LBS Politics (LONG... sorry!)

[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.

[Running Mommy]

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.

Thats one thing I would never do- dis another bike! All bikes have merit IMO.
The only thing I tell people is that the reason why we don't carry Trek or Specialized is because I don't want a bike company telling me what to carry- or more important- what NOT to carry. I would rather carry some smaller brands and have more variety.
I had someone that works in another shop come in and say that the reason the owner of his shop gives for only carrying one brand is that "if you give the customer too many choices it will only confuse them, and they won't buy."....
Ummm..... Ok... ????

[Crankin]

That's exactly what the owner of our shop does; he carries small, often unheard of brands. No one else carries Kuotas, which we bought, and now I don't think he is, either! I saw a bunch of bikes with a name that begins with a "W," that I don't recognize when I was there last week.