Channlluv and Running Mommy-

I spoke to my BFF last night -- and after going on about all things bike for 15 minutes, as well as determining that at this moment I have more bike accessories than actual bike(I love to buy bike stuff, I've been collecting for 8 months now), she declared ' I see you have found a new obsession... I guess there are worst things to be obsessed about it' -- as the subject turned to the LBS and my experiences, she said she had the same experience with a LBS in Florida last year -- she walked in and was ready to buy that day, she just needed help... and no one ever came over to help her, despite doing everything to indicate that she needed and wanted help, including sitting on the bike, tinkering with the levers... making zvroom zvroom noises(ok, I added that bit)... still nothing. Finally, she got angry and left and this is coming from a very fit athletic woman -- so Channlluv, it seems 'hardbody' has no bearing... The good news is, thanks to my enthusiasm she said she'll probably try again on buying a bike...

My friend came up with a simple formula for getting good service... 'find the old guy'... this seems to be the guy that is vested in getting you on the right bike... I'm sure it's not that simple but it's worth a shot -- the old guy in the second LBS I went to was the first one to acknowledge me and go tell the other guys to help me and after I think about what happened, no one came out and he walked over to those guys again and stood there with his back to me, so I couldn't see his face... and this is when someone jumped into action ...you would think I had the plague... so there might be something to 'the old guy' theory.

Thanks again...and yes, the bikeforum.net tip is a good one.