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

[Crankin]

Witeowl, your post made me laugh. When my younger son was in first grade, in 1991, we had him evaluated. When we went to the meeting to go over the results, I totally ignored my DH and went over the testing with the teachers and others at the meeting. Finally, he turned to me and said, "I don't understand a damn thing you are saying..." I then realized how parents must feel and never did that again.
All I know is one fact: I could never work in a customer service type job.

And, I have never been in a WalMart. Or, a Costco, Sam's Club, etc. I do my grocery shopping at local chains (5-8 stores), Trader Joe's, and a local natural foods store. At this time of year, I go to local farms and farmer's markets.
We bought all of our bikes at 3 different lbs'. However, we do buy all of the parts for repair/replacement on line. When my son was racing, it was financially necessary for my DH to learn how to wrench. He is extremely mechanical, so it's not like it was something that was hard for him. I mean, when I bought my second road bike, the shop wired my computer backwards and the LBS I bought my Kuota from has made several stupid mechanical mistakes that my DH fixed. I buy my bike clothing here at TE or Terry. The only time we had to bring a bike to a shop for work is when my DH messed up his disc brakes on his mtb. We don't have the tool to work on that, and since we barely ride those bikes, we won't get it.

Again, I would love to have a shop that wasn't condescending to women near me!

[lph]

I for one think it's both appropriate and often entertaining when someone rants here about someone being rude or condescending to them, whether it's friends, family, colleagues or customers. Peoples ignorance, however, is something to be treated gently, not ranted over, but all I've read here were humorous remarks, no rants. Well, except rants against ignorance in people who should know better, like "mechanics" who assemble a bike unsafely.

[Selkie]

RM -- Please continue posting about your good and not-so-good shop experiences. I think a lot of us have been in your place -- male discounting a female's advice/guidance but listening to the exact same advice when a man gives it.

[crazycanuck]

RM has taken a TE vacation

People spit the dummy too quickly!

In the meantime there's always the customer's not always right site.

[witeowl]

People spit the dummy too quickly!

Translation, please?

[Geonz]

Translation, please?

Ask mr. google and she sends you to

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...Spit+the+Dummy

Australian Term: To indulge in a sudden display of anger or frustration; to lose one’s temper. The phrase is usually used of an adult, and the implication is that the outburst is childish, like a baby spitting out its dummy in a tantrum and refusing to be pacified. (Dummy is a pacifier)

Snork... so it's kinda spitting the dummy to accuse somebody of spitting the dummy...

[Cataboo]

So I'm confused as to who is spitting the dummy. RM or other people?

But I have noticed a disturbing tendency lately for any topic that's over 2 pages lately to degenerate into crankiness or to be shut down by a couple cranky people that can't take threads with the lightness they were intended to have. There seems to be an inability to debate or discuss something without crankiness or posturing. And that's pretty sad.