Bad Bike Shop Manners??

Whatever happened to the friendly neighborhood bike dealer?

Actually, I've never known one myself, but somehow I get the feeling
that these guys are at least supposed to care where you spend your
money.

I contacted Peter Stull, "The Bicycleman," and though I found him
friendly at first, after a long ten or thirteen-minute telephone
conversation he hangs up on me 'cause a customer suddenly walked in the
door. He never answered 90% of my questions -- very basic ones like
"how much does it cost?" -- though it was an interesting enough
conversation otherwise where he told me about his bike races, his
customer from Australia, the guy who works for him that specializes in
recumbents....

Before he excused himself with the near-equivalent of French Leave, I
asked him whether I might wrap things up via e-mail. I could almost
see him shrug casually -- "sure," he said.

Three weeks now and no response.

So I get in touch with another dealer, Northeast Recumbents. E-mailed,
phoned, left messages...nothing. Finally got through to him last
weekend, set up a look-see tomorrow. But there's rain in the forecast,
and now this dealer is incommunicado.

WTF?!

Are my expectations out of order?

The LBS on the next block from me where I got my Trek 1000c, the Bike
Stop in Astoria, was another crazy place. The owner himself insisted
on selling me the display model. It was in good condition, far as I
can tell (though by the time I'd noticed some marks and scratches, a
week had gone by and I couldn't be totally sure they weren't caused by
me somehow), but apparently all bike shops insist you pay "new" prices
for "good as new" bikes.

Small matter that, sure enough -- but then the headset wasn't quite
right. Turned out to be defective. But Gus, the owner, tried to
convince me that its being loose was nothing to worry about! And
indeed, I could ride the bike fine...but it just didn't feel right that
I had a moving part where things are tight on other bikes.

Or another LBS, in Manhattan, the Pedal Pushers...Evan over there is a
nutcase. He's very charming and talkative like Peter Stull, but he's
got a weird switch which somehow gets flipped and he'll go schizo on
you with his passive-agressive act. One day I came in for a flat fix.
While he was ringing up the sale, I noticed that my tire cap was gone
and asked him where it was. He told me he put it outside the shop --
??? I asked him what he meant. He nodded incredulously at me and
repeated that he left my tire cap outside. Not only was it a bizzare
enough thing if true, but doubly strange was the fact that it wasn't
true, he never touched my bike until I brought it in. So I asked him
how could that be...he responded that, duh, how? I used my hands, you
know, hands, and unscrewed it and gently placed it on the sidewalk. So
I'm just really mystified at what's going on -- him swiping my card and
all all this time -- and I ask him why would he do that.

He goes, well, where do you put your TV in your place? I'm like, what?
Where do you put your TV, he repeated. I asked him why. He said that
just as I have my reasons for placing things in my apartment, so he has
his reasons for organizing his shop the way he does (actually, it's
owned by a sour old fart, Roger, who's absent half the time -- another
neurotic cat).

Now I ask you all; does that sound crazy or what?

What's even more bizzare is that there was a line of customers behind
me, every one non-plussed by the brief conversation.

Tell me, is there some bike shop etiquette I didn't observe? Is there
some kind of secret bike shop salute or handshake I should have
employed? Did I bother them somehow by smiling?

Honestly, I don't get it. Now I'll have to contact the fella over in
State College, PA, for the Velotechnik SMGTe. I am not awarding ~$3K
(maybe even more, if I don't contain my newfound lust of Rohloff
gearboxes and other exotica) to folks who don't care enough for it to
return a goddamned phone call or e-mail!

NYC XYZ wrote:

Whatever happened to the friendly neighborhood bike dealer?

Maybe he went out of business talking to people that weren't buying stuff.


I contacted Peter Stull, "The Bicycleman," and though I found him
friendly at first, after a long ten or thirteen-minute telephone
conversation he hangs up on me 'cause a customer suddenly walked in the
door.

How much of his time did you expect? He's in business, and his first
priority should be the people that made the effort to get to his store.
He sounds friendly enough to me.

So I get in touch with another dealer, Northeast Recumbents. E-mailed,
phoned, left messages...nothing. Finally got through to him last
weekend, set up a look-see tomorrow. But there's rain in the forecast,
and now this dealer is incommunicado.

WTF?!

They're running a business, not a chat room.

Are my expectations out of order?

I think so.

Rich

Rich wrote:


Maybe he went out of business talking to people that weren't buying stuff.

LOL -- he obviously went out of business 'cause he didn't know how to
sell to people he was already talking to!

How much of his time did you expect?

As much time as it takes to answer my questions, 90% of which he
didn't.

He's in business, and his first
priority should be the people that made the effort to get to his store.

Oh, the world's supposed to beat a path to his door, even when they
call first to make arrangements for a visit?

He sounds friendly enough to me.

Of course. You're not very friendly yourself.

They're running a business, not a chat room.

So why talk my ear off about his life?

I think so.

Tell me which bike shop you own, etc. -- I'll be sure not to patronize.

Rich

In article .com,
says...

Whatever happened to the friendly neighborhood bike dealer?

Actually, I've never known one myself, but somehow I get the feeling
that these guys are at least supposed to care where you spend your
money.

I contacted Peter Stull, "The Bicycleman," and though I found him
friendly at first, after a long ten or thirteen-minute telephone
conversation he hangs up on me 'cause a customer suddenly walked in the
door. He never answered 90% of my questions -- very basic ones like
"how much does it cost?" -- though it was an interesting enough
conversation otherwise where he told me about his bike races, his
customer from Australia, the guy who works for him that specializes in
recumbents....

Before he excused himself with the near-equivalent of French Leave, I
asked him whether I might wrap things up via e-mail. I could almost
see him shrug casually -- "sure," he said.

Three weeks now and no response.

So I get in touch with another dealer, Northeast Recumbents. E-mailed,
phoned, left messages...nothing. Finally got through to him last
weekend, set up a look-see tomorrow. But there's rain in the forecast,
and now this dealer is incommunicado.

WTF?!

Are my expectations out of order?

The LBS on the next block from me where I got my Trek 1000c, the Bike
Stop in Astoria, was another crazy place. The owner himself insisted
on selling me the display model. It was in good condition, far as I
can tell (though by the time I'd noticed some marks and scratches, a
week had gone by and I couldn't be totally sure they weren't caused by
me somehow), but apparently all bike shops insist you pay "new" prices
for "good as new" bikes.

Small matter that, sure enough -- but then the headset wasn't quite
right. Turned out to be defective. But Gus, the owner, tried to
convince me that its being loose was nothing to worry about! And
indeed, I could ride the bike fine...but it just didn't feel right that
I had a moving part where things are tight on other bikes.

Or another LBS, in Manhattan, the Pedal Pushers...Evan over there is a
nutcase. He's very charming and talkative like Peter Stull, but he's
got a weird switch which somehow gets flipped and he'll go schizo on
you with his passive-agressive act. One day I came in for a flat fix.
While he was ringing up the sale, I noticed that my tire cap was gone

--
So, who or what is the common denominator in all these stories?

Mark Scardiglia

Mark wrote:


--
So, who or what is the common denominator in all these stories?

Mark Scardiglia




War of 1812...Mexican-American War...Spanish-American War...Phillipine
Insurrection...Boxer Rebellion...The Great War...The Big
One...Korea...Vietnam...Dominican Republic...Grenada...Gulf I and
II....

Who's the common denominator?

Just stick to the facts. It's easy to stick your tongue out and close
your eyes, but unless you have any suggestions as to what I could have
done differently, try not to feel so smug.

You won't look good with egg all over your face.

One day I came in for a flat fix.


You gotta take your bike into a bike shop to fix a flat? No wonder no
one wants to spend much time with you.

Capri wrote:



You gotta take your bike into a bike shop to fix a flat? No wonder no
one wants to spend much time with you.


But I'm not asking them to spend time with me.

And what's wrong with having a bike shop fix flats?

Do you think it's unmanly to use a map, too?

In article . com,
says...

Mark wrote:


--
So, who or what is the common denominator in all these stories?

Mark Scardiglia




War of 1812...Mexican-American War...Spanish-American War...Phillipine
Insurrection...Boxer Rebellion...The Great War...The Big
One...Korea...Vietnam...Dominican Republic...Grenada...Gulf I and
II....

Who's the common denominator?

Just stick to the facts. It's easy to stick your tongue out and close
your eyes, but unless you have any suggestions as to what I could have
done differently, try not to feel so smug.

You won't look good with egg all over your face.


OK. The facts, then. You spent probably 600 or 700 words lamenting about
how four or five or six bike shops in a row either treated you badly or
wouldn't do business with you or behaved bizarrely.

You're right, it's not the norm.

I could have pointed it out more gently, but the bottom line is that
these interactions are two way affairs and there's no secret handshake,
as you put it.

Sunny side up, dry toast on the side.
--
Mark Scardiglia

Mark wrote:

OK. The facts, then. You spent probably 600 or 700 words lamenting about
how four or five or six bike shops in a row either treated you badly or
wouldn't do business with you or behaved bizarrely.

Goodness, I'm glad you don't design bicycles for a living the way your
brain works.

You're right, it's not the norm.

You're wrong, I wasn't talking about that.

Why do you pick and choose what you wish to ignore?

I could have pointed it out more gently, but the bottom line is that
these interactions are two way affairs and there's no secret handshake,
as you put it.

You still haven't pointed out a single instance of what I'd done wrong.

Sunny side up, dry toast on the side.

Your brain is toast.

--
Mark Scardiglia

IGNORE THE TROLL


"NYC XYZ" wrote in message
oups.com...

Whatever happened to the friendly neighborhood bike dealer?

Actually, I've never known one myself, but somehow I get the feeling
that these guys are at least supposed to care where you spend your
money.

I contacted Peter Stull, "The Bicycleman," and though I found him
friendly at first, after a long ten or thirteen-minute telephone
conversation he hangs up on me 'cause a customer suddenly walked in the
door. He never answered 90% of my questions -- very basic ones like
"how much does it cost?" -- though it was an interesting enough
conversation otherwise where he told me about his bike races, his
customer from Australia, the guy who works for him that specializes in
recumbents....

Before he excused himself with the near-equivalent of French Leave, I
asked him whether I might wrap things up via e-mail. I could almost
see him shrug casually -- "sure," he said.

Three weeks now and no response.

So I get in touch with another dealer, Northeast Recumbents. E-mailed,
phoned, left messages...nothing. Finally got through to him last
weekend, set up a look-see tomorrow. But there's rain in the forecast,
and now this dealer is incommunicado.

WTF?!

Are my expectations out of order?

The LBS on the next block from me where I got my Trek 1000c, the Bike
Stop in Astoria, was another crazy place. The owner himself insisted
on selling me the display model. It was in good condition, far as I
can tell (though by the time I'd noticed some marks and scratches, a
week had gone by and I couldn't be totally sure they weren't caused by
me somehow), but apparently all bike shops insist you pay "new" prices
for "good as new" bikes.

Small matter that, sure enough -- but then the headset wasn't quite
right. Turned out to be defective. But Gus, the owner, tried to
convince me that its being loose was nothing to worry about! And
indeed, I could ride the bike fine...but it just didn't feel right that
I had a moving part where things are tight on other bikes.

Or another LBS, in Manhattan, the Pedal Pushers...Evan over there is a
nutcase. He's very charming and talkative like Peter Stull, but he's
got a weird switch which somehow gets flipped and he'll go schizo on
you with his passive-agressive act. One day I came in for a flat fix.
While he was ringing up the sale, I noticed that my tire cap was gone
and asked him where it was. He told me he put it outside the shop --
??? I asked him what he meant. He nodded incredulously at me and
repeated that he left my tire cap outside. Not only was it a bizzare
enough thing if true, but doubly strange was the fact that it wasn't
true, he never touched my bike until I brought it in. So I asked him
how could that be...he responded that, duh, how? I used my hands, you
know, hands, and unscrewed it and gently placed it on the sidewalk. So
I'm just really mystified at what's going on -- him swiping my card and
all all this time -- and I ask him why would he do that.

He goes, well, where do you put your TV in your place? I'm like, what?
Where do you put your TV, he repeated. I asked him why. He said that
just as I have my reasons for placing things in my apartment, so he has
his reasons for organizing his shop the way he does (actually, it's
owned by a sour old fart, Roger, who's absent half the time -- another
neurotic cat).

Now I ask you all; does that sound crazy or what?

What's even more bizzare is that there was a line of customers behind
me, every one non-plussed by the brief conversation.

Tell me, is there some bike shop etiquette I didn't observe? Is there
some kind of secret bike shop salute or handshake I should have
employed? Did I bother them somehow by smiling?

Honestly, I don't get it. Now I'll have to contact the fella over in
State College, PA, for the Velotechnik SMGTe. I am not awarding ~$3K
(maybe even more, if I don't contain my newfound lust of Rohloff
gearboxes and other exotica) to folks who don't care enough for it to
return a goddamned phone call or e-mail!