My gripe after several visits to local and most convenient shop for me.
About two months ago, I started my search for a carbon frame. I checked out a shop in the nearby city (Store 1) that sells the Trek Madone. When I entered, teh only two people in the room were chatting away in the shop area. I don't think they said "hello" or "welcome to ...." After finding the right sized Madone frame on the upper rack (typical shop set up, about chest height) and admiring it, I decided to pull it down which took about two seconds (the bike was in one of those roof-top like racks w/ the back wheel secured only by the 'J' hook from the wall). As I took it down, the shop dudes freaked out and started telling me "you'll break it." There were no signs that I could see saying "do not touch", I'm a grown man in his 30s, and after a few minutes browsing, it should have been obvious that I knew what I was looking for. I explained that they should have offered their assistance instead of ignoring the only customer in the shop. Anyhoo, a sales person arrived and was great and helpful. Since I was still pissed off at the other people, I wrote an email to the shop and praised the salesman, but explained my dissatisfaction w/ the other employees. I didn't receive any response or acknowledgement.
Their other store (Store 2) is located closer to my house so I stopped by there one day while on a ride to pick up a new water bottle. Although my purchase was promptly rung-up at the register, I got the impression that I was bothering the cashier who didn't even say, "how can I help you" or "thank you."
Despite these less-than-friendly encounters at two of this local chain's stores, I went by Store 2 again to test ride the Madone. The sales person seemed friendly, if not 100 % well-versed in the Madone 5.2. He did, however, ask a colleague for info though when he did not know an answer. So far, so good. He quickly swapped my pedals and off I went. Unfortunately, the ride was not pleasant. For all I know, the Madone is great. My real concentration on the frame and fit was hampered by the dangling, hand-sized, handlebar-mounted, store tag which they didn't remove, a bontrager skewer tag that rubbed against the spokes like a child's baseball card, Ultegra components that skipped, popped and rubbed, and a rear brake caliper that rubbed agains the rim and was out of whatk. As much as I tried to move things around and adjust while on the ride, I wasn't too successful.
When I returned to the shop, the friendly mechanic swapped my pedals w/o fuss, but the salesperson was no where to be found. No one else (there were a few other sales folks hanging around) asked for my assessment of the bike, how it worked, if it fit, etc. etc. I had to ask another employee to go track down my sales person so I could claim my license and credit card which was being held as collateral. On my way out, I had to voluntarily tell them that the components were out of whack and which resulted in a disappointing ride. Their only response was, "tune-ups come with your purchase." I haven't test ridden other new bikes from other shops which required this much adjustment.
This shop has a few great people, but otherwise the rest of the staff seems apathetic. It reminded me of a local Best Buy where there is a 1:7 ratio of knowledgeable and helpful employees to apathetic ones. There are other Trek shops in the area so it is not like I don't have a choice. Moreover, there are also 10 other shops in a 10 mile radius that I can patronize and that carry everything from Trek to Specialized, C'dale, Orbea, Litespeed, Guru, Bianchi, Fuji, etc etc. I'm lucky that I can test out a variety of cycles and and be secure in my purchase.
I feel better about ranting and I thank you for reading (are you still there?)
. We all seem to like our local shops and expect a level of service that consistent w/ our level of enthusiasm. I just hope the shop and others are not thinking the bikes will sell themselves just b/c Lance rode one.
there. All better now. I just need to call the other nearby Trek dealer for a fresh test.
About two months ago, I started my search for a carbon frame. I checked out a shop in the nearby city (Store 1) that sells the Trek Madone. When I entered, teh only two people in the room were chatting away in the shop area. I don't think they said "hello" or "welcome to ...." After finding the right sized Madone frame on the upper rack (typical shop set up, about chest height) and admiring it, I decided to pull it down which took about two seconds (the bike was in one of those roof-top like racks w/ the back wheel secured only by the 'J' hook from the wall). As I took it down, the shop dudes freaked out and started telling me "you'll break it." There were no signs that I could see saying "do not touch", I'm a grown man in his 30s, and after a few minutes browsing, it should have been obvious that I knew what I was looking for. I explained that they should have offered their assistance instead of ignoring the only customer in the shop. Anyhoo, a sales person arrived and was great and helpful. Since I was still pissed off at the other people, I wrote an email to the shop and praised the salesman, but explained my dissatisfaction w/ the other employees. I didn't receive any response or acknowledgement.
Their other store (Store 2) is located closer to my house so I stopped by there one day while on a ride to pick up a new water bottle. Although my purchase was promptly rung-up at the register, I got the impression that I was bothering the cashier who didn't even say, "how can I help you" or "thank you."
Despite these less-than-friendly encounters at two of this local chain's stores, I went by Store 2 again to test ride the Madone. The sales person seemed friendly, if not 100 % well-versed in the Madone 5.2. He did, however, ask a colleague for info though when he did not know an answer. So far, so good. He quickly swapped my pedals and off I went. Unfortunately, the ride was not pleasant. For all I know, the Madone is great. My real concentration on the frame and fit was hampered by the dangling, hand-sized, handlebar-mounted, store tag which they didn't remove, a bontrager skewer tag that rubbed against the spokes like a child's baseball card, Ultegra components that skipped, popped and rubbed, and a rear brake caliper that rubbed agains the rim and was out of whatk. As much as I tried to move things around and adjust while on the ride, I wasn't too successful.
When I returned to the shop, the friendly mechanic swapped my pedals w/o fuss, but the salesperson was no where to be found. No one else (there were a few other sales folks hanging around) asked for my assessment of the bike, how it worked, if it fit, etc. etc. I had to ask another employee to go track down my sales person so I could claim my license and credit card which was being held as collateral. On my way out, I had to voluntarily tell them that the components were out of whack and which resulted in a disappointing ride. Their only response was, "tune-ups come with your purchase." I haven't test ridden other new bikes from other shops which required this much adjustment.
This shop has a few great people, but otherwise the rest of the staff seems apathetic. It reminded me of a local Best Buy where there is a 1:7 ratio of knowledgeable and helpful employees to apathetic ones. There are other Trek shops in the area so it is not like I don't have a choice. Moreover, there are also 10 other shops in a 10 mile radius that I can patronize and that carry everything from Trek to Specialized, C'dale, Orbea, Litespeed, Guru, Bianchi, Fuji, etc etc. I'm lucky that I can test out a variety of cycles and and be secure in my purchase.
I feel better about ranting and I thank you for reading (are you still there?)
. We all seem to like our local shops and expect a level of service that consistent w/ our level of enthusiasm. I just hope the shop and others are not thinking the bikes will sell themselves just b/c Lance rode one. there. All better now. I just need to call the other nearby Trek dealer for a fresh test.
