Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)
  • You try to support the LBS and they fail
  • chipsngravy
    Free Member

    You try to support the LBS and they fail.

    Monday morning I went to my LBS with the aim to get some new parts for this weekend.. The LBS assures me everything will be in by Wednesday. Give the LBS a call on Wednesday, no delivery. “Definitely here Friday” I’m told. I give them call today…nada, no delivery, only a variety of excuses.

    5 days get a simple part from a self distributed big bike brand that had thousands in stock. A part that’s used on the main bike brand sold by the LBS.

    So inevetibly I’ve gone online to buy the parts.

    It shouldn’t have been too hard to sort out. Was I asking too much?

    mrmo
    Free Member

    really depends on what the part was, who was shipping, who the importer is etc, and who is telling the truth…

    There are shops who lie, there are online sellers who claim they have stock but don’t, there are distributors who are crap at distributing, etc

    Andyhilton
    Free Member

    I think you need to be more specific.

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    joemarshall
    Free Member

    By ordering at a shop, you’re basically using a very expensive mail order firm, one that is unreliable and unpredictable, and appears to hang on both the whim of the shop, and also of the distributor who supplies the shop. In the old days pre-chain reaction cycles, it was pretty common to have to order things from shops, and I never had something ordered in a shop come in on time, and rarely had a phone call that I was supposed to get from the shop telling me things had come in.

    Shops are for buying things that you can walk into the shop and buy right away, or for fixing stuff you can’t fix yourself. Mail order suppliers are for mail ordering. Neither are any use for the other.

    mattjg
    Free Member

    break the bond

    B&M LBSs had several chances with me, they blew it, despite me spending hundreds (thousands on occasion) of pounds there

    then 3 of my recent 4 frames have come from classifieds or bike forum, and if I need advice bike forum is where I go.

    STW is my LBS, CRC and my local mates fill in the blanks

    chipsngravy
    Free Member

    Part manufacturer – Bontrager
    Distributor – Trek UK (who confirmed on email the parts were in stock)
    Dealer – A Trek dealer.

    deets
    Full Member

    I really wanted to support my LBS for repairs that I couldn’t do. One example is when they built me a dangerously under-tensioned front wheel. When I took it back for them to make good, they managed to lose my expensive tyre and fobbed me off with one of their cheap models from the crap brand they stock.

    It’s a shame, but one of them is very knowledgeable but quite arrogant whist the other is dead friendly but a bit of a ****.

    billyboy
    Free Member

    Name them……………………

    billyboy
    Free Member

    A while ago I was working for a useless individual who would wait until the day the customer wanted the parts before he’d even think of ordering them, then he’d give the customer bullshit that it was all the distributor’s fault etc. Two of his two bit companies have gone under and he is going to go bust soon. Watch this space.

    Sometimes things are not so clear cut. I was involved in a protracted quest for particular spokes for a very flimsy FSA road wheel once. The distributor told us the parts were not available for weeks turning into months, and then told the customer on a couple of occasions that they did have them in stock. Naturally we rang and no they were not in stock, than you have an uphill struggle convincing the customer you are telling the truth.

    Maybe your Trek dealer hasn’t been paying Mr Trek recently due to the recession and now cannot get Mr Trek to send out spare parts!

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    To add balance, my lbs (boneshakers in Harrogate) are a Trek dealer and they told me there was a 5 week wait for my bike to be delivered. I had it 9 days later.

    nicolaisam
    Free Member

    Most Trek/Bontrager parts arrive very quickly once ordered. 😀

    Whats the part number,will tell you now if its in stock..

    orangeboy
    Free Member

    Once had the wrong bike arrive 3 times in a row because the impoter had allocated the wrong stock number to it
    Took well over a week to get the correct one for the customer
    Who was starting to look at us with suspion

    kimbers
    Full Member

    I took my bike in to the lbs for a crash replacement on the frame
    but the guy kept fobbing me off rang- kona they said he owes us money and wont be getting you your frame

    got my bike out went to another lbs and did it through them (who were useless in a different way and built my 2 grand frame with bargain bin components without asking)

    anyway the 1st lbs burned down and he skipped to spain owing lots of money, shame as he was great with bikes and really knew his shit, just a terrible businessman

    now i just buy online and do all my own maintenance. much less painfull

    brooess
    Free Member

    To me the issue would be saying – ‘def here Weds’ and then not delivering. That’s simply poor service in any industry
    Why give a guarantee you’re not in control of, which they clearly weren’t?
    How about ‘we’ll try for Weds but can’t guarantee’ it.

    Trekster
    Full Member

    lbs credit maxed out? 💡

    sunnrider
    Free Member

    My LBS mechanic spent an hour fixing a sticking hub on my rear wheel because he knew I needed the bike the next day.

    He could have easily ordered the replacement part but it would have meant a delay and ruined my holiday plans with the bike.

    The best part, I asked him “how much” at the end and he said “nothing, you owe me a beer”.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Lbs aren’t all bad. We certainly get let down by suppliers.

    jota180
    Free Member

    IME a lot of LBS’ are simply crap at admin
    They’re tinkerers at heart and tend to prioritise tinkering over paperwork [can’t say I blame them]

    mattjg
    Free Member

    Lbs aren’t all bad.

    Absolutely. But it’s a good thing to not be dependent on them IMO.

    slinkybike
    Free Member

    They should have just asked Margret Where it was

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Most I have encountered are great and go out of their way and pockets to sort me out. We know sometime crc etc is cheaper but that’s always the case. Last week a popped in to see if they had any 9speed sram grip shifts in as my thumb is knackered. Open that crc had them cheap walked out with a better price.

    boriselbrus
    Free Member

    So you waited a week for a part to arrive, thats nothing. I’m still waiting for my LBS to get my XT 755 brake in from Madison.
    Now I know the 755 is obsolete, so there could be a problem, but it wasn’t obsolete when I ordered it in 2003…
    Chased it for 6 months to be fobbed off with excuses- then I discovered that CRC had loads and it was with me next day. Haven’t been back to the LBS since.

    chipsngravy
    Free Member

    I get the feeling some LBSs are too complacent when it comes to the online competition. Yeah a few will match a CRC price, but some of them don’t seem to realise that providing excellent customer service (all the time) should be their strong point. This is where they can gain an advantage over the online world.

    mudpup
    Free Member

    Its February.

    Most of the smaller bike shops are skint and trying not to spend anything until the sun comes out in March (ish)

    Standard operating procedure in the trade.

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    More along the lines of not wanting to pay £5 postage on a £15 item that they make £4 on and not having a big enough order to meet the minimum order value to qualify for free postage.

    SkillWill
    Free Member

    By ordering at a shop, you’re basically using a very expensive mail order firm, one that is unreliable and unpredictable, and appears to hang on both the whim of the shop, and also of the distributor who supplies the shop. In the old days pre-chain reaction cycles, it was pretty common to have to order things from shops, and I never had something ordered in a shop come in on time, and rarely had a phone call that I was supposed to get from the shop telling me things had come in.

    Shops are for buying things that you can walk into the shop and buy right away, or for fixing stuff you can’t fix yourself. Mail order suppliers are for mail ordering. Neither are any use for the other.

    Nicely written. I agree wholeheartedly with your viewpoint, and really like the way your sentences progressively decreased in size throughout your post.

    martinxyz
    Free Member

    Aye, £50 minimum order. Wtf.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    None of my LBSs are really very local- one is 40 miles away, the other is on the other side of town and I ride past about 6 other bike shops to get there. There’s a reason I ride past, lots of LBSs are rubbish and the good ones are to treasure.

    martinxyz
    Free Member

    Oh iTs the grammir plese.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    I’m happy to order items not in stock through my LBS.
    If it’s not in stock then I will probably pay the LBS before they pay the supplier.
    Generally if I know what I want we find it and order it so not time spent selling the part.
    If it fit myself then no need to factor in workshop time into the sale.
    If it breaks/fails I have an easier and direct route to warranty

    End result is I get a decent discount on RRP and a call to say it’s arrived.

    The upshot of this is we get on well enough to sort other stuff out at a good price to both of us.

    I have had LBS send stuff half way across the world to me when a local importer couldn’t get something.

    neilsonwheels
    Free Member

    LBS are for cables and tubes when you need one ASAP. Other than that I can’t think why else I would need to go in.

    neninja
    Free Member

    As has been mentioned above sometimes all is not as it seems. Last year asked a local shop who were a dealer for a certain brand about a sourcing a bike. Was told the importer/manufacturer were hopeless and it would take at least 3 months to get one.

    Rang importer direct who reading between the lines implied dealer had a huge number of outstanding unpaid invoices. They recommended a dealer I would not have normally considered – bike arrived promptly and with a great service.

    fizzicist
    Free Member

    Interestingly J E James offer online price matches if it’s in stock yet never have any stock. I find most of the staff surly and disinterested (most, not all). I’ve walked out of that shop with lots of money ready to spend but the staff just didn’t give a shit about taking it from me.

    Contrast that with The Bike Tree or 18bikes who are expensive by comparison. However, the Bike Tree dropped everything to replace a shock bush immediately in exchange for a pack of biscuits. 18bikes saved my ride a while ago when I cocked up and sheared my headset bolt. Charged me less than £2 for it.

    If I have a lbs who care about their customers and what they do, then I will pay over the odds for bits.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Contrast that with The Bike Tree or 18bikes who are expensive by comparison. However, the Bike Tree dropped everything to replace a shock bush immediately in exchange for a pack of biscuits. 18bikes saved my ride a while ago when I cocked up and sheared my headset bolt. Charged me less than £2 for it.

    If I have a lbs who care about their customers and what they do, then I will pay over the odds for bits.
    This +1000

    The thing that I see more and more everywhere is price is king. A good lbs will work out cheaper in the long run for stuff like this, especially the smaller independent ones will get to know you (good and bad – if your as ask questions for 2hrs then buy online they remember too but if your good to them you will get the credits next time)

    I get it with work, we have clients who hammer on price and decide not to take training and those who pay fair and take training. When I’m dealing with support there is an order to answering the requests.

Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)

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