I've decided...

[Tiffanie]

that I really dislike Performance Bike Shop. Is it too much to ask for competent cashiers and staff who actually knows something about cycling?!?

[Tiffanie]

Oh, and that should be a frustrated sigh, not a happy sigh.

[Brandy]

I'm with you...but I like their prices on most stuff! Luckily the few times I've really needed help, Carl (the bike mechanic) has been around to save me. Just look for the bald guy with braces!

[Kalidurga]

And I thought it was just the Performance Bike in my area that sucked... They have decent sales, but even then they don't have what I want half the time. The local Performance recently had a "tent sale". I pulled up to find a little canopy erected over two spaces in the parking lot, with about 15 bikes under it. Not what I had expected!

[dachshund]

Ditto on ours over here. I went once, that was enough. The "changing room" was a cloth tube structure out on the floor. There are a lot of better stores in the area, thankfully.

[Lenusik]

We ar on the same page. I have one of those just a block away from my house. It used to be called "supergo" until they changes thier name to "performance". I gave them a nick name of "Supercrap" that will stick with them for good.

[mimitabby]

a coworker bought a very fancy bike from Performance bike this spring.
he noticed quickly that the bike was crooked. When he took his hands off the handlebars, it veered to the right. So he took it back. At Performance, they scratched their heads and said "hey, it looks all right to me"
he continued to ride it; and frustrated took it to another shop after getting rebutted a second time by Perf.
Second bike shop owned the jig you need to measure this problem and said "yup, it's crooked" that was early June. Performance didn't have this jig.
So Performance does the good thing and agrees to replace the bike which is not in stock of course. A week goes by and nothing. He calls in. Someone is on vacation, so they didn't order the bike. 2 more weeks go by, he calls in, someone at the plant was on vacation so there is another delay. It was shipped on June 20th... no bike, no bike. No, sorry, they don't have a tracking number.. Coworker calls these yokels and suggests they GET a shipping number ..shipping number located but bike was lost in shipment and is now found... due to arrive
Thursday. Half the entire season is over and he doesn't have bike!!!

[bcipam]

Tiff: You will learn that Performance is not a shop for the uninformed. If you know what you need and they have a good price, good go there, otherwise no reason to darken their doors. Not certain which Performance you went to - I'm assuming Huntington Beach. Try Discovery Cycle next door. They don't have all that much either but the Staff is friendly. Also have you been to King's Cycle in Seal Beach?

Performance is basically a big (in fact the biggest) catalog store. Employees are very low paid and not particularly knowlegeable. For me - its a place to find deals on tires, clothing and gear. There are lots of nice little bike stores out there I rather give my money to.

[amelia05]

Oooh...Performance. They get on my last nerve.

I don't have any "real" Performance stores near me, but their online store is pretty bad, too. The shipping has always been expensive and slow for me, and the tracking numbers don't always work. The only time I ever buy anything there is if they're the only place that I can find the product I'm looking for. Even though their prices are usually cheaper, it's worth it for me to spend more money on a company with better service (looking at you, TE! ).

I just ordered from Performance this week in fact, and it was as frustrating as ever. I got all the way through the checkout process and cc processing, then it spit out a database error. Thinking that it had failed, I got fed up and ordered from somewhere else. A day and a half later, I got two emails from Performance--an order confirmation and a shipping notification. So now I have two sets of Ergon grips coming to me. We'll see which gets here first--my bet's on the other company (I forget even who it was--small shop).

Oh, and even though I specified their US Mail shipping option, I got FedEx tracking numbers. Sigh. I'm pretty sure this is the last time I order anything from them.

[Tiffanie]

Tiff: You will learn that Performance is not a shop for the uninformed. If you know what you need and they have a good price, good go there, otherwise no reason to darken their doors. Not certain which Performance you went to - I'm assuming Huntington Beach. Try Discovery Cycle next door. They don't have all that much either but the Staff is friendly. Also have you been to King's Cycle in Seal Beach?

Performance is basically a big (in fact the biggest) catalog store. Employees are very low paid and not particularly knowlegeable. For me - its a place to find deals on tires, clothing and gear. There are lots of nice little bike stores out there I rather give my money to.

Pam, yes, definitely not for the uninformed. Luckily, I've known exactly what I've needed when going there, but even the checkout process leaves something to be desired.

Clerk: What's your zip code?
Me: 9264x
C: Have you shopped at Performance before?
M: Yes
C: Can I have your zip code?
M: Uhhhh, I just gave it to you.
C: Oh you're right, sorry. Can I have your last name?
M: Sure, it's Bry...
C: Wait! B R A ??
M: No, Bry...
C: Ok, B R A
M: Here, look at my driver's license

and on and on....

re: Bicycles Discovery. The few times I have been there the service has unfortunately been HORRIBLE. The last time, I had the kiddos with me and three clerks were circled around the cash register relaying stories with every other word being a curse word.

Fortunately, there are a couple of other shops here in town that I'm happy with - if only their prices weren't so high. <<<sigh>>>

[Lise]

Three words for Performance Bike shop employees:

Random Drug Testing

That might improve things over time!

[mtkitchn]

I don't like Performance either, unless I'm looking for really cheap crap. I made the mistake of buying my first clipless pedals and shoes there (Forte), and they were such crap that I almost swore off clipless altogether until I got decent stuff (Look) from a reputable store.
The worst part of having bought something from Performance is I get their damn catalogs every other day now.

[Dr. C]

Nytro is the best. Most of the people that work there are super knowledgable and all of them ride road bikes or race in tri's. One guy is a pro cyclist! Great Bike fit as well. It's in Encinitas, on Coast Hwy (PCH)! You can go on-line to order stuff too! My only complaint about them is that they don't carry much women's clothing!

[Kitsune06]

Three words for Performance Bike shop employees:

Random Drug Testing

That might improve things over time!

Hmff.

After working at a number of different places with both random drug testing and no testing at all I think I can almost say the places with no testing generally had a higher quality of work, given the employees.

This is my own OT rant, I guess, but I've generally found the businesses that respect their employees' privacy enough not to test generally also care most for the employee, and have better benefits. That said, more is generally expected of these employees on said honor system.

drug use doesn't make someone stupid, but it certainly attracts stupid people...

[Cindyloo]

You guys are too funny! We have a brand new Performance in Atlanta but it is the same old customer service. Whenever they don't have something in stock they tell me to use the "red phone" to place an order. I could sit at home and use my "grey cell phone" to place the order!!!! How about just keeping stuff in stock??