former bike shop

Yesterday, I went to my former bike shop. I bought my first roadie shoes
there, my first bicycle computer, and my first SPD pedals, and they did lots
of work on my bike for a while. But the one decent guy who worked there
left, and I didn't see much reason to remain as their customer.

My reasons for not being their customer any more was underscored when I went
in to the bike shop. The only reason why I was in there was I had business
at another store in the strip mall, and I thought I'd stop by. So I did --
why not?

Three employees were sitting around (literally -- in folding chairs, in the
center of the store) talking to each other. I came in, and headed to their
more expensive road bikes. I fingered the merchandise, and talked to my
daughter about what I'd be interested in, in a new bike. I went over to the
clothing, and rummaged through the 30% off on all 2003 bike clothes rack. I
peered into the case at the counter.

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try to
sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter, considering that
probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them working on bikes.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:

Yesterday, I went to my former bike shop. I bought my first roadie shoes
there, my first bicycle computer, and my first SPD pedals, and they did lots
of work on my bike for a while. But the one decent guy who worked there
left, and I didn't see much reason to remain as their customer.

My reasons for not being their customer any more was underscored when I went
in to the bike shop. The only reason why I was in there was I had business
at another store in the strip mall, and I thought I'd stop by. So I did --
why not?

Three employees were sitting around (literally -- in folding chairs, in the
center of the store) talking to each other. I came in, and headed to their
more expensive road bikes. I fingered the merchandise, and talked to my
daughter about what I'd be interested in, in a new bike. I went over to the
clothing, and rummaged through the 30% off on all 2003 bike clothes rack. I
peered into the case at the counter.

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try to
sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter, considering that
probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them working on bikes.

Your accoutn tells a tale...
Bernie

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 03:12:54 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:
Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try to
sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter, considering that
probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them working on bikes.

They, umm, didn't want to...bother you. Yeah, that's the ticket!
--
Rick Onanian

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 03:12:54 GMT, VuSuc.34729$n_6.5249@attbi_s53,
"Claire Petersky" wrote:

But the one decent guy who worked there
left, and I didn't see much reason to remain as their customer.

Find out where he's working now. Hairdressers, mechanics, plumbers,
chefs etc. often keep _their_ clients after changing employers.
--
zk

In VuSuc.34729$n_6.5249@attbi_s53, Claire Petersky wrote:

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try to
sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories.

Strangely enough, this is what I prefer. I don't actually want someone to
try to sell me anything that I haven't come in to buy. I usually just want
to conduct my business in the most efficient way possible, and to be left
alone if I haven't asked for anything.

For me, the test comes when I actually need help: if I ask for help and it
seems like I am bothering the sales staff or if they are going to treat me
like a fred or whatnot, then that's my signal to not come back.

For that matter, considering that probably two of them were wrenches, were
any of them working on bikes.

I guess the place isn't a sweatshop, but if you've had bad experiences with
long service times before then I can see your point.


--
Herbie J.
Famous Curator

According to Claire Petersky :

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try
to sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter,
considering that probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them
working on bikes.

You'd rather they were breathing down your neck sparring with one
another for the measly 1% commission that some shops pay? That sounds
miserable.

I'm sure if you asked for help they would have been happy to talk bikes
with you.

----
Lars Lehtonen

On 1 Jun 2004 08:12:15 GMT, Lars Lehtonen
wrote:

You'd rather they were breathing down your neck sparring with one
another for the measly 1% commission that some shops pay? That sounds
miserable.

I'm sure if you asked for help they would have been happy to talk bikes
with you.

There is certainly room in between, as in one coming over and asking
if they needed any help in locating what they are looking for.
Whatever the commission may be is irrelevant - if they are unhappy
with what they are paid, they can try a place that expects them to
work.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

On 1 Jun 2004 08:12:15 GMT, Lars Lehtonen
wrote:
You'd rather they were breathing down your neck sparring with one
another for the measly 1% commission that some shops pay? That sounds
miserable.

A simple "Is there anything I can help you with?" is a good balance.
--
Rick Onanian

"Lars Lehtonen" wrote in message
...
According to Claire Petersky :

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try
to sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter,
considering that probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them
working on bikes.

You'd rather they were breathing down your neck sparring with one
another for the measly 1% commission that some shops pay? That sounds
miserable.

Having worked retail, what I would have done was: hauled my bulk out of my
folding chair, turned to the shopper, and said something like: "looking at
those Treks? Need any help?" If the person replied something like, "no, just
browsing", then I'd say, "OK, just let me know if you need anything", and
then settled myself back down on my folding chair. This isn't breathing down
necks, this is acknowledging the presence of another human being.

I also suspect, but have no evidence for, that strikes against me were my
age, and me looking at road bikes. Being female was also probably against
me, too, as I was therefore not to be taken seriously -- although probably a
pretty or sexy female half my age might have gotten some attention, if not
respect.

I'm sure if you asked for help they would have been happy to talk bikes
with you.

Nah, they were too busy talking amongst themselves. I didn't want to
interrupt them.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Clai

While I understand and respect the opinions of others who have replied, I
also understand exactly what you mean. It isn't just bike shops, though.
If storeowners only knew how much business they lose by hiring
unknowledgeable sales people who are afraid to approach customers, they
would probably shape up pretty fast.

I constantly walk out of stores with money burning a hole in my pocket. One
day recently, I had $3,000 to spend on a laptop computer that I absolutely
needed the very next day. I walked into a well-known national mega computer
chain store and found three young salespeople gathered around a 23" monitor
playing a video game. I told them I needed to buy a laptop in a hurry and
that it was my first time buying one. Without looking up from the screen,
two of them pointed me to the aisle with the laptops and one said "The
laptops are over there." Needless to say, I walked out after two minutes of
trying to sell myself a laptop.

Even more recently, I walked into my neighborhood bike shop on a Sunday to
buy my wife the brand new bicycle I'd been promising her forever. We're
both really busy and this was the only time we could arrange to shop for the
bike together. Again, the money was in my pocket and there was no way we
weren't buying a bike that day. Well, it was Sunday, and the owner, whom I
know very well and really wanted to give the business, decided to take the
day off and leave two high school kids running the store. My wife and I
walked in and started fumbling our way through the hundreds of bikes on
display. I even pulled a few from the racks to size her up. In all the
time we were shopping, the two kids at the counter never even looked up from
their conversation about "hot chicks." When I asked if one could help, his
response was "What are you looking for?" I told him "A bike for my wife."
"What kind?" he replied. "Probably a hybrid." I said. "What size?" he
asked. "I'm not sure...she needs to be sized up." He then brought my wife
to the closest female hybrid in the showroom, asked her to get on, then
asked "Does THAT feel like the right size?" We bought my wife's bike
somewhere else.

This happens to me all the time, and I've made a habit of skipping out of
stores that do this to me. I guess I'm just getting old. I used to like to
be left alone when I was shopping, but that was when I was young and thought
I knew more about everything than anybody. Now that I'm older and realize
I'm not so smart, I need to be "sold" by salesperson before I'll buy
anything. My final example is the $150,000 home renovation for which my wife
and I are trying to book contractors, designers, and architects.
Highly-recommended tradespeople of all sorts have been escorted out our door
for making the same mistake: They ask us "what we want" and tell us
"they'll do whatever we want." We've made it clear to all these people that
we need guidance, that we've never done this before and we need input from
experienced professionals. Still, they come to the house and get frustrated
if we don't know whether we want flush beams or soffits in our kitchen. The
first kitchen designer who said to us "This is what you do and here's why"
got a big gig out of us.

I think store owners should take this as a warning. The biggest reason
people still shop in retail stores, rather than buying things cheaper
online, is for the interaction with knowledgeable salespeople who can guide
us through the selection and buying process. Once that benefit is
eliminated, we might as well all buy blindly via the Internet.

."Claire Petersky" wrote in message
news:VuSuc.34729$n_6.5249@attbi_s53...
Yesterday, I went to my former bike shop. I bought my first roadie shoes
there, my first bicycle computer, and my first SPD pedals, and they did
lots
of work on my bike for a while. But the one decent guy who worked there
left, and I didn't see much reason to remain as their customer.

My reasons for not being their customer any more was underscored when I
went
in to the bike shop. The only reason why I was in there was I had business
at another store in the strip mall, and I thought I'd stop by. So I did --
why not?

Three employees were sitting around (literally -- in folding chairs, in
the
center of the store) talking to each other. I came in, and headed to their
more expensive road bikes. I fingered the merchandise, and talked to my
daughter about what I'd be interested in, in a new bike. I went over to
the
clothing, and rummaged through the 30% off on all 2003 bike clothes rack.
I
peered into the case at the counter.

Never once did anyone greet me, ask what I might be interested in, try to
sell me a bike, clothes, or accessories. For that matter, considering that
probably two of them were wrenches, were any of them working on bikes.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky