Tales from the LBS.... When the day starts like this you KNOW your in trouble..

[Thorn]

Loved the story RM--made me very happy to sit at my computer and not have to deal with people that day I wouldn't have had 1/2 the patience you exhibited. Really.

As for such stories making newbies feel bad? Heck no. Every time I go into the bike shop I know that I'm potential joke fodder--sometimes it is even immediate and I get to share in the joke.

Whenever we learn something new, we're going to make mistakes. Take for example, learning a new language--you will say the wrong thing and the receiver may chuckle at you. Anything new is the same way. If you don't step in knowing you'll say or do the wrong thing and provide entertainment value, you'll never learn.

What's the alternative--waiting until you've got enough book knowledge to pretend? Eeks. Where's the fun in that?

No, Tales from the LBS doesn't just entertain. They help us all but pointing out how easy it is to make a mistake, how not to be a consumer, and, well, in this case, why some days your LBS welcomes you with open arms and other days they all run to the back room when you open the door.

[Zen]

For example, to truly appreciate the post, you'd have to think that someone sounding like a fattie would be a bad thing. (Would sounding like a black person be a funny insult?)

Yeah,I didn't care for that part either.

[OakLeaf]

+1 to that. But I thought the rest of it (and all of RM's OP) was hilarious.

[kenyonchris]

I'm wondering how many of you shop at big box stores for things other than bikes?

I would rather be transported straight to hell than set foot in WalMart. It is like a third world country. I don't do badly behaved children, and for some reason every badly behaved child in the county flocks to WalMart with their indifferent parents. My children would be fitted for pine boxes if they even thought of behaving like WalMart children (and they know it).
I can shop at Target during non-prime hours for groceries and general stuff without too much angst.

(Back on Topic) An area LBS here (actually where I took my broken Colnago) tends to be pretty condescending. I find it frustrating, so I don't go there unless I have to. At the same time, I understand they deal with people with WalMart bikes on a regular basis.
My SO is really picky about anyone touching his bike. He DOES know what he is talking about, is probably a more experienced cyclist than most the bike shop people, but is very, very quiet about it (he doesn't advertise that knowledge. I think he is superman, he doesn't). It really doesn't sit will with him to have his bike tossed around like these bike shop guys do (it is a number, a tag, and a will-call-you). But, fact is, it is the best bike shop in town in terms of experienced mechanics and stock. He makes his point by being very picky about how things are done, and puts the guys feet to the fire if it isn't done right. They could stick my derailleur on upside down and I am not sure I would notice it until I got it home. I assume the know what they are doing, so they do it.

[OakLeaf]

I'm wondering how many of you shop at big box stores for things other than bikes?

Okay, can't resist the drift (and for the record, I'll shop at Best Buy, Lowe's and B&N, but not WM; the closest closely-held electronics and book stores to me are over an hour's drive; I prefer to shop the local hardware store but they often don't have what I need).

I concede that when setting up a new household, most of the mom-and-pops that would carry things like plastic trash cans for the bathroom have already been driven out of business by WW, so there isn't much of an alternative if you don't want or can't afford Architectural Digest grade trash cans.

But there's a more important difference. A pair of polyester stretch pants with the seams sewn crooked won't kill or seriously injure you or your child. An improperly assembled bicycle very easily could.

[Cataboo]

I don't find anything offensive about RunningMom's posts... and would shop at her bike shop if she was anywhere around here.

I can't quite say I buy a ton from local bike shops (I'm an evil internet and craigslist shopper), but if I can't get something significantly cheaper online than it is at the bike shop, I definitely go to the bike shop, because I'd rather give them the business and I get instant gratification.

And there are lots of times I go into shops expecting to be laughed at. I called an appliance store the other day asking "for that little copper nut type thing that threads onto the heating element of my dishwasher from underneath" I can't remember what name it had, but it had hat or something. They knew what I was talking about, laughed at my description and got one for me.

I once had a parts guy at subaru laughing his *** off at me... I'd done my first oil change on my subaru, drained out all the fluid, changed the filter, and then tried to start the car and it wouldn't go in gear.... Turns out that subaru uses the same filter size & housing for their oil filter as their automatic transmission fluid filter... And i'd drained out all my transmission fluid and changed the transmission fluid filter.

So being a new car, autozone didn't have replacement transmission fluid or filters, and I had to go to the dealer... So I'm asking for new filters, explaining what happened and the parts guy was just absolutely cracking up. When he gave me the new filters, I opened up the transmission fluid filter and pointed out to him "LOOK IT SAYS OIL FILTER ON THE SIDE HERE JUST LIKE IT SAYS ON THE SIDE OF THE OIL FILTER"

He continued to giggle, but did say "Yeah, it really shouldn't say oil filter on the side of that, and it used to be they made those different colors than the oil filter.... "

I'm sure I was the idiot woman that made his day - but I can completely understand him laughing at me for it. He helpfully got me all the transmission fluid & parts I needed though.

[Possegal]

I picked up hardwoods that I'm having put in my living room soon. The guy selling me the stuff said many things that were just beyond my comprehension. He laughed when I asked him to write it down for my contractor as I felt he was speaking a foreign language. Then I said - though in my defense, you wouldn't understand me if I talked shop either, we all have our own language.

I enjoyed RM's story too. We all have to rant when we deal with people that drive us crazy. Better to rant to us than to the customer, right?

[witeowl]

Then I said - though in my defense, you wouldn't understand me if I talked shop either, we all have our own language.

I don't know what you're talking about. When I taught SpEd, I'm sure the parents of all my students understood fully that the purpose of the IEP (discussed in the presence of an LEA) was to provide a FAPE in the LRE, possibly while implementing PBI based on an FBA.

And, yes, we were constantly reminded to not throw around those acronyms around parents... or even non-Special Education teachers... but we would often slip into old habits. Of course, even without acronyms, it's still jargon-ific.

[Irulan]

I picked up hardwoods that I'm having put in my living room soon. The guy selling me the stuff said many things that were just beyond my comprehension. He laughed when I asked him to write it down for my contractor as I felt he was speaking a foreign language. Then I said - though in my defense, you wouldn't understand me if I talked shop either, we all have our own language.

I enjoyed RM's story too. We all have to rant when we deal with people that drive us crazy. Better to rant to us than to the customer, right?

This board is full of potential bike shop customers.

[PamNY]

I don't know what you're talking about. When I taught SpEd, I'm sure the parents of all my students understood fully that the purpose of the IEP (discussed in the presence of an LEA) was to provide a FAPE in the LRE, possibly while implementing PBI based on an FBA..

Bravo, Witeowl.

[MartianDestiny]

But there's a more important difference. A pair of polyester stretch pants with the seams sewn crooked won't kill or seriously injure you or your child. An improperly assembled bicycle very easily could.

And we have a winner. I go to Target and a large chain grocery store (Safeway) for most of my day-to-day consumable needs (food, personal care, etc) and some of the basics that don't have equivalent local stores or who's equivalent local store's price is far out of my pay grade (trash cans, plastic containers, etc).

Most of the rest of it (including nearly all of my "luxury" type purchases) are at speciality and/or local stores with some exceptions made for online stores like Amazon which I am dearly in love with for my boxed TV series sets. About as close as I get to "big box" on a regular basis is REI. I just enjoy shopping at these places more, and luckily I live in an area where a) the prices remain fairly competitive and b) these guys are still around.

It is a goal of mine to never set foot in a Walmart again. A goal made easy by the fact that my City refuses to let them build, so the closest one is something like 15-20 miles away (HURRAY!).

[PinkBike]

oh denise, please dont get upset over one cranky response. check out the complete thread, i for one relished the whole post. dont stop posting your "tales from the lbs."

as for the caveman mentality, i've been getting it all my life. when i used to ride motorcycles, my now-ex would love to act like a dolt and see how the sales/service people would respond. i found that quite fun. we kept a little tackle box full of various sizes carburetor jets. when he would go to the shop and ask for a jet, they'd say "what size" and he'd hold his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart and say "oh about this big."

now when i go to my lbs, depending on who's the salesman of the day, they like to direct questions to my DH who has nary a clue. for example: he loves his bianchi - the one DENISE at ESTRELLA MOUNTAIN CYCLERY gave him such an outstanding deal on!! he was quite concerned that the "campagnola" decal on one of the crank arms was scratched and peeling off and wanted to know how to save/restore it. turns out it was a piece of packing tape that covered the decal to protect it during shipping that was peeling off. and yet we'll go into a shop and ask about compact cranks or something and they'll want to direct all their questions to The Man.

hey, so what? choose contentment.

i've seen lots of different people on this forum get offended by a lot of different things. let it fall off your back.

keep on runnin'

[ridebikeme]

WOW! I'm sorry that this thread has upset some people; I truly don't think that it was intended that way. Communicating online is something that people do several times a day, but there are lots of misunderstandings simply because we aren't talking to each other face to face.

I know several shops that don't work on Wallyworld bikes, and that's their choice. Like so many of you have mentioned, I choose to educate people on the difference and have sold many bikes because of it. However, it does take alot of time to do this, and perhaps some shops simply choose not to MAKE the time.,,, it's not up to me to judge them for that.

Every one of us has something that we don't have a lot of experience with, and it's wonderful when people will take the time to educate us.

I for one, have been in the situation where business is slow and it's very scary. The bike world is not one where we will become wealthy... it's more of a lifestyle than anything else. It's one where you will always have customers that you love, and others that will drive you crazy... but that's life in the real world. Running a business is simply another life lesson, and one that we learn from each and every day. The issue that I do have with this post is this: for the most part we can't choose who are customers are, all we can do is give them the best service that we can. We will always have customers that are saints, and others who remind us how wonderful some people are. I for one, don't understand where venting about how your business is doing or NOT doing is helpful online. (unless it's targeted at friends, family etc) It's comfusing to read posts like that, and then to see another venting about certain customers. Perhaps I'm too old school, but it seems that it's a huge contradiction and not an impression I would want to leave with people.

This post is NOT meant to upset anyone, I'm simply sharing the view that I have whether it's shared by others or not.

[shootingstar]

No, Tales from the LBS doesn't just entertain. They help us all but pointing out how easy it is to make a mistake, how not to be a consumer, and, well, in this case, why some days your LBS welcomes you with open arms and other days they all run to the back room when you open the door.

+1

I perceive Runningmommy as working hard for her customers/biz and trying to meet diverse needs, no matter how grumpy/rude some customers maybe.

The reality is owning a LBS as biz, will not make one terribly rich. While I understand why certain LBS may refuse to deal with wally bikes, it does repeatedly leave a distinctly negative impression on the customer who cannot be blamed particularily if person does not want/is unable financially to invest in a few extra hundred dollars for a better bike. Building a larger customer base is a long-term proposition if LBS wants to survive. Of course, it depends how LBS staff are trained in terms of customer service. It is something LBS manager should consciously teach their staff.

Cycling world does have a certain amount of jargon, some of it technical. Can I name all the parts of a bike? After all these cycling years, no. I just haven't made the effort (even though we have 1-2 bks.) I just have my dearie look at it or take it to LBS for repair.

Dislosure : One of my partner's business associates for his cycling facility consulting firm, is owner and manager of a local chain of several bike stores in the Vancouver area. They deal with all sorts of bikes.

[Loraura]

Bummer on the caveman.

My bike shop has adapters that fit a shrader drilled rim to make a presta valve tube fit without issues. Perhaps with one of those adapters you'd be able to sell him long stem presta valves for his aero shrader drilled rims.

A set of 2 adapters cost me like 5 bucks or less I think.

Here are some examples I found:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-M...resta-3335.htm

http://store.bikefriday.com/product_...roducts_id=979