how did you guys learn so much about maintenance??

I don't know much at all, but Barry is quite mechanical. And frugal. So he is able to fix a lot of stuff on our bikes that break, but we rarely have any serious problems. It's mostly installing new chains, tires, cogsets, pedals, saddles, lubing, etc. He has that huge bike mechanic book from Performance that has been very helpful with stuff over the years. He doesn't do builds from scratch or anything like that, though. When I bought a bare frame on ebay a few years ago, I took it to a bike shop and ordered the gruppo, handlebars, etc. from them, they installed all that (and made a LOT of money off me -- can you say Campy Chorus?! )

And Barry doesn't know about mountain bikes so when I need help with that, I take it to a shop. The shop I'd used when I first bought the bike and wanted some parts changed out, checked, etc., I gave up on this time, since they were too busy with custom bikes and servicing same to handle something as petty as a fork replacement. Kinda snobby... So, a mountain biking friend recommended the Bicycle Chain, and I am glad I tried them out -- I'll be back. But I will still shop at Performance for a lot of things (not things I expect the other shop to install!) because they're convenient (we can bike there) and cheaper.

Emily