[Closed] Lingering bike shop staff puts me off.

Spinning backfist should do it

Agree, not a fan of over zealous shop assistants in any shop.

You obviously look dodgy and he's just doing his job protecting the stock

All the Ricky's I know are definitely dodgy

Conversely; me and my wife went into a shop looking at a road bike for her over the weekend. 3 people behind the counter with no-one else in the store and after 5 minutes the wife got the hump and walked out as no-one came over to help us out!

Can't win eh? 😀

Cheers,
Jamie

Phew I thought the pitch forks would be getting sharpened for me,I said to my mate when we got out of there " iff that lad wasn't so pushy I would have spent some cash in there" and that's the truth,I would have got some fat bars but couldn't wait to get out of there.

I do have a scar on my face artist maybe that's why.

I get your point and I don't overly USA style shop friendliness bit asking if they can help when you walk in doesn't sound stupid to me at least they can point you to where the item you are looking for is.

I got similar treatment in a LBS but certainly wasn't pushy - just really enthusiastic to show me some of the new kit and bikes they had. I prefer this to the stand around and ignore the customers type approach. Then again I'm happy enough to ask to be left alone if that's what I want.

Yes I suppose policy in most shops is to ask the customer as soon as they walk in and it is helpfull but when you tell them what your looking for they assume your spending your money already.

Middle ground though innit. My preferred technique when I worked in the LBS was to allow people 30 seconds to look around, rather than acost them on the threshold, if they said "just looking" or anything then say "no worries, shout if you need anything", and back off.

Was also told (by someone who knows about this stuff) to say "is there anything particular you're after?" or "can I give you a hand with anything?" or similar, rather than "can I help you?", to which people have a negative reflex reaction.

It's no really necessary to badger people though for a sale.
I worked in retail for a long time and would always greet people and then ask them to give me a shout if they needed assistance.
If they were leaving without asking for help, i'd ask if there was anything that they were looking for in particular that they hadn't seen in the shop.

I could see the lad walking toward me at the corner of my eye (put off already) with them famous words "can I help you"

This is reasonable, attentive and helpful staff member offering a friendly greeting

but this...

when I said " no thank you I'm just looking" he proceeded to follow me around looking over my shoulder all the time

is less so, transitions quickly to pushy and overbearing sales spiel.

Regarding your comment about only just walking through the door, well that's all well and good, you know you went in there to look, he didn't know that, for all he knew you could have been looking for something specific, and had you been left to wander aimlessly unattended getting annoyed that nobody offered to help you.

Some staff are way too pushy, others way too inattentive, either way, the only way the shop manager/owner can improve is with feedback.

Your method I perfect for someone like me njee20,I like to be left for a minute to have a look around then if I can't find something I want I'll ask.

[i]"is there anything particular you're after?" [/i]

Yeah, the chance to look around a shop without being hassled!

I've heard a few people say they have been put off buying in my LBS (Solent Cycles, Whiteley, if anyone's reading) as the staff are a bit snobby.
I actually tell people to go there instead of Halfords and then they get put off by the staff!

Shop staff, damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Don't know why shops bother having them...

"is there anything particular you're after?" 

This.

In my e-cig shop (being very small) the customers are upon you as soon as they walk through the door, which can be a little intimidating for them. I give them a few seconds and gauge if they go straight to what they are looking for (will then ask them if they found everything they were looking for when they get to the counter). If they look like they are browsing, I'll ask then I'd there's anything in particular they are looking for or if they are just looking - and then help or tell them to feel free accordingly. If browsing I'll go about my own business until they then want to get my attention again.

You should have walked over to the bib shorts and grabbed a pair...and asked the assistant to put them on so you can see what they look like. If they obliged ask if the do them crotchless as you start rubbing your hands together.

The trick is to have a relevant but very difficult technical question at hand, and when they can't answer it: "Guess you can't help me then, so I'll just browse."

Njee, spot on there.

Acknowledge on arrival, then leave them to settle, then ask open questions.

Grates my gears that kinda "lap dog" style of any shop assistant, LBS or not.
I often look them right in the eye before they have had chance to "get in mode" and into "opening statement mode" state clearly "I'm just looking, if I can't find what I need I'll ask"
God you see the responces that gets 🙄 It's like I've just killed thier self esteem dead right there.
Only quality assistants stand back and let the customer decide what it is they want.
One particular bike shop here in Shiney Town I totally refuse to go into after an incident whereby I felt like was on trial for "meandering, contemplating and weighing up the product(s)"
Idiots, well know in the business idiots.

This really isn't hard to get right, yet so many shops (not just bike shops) get it soo wrong.

All you need to do is greet the customer as thay enter the shops and tell them you're there if they need anything. Then retire to a safe distance.

You have shown you are friendly and approachable but not a mithering idiot.

So OP did you get the try the clothing on then buy in online?

I get most things online but now and again I like to see and compare what I'm buying so I went to a well stocked bike shop...

Translation:

I likes an internet bargain and tend to treat bricks and mortar shops like [I]"Google's showroom"[/I], So how bloody dare the staff attempt actual, offline, social interaction with me when I just want to finger their products, maybe try on a jacket and then piss off to the lowest priced online retailer to buy it, the cheek!...

I expect your general intent was written all over you, hence you were probably being [I]shadowed[/I] to try and put you off whipping out your phone and price-checking CRC then and there in the shop... Did they really lose a sale?

Cynical I was after some 5/10s and was going to try them on for size but they didn't stock them,told me that 5/10 wouldn't supply them because 5/10 have to many stockists already,what a load of bs

Not BS, that's exactly what I was told by Big Stone (then 5.10 distro, dunno if they still are) when I looked into stocking 5.10 a few years back.

Did I mention the possible purchase of fat bars or not cookeaa ???

ricky1 - Member
Cynical I was after some 5/10s and was going to try them on for size but they didn't stock them,told me that 5/10 wouldn't supply them because 5/10 have to many stockists already,what a load of bs

Jeez, you were showrooming?

[I]"possible purchase"[/I], [I]"Would have"[/I] Eh?

Of course you would have 😉

Would have got some yes,did you run down to your local haberdashery to get your lycra's fixed cookeaa or did you buy online in the end?

And I completely believe you... No Really...

Just Stitched up the lycra for myself ta, I'm resourceful like that see.
Plus I didn't feel the need to dangle the false hope of trade in front of any local retailers, and I wouldn't want to find myself too irritated to buy things from over-attentive staff...

Did you, by any chance, later find yourself googling the items you fully intended to buy from this apparently terrible shop?

We recently bought a new bed and shopped in bensons for beds to see what their stock was like. I'm not one for try hards in shops, especially mobile phone shops and tbh I can be quite blunt to people who don't listen when I give them an answer. Eight times we got hassled by the same salesman, in the end we went next door and bought a bed and they lost out on sale because they wouldn't leave us alone. Luckily I try not to embarrass James so I didn't answer him when he kept on returning again and again.

*takes notes about ignoring people and being attentive at the same time with customers*

I'm going to ace my first day in the LBS tomorrow, thanks guys.

Did nobody else read the thread title and see 'lingerie'???

Was just thinking that /\!

Luckily I try not to embarrass James so I didn't answer him when he kept on returning again and again.

Perhaps if you had explained your feelings after his first approach, he would have left you alone?

I personally expect to be acknowledged by - and give acknowledgement to - the staff when I walk into any bike shop.
A smile and a nod or a "hey, hows your day" works.

I then expect to be left alone whilst I browse
I also accept that if I look lost, I'll get offered help and yes, per njee.. a anything you're looking for goes down much better than "can I help you?!"

If they had 5/10s I would have probably got some,I'm guilty of looking around the shops then going online to shop,why not,I sometimes buy from shops if I know what I want.they did have a good selection of handlebars and to be quite honest a really good selection of everything and it was all well laid out,they had jackets for £99.99 what are currently going on amazon for £49.99,personally I haven't got £99.99 to spend on a jacket so guess what......
But it works both ways,at my local LBS he will match an online price and I will buy from him instead to give him the buissines.

Lingerie'd Bike Shop staff would put me off...well the ones in my LBS would anyway.

Only on STW could you get a thread where people line up to say how they're so much better at 'browsing' than the next person 😉

I've closed many a sale in bra and panties, I find it focuses a customer's attention.

Some shop staff just want someone to talk to, theyre lonely.

And why are they always super skinny, and aged about 17, or fat and bloated and look as if theyve never ridden a bike.

Trick is to ask open questions, so the customer can't answer with 'yes' or 'no'.
Go back and when he does the same again, start lecturing him condescendingly about his poor sales technique. Suggest you swap roles and show him in role play how to do it properly, obviously be as belittling and bumptious as possible.

I might go back and get the fat bars...after asking him "how much are the fat bars"
"Why are they that much"
"Can I have them cheaper"
"Why can't I have them cheaper"
"Do you know who I am "........

"Can I have them cheaper"

"do you know who I am?........"

No matter what I'm shopping for , or wether I intend to buy or browse, ultimately I never buy from pushy , pounce on you the moment you arrive, salespeople .
Neither will I buy from shops who thinks it's cool to play shite music too loudly to allow me to take in what I'm looking for.