Quote Originally Posted by kiwi stoker
And the people who often open stores- well quite a few are former professional or elite level athletes. That doesn't mean they make a good bike shop owner. Basically they are satisfying their ego by being able to surround themselves with people and bikes (that's OK) but only so they can keep on riding the latest and greatest model, participate in the cycling industry and not so much for being a guiding hand for newbies. Their shop rides are for their buddies or to create a "club" around them. And worse if they have no business sense or no person skills.
THIS. In St. Louis where there are TONS of bike shops, but I find a lot of them are clubbish like Kiwi says above. Now, I would never think of buying a bike on the internet-- the profit margins on bikes aren't that much anyway, and a lot of times there are good deals to be had at an LBS. I shop ebay for bike clothes-- the selection for women are always pink and flowers, or kind of low end (weirdly-- which I suppose is fine). There's cooler stuff online. I am fortunate to be able to shop around for the best bike shop for my needs. There are a few that are awesome for beginners and I have brought friends to some of those because I know how nice they are, and I know they will spend a lot of time giving these novice riders a friendly introduction into bicycles. They are smart businessmen. They are trying to create a repeat customer. I've been to other shops where they are dismissive if it looks like you aren't shopping for something high end/custom.

My shop is the area juggernaut-- it has three locations and a special Tri/running store, but the people are friendly and accessible from the bottom all the way to the top. They are supportive of all kinds of bike related efforts in the community. They are sponsoring our groundbreaking (at least in this city) high school cycling team. I haven't had to buy a bike in years, so I've only been buying accessories and nicknacks from them for the last four years, but the minute I said I was doing a cross country ride for the American Lung Association they offered to fit and tune my bike up before the trip for free as a donation and then offered to sell raffle tickets for the quilt my mom is donating. To me, this is them building a solid customer relationship, even though they don't really need me. I will certainly be buying my next bike from them.