[Closed] Overheard in a LBS the other day

It happens more than you think.

"I'm going to buy one online but needed to come to a shop to find out what size bike/helmet/shoes I need"

*awaits post stating that shop chappy should have helped him in order to potentially maybe be given the chance to give that customer an inner tube in the future*

Welcome to our world 😉

I had a guy come in to try some SPD shoes on. As I was getting them out the box he said he only wanted to get the right size so he could buy online. I put them back in the box, explaining we weren't an internet showroom, and he scuttled off somewhat chastised.
Used to have another guy who simply wanted a very expensive bike at a sale price. £6k for £4k. That sort of thing. He used to come in and bug me about what I thought about bikes CRC etc had on sale.....

*Applauds PP!*

Yup, used to get them all the time back when I was a shop rat 9 years go, I can only imagine how bad it is now.

I've heard tales of people trying a helmet on, getting their phones out googling it, asking "Is that the one?" and hitting 'buy' stood right in front of the shop owner who's just spent 20 minutes helping them find the right lid and fitting it for them.

In Australia some shops now charge a fee for trying on high-end clothing, shoes lids etc, refundable if you buy something. Wouldn't be surprised if we started seeing that here. A sad state of affairs

So he's still going to need them fitted. If he knows little enough about them to have to ask, then he probably doesn't know the best length for his bike, or have the aptitude to cut his steerer.

A halfway decent salesman would have done the deal, say thrown in fitting or a modest discount and taken the fitting fee. Instead, the "cycle enthusiast with spanner skills and no sales ability" lets someone with the money, who wants a product, out the shop virtually unchallenged.

Thats why bike shops close - staffed by people who think the world owes them a favour. Arrogantly stating "Come to me, I'll charge you full rrp and fitting is extra mind" isn't an inducement to purchase these days.

Awaits flaming.

So bike shops are bad at retail?

Nah.Bike nerds are crap at being customers 😉

Did the shop person at least ask what price they were getting them online, and then tell the potential customer what the best price he could do fitted?

If he still couldn't come near in price then its fair game that he doesn't get the customer. I don't understand why some people think that an LBS is not in the same market place as an online retailer...

It is BUT it has higher overheads because you can try stuff on.
It is trying it on to try it on then buy elsewhere.

I had a guy come in to try some SPD shoes on. As I was getting them out the box he said he only wanted to get the right size so he could buy online.

Fool. I always find some other excuse for not buying when I go to my LBS to try stuff on 😈

I am in the position to price match in our shop. Makes life a lot easier.

Iff I was the shop chappy I would do what I used to do when a out of Towner asked for directions,well put it this way the lad wouldn't be receiving the desired forks in the post after answering his "questions"

Thats why bike shops close - staffed by people who think the world owes them a favour.

In some instances fair point, but those shops tend to eventually go phut.

The good shops with helpful, knowledgeable staff still get 'showroomers' and bitter experience tells them that no matter how helpful and knowledgeable you are, they're never going to get any meaningful business out of them.

Fortunately enough people appreciate the services LBS's offer for them to keep going and most of the more experienced, self-sufficient riders are aware that by buying something from bikemegabargains.de you're essentially side- stepping the LBS sector and wouldn't have the cheek to expect them to help you do it.

It's when people want to be bargain hunters but don't have enough knowledge or tools to really do it without advice or assistance that the piss-taking occurs.

Classic line on a busy a Saturday at my old place "Hi, I bought these forks online, you're a Rockshox dealer so you'll fit them for free won't you? I want to ride tomorrow."

Fortunately these people are still a minority, just a very annoying one.

Junkyard - I agree, but this isn't about ethics, on both sides its about cash. If you don't at least try and get the potential customer, then you don't have a business.

Well said, Hatter.

The amount of folks that walk through the door to "just borrow" a tool is amazing.

The amount of folks that walk through the door to "just borrow" a tool is amazing.

I've always wondered - is that acceptable if you've put a considerable amount of money through their till rather than being some random bod?

I fairly regularly use a bike shop pump to pump up my tyres if they're leaching or if I've had a flat. I buy spare tubes from there sometimes.
Do I have the right to ask them to replace the POS pump they have for customer use because the valve is knackered?

I've always wondered - is that acceptable if you've put a considerable amount of money through their till rather than being some random bod?

I spent so much in mine, they gave me full access to the workshop 😀

You must be a very good customer to get that!

Most are limited to the cheap multi tool kept by the till in our shop.

If you don't at least try and get the potential customer, then you don't have a business.

I think the vast majority of LBS's 'try' to get all the business they can but there are limits.

For example: Merlin are currently selling Reverbs for £189.99, that is less than trade price for a small-medium IBD. What should they do in this instance? Sell at a loss or at such a low margin that even the slightest customer service issue wipes out any profit made?

What about people who have already ordered something and are waiting for it to arrive so go to their LBS to ask for lengthy and detailed set-up instructions, the sale's gone, I've had that as well.

Better know when you've lost, cut your losses and move your limited time resources onto people who you can actually make a profit out of.

It's not always an easy call to make, sometimes shop staff get it wrong and end up offending someone who actually had the intention of buying something there at a reasonable price. This is especially likely if the member of staff recently had to deal with a particularly brazen time waster and is feeling a bit cynical about human nature.

Is it a great state of affairs? No, is it understandable? Yes!

I feel like I should check this story on snopes.

I don't spend a fortune in my LBS, but always get a 10%ish reduction and if I pop in and they're not busy the mechanic will whip the bike up in the stand and give the gears a quick tweak, check wheels, bb etc.
The other day I went in to buy some brake fluid which resulted in a free bleed 🙂
I do take in the occasional jaffa cake offering and sone xmas beers, but because they're decent guys not to get freebies.

Last time I walked in to my LBS the owner pokes his head out of the workshop and shouts "tea with two sugars". Thing was I had to go down the road to buy some milk.

* I did help myself to cash out of the till to pay for it though.

I suppose I get where the grief is coming from which is aimed at the shop staff in the OP, in that the shop person could have enquired what price is was paying online or willing to pay, or could have offered to fit them for him...

...but what the non/customer said was number 10 on the cheeky scale of 1 to 10.

hear and see this all the time ,people borrow tools and a pump then you find a wilko tube box in the bin ...they've saved 50p.
saturdays is more like bike fit these days,the i phone will be the death of many shops.

I do take in the occasional jaffa cake offering and sone xmas beers

I do about the same with a case of beer and a couple of pizzas a few days before Christmas.
I buy all my bikes and most components from the LBS and 20 years of dealing with the same shop, they give me a good price and will almost always squeeze me in if I need something tweaked that I can't fix. Shorts, jerseys, gloves, etc. I tend to buy online.

My LBS is ace. Went in to buy a XTR crank tool for some 2nd cranks I bought, and they didn't have one for sale, so the mechanic gave me his spare from his toolbox, saying he never used it. Proper Shimano one as well. And I get lots of little bits and bobs. I do buy energy drink, bars, gels, clothes and a bike 12 years ago though, and I don't freeload advice or sizing.

It's hardly new practice, people have been doing it since the dawn of mail order retailers back in the 90's. But actually announcing to the shop staff that you're just after advice so you can buy online... Really? That's a special kind of stupid!

9 times out of 10, I can spot the time wasters a mile away... Lots of loaded questions and a pseudo knowledge of the products they're asking about (because they did all of an hour's research online the night before, so now they think they're an expert) are tell tale signs. As is the customer trying to gain any kind of one-upmanship within a conversation.

Simple fact of the matter is, ANY customer who is honest enough to walk in through my shop doors and say "hi, I can buy this product I want at X on the internet, if you can supply it for X or cheaper, or even X + a fitting fee, then the business is yours" will get a big thank you from me, and as much free information as I have to offer. Just giving me the chance to come close to matching an online price is sometimes all the chance I need to show them just how worthy my skills and knowledge are, and that I provide a service that is hopefully worth something, and it often forms the beginning of a longer term customer, particularly if they know you'll do your best for them to be competitive where it counts...

For every pair of £400 Rockshox forks bought, a customer is likely to need many other items that will bring a shop a much higher profit margin than selling a fork at almost cost would bring, so sometimes it's worth the effort to gain a customer as you never know what they're going to buy next week... But by the same token, don't sell at a loss, that'll get you nowhere fast!

I do about the same with a case of beer and a couple of pizzas a few days before Christmas.
I buy all my bikes and most components from the LBS and 20 years of dealing with the same shop, they give me a good price and will almost always squeeze me in if I need something tweaked that I can't fix. Shorts, jerseys, gloves, etc. I tend to buy online.

Last time I walked in to my LBS the owner pokes his head out of the workshop and shouts "tea with two sugars". Thing was I had to go down the road to buy some milk.

* I did help myself to cash out of the till to pay for it though.

It's good to hear that cases like this still exist... A customer that knows where the kettle is will ALWAYS get preferential service and prices on products. In the business world, customers will often look after their suppliers in order to get better prices and/or preferential service. It's not all about the cheapest price for everyone, everywhere thankfully!

I do buy stuff online for various reasons and I buy second hand stuff. However I have bought all my bikes in my LBS I also try and buy what I can in my LBS. I would never try something on in a store then buy it online.

neilsonwheels - Member
The amount of folks that walk through the door to "just borrow" a tool is amazing.

I have had to ask for this twice at a trail centre shop because of emergency repairs. If the shop said no then TBH I would be pissed and they would lose my future custom.

Lots of specialist bike shops give great customer service but are shocking in terms of sales skills.

Surely no one is surprised that retail shops staffed by enthusiasts are not as good at converting sales as professional sales, advertising and marketing people...

Surely no one is surprised that retail shops staffed by enthusiasts are not as good at converting sales as professional sales, advertising and marketing people...

Would you rather walk into a bike shop and speak to people who know a lot about and ride bikes or one where they just repeat all the spiel from the press launches and pressure you into a sale?

Where I work we are hired based pretty much on bike knowledge and enthusiasm not just because we are experienced at sales. Bike shops would be like car dealerships then...

Jamie +1

It's nice that you just happened to overhear a conversation which confirmed your fondest prejudices.

Merlin are currently selling Reverbs for £189.99,

rip off. Rutland cycling have em for £174.99, and thats ignoring cashback sites 🙂

I've never heard anyone stupid enough to do the "I'm shopping online" thing but I don't doubt that there are people that stupid that they don't see why it's just morally wrong.

You also see the number of "Where is the cheapest place for?" threads where people are looking for a couple of hours to save a fiver.

Usually you can tell if the person is a [i]buyer or a tryer[/i], if a buyer then carry on with sale as normal but if a tryer you can usually wangle something out of it. Offer them a coffee/tea while you search suppliers for prices etc, If it was someone i knew that had purchased goods or a service from us previously and i was on first name terms with then i'd initially try to get as near the price as possible, or if it was impossible to compete then i'd say so but then offer to fit it for them if they bring it in on the proviso that if they bought the wrong parts then that's their problem.

I'd fit the part at normal workshop rates and everyones bike has a possible wee tweak that could be made once it's up on the stand - so i'd give it a quick check over : Brakes/pads aligned correctly, crisp shifting gears, cup n' cone bearings adjust?, wheel true, headset adjustment, that annoying squeak?. I'd make a quick judgement as to what is the most annoying issue but the simplest fix and do that, give the chain a quick scrub and lube and list the problems on the job sheet that got handed to the customer on collection - then as an afterthought [i]BTW[/i] mention the issues you fixed when it was on the stand.

Not everyone can afford the retail price that many small shops need to sell items for but it's possible to adapt and offer that something extra that is lacking in the online experience whilst increasing the shops profile amongst riders. Once you have them then it's easier to offer group rides, shop rides/organised days away riding with other shops you know or introduce them to a select few local riding spots, everyone wants to feel [i]part of something[/i] these days with our increasingly connected but distanced lives.

Large retailers enployee analysts to understand customer journeys why they don't buy or swap from one channel to another, they then deploy strategies to keep those customers buying with maximum profit. That cycle of analysis and activity is ongoing and relentless.
LBS sole strategy appears to be moaning about some of their customers whilst lending others a multi tool. Some will intuitively get it right most in my experience will get wrong and lose customers or keep the wrong stock or over value their advice.

I would suggest you develop a way of dealing with what customers are doing as opposed to what you want them to do.

I would suggest you develop a way of dealing with what customers are doing as opposed to what you want them to do.

Is that the only option or are you just being obtuse?

It seems to be the consensus, internet is amazing bike shops are evil. In a world where price is the only measure of value and loyalty goes out the window there is probably no future for actual shops of any description.

It's perfectly normal for people to let of steam and vent about the idiots that they have to deal with during their working day. Unfortunately some of those idiots wander round in here.

I know places that will bend over backwards for people, match as far as they can only for the customer to turn their noses up as they can get the part for 5 quid less having wasted the time of the shop when in reality they had no real intention of buying it there.

If you want to moan about your job feel free but don't expect a sympathy, if you want to improve your business calling your customers idiots isn't likely to achieve much. The challenge of adapting to the web is faced by loads of people in loads of industries some get on with and succeed some moan and thankfully go bust.

On the weekend I watched 2 teenagers ask to borrow a pump from a shop. They got it. They then used it, outside the door, to replace a tube with one from Wilko's. Cheeky sods then left the empty box and duff tube on the pavement, plonked the pump on the doorstep and buggered off without thanks.
I understand the lack of enthusiasm for casual help from shops.

"I have had to ask for this twice at a trail centre shop because of emergency repairs. If the shop said no then TBH I would be pissed and they would lose my future custom. "
Why?
Do you lend your tools to total strangers, probably every day, when you also sell the tools?

I went into a local shop and asked for the best price for a bike, they told me the supplier didn't allow them to discount. I pointed out that was illegal, they ran out back and didn't return.

Shops are their own worst enemy.

I'm not surprised; there's nothing worse than a legal 'expert' spouting nonsense. I'd hide in the back until you'd gone, too.

Do I have the right to ask them to replace the POS pump they have for customer use because the valve is knackered?

You have the right to buy your own. Have you considered that?

calling your customers idiots isn't likely to achieve much

No, but it is fun and cathartic.

My customers aren't idiots, they're all lovely people. However I'm sure quite a few idiots are filtered out before I get to meet them.

Would you rather walk into a bike shop and speak to people who know a lot about and ride bikes or one where they just repeat all the spiel from the press launches and pressure you into a sale?
Where I work we are hired based pretty much on bike knowledge and enthusiasm not just because we are experienced at sales. Bike shops would be like car dealerships then...

Don't get me wrong I'm not slating LBS's. I worked through and after Uni in them and still think they offer the best buying experience and I support them when buying many things including frames, clothing, spares etc... Doesn't mean if I see a killer online deal that I don't buy on the web too.

I think the 'shop try internet buy' thing is an awful mickey take and really think it's beyond being 'cheeky'. The thing that is repeated a bit on this thread is people criticising bike shop sales skills and their inabilities to persuade people to buy there rather than online with free this or free that. My point is that unfortunately a team of professional marketeers and web sales people with bigger profit margins are able to achieve better sales than a local shop staffed by real true enthusiasts. It's a crying shame...

I went into a local shop and asked for the best price for a bike, they told me the supplier didn't allow them to discount. I pointed out that was illegal, they ran out back and didn't return.

If they discount items and the supplier finds out they could lose their contract and stop getting X brand of bikes in future.

rip off. Rutland cycling have em for £174.99, and thats ignoring cashback sites

Assuming they have it in stock.

....or indeed reply to any form of communication.

I went into a local shop and asked for the best price for a bike, they told me the supplier didn't allow them to discount. I pointed out that was illegal, they ran out back and didn't return.

Shops are their own worst enemy.

Are you sure that's what they said? Or maybe it was something along the lines of
"Sorry, but that manufacturer/supplier sets such tight margins that it would be impossible for me to make a living if I sold that bike at much less than the retail price." As an example, my LBS sells a particular brand. If I buy it on the Halfords C2W from him he makes about £50 from the sale once C2W have taken their commission. That isn't going to go very far towards clothing and feeding his family, paying his overheads and bills now is it?

Your consumer choice has been made for you, but not by him.

I have an awful lot of sympathy for people trying their best to do what they can for you, and in his case I get a bit of customer loyalty cashback via customer credit (but not on a C2W sale!!) I buy my clothing from him because I like the brands he stocks, and the few quid I can save online are offset by being able to try things on and not have to go through the farce of returns etc. I do all my own building and maintenance except for the stuff I don't trust myself to do, or don't have expensive tools for, and I always offer to pay him if he does it for me. He doesn't always charge! I never ask to borrow tools, as I can afford to buy my own in most cases, and I'll happily pay his prices if they are reasonable.

On the subject of price-fixing, have you also noticed that certain Chain Reaction offers never apply to certain clothing makes? Try adding your discount code to a basket full of Endura. Perhaps we should report them to the police? Or accept that if CRC don't discount them, then neither does the LBS.

You can order stuff online and return for free so I have no idea why people just try in LBS anymore if they have no intention of buying there and then. For me, it is to give them a chance to price match, if they can't fine, but I give them the chance. Bought my last bike this way.

I have also been told by a LBS that it would be cheaper and quicker for me to order a mech from CRC, which I thought was pretty poor (but honest) sales approach

Bike shops need to focus on the value add they can provide not just on trying to sell a product at lots more than it can be delivered the next day for. People won't mind spending a little more if they feel they are getting good service.

asked for the best price

Surefire way to get offered £2 off the SRP.

Rightly or wrongly, a lot of people hate a lazy negotiation strategy like that.

I have also been told by a LBS that it would be cheaper and quicker for me to order a mech from CRC, which I thought was pretty poor (but honest) sales approach

Poor sales strategy but excellent customer service?

£50 is £50. It gains you a customer who may potentially spend thousands with you later on. Many companies offer fremium type offerings for exactly this reason. Stupid to turn customers away even if low value, unless you are so busy that your spending your time on higher value sales rather than moaning about tight consumers and how your shop is failing....

I think the 'shop try internet buy' thing is an awful mickey take and really think it's beyond being 'cheeky'. The thing that is repeated a bit on this thread is people criticising bike shop sales skills and their inabilities to persuade people to buy there rather than online with free this or free that. My point is that unfortunately a team of professional marketeers and web sales people with bigger profit margins are able to achieve better sales than a local shop staffed by real true enthusiasts. It's a crying shame...

That is a lot of the issue. People don't see why they should pay anymore to get it from a shop rather than online.

Eg. Customer needs new wheel for ride today. Wheel is £250, but he says can get online for £210 with 2% cash back also. Offer it for lowest we can do at £220 and will swap cassette etc for him so can go riding today. Customer says there is no benefit to them to buy from us so will go home and order online. So they will be £10 richer and have to fit themselves and miss out on a few days riding and the same again if there is any issues with it.

I went into a local shop and asked for the best price for a bike, they told me the supplier didn't allow them to discount. I pointed out that was illegal, they ran out back and didn't return.

Ah the classic.

What's the best price? Well, their best price is probably RRP + XX%. Your best price is no doubt the bike at less than cost, plus the shirt off their back.

Thankfully I don't work in retail, but we do a lot of buyer habit analysis. Generally the customer who wanders in and comes out with the little gem of "what's your best price on that mate" comes out fairly low in the target market.

On the subject of price-fixing, have you also noticed that certain Chain Reaction offers never apply to certain clothing makes? Try adding your discount code to a basket full of Endura. Perhaps we should report them to the police? Or accept that if CRC don't discount them, then neither does the LBS.

There are plenty of brands now adopting that policy - maximum discounts allowed when advertising products. It's not just about margin protection, it's about protecting the brand value too. You don't want to be associated with constant, heavy discounting off retail.

£50 is £50. It gains you a customer who may potentially spend thousands with you later on.

£50 is £50. It gains you a customer who may potentially spend thousands with you later on.

Not when the trade price is £45 + VAT because he's asking you to price match with OE grey stuff coming in through the big online guys.

Bending over backwards to get a sale on which you make virtually nothing is fool's errand. The shop may have actually saved money by turning this sale down as he'll most likely have wanted it fitted for free.

The likelihood that this a customer will spend 'thousands' without the shop owner having to offer him the shirt off his back and the hand in marriage of his first born is also pretty remote.

In this case I think they did the probably did the right thing, there was no way to make a profit from the sale so they were upfront with him about it.

I don't get this 'borrowing tools' thing.

I don't lend my tools to other engineers (because I got sick of screwdrivers coming back looking like bradawls) let alone some random passing scrote who's so mechanically inept that they're riding a bike and don't have the basic braincells to carry a pump. I'd rather do the job myself as a favour than loan stuff out.

I wouldn't even begin to dream of rocking up to a bike shop and asking to borrow their kit. Buy, perhaps. I can only assume that most LBS's have a small supply of 'loaner' screwdrivers &c that are made of cottage cheese and near-ruined.

Some LBS's are great I have one near me that I often buy stuff from while others not so great and sometimes you wonder why?

I was out at a certain FC trail center, I don't carry my cone spanners with me but had some wobble in the wheel, hand tightened this lasted a couple of miles. Popped into the Bike shop at the trail head asked if they could tighten and howmuch did they want? empty shop 3 staff all having a cuppa answer was nah sorry fully booked, eh? to get 2 spanners and tighten, 60 seconds work? I noticed they had a customer tool box, I asked if they had a spanner in the box, the reply was yep unless its been stolen go for it. Needless to say there was no cone spanner in the box.

I headed into Rugeley which was nearby and the LBS was more than happy to help, if I made him a cuppa while he tightened the cones, job done. In the past ive brought trail snacks and post ride tea's, spare helmet and brake pads etc... from the trail head LBS, but after that day haven't been in there since. Good service helps drive business.

£50 is £50. It gains you a customer who may potentially spend thousands with you later on. Many companies offer fremium type offerings for exactly this reason. Stupid to turn customers away even if low value, unless you are so busy that your spending your time on higher value sales rather than moaning about tight consumers and how your shop is failing....

Once oveheard a conversation in the GT shop between a guy who's bike was knackered and needed a new BB, the guy was offering him a Hope BB at what sounded like a reasnoble price with free fitting. Guy was dithering. Come on FFS, for the sake of getting it (or shimano, superstar, token etc) £10 cheaper online he was going to just drive home again without a ride!

I have had to ask for this twice at a trail centre shop because of emergency repairs. If the shop said no then TBH I would be pissed and they would lose my future custom.

Well if you're not local it's unlikely you'll be back that often? And they probably get 10's of 'can I borrow' requests every day (and probably a poportion of those never bring the tool back). All fo no business.

I dunno, I often buy mid priced odds and sods form the LBS when I need them, but for big stuff they're uncompetative on price and stock (why wait 3 weeks for them to get it in stock when it can come to my house in 24h for less?). Shoes and clothes I'd buy from them if they were reasnobly priced, but then I don't buy much of those.

I buy pretty much everything online if I'm honest - mainly for convenience. I don't have a great local bike shop near me and getting to the one near work in lunch is a pain. There's also no guarantee that they'll have what I want whereas with the big online companies it's here in a day or two. I never do the advice / try thing though - I buy tools as I need them and have pretty strong ideas as to what bits I want / like and therefore go with that.

That being said, I did buy my Banshee from a shop because I wanted to demo it first and they did a bit of a deal on it. There was no question that I was going to buy it from them. The service was pretty good, if not outstanding.

tomhoward got it on page one:

*awaits post stating that shop chappy should have helped him in order to potentially maybe be given the chance to give that customer an inner tube in the future*

This stuff about taking the hit in order to be able to get a future customer for things you [i]can[/i] compete with CRC/Wiggle on (i.e. everything except big-ticket parts, clothing etc.) seems to make sense.

But then look at pretty much every thread on here about builds, servicing, advice, just popping in for some inner tubes etc.- all that stuff where a shop can get the edge on the internet big boys. They all seem to be complaining that the LBS chappy didn't drop everything and leap over the counter to do all that stuff for nothing more than a cuppa and a biscuit, or instantly knock off 50% with a wink and a smile. The point where the LBS might expect to be able to actually make some money on something they do or sell seems to always be kicked down the road.

That doesn't add up to a sustainable approach to me.

part of the problem is that the industry is tilted to help the big players,buy 25 of an item and you will get a better price than 5 ,but unless you're an online supplier you could never sell the numbers required.
the days of customers paying £10/20 quid more for a bike locally are going ,just a few years ago customers were loyal and tended to come back after you'd helped them out,often out of hours or let them take a bike for the weekend because there's needs to back due to a problem.
past employers have gone out there way ,altered dates on receipts(so it's still in warranty)and gone above and beyond in terms of service,sadly it seems to count for nothing in many cases.

At Bontrager 24/12 this year I discovered the day before that one of the bearings in a brand new Hope BB had collapsed. Cycle Surgery were doing tech support for the event, so I went along and had a chat. They arranged for someone to bring down a new SRAM BB the next day and fitted it for me the morning of the race. They asked for £30 for the BB, and I gave them £40 and said buy a couple of beers with it as without their help I'd have taken two days off work, driven 500 miles and entered the event all for nothing.
They seemed quite surprised about it...
I like a bargain, but I also like shops and local services so I support them when and where I can. Some of the internet lovers/ B&M haterz need to realise that [url= http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/about/news/new-study-shows-nearly-half-of-us-jobs-at-risk-of-computerisation ]their jobs aren't going to be safe for much longer[/url].

I'll pay a bit more for things at my local bike shop just because it is my local bike shop, and it helps out my local economy, and pays for people's jobs and mortgages, and families etc.

It helps make me question whether I 'need' something a little bit too, which is probably healthy, as well as getting to talk about what I'm thinking of buying with somebody who (hopefully) knows what they're about.

I got invaluable tyre advice from JeJames just before a MTBing weekend with Dales Bike Centre, the friendly place in the Yorkshire Dales

Then there is this:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wiggle-5-off-wanted

Some people just aren't happy no matter what the price is...

This stuff about taking the hit in order to be able to get a future customer for things you can compete with CRC/Wiggle on (i.e. everything except big-ticket parts, clothing etc.) seems to make sense.

DT78 - Member
I have also been told by a LBS that it would be cheaper and quicker for me to order a mech from CRC, which I thought was pretty poor (but honest) sales approach

I had something like that with car tyres. Dealer service and they recommended I go to a tyre place for tyres, even though they could do it themselves. Presumably they just knew I'd laugh at their prices, they don't make enough money from tyres and/or they just don't have the time to do it. I'm more likely to go back to the dealer for another service than if they'd ripped me off on tyres.

This stuff about taking the hit in order to be able to get a future customer for things you can compete with CRC/Wiggle on (i.e. everything except big-ticket parts, clothing etc.) seems to make sense.

The tyre kickers will never come back

Maybe I should have said "SEEMS to make sense" 😉
We're saying the same thing I think. This approach would be be fine IF at some point in the near future those people all said to themselves "You know, after all those free inner tubes, services and advice, and all that stuff at 25% off, it's about time I bought those new forks from them even though I could get the same thing for £200 less on CRC right now."
If I was an LBS owner I wouldn't be holding my breath.

the vast majority of LBS cannot buy their stock for the same prices of the internet big boys. It's generally a tiered system of "trade price"/ "stockist"/ "premier" and "elite" when buying from the trade catalogues. LBS generally fall into the stockist bracket and thus pay approx. 5 to 6% more than the "elite" seller on each item. CRC, Wiggle are multi million pound companies and like supermarkets probably command even more discount. Not knocking my LBS but they struggle to get stuff in most of the time and I would hazard a guess why. where ever possible I will give the money to the LBS if they have what I'm after.

I think that 'shopping' to then order on the internet is out of order.

What the people who do this sort of thing don't realise is their 'right' to ask questions in a shop then buy on the internet is trumped by the shop's 'right' to tell them to sod off.

I've had a couple of occasions at Alti Bike Shak where I've tried to buy a tool but they didn't have any in stock. On both occasions they insisted on me borrowing their shop tool and dropping it through the letter box 2 days later when I'd done the job.

On another occasion when they fixed something for me quickly I had to demand that the charge me something for it. They said it hadn't taken long so it was free. I said that I'll generally buy stuff from where it's cheap but appreciate having them nearby; in those situations where I need something doing and they can do it for me then they need to damn well make the most of it and take my money off me.

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dannyh - Member
I think that 'shopping' to then order on the internet is out of order.

I did it all the time in HMV once online prices were cheaper. Frequently I'd check the phone to see what the online prices were. Sometimes if their sale price was good I'd buy in the shop, but usually not.

Maybe that's why most the HMV shops are gone now though 😉

Asking staff for advice to then buy online is cheaky though, and a good independent LBS I'm happy to give my business to. Still, I'm looking for a deal, so plenty of things I'll buy online, but I won't go and try in the shop to buy online.

Where an LBS gets my business is when I'm prepared to pay higher to get something that day, online price is not much different to RRP, or the shop just has a good deal like on the whole package or a unique offer. If it's a whole bike I'd be looking for a deal on last year models with good component spec or ex-demo.

I've had a couple of occasions at Alti Bike Shak where I've tried to buy a tool but they didn't have any in stock. On both occasions they insisted on me borrowing their shop tool and dropping it through the letter box 2 days later when I'd done the job.

On another occasion when they fixed something for me quickly I had to demand that the charge me something for it. They said it hadn't taken long so it was free. I said that I'll generally buy stuff from where it's cheap but appreciate having them nearby; in those situations where I need something doing and they can do it for me then they need to damn well make the most of it and take my money off me.

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And that, ladies and gentlemen, is known as customer service and adding value.