Quote Originally Posted by jessmarimba View Post
But I'll also throw out there that the missing bike isn't really their fault. Seems Salsa is notorious for not getting stuff made in time, or when other people get their bikes made, and for only having one model ready when they expected the entire next year's stock to be done. The shop may be trying to pacify you as best as they can (and cover for Salsa) when they really have no idea when they'll get it in.
I don't think it's just Salsa. I think most of the smaller manufacturers simply cannot afford to maintain a big inventory of bikes they may never be able to sell. As a result, customers end up having to wait a long time for their bikes to get delivered. When you factor in overseas production and shipment, it adds a lot of variables that are difficult to control.

That said, it sounded like your favorite shop was more forthright about that, while the second one arguably played dumb with the hope of getting the sale. Given the economy, I don't totally blame them, but I tend to think it's better to just be honest in an effort to manage customer expectations.