I still have that e-mail.
LBS Fail, Belmont and Ace Wheelworks
- Thread starter Inclag
- Start date
Sadly at my shop it's like that. More sadly, it's me.
Seriously, I had some great help, but they couldn't handle the inconsistent behavior of someone here (not me) and moved on. I miss them both.
I just went over how some tires were priced $5 lower on the tag, as they were old stock. I told my guy to charge the $5 lower price, per tire. The chick came back in to state she was overcharged. I fixed it.
I have had both good luck and bad luck with mail order and the LBS (not just the one I run), but have to sit back and watch. It sucks to see people shop elsewhere, knowing you'd do the same deal, but it also sucks to charge people retail on stuff. A true quandary.
If you plan to ever have bad service, don't email people. It's my rule.
I honestly concern myself with dropping the ball. When it happens, and it does sometimes, I get undue stress. I know I should care, but the concern I get is amazing to me. I'll bet Dustin is the same way, knowing what I do about him.
Solution: trade parts straight up for beer.
That's what all my LBS worker friends do.
Well, not straight up, but I never walk into any of my friend's LBS's without at least a 12 pack for their help. My friend got my SID lowers warrantied for me, and had new lowers in 3-4 days. It was no cost to them/me, but the deed got them 2 sampler 12 packs from local breweries when I went to the shop to pick them up.
Last edited:
Joe...I do a bit of that, but the mortgage company declined my offer to trade beer for payment.
My first LBS job was at the Somerville shop. We were taught to be indifferent to everyone but Bicycle messengers and Stock Broker-Yuppies. That and how to sneak bong hits in the bathroom. We did exchange sex for power bars with the local Goth chicks.... I never figured out why they were so hungry???
ok and their computer said they had it. they called the other shop and they said they had it. they realized that they had the wrong SKU and they offered him an alternative when he came in. he said himself that the tires had a note on them. what is wrong with that?
What's wrong with that is that the shop workers didn't know the difference between a DH16 and DH32 tire. Don't bring up "what the computer said"......if there were hand written notes on the tires, that means they physically saw them. If they were any sort of knowledgeable and competent, that would have known that it wasn't the tire he was asking for.
The fact that people are defending this is astounding.
Last edited:
Recently I called all of the local shops looking for Stan's Notubes CX rubber rim strips. I was very specific on the product I needed with everyone I called. I knew it was a bit of an obscure product so I was shocked when one of the shops said they had them in stock. I drove over there on my lunch break and he pulls out the spoke hole tape. If you don't know the product then ask questions, don't assume you know what the person is talking about.
All shop employees. SHOCKING.
All shop employees. SHOCKING.
As a shop employee, I'd like to go on the record as saying I think the shop fvcked up. If someone calls looking for something, I will pretty much always go and have it in my hand before I tell them that, yep, we've got one. I'd really hate to pull that kind of mix up on someone.All shop employees. SHOCKING.
Therein lies the lesson for the day, Monkeys.
Recommended reading for Sanjuro:
If you really think the shop didn't screw up then you're delusional. He drove to BOTH of their locations looking for a product that they told him they had in stock. How is that possibly HIS fault?!? Do you have any clue how many marketing dollars go into just getting a customer to walk in the door?
For fvck's sake, treat people with respect. Especially people that give you money. Like every business, bike shops are IN BUSINESS for the CUSTOMER and nothing else.
If you really think the shop didn't screw up then you're delusional. He drove to BOTH of their locations looking for a product that they told him they had in stock. How is that possibly HIS fault?!? Do you have any clue how many marketing dollars go into just getting a customer to walk in the door?
For fvck's sake, treat people with respect. Especially people that give you money. Like every business, bike shops are IN BUSINESS for the CUSTOMER and nothing else.
Inclag - FWIW I've been told that the DH32 tires are great for mud riding.
i would hope Inclag sent an email to wheelworks about this and possibly the link to this thread. not just for pointing out that their employee's screwed up but to also use it as a teaching tool on what not to do and also to learn that if you don't know a product then find someone who does or take a name and number down and get back to the customer with an answer. they may want to only hire "fixie" people, but that's not their only business. the Belmont local carries most of their higher end bikes, someone there should have known. makes me wonder that if they could mess something like a tire order up, how the hell do they sell the bikes they go on?
Actually, my boss has an opposite opinion about catering to customers.
I have commented we should have more little nuts and bolts around, and he pointed out that the time you spend to find this nut, giving the tiny profit you make, why bother stocking it?
But Belmont did screw up by promising the wrong product. I just don't think it is a world-ender.
Because if you are not prepared to serve my small requests, i'll be less liable to return to buy a big ticket item.
Sounds like a great businessman
I can't tell you how much business we've gotten because people have been blown away that we happened to have, say, a pair of Sampson cleats in stock. I actually sold a pair a couple months ago. Little stuff like that impresses people.
That's what I told the owner, but that's his philosophy.
His big ace in the hole was that he is the best mechanic in the county.
How would you determine that? Either it is fixed or it isn't.
The quality of the mechanic is determined by how many days it takes to get your bike back from a mundane repair.
Wouldn't workload be a factor? If that is the case then the shops that throw your bike on the stand immedately and fix it while you wait would have to be better.
Is there a mechanic speed contest somewhere that this guy won?
I don't entirely agree with Sanjuro's shop owner, but if I have 4 people bike shopping, I shouldn't be expected to spend 20 minutes hunting down some obscure part. I have a ton of them, and more small parts than most big shops down in Austin, but small parts don't pay bills. If I lose a bike sale over a cone from an R600 hub, I've not accomplished a good thing. I suspect that is Sanjuro's boss' view.
seriously. I'd rather pay an average mechanic average prices to do the exact same work.
Or you could start by reading the books I posted on the previous page and realize that treating all customers fairly, you are setting yourself up for success.
Just imagine the attitude that the obscure part shopper probably gets from your competition. Now - imagine yourself greeting that customer with a smile, asking about their day, and finding the part that they need. Hell, even round up some free samples of chain lube to give to them.
Now imagine how many people that obscure part shopper is going to tell about your shop. Go the extra 1% for those 10 people and they will also tell 10 people. It's simple really...treat all people like you'd want to be treated and your business will grow.
Definitely don't ignore the big ticket item customers but quit thinking only in the short term. It's working for my business right now and I'm amped to tell anyone who will listen.
BTW, that's not my experience.Or you could start by reading the books I posted on the previous page and realize that treating all customers fairly, you are setting yourself up for success.
Just imagine the attitude that the obscure part shopper probably gets from your competition. Now - imagine yourself greeting that customer with a smile, asking about their day, and finding the part that they need. Hell, even round up some free samples of chain lube to give to them.
Now imagine how many people that obscure part shopper is going to tell about your shop. Go the extra 1% for those 10 people and they will also tell 10 people. It's simple really...treat all people like you'd want to be treated and your business will grow.
Definitely don't ignore the big ticket item customers but quit thinking only in the short term. It's working for my business right now and I'm amped to tell anyone who will listen.
Most people will buy everything thru mail order, and only go to the shops as a last resort.
I find that the people who need mechanical services are the customers you can depend on.
That's an area which you can't screw up.
I don't work in the industry but don't you think if more shops started thinking along those lines that mail order would take a hit? I mean, any customer that's worth having understands value over price.
I buy overpriced apparel at the cycle loft because they cut my spokes for free. They didn't have to, they could have charged me anything, but they didn't, and I'm very grateful. I've bought jerseys, gloves, and a few other small parts through them, and I always go back for mechanical work, which they don't always charge me for, and are always quick about.
If I were smarter, I would have gotten my DH jerseys from them...then they would fit instead of being HUGE on me.
If I were smarter, I would have gotten my DH jerseys from them...then they would fit instead of being HUGE on me.
hahaha. Right. I think my sucessful vs. Non-successful shop visits are at a ratio of about 1 for 5.
The most recent is the guy who installed my New pivot bolts (which he sold me on... For pimpatude) forgot a spacer between my seat stay and the main link. Now the main link is all worn on one side.
Shame on me for trusting a shop to reassemble my bike properly.
You just need to fill in some more. Get drinking buddy
With respect to the poster that suggested contacting these guys, I do not feel very inclined with doing that. I iterated my disappointment face to face when it became apparent that they dropped the ball. It would be a shame if it would have to take the anonymity of an email and postings on a bike forum for them to learn from this.
Eh, I would disagree. They are a great tire, but because they are such a big tire, they tend to float overtop of mud as opposed to dig into it.
I would disagree as well. They actually float over the mud because the mud gets stuck in the tread and doesn't readily shell off. The mud specific tires which I think come in the comp 28s(not sure) are way better.
Kenda king of traction.
The initial comment was all hearsay. I saw some guys riding them at a really muddy race earlier in the season and asked.
hahahahahaha I think I know those groups and prefer the second as well LOL
agreed, I have very little option in my area. I'll admit I'm pretty novice when it comes to working on bike stuff, mechanically inclined so I intend to try most things myself and usually get it, but when I screw up it'd be nice if the bike store 2 blocks from my house actually carried anything so I could fix my screw up quickly and easily.
So...you won't pay them for the most profitable thing they offer, but expect them to carry the least profitable things in case you f*#k up. That's just plain retarded expectations for any business.