[Closed] LBS owners= snobs?

Well I hope you jolly well gave him a sound thrashing... Did you have your Bentley parked outside?..
We know you've all got one...

only ones that complain about customers on forums.

I have in mind the owners my most local lbs, who are the most un-snobbish, friendly and enthusiastic people: euqally friendly whether you buy a patch kit or some dura ace bling, and whether you arrive wheeling in a carbon race sled or a beat-up commuter. Totally not snobs and give lots of support for local racing. Despite their relatively small size, they will also be burning the midnight oil as a trade/shop tent with the some sensible prices and great bargains to be had at the 24/12 if previous years are anything to go by.

I can think of a couple of [i]employees[/i] of lbs' (as opposed to the owners) who come across very haughty/superior ("I suppose you want those spd's for a spinning class, madam?" etc) but these two tools are happily the exception rather than the rule round our way.

What were you trying to sell him? Was it what he/she asked for?

certainly no bike snobs on STW! 😕

some are definitely pretentious [insert word]s of the highest order who want to sell what they want not what people want to buy.
"Hi, I'm looking for a 140mm Trail/AM bike or frame to build up."
"We have these lovely 100mm HT carbon 29's thats more what you want"
(a real example)

others are people who happen to know a lot about bikes and end up knowing what is decent and what isn't in a market place. Sometimes it's hard to sell things that are crap.

I also have found there is a growing proportion of people these days who are wandering round waiting to be offended so they can post about it on Facebook/Twitter/Here.

I can think of a couple of employees of lbs' (as opposed to the owners) who come across very haughty/superior

Some are, absolutely. I was in a bike shop in E. Sussex. I was on my £50 commuter and needed some new tires. The guy stopped serving me to talk to a guy on his expensive full sus. Another person working in the shop ignored me and went to the other customer too.

A few weeks later I was on my MTB and needed a tube. Got excellent service and asked loads of questions about my bike, where I rode etc.

I'll bet you were trying to sell him one of those 29ers you can't shift, eh? 😉

makecoldplayhistory and d45yth last week

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Typical is it ?

if your face-to-face style is anything like your written style on here, you are lucky for them to get beyond baffled.

I strive to make a sale yes indeed,do not like to see a customer go out of the door empty handed
The sales pitch itself was one of the Trek 29er hardtail range I stock

Too tall exactly I am by far means no snob huh

I've never had snobbishness as suich but I have had the "I know better than you" attitude. I asked if they stocked XTR gear cable sets only to be told they don't exist and that all gear cables are the same. I was like, but I've had them before, they're fitted to one of my bikes and he said they're not XTR. I gave up and left, not been back since. A lad at work came to me yesterday and asked if I had any bar end caps as he'd lost one. Apparently he went into his LBS and asked for a pair only to be told you can't buy them! Anyway I forgot to bring them in for him 🙁

I was looking to buy a carbon Santa Cruz frame from a certain Lakes bike shop...the bloke serving told me the one I was looking at had just been bought a dentist and then asked me what I did for a living! If that wasn't bad enough, he then asked my mate a few questions about my employment too!

he is pre qualifying you to ensure you can afford it, such behaviour is normall at Porsche and Mercedes, a bit sad that a bike shop feels the need.. 🙁

 

Am I a snob because I refuse to repair the Costco bikes people locally seem to keep buying, or to fix poo-covered pram wheels?

Not so much snobbish but two of them definitely have an elitist/clique thing going on.

Most seem ok although some staff can be difficult / stuck up because they work in a shop so know everything.

The only time I've cone across snobbery in a bike shop was totally unrelated to bikes. One of the guys from a shop in High Wycombe was into his cars and had an AC Cobra replica that I referred to as a kit car. He got a bit grumpy and pointed out that it was a replica and certainly not a kit car...

Singlespeed_Shep - Member
only ones that complain about customers on forums.

This, if the ones bleeting on about customers on stw are anything to go by then yes it's typical.

me doing my usual sales pitch

OK I see the problem.

(more seriously, a sample of 1 is not a sample, each customer is different, each shop is probably different too).

Snobs?
My LBS is called BAD ASS bikes and the owner uses expletives at a ratio of about 2/1.
Mind you, I went into a roadie shop in that London (Kingston) once. What a bunch of *ing *ers.

I can definitely relate the 'I know what you want better than you' attitude that seems to predominate in LBS's.

I appreciate genuine advice, but it is never given in that way. Having ridden bikes and taken them to pieces for the last 22 yrs, it's galling when some sales assistant, barely out of their teens, immediately insists on the 'I know what you want better than you' attitude.

What gives??? Is this the FIRST thing they teach them at LBS training school?

Predominantly, many LBS IME do themselves a real disservice by taking a generally patronising attitude to their customers - hence I usually avoid them at all costs. I can only think of a handful of brilliant ones who actually treat their customers like valued people.

[quote=wrecker ]Snobs?
My LBS is called BAD ASS bikes and the owner uses expletives at a ratio of about 2/1.
Mind you, I went into a roadie shop in that London (Kingston) once. What a bunch of *ing *ers.

nice, I picked up the missus bike from my LBS today, chilled & fine, rented 2 bike bags for the week - price slab of beer, which will probably get drunk tomorrow night at closing time

The blokes at my LBS are useless they always try to sell me the opposite of what I ask for.

One example was me asking if they had any FS frames for sale and being told everybody was moving to HT now so they wouldn't sell me an FS, I already had a HT.

The last time I went in they refused to accept that it is possible to buy inner tubes that were schrader and had lock rings. I had to show them the Continental website before they believed me.

My not so LBS is brilliant, so enthusiastic and willing to help.

it's really hard to know how to read how staff are with customers, I had two lads working for me whom I thought were brilliant, but after I they left and I got new guys in (who are outstanding) the complaints about the old guys started to flood in. customers didnt want to say antyhing at the time as they felt the old staff were my friends.

But I would be a total snob except I ride a 26" bike so everyone on their 29ers looks down on me.

such behaviour is normall at Porsche and Mercedes

Not from my experience of Merc.

9 times out of 10 this is the convo i have with my LBS

'Afternoon *insert sales persons name here*, can I have/order a *insert product here*?

'Yep, here/well order it for you.'

The other 1/10 is just a general chat. It's A Good Idea TM to make friends with your LBS.

Dunno about all, some don't seem to friendly, harry halls at the corn exchange always seemed to me cliquey/snobbish, other places I've been to felt a bit like I wasn't worthy. Dunno if that was partly my problem, I was always on a cheapy bike so felt weird surrounded by bike porn.

Always feel more at ease going into some small, traditional, back street packed to the rafters style LBS than posh bike showrooms.

I can definitely relate the 'I know what you want better than you' attitude that seems to predominate in LBS's.

of course sometimes they may actually have known what I [i]needed[/i]. Ho hum.

Or Bentley

My fave bike shop take the pre out of me but I always get a cuppa & a biscuit, I've sent loads of people in for their bikes. The staff are knowledgable but not in your face

After all I've got the entire back catalogue of mbuk stw so I know exactly what I want.

of course sometimes they may actually have known what I needed. Ho hum.

This. If someone asks for something that I think might not be right for them, I gently ask them why they've made that choice, and if I think they've got it wrong I'll try to steer them down a more sensible route - but still happy to build whatever they want no matter how unsuitable.

It's A Good Idea TM to make friends with your LBS

..why should I have to make this effort? I mean, like, I already have perfectly good friends! 😉

In any other normal [s]high street shop[/s] industry I can reasonably expect to receive decent friendly service, simply by virtue of being a customer. What places LBS on this lofty pedestal?

'Joe public' is somehow simply not deserving enough of their haloed kudos?

The best bike shops (literally, a few) are where you are instantly 'friends' the moment you walk through the door, simply because you are into bikes.

That's how bike shops should be IMO.

I agree. The esteem that bike shops are held in does baffle me at times. They're a business and should strive to offer the best service possible to get your business.

You expect that from every other retailer, so why not a bike shop? Just because it's a hobby diesnt mean they should be able to get away with offering a rubbish service and not listen to customers. The good ones will survive (hopefully) and the bad ones fade away.

One of my best experiences was trying to track down some pads for a set of old M4's. When I said to the yoof in my nearest shop that they had four individual pads he told me there was no such thing and that I needed the pads for a Moni calliper. Er, no I didn't.

Why make friends with your LBS? It's nice to have friends 😉

Turn it around - why would you not want to build up a friendly relationship with people you deal with regularly? I get on very well with my powdercoater, my accountant, the company who fix my shutters, courier drivers, other bike shops,...

It's A Good Idea TM to make friends with your LBS

..why? I mean, like, I already have perfectly good friends!

Because some people think they are 'friends' with their LBS and expect to get freebies and discounts when all the owner wants to do is releive your wallet to the max. I don't expect to be 'friends' with my chip shop, newsagent or hairdresser but I am friendly to them. There is a difference between friendly and being friends.

Anyway I don't use my LBS (2 mins ride from home) because its rubbish, but I know him well and he knows what I think.

Working in a bike shop can be really depressing, the shit people try to pull is unreal.
Yesterday ....
" can I have a refund on these shorts cos they make my bum bleed"
" I had my bike serviced about three weeks ago and now it's got a puncture "
" I bought this inner tube And its got a hole in it "
Add to that the bloke who had a warranty frame swapped in super fast time with new cables and heli tape all at no charge only to then kick off because he couldn't have he old frame as well !
The lady who had a massive rant about her three month old road bike and its rattling gears only for us to find she bought it over a year ago !
I could go on .
It can make it hard to greet you all with a smile .

^ I appreciate that side of the conundrum 🙂

It must be a pretty rough environment to try to make a living in.. :genuine:

It's A Good Idea TM to make friends with your LBS

Maybe, my experience is it's also a Good Idea TM to be able to maintain your bike yourself, so you can deal with bike shops because you want to not because you have to.

I've had disappointing (or worse) experiences with most of the shops I've used, despite spending plenty of cash, and prefer to avoid them when I can nowadays. The internet is a god-send, and if I'm honest the LBSs drove me to it.

I mean no reflection on the LBSers on here, good luck to you, it can't be an easy way to earn a living. Perhaps I've been unlucky, but I can only speak as I find.

plus its hard when some of the customers are simply checking your shop out to come back and rob you later.
or a customer who wanted a shock swapping in super fast time so we sent a new shock and asked the old one to be returned, still waiting three months on.
customer wanted their gears setting up, only for their other half to bring the bike back later that day saying the brakes arent working, despite us telling the other half that they werent working and do they want us to set them up.

its fun and games.

plus its hard when some of the customers are simply checking your shop out to come back and rob you later.

That stinks. But they're not [b]customers[/b] they're [b]criminals[/b].

The internet is a god-send, and if I'm honest the LBSs drove me to it.

^This!

funny, it was my experience with LBS's that drove me to set up a LBS 🙂

Working in a bike shop can be really depressing, the shit people try to pull is unreal.

I had a bike shop strip a bolt on my brake master cylinder, then they claimed it was my fault and refused to do anything about it. I reckon they've lost over £1k in trade because of it.

That stinks. But they're not customers they're criminals.

Some try to be both, either asking if we want to buy their obviously stolen bike, or fix it, we generally try get them arrested, but you get a lot of shit from it.

2 local LBSes to me - both part of small chain of shops, are not snobbish at all.
The original bike shop I used to use (a single shop), was quite intimidating. I don't think i ever would have gone in there if my mate hadn't taken me in! Shop now only sells high end Ti, steel and carbon frames, so don't know how he's still going..

" can I have a refund on these shorts cos they make my bum bleed"

Anyway I don't use my LBS (2 mins ride from home)

LBS - the one you run to when something snaps, breaks, falls apart or dies at 4:45 on a Friday before a weekend away.
Or the one where

Working [s]in a bike shop[/s] can be really depressing, the shit people try to pull is unreal.

Its life, You take the rough with the smooth. Its not the customers fault you just had a tool in complaining.

Each one of those people you complain about at some point made a contribution to your wages.

nice,

True singlespeed very true.

True singlespeed very true.

When ever I got a tool in, I used to stick roam on the dvd player, sit on a downhill bike and make funny noises.

Or throw a spanner.

I miss the days of "my chains rusty, this bike keeps getting punctures and do you have a medium sized Allen key for my bars"

OP - Sounds like your sales technique was frankly wrong for that particular customer, especially if they felt that agrieved with you that they told you to your face. As Sancho says most people dont say anything and just go away telling all their mates etc not to visit your shop, at least this guy gave you prior warning your doing it wrong.

As to all the niggling stuff that customers request etc. Surely thats just like any business? By all means moan about it, but the bike industry isnt 'special'

[i]When ever I got a tool in, I used to stick roam on the dvd player, sit on a downhill bike and make funny noises.[/i]

While they were still talking to you? 😆

With a fullface / Iridium goggles!

andypaul99 - he is pre qualifying you to ensure you can afford it, such behaviour is normall at Porsche and Mercedes, a bit sad that a bike shop feels the need..

D45yth - I agree he's gone about it in the wrong way. I remember from my days of working in a shop that most of the guys with the nicest bikes weren't the ones with the best jobs. Those that earnt loads were often pretty tight and had so-so bikes that never got any love.

Going off ar a tangent, I remember going car shopping have narrowed my choice down to a Clio 182 and a Cooper S. Went to the Renault garage and was told that I didn't want a 182, I was too young etc. The guy proceeded to try and sell my a 1.4 Clio that was slower than the Mini Cooper I had at the time. The Mini garage took me seriously let me test a few cars etc and got my money. Preconceptions of potential customers can be a dodgy thing.

Also agree with the chap who said about people being friendly because they want something. I was genuinely mates with a few of our customers but some of then took the pee in terms of what they expected in return.

While they were still talking to you?

I'd usually wait for them to leave, I wouldn't want them to get the hump and scratch my Range Rover on their way out.

I used to work in a bike shop and loved it, the customers i hated but smiled and was nice and friendly because that's what you do.

I repaired shitty pram wheels and sold rediculous bikes that wouldn't get used for there intent.

I since have not been into a bike shop other than to pick up a specific part, (no bull crap no chit chat) I am sick of going into them and feeling looked down on and patronized.

I'm yet to find a freindly bike shop that i can go into brows look at the shiney stuff and then walk out of having bought a low end bit of kit or something that's not in there eyes the right bit, with out getting a weird look.

I deemed never to step foot in my LBS after they delayed and delayed a simple quick wheel tension. When I complained I got told that as I hadn't bought a bike from him he didn't prioritise my job and put mine to the back. It wasn't the first job that had been delayed either.

Silly fool failed to realise that 2 people I knew bought bikes from him from my recommendation to use him.

I have recently bought a new bike from a brand he stocks, bought it online though so his narrow minded customer service meant I would NEVER buy anything from him again.

Dont have a lbs as such here any more. But when I did I always found I was treated in a different way too the middle aged men who just blow cash on a bike they dont ride.

Recently it has been at jejames in Rotherham. One of the managers was being really obstructive and unhelpful whilst I was trying too look at the Orange5 and Alpine frames.

I came back the next weekend and got the same treatment so I decided too see how they would react if I brought my bike. He was completely different when I walked in with my Ti456.

More often than not I find people will respond to being treated with a bit of respect and will return that respect , that applies if you are a customer or staff . Many people go into a shop thinking they know it all and can have quite an arrogant attitude towards the staff , this is I guess the flip side of what the OP wrote . Also some people just seem determined to have a bad time no matter what kind of service they receive .

I my line of work I stick by the adage "The customer is always right" (until I prove them wrong).

But I dont work in the cycle industry.

The nearest bike shop to my house boils my pi55 whenever I am forced to go in there. As such I try to use others closer to where my work takes me.

I went into 23C in Stony Stratford with a £1K C2W voucher (so not idly tyre kicking), looking for my first road bike, the Orbea 105 at that price. Girl behind the counter (we are the only 2 people in the shop) couldnt even be bothered to check the price list. Turned round, walked out, bought one online. Recently upgraded to a full carbon/ultegra toy and bought loads of nice roadie kit, all business 23C could have captured.

Munqe Chick has been MTBing 20 years but hates going into shops as she is tired of being patronised and condescended too, with the result her "LBS" is still back home in Cardiff, 120 miles away, with the guys she grew up with and who encouraged her into riding as a kid.

Sorry to hear so many bad experiences. I used to work on the shop floor in retail, these experiences were always the opposite of the service we tried to give our customers.

I have been fortunate to use the small Cycleworks chain, Leatherhead, Guildford and Haslemere. All have been really good and happy to service bikes, order in parts and complete my recent bike build. They are always friendly and don't look down on me because I can't justify a Whyte or Orange.

They always seem to be friendly to the young Mums and Dads buying bikes for kids, as well as the 'can you repair my puncture' brigade. Always service with a smile and would always recommend them to others.

I have 2 LBS' - right around the corner from work, within 200 yards of each other, bot successful in their own right, but on very different scales.

I bought a bike from the big one a few years back, missed the free service deadline by about a month, had hardly ridden the thing anyway, begrudgingly paid for a service and came out £125 worse off. They sell a certain brand of flashy german bikes that look the part and get ridden around town a lot...... Pretty patronising staff who think everyone's aspiring to ride the tour or fort william.

The other is modest in comparison, sells good value, good quality, non flashy bikes, will fix anything you drag in, love a good chat, ride old school bikes themselves, and will always do a deal, on what you want, not what they want to sell.

Guess which I use now...

I have over 25 years working within the cycle industry and my knowledge is superior you could say so when a customer says that to me it baffles me

Dont think he liked my sales pitch one bit,which was a real shame as I don't like a customer to leave empty handed out of my shops

What makes you think your knowledge is superior? Saying stuff like that may be why you lost the sale.

This last few years things seem to change at such a rate I can never assume I know everything , a lot of things yes but not all you just never stop learning.

Both myself and my boss do have off days and can be grumpy now and then and can be a little short with people but we both try to be nice and take time to help everyone who comes in
No dirty bike charge
Do fix pram wheels
Pump up old ladies tyres (at least once a day ) free of charge

Some customers are just very hard to please and/ or think they are correct no matter what you try and tell them

I have over 25 years working within the cycle industry and my knowledge is superior

this and your choice of forum username suggest your non-customer had a point. Since when does working in an industry make you an expert? Years ago my local GT dealer heard they'd gone t1ts up from me, going in to stock up on spares for my I-Drive (I'd heard via the US-based MTBR forum). They even rang the distributor to check because they didnt believe me. Plenty of bike geeks out there who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of bikes and kit, who just happen to earn their living outside the industry.

We've had LBS owners/employees posting "help" threads on here which suggests not everyone is of the same opinion.

Given your starting point is condescending towards customers I'm only surprised this is the first one who's had the confidence to speak out.

Crashtestmonkey, thanks for writing that...I was in the middle of writing something similar. I cringed when reading Bikeind's last comments too.

The bit about customers walking out empty handed...if you haven't got what they came in for, it's too bad isn't it. 🙄

Yep, think I agree with the customer here. Remind me not to bother popping in your shop.

Plenty of bike geeks out there who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of bikes and kit, who just happen to earn their living outside the industry.

Yes, I get lots of good info and new product ideas from customers - because, frankly, I don't have as much time to browse obscure bike websites as some people do 😉 And some of my best-selling things, like Rohloff Bromptons, have come about because someone has had the idea and asked me to build it.

what had the (potential) customer come in for?

I have over 25 years working within the cycle industry and my knowledge is superior

That doesn't sound snobby at all. No, ohhh no. Choice of the world "superior" says a lot.

I still hold a stupid, pointless piece of anger in the back of my mind for the guy in the Shimano tent at Mayhem in 2007 (yes, really!) who tried to tell me that my seized chainlink was due to me not having lubed the chain, that the dust was wearing it through. "Have you ridden the course? I rode it last night and it's really dusty, you need to lube your chain. That's why it's seized."

Didn't notice the fact I was riding solo and would have done at least four laps since he'd done his.

Snooty, grumpy arsehole, sneering at me, my bike, my chain lube regimen and dispensing utter, nonsensical bullshit while he was at it. If he ran a bike shop, there's no way in hell I would ever want to put any money his way.

Emotional business, people and their bikes...

All the local shops I use are ace. Odd unhelpful employees at one but stock generally makes up for it.

11 out of 10 for the guy in one of our LBSs who not having the right choice of bikes for our eldest reccommended me to his previous employer 5miles away and gave us some of his time to make suggestions of what he might rate from the stock they were likely to have! Will make dam sure he gets some more custom for something else now.

Great to see that there are some great LBSs still around.

Bikeind - which is you shop?

bikeind - Member

I have over 25 years working within the cycle industry and my knowledge is superior you could say so when a customer says that to me it baffles me

Dont think he liked my sales pitch one bit,which was a real shame as I don't like a customer to leave empty handed out of my shops

Please tell me you're trolling 😆

The owner of my favorite LBS wears Crocs at the shop! Snob!

I have over 25 years working within the cycle industry and my knowledge is superior

Oh dear 🙄

The owner of my favorite LBS wears Crocs at the shop! Snob!

Crocs: shoes designed for people with poor bladder control.