Bad bike shops

skinnypunter

Today, I experienced both extremes of the LBS experience.

I'm overhauling some old SPDs I found at the back of the garage to chuck on a borrowed MTB. Rubber seals have long since disappeared and one was completely siezed up: only half the BBs left, and most of those not very round.

My LBS is East St Cycles in Walton. I'm not sure how they'd pitch themselves, but they seem to have a reasonable range of bikes. So, I ambled in yesterday. Two blokes working in shop. One busy with lady customer (MILF, BTW) buying a puncture kit, the other swearing at the till. I stood in the queue of me & the other person for some time while she deliberated over the merits of the £2.99 kit vs the £3.49. I attempted to make eye contact with sweary man. I coughed. I shuffled my feet AND jingled my house-keys. Nowt.

Eventually, she went with the £3.49 (good choice).

"NOW. Surely now", I thought, "I will get served by the attentive bloke who cares enough to gve a dozy blonde a choice of puncture repair kits". But no, sweary bloke "spots" me.

"Can I help?".

"Yip. Need new bearings for pedals, and some grease, lithium for preference".

Silence. Then teeth were sucked. Observers may have thought I'd just asked a builder to quote on my loft extension.

"What, the tiny ones?"

"Yes. 2mm or 3/32 will do."

"Nah, don't have 'em. No need."

(Odd - could have sworn this was a place people had bikes serviced.)

Silence. No user input from sweary man. More silence. I maintained eye contact, and my usual gormless smile.

"OK. Anywhere else?" (choice of 3 shops within 10 miles).

"Addlestone?".

Addlestone, dear readers, is a small town. Not a LBS. I guessed he meant the LBS in Addlestone, but the way he asked me suggested he didn't know (a) where Addlestone is, and (b) if it has a shop (it does).

ANYWAY, I buggered off. Went home, fired up t'internet and found bearings within 2 minutes. Bearings arrived this morning.

Q: why didn't I go to Addelstone? A: I don't own a stab vest.

But I'd forgotten grease (he'd probably have sold me tickets for the West End show if I'd asked).

TODAY, I'm in sleepy old Hampton. Birdie Bikes in Hampton is fecking marvellous: it's the LBS for where I work, so they get to service my commuter hybrid, and my wife's bike, and I bought my son's first bike there. Lunchtime - amble in : "small tube of lithium grease?" generates an extended search of the shelves because he's sure he has a small tube, even though the bigger tube he's got in his hand is so cheap, I'll have it anyway. He checks what I need it for. I get free advice on it's use, a smile, a wave and a nice warm feeling (I thought it was heartburn at first). PLUS he had the bearings too (but see above).

So, I know this has been an overlong post. But (a) I'm a bit drunk, and (b) I like using lists, but most of all (c) why are some shops completely crap when others should be preserved for the good of the nation? Eh? Why?

Big Red S

To be fair to the first shop, pedal bearings are an incredibly rare request.

No excuse for the service, granted, but I don't think the fact they didn't have any should be treated as that bizarre.
Especially since bearings are one of those things where if you want them, you know which ones you want, and you can get them from an engineer's supplies cheaper than its worth the bikeshop selling them for, given how few they sell.

iain_j

Reminds me of the bike shop I used to go to in the city centre. Give them their due, they gave me a generous discount on the OCR when I bought it because it was "end of season", but beyond that they weren't very good.

Went in once to look for something (can't remember what, but nothing obscure like pedal bearings), had a look round the shop but couldn't spot it, so went to the counter. Two guys behind the counter, no other customers there, but still took them a minute to acknowledge I was there (but still didn't look up from their takeaway trays). "Do you have any [whatever-it-was] in?" I asked. "It's out in the shop" one grunted back, still staring at his chips, flinging an arm towards the back of the shop. Great, I thought, thanks for your help. Took me another five minutes to find what I was after, tucked in at the back of a display stand in the corner.

That was typical of their service. There were a couple of helpful guys in there but they seemed like the minority. Not sad to say the shop in question closed down a year or so ago :roll:

skinnypunter

Big Red S wrote:

To be fair to the first shop, pedal bearings are an incredibly rare request.

Absolutely agree. It was just Mr Sweary's odd attitude that phased me. He may have assumed that I was "with" MILF initially, but after that it just got odd.

chuckcork

Not the only shop I'm afraid there are plenty of others out there that are probably worse.

The worst LBS I've had like yours was Evans in Kingston. Went in there several times in a row, and the staff ignored me; knew less about their products than I did and couldn't answer any questions I had; and finally when I did managed to get something and wanted to pay for it, thought the problem they had with their till was my problem and that I would be happy to stand and wait for them to fix it, which I did for 2 minutes until asking bluntly whether or not I could just pay by cash and leave please with my purchase?

I think though it is a general problem with lack of training and little interest in providing service, which paradoxically only gets worse the more staff they have to deal with customers as it means more chances to evade responsibility.

Had pretty much the same experience in other shops too, I generally thank them by never going back or if I can be ar*sed sending an email to the company suggesting they improve their training.

s.ammo

The bloke that works in the bike shop at coed-y-brenin and looks llike gollum is a tit.

The bloke that works in the LBS in the town and at 56 had just 'talked himself in to getting a sunday-cup' is a legend.

that is all.

spanielsson

I used to work in a shop, both as a mechanic and on the sales side. I was always as helpful as I could be, I always hope for the same to be honest.

One shop I 've bought two bike from recently are very good, sadly they can't alway price match, but I give them as much trade as I can.

The worst experiences I 've had looking for advice and parts/clothing/bikes is at Harry Hall's in Manchester, I think they just survive on former reputation and the history of the shop. I was ready to buy a bike and had the similar problem of lots of staff and nobody interested!!!! Needless to say they have lost out on over £5000 from me this year.

Nuggs

The owner of my LBS is a great guy, as is the Saturday assistant. Both incredibly helpful, really know their stuff and are really passionate about the sport and the shop.

The other assistant is a moody get. He has also consistently failed to set my (then) new bike up properly, despite almost 10 visits to the shop.

On the plus side, his attitude and apparent incompetence did pursuade me to get a copy of Zinn, some tools and work out how to do things myself...

Gavin Gilbert

Evans - Chiswick branch. I had to explain to the yoof on the till what a 'headset spacer' was. And then needed to explain that these come in 2 diametres and a number of different hights :roll:

Mister W

Not my experience but a friend's........ she wanted to try a new Wilier in her local shop so asked them if they had one in her size. When she went in to try it, the chap in the shop was trying to get the seat tube in. It was a very tight fit...... not suprising as it was the wrong size. This didn't deter the young man who used increasing amounts of force until he managed to get it in, splitting the carbon frame as he did so :roll:

Ash_

Bike shops, they're odd ones aren't they? By that I mean I'd like to think you'd have to be a bit of an enthusiast to want to open one in the first place. I think what makes a bike shop 'turn bad' is the following:

1) After years of selling cheap water bottles, bells and stabilisers, the original owner's enthusiasm has been so sucked out of him that even if you went in there with the most beautiful hand-crafted all-Italian steed for a service, he wouldn't be able to get interested.
A sort of cycling erectile dysfunction, if you will.

2) His wife works in the shop. She knows nothing about bikes (despite being in the place for 30 years).

3)This glum attitude is projected onto the 'Saturday boy'. And he's the one you'll probably have to deal with.

or:
4) There was none of this process in the first place and nobody in the shop was ever passionate about bikes (Evans, Halfords, etc.)

All this is compounded by people such as us on this forum who like bikes and most probably know a lot about them, so can easily spot when someone doesn't know what they're talking about. I guess in the same way that a Hi-Fi enthusiast wouldn't get their kit from Dixons. But, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for really rude, shoddy customer service. The one LBS I will return to again and again, even paying a little over the odds at times (although compensated by discounts on other occasions) is the one where I get great customer service...

To give an example of this, our club held a cycle jumble last weekend, the LBS proprietor had to cancel his stall. Why? He'd been so busy dealing with customers all week that he'd got behind on his bike services. Now that's the kind of attitude I want, putting the customer first, but still not letting down those that were expecting their bikes to be repaired.

Bikerbaboon

All i can say is leeds home of the great LBS... I have been in 8 in leeds ( one in otley) every one has given me good service and been helpfull withj gettign me what i need and if they did not have it they offerd to order it. One guy fits most parts that i buy from him FOC. Theres another shop that has been haveing staff issues ( they dont turn up) so its just the manager in on his own for a sat and sunday with 4 customers in the shop at the time i was there and he kinda managed to talk to us all and get us all what we needed.

Even the halfords is good ( well there are 2 good people in the bike store and you can normaly find one of htem working.)

boybiker

There is an increadably bad bike shop near me called Portswood cycles I went in there looking for some armwarmers and the guy behind the till suggested that I wear a coat as thats what 'most' people do, I suggested to him that it wasn't really practical to wear a coat in a road race. :roll: :roll: :roll:
There is another one down the road from me called DH cycle sports that is famously open for one hour per week and you are far more likely to see the owner riding down the road than actually in the shop.

DavidBelcher

Bikerbaboon wrote:

All i can say is leeds home of the great LBS... I have been in 8 in leeds ( one in otley) every one has given me good service and been helpfull withj gettign me what i need and if they did not have it they offerd to order it. One guy fits most parts that i buy from him FOC. Theres another shop that has been haveing staff issues ( they dont turn up) so its just the manager in on his own for a sat and sunday with 4 customers in the shop at the time i was there and he kinda managed to talk to us all and get us all what we needed.

Even the halfords is good ( well there are 2 good people in the bike store and you can normaly find one of htem working.)

Was the Otley one Chevin Cycles by any chance? I used to live a few doors up the road from them! Admittedly, they always seemed a tad pricey to me, but the workshop service was excellent. Dave Rayner Cyclesport in Rawdon was another good one, always plenty of time for the customer, ditto Woodrup. Never used to buy much from Bob Jackson, though - visits to there and to Ellis-Briggs were mostly to drool over the framesets!

David

ogre

MY LBS is Butterworths in Hillsborough, they're ace. They service my road bike and my commutter (sp?) superbly. They're helpful, quick when i need it and seel everything i need. They sorted the fit of my road bike quickly and without the major work I'd suggested.

JE James in sheffield is the other extreme. The staff in the road section are surly and uninterested - the only time they've even spoken to me is when i bought a pair of Assos bibs - I wondered if they were on commission.

DavidBelcher

boybiker wrote:

There is an increadably bad bike shop near me called Portswood cycles I went in there looking for some armwarmers and the guy behind the till suggested that I wear a coat as thats what 'most' people do, I suggested to him that it wasn't really practical to wear a coat in a road race. :roll: :roll: :roll:
There is another one down the road from me called DH cycle sports that is famously open for one hour per week and you are far more likely to see the owner riding down the road than actually in the shop.

Have you got a branch of Hargroves nearby? The Winchester one is always helpful; in the past they've removed stubborn pedals FOC and let me have old bike boxes for sending S/H frames through the post, that sort of thing. Not in a huge building, so they are a bit limited on how much stock they can carry, but worth going back to all the same.

David

skinnypunter

chuckcork wrote:

The worst LBS I've had like yours was Evans in Kingston.

Gah! It's known at work as "the Chimp Factory". Our ride2work scheme is with them. I ordered my Trek 1.7 as a triple. Picked it up, didn't bother checking it over much cos I was in a hurry (excited / priapic). Next morning, quick set up, hop on bike, head to Leith Hill - changed down at front and then... couldn't change again. Odd, I thought, should be 3 chain rings - but only two.

Admittedly, I should have spotted this in the shop, but I got home, rang Evans and tried to explain the problem (i.e. I ordered a triple, but was given a double). My 7 year old son got a genuine, if basic grasp, of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle quicker than the moronic twunt who answered the phone understood my issue. "Triple? Triple what? Double the price of? You can't bring it back, it won't be in re-saleable condition. Manager? He's dead/dying/sodomising a goat/painting his toe nails/we don't have a manger".

Long story short: after 20 minutes of failing to talk to anyone with 2 co-operating brain cells I decided a double was fine, and I've never been back to Evans again.

This thread is saving me a fortune in therapy.

boybiker

I have been in the winchester Hargroves and they are quite good but another one I have found in Southampton is called The Hub they can be a bit sniffy at first but once they know you are serious they will do lots of stuff for free.

Jez mon

My LBS at home is very varied in it's service. The chief road guy is ace, but some of the staff in the MTB/general department are terrible. You just have to insist your bike is serviced upstairs and see the right guy when you take it in, which is easier said than done!

DavidBelcher

skinnypunter wrote:

Gah! It's known at work as "the Chimp Factory".

Can they ride tandem?

David

Anonymous

***** Mister W *****

PLEASE change the email address in your account to a valid one.

shockedsoshocked

I have two great LBS near me (Westbrooks and Biketraks). It's nice to walk into a bike shop and the guy behinds the counter knows your name

*sings Cheers theme tune*

Bikerbaboon

DavidBelcher wrote:

Bikerbaboon wrote:

All i can say is leeds home of the great LBS... I have been in 8 in leeds ( one in otley) every one has given me good service and been helpfull withj gettign me what i need and if they did not have it they offerd to order it. One guy fits most parts that i buy from him FOC. Theres another shop that has been haveing staff issues ( they dont turn up) so its just the manager in on his own for a sat and sunday with 4 customers in the shop at the time i was there and he kinda managed to talk to us all and get us all what we needed.

Even the halfords is good ( well there are 2 good people in the bike store and you can normaly find one of htem working.)

Was the Otley one Chevin Cycles by any chance? I used to live a few doors up the road from them! Admittedly, they always seemed a tad pricey to me, but the workshop service was excellent. Dave Rayner Cyclesport in Rawdon was another good one, always plenty of time for the customer, ditto Woodrup. Never used to buy much from Bob Jackson, though - visits to there and to Ellis-Briggs were mostly to drool over the framesets!

David

bang on with chevin they dont have the cheapest deals but they do look after you and are happy for you to have test rides. its that extra service that you are paying for. I dont have a need for a new bike atm but when i do its going to be intresting if my morals win out or my wallet. (the wallets got hte backing of MRS baboon so could be on to a winner) and bob jackson is just up the road from work.

hisoka

I have to admit that all bike shops I've been to in Nottingham so far have been helpful and useful. Though checking on how long it might take to get a rear cassette changed (didn't have the tools myself) one did say "well we don't have any space for a month". Didn't offer anything along the lines "these days are possible" or anything. But I don't deal with them often, rest of the time they were great so I can't really complain too much as just dropped it with usual LBS and picked it up the next day.

ride_whenever

I love that about my LBS, they give really good service, and they only let the intelligent ones work in the shop. This all breaks down a bit when (as a new customer) you get sent down to the grumpy monkeys in the workshop down the road. That said the workshop is lush, and the monkeys are great guys once you get to know them, but they have no patience for people who aren't interested in cycling.

Bikerbaboon

hisoka wrote:

I have to admit that all bike shops I've been to in Nottingham so far have been helpful and useful. Though checking on how long it might take to get a rear cassette changed (didn't have the tools myself) one did say "well we don't have any space for a month". Didn't offer anything along the lines "these days are possible" or anything. But I don't deal with them often, rest of the time they were great so I can't really complain too much as just dropped it with usual LBS and picked it up the next day.

If you are handy with a spanner you can get the tools for £10

gandhi

boybiker wrote:

I have been in the winchester Hargroves and they are quite good but another one I have found in Southampton is called The Hub they can be a bit sniffy at first but once they know you are serious they will do lots of stuff for free.

We're a little spoiled in Southampton. GA Cycles, The Hub and Hargroves are all excellent. Rock and Road is also good if your budget is a little higher.

I've had similar bad experience with Portswood Cycles.

edhornby

I went to the Edinburgh bike coop in manchester with a mate of mine who used to work in the edinburgh branch, as a mutual friend of ours was looking at bikes... I'm having a general mooch and looking at a commuter with an 8 sppeed hub, I remarked "blimey it's a world away from sturmey archer 3 speeds'

his response

'Sturmey Archer? what's that then?'

---

plus side - GBH cycles on Tib St in Manchester are a real bike shop with a guy behind the counter who knows what he is talking about - I rate them !

skinnypunter

DavidBelcher wrote:

Can they ride tandem? David

If the seats face in opposite directions....

cock_sportif

chuckcork wrote:

The worst LBS I've had like yours was Evans

[grits teeth]

Dont... get... me... started ...

[/grits teeth]

SCR Pedro

Hey there,

I was in Edinburgh last year, and I went around all the bike shops, looking for frame brackets for one of those Zefal pumps. You know, the old school frame pumps?
I described the product to them, and every single shop denied that such a thing existed, telling me that all pumps come with frame brackets.

I went to one of my local LBS', and they knew exactly what I wanted and gave it to me free-of-charge. That kind of service will almost always get the customer back through the doors.

Bad customer service is just unacceptable, but customers can often be complete ****'s as well. It's a two way system!

Pedro