Thursday. Called LBS, nice as pie asked for them to get a headset in for me (tapered-for new frame-woohoo!) Paid for it there and then, it’ll be in on tuesday. Ok, no worries. Called today ‘it shipped yesterday’ (monday), should be in on thursday…FFS! Big believer in shopping at LBS and other businesses, but this just P*ssed me off. I was looking forward to finishing the build, riding etc. now-denied.

Sorry for the rant, just had to shout at the sky for a minute.

LBS in let down by their supplier shocker.
Do you think they intentionally misled you?.
Go to trading standards.
Get them shut down.
How dare they!!!

Any reason they couldn’t take a phone number to warn against a wasted trip though?

Can see why it would be annoying.

Evans?

From the title I thought for a minute you’d been gang banged by your lbs.

OP, did you call by telephone or actually visit the shop to collect?

I had a great experience at my LBS yesterday afternoon – helpful, enthusiastic, honest advice, really great. Made me think I must go further out of my way to support my LBS as when I need them it would be crap if there were not there.

Probably not the LBS’s fault, assuming they had ordered it and were telling you the truth. Just as likely to have the same problem if you’d ordered it direct – if the LBS is a routine customer of the supplier they may have problems less often.

My bet is that the part could have been in on Tuesday had it been ordered from supply there and then. But someone then has to go through stock and see if anything else needs ordering to make up a carriage paid order. And then they wait to send the order on Monday morning, once the weekend is done so stock can be fully replenished. Supplier then ships that afternoon on the normal free shipping option that is not a next business day service.

Just another frustrating day in the life of the average LBS/customer relationship.

Evans would need to place a customer order which would require customer contact details. When the item arrived in store, the customer would receive an automated email. I doubt it would have been Evans.

Why don’t the LBS just order it from wiggle, crc, merlin ect… as it’s pretty much a given it will be delivered within 48hrs.?

A lad in the club snapped a chain and took his rear mech with it. The LBS have told him it will be ready in ten days.! How.? I have stuff delivered from china in a quicker time than that.

He needs to go to another lbs. Unless it was some strange mech he wanted.

Why don’t the LBS just order it from wiggle, crc, merlin ect…

Because the LBS has to make a living? I order parts from them sometimes, odd small parts where I don’t have an account with the distributor.

Impatience is the scourge of the modern world.

For the likes of us I think lbs will end up being treated as workshops/distress purchase places.

Impatience is the scourge of the modern world.

But 10 days for a chain and rear mech FFS.! Lets have a bit of balance.

In my experience all of my local bike shops are useless with exception of the one round the corner who stocks loose ball bearings at a realistic price. I like the idea of having a LBS but the reality is a poorly stocked shop that sells overpriced bikes and bits.

LBS are great if you get a good one. Sometimes they are shocking though. Just depends. I understand the supporting small local businesses etc, but some of them just really don’t help themselves at all. I had a completely failed rear hub on a nearly new bike, rang up the UK branch of the manufacturer, they agreed it was a warranty issue no question. (I have had a warranty issue before with this manufacturer and dealt directly with their customer services, I sent the warratiable item back to them direct via courier with proof of purchase, within 48hrs A brand new one arrived direct to me, I know you should go through the retailer, but I needed my bike back on the trail quickly, so cheekily went direct)

This occassion with the rear wheel I thought I’d go through the proper procedure as the manufacturer prefers, but was sceptical as to how quickly it would get dealt with at the LBS end even though I’d just spent over 3 grand with them. Lo and behold I chased them 3 days after dropping it off and they still hadn’t got round to sending it off. After 4 days it arrived at the manufacturers UK place. I rang the UK distributors for an update as I knew the LBS wouldnt chase, they said yep it was a warranty replacement and they’d couriered a brand new one back to the LBS for me a day ago. Cool I thought, and then I waited. I knew that 24 hrs after sending it should be with the LBS and having taken my number they would be on the phone. Nope, so I rang them 4 days after it should have arrived having given them the benefit of the doubt with courier delays etc, and the dope said “Oh yes that wheel arrived here a couple of days ago !!!”

So in total for a quick clean warranty replacement, the UK distributor took a total of 24-48hrs to deal with their end of things, and the LBS took 10 days to do the sum total of put the thing in a box, send it to the manufacturer, receive it back, sign for the parcel and give me a 20 second phone call, (It was a complete wheel replacement so no assembly or workshop time was needed).
I doubt I’d have got a phone call at all had I not chased them.
When we all sing from the rooftops about using the LBS as they give the personal touch and customer service you’d never get from a large online retailer, some really really dont help themselves !

Emphasis on the “some” as I understand a great majority of LBS are brilliant. But understandable why service like this drives people away from them all wrongly or rightly.

Ordered some stuff from an online retailer that turned up with DHL last Thursday. Except their driver had no idea how to work a door-intercom, claimed I wasn’t home for delivery, then they wouldn’t arrange for redelivery until they’d spoken to the sender. Finally took delivery this morning.

Thankfully it’s my LBS’s anniversary today too. Free beer, cake, ‘goodie-bags’ and a raffle to salve my rage 😉

Are all restaurants wonderful, all car garages honest, all builders fantastic?
No.
Check the reputation.
If you don’t like what you hear dont go there.
The op’s problem does however sound like a genuine supply fault issue.

Lets have a bit of balance

Life is all about having a bit of balance 🙂

The main problem that I see many LBS’ suffering from is that they have failed/are very reluctant to change with the times, and adapt. Too many have continued with the same business model, when the market has changed significantly in terms of how people shop. In my personal experience, most bike shops were never at the better end of retail experience, and some seem to have the attitude that they are doing you a favour by being there. Shops/businesses that I see which are thriving, have embraced the need to change, and have adapted. Tailoring your product lines and stock to your local customer base is one example; good bike shops near me provide mainly for commuters, rather than stocking loads of flash mountain bike gear etc.

For the likes of us I think lbs will end up being treated as workshops/distress purchase places.

A large proportion of income for a LBS comes from these things, so a good shop will be able to provide quick repairs and replacement components that they know will be in demand (rather than blingy XTR bits that hardly anyone ever buys). Taking 10 days to replace a rear mech and chain is rubbish, quite frankly, in these times of near-instant online purchase. In London in particular, there are small bike workshops popping up which do mainly repairs, rather than primarily retail.

LBS’ need to become more involved in the whole cycling revolution, rather than simply be there to sell stuff and make money. Many Local Authorities are pumping money into cycle schemes etc, so there is potential for development beyond selling someone an innertube or fixing a puncture. The owners of LBS’ have to see this if they are to move forward.

Impatience is the scourge of the modern world.

Hmmm, while I sort of agree in general – when you are talking about biking, not all of us have several bikes to choose from, and some people have limited time to ride, especially on days when the weather isn’t hideous.

Imagine the weather forecast for tomorrow is great and you’re off work but you need a vital part – being told you can’t ride your bike because you have to wait a couple of weeks (for a part you could order online and get tomorrow for half the price) just doesn’t cut it.

The old-fashioned model of distribution for bike parts/shops just isn’t fit for purpose any more.

being told you can’t ride your bike because you have to wait a couple of weeks (for a part you could order online and get tomorrow for half the price) just doesn’t cut it.

So why not order it online? Bike shops and online retailers are in different markets, they can’t compete with each other. It’s like comparing Amazon to your local book shop, complaining that the book shop doesn’t have the range of books or the prices of Amazon, but ignoring the shop’s comfy chairs, coffee and ability to browse.

I understand that if you have a broken bike you want it fixed as soon as possible. But every time I’ve had to have my car fixed, I’ve had to book it in several days in advance, and if parts were needed they often took several days to arrive.

The main problem that I see many LBS’ suffering from is that they have failed/are very reluctant to change with the times, and adapt.

^^^this.
I ordered a headset from my LBS last year – it took a month to come in…
they had to close the shop earlier this year which was very disappointing but not really that surprising.

So why not order it online?

I do generally – on a few occasions I have tried to support my LBS by buying stuff from there but found the process so frustrating I gave up. Waiting two weeks for something when they can’t even tell you for sure when it will come is pretty annoying.

I’m quite happy to pay a little bit more for parts and wait a little bit longer to get good personal service from an LBS – but usually the reality is paying a lot more, and waiting a lot longer. And sometimes the personal service isn’t all that great.

I’ve never had to wait two weeks for the garage to get a part delivered for my car BTW – it’s been a day or two at most, sometimes the same day.

Not excusing bad service at all but for the LBS once if you went in for a headset it was easy as there was only pretty much one type so you could always expect them to have one in stock . Now there is a bewildering range , 1 1/8 , tapered , integrated , semi integrated , drop in bearings , overdrive , different chamfers on drop in bearings etc . Same with Bottom brackets , 3 different size MTB wheels and tyres , about 100 different types of disc pad where once you just had brake blocks , hundreds of different mech hangers . It isn’t easy to carry everything in stock and sometimes you can’t just order one item on its own as you get hammered for carriage charges . As I said this doesn’t excuse bad service or misleading people but it really isn’t as simple as some folk think it is .

understand that if you have a broken bike you want it fixed as soon as possible. But every time I’ve had to have my car fixed, I’ve had to book it in several days in advance, and if parts were needed they often took several days to arrive.

What are you driving.? Even for my aging pug most if not all of the parts are available off the shelf or at worst next day delivery.

As a man who lives on the bread line I have to DIY my car like I do my bikes. Taking my car to a garage to get it fixed is not an option unless its something burred deep withing the bowels of the engine block.

The bike shops in my area all shut at 5pm or there abouts. What use is that to anyone who works 9 til 5 and rides of a weekend.? Halfords for all there faults are open till 8 and seem to be doing roaring trade judging by all the boardmans flying around the streets.

I just think a lot of LBS/businesses don’t really have a clue about customer services.

How about they ask you when you need it for? If you say that you want to be riding at the weekend they say fine, but we will need to pay distributor to post it out and re-charge that to you.

It is all about understanding what the customer needs. I am happy to pay a premium if I feel I am getting a premium service. LBS’s can do a lot that online retailers cannot, they just need to think it about it a bit more.

How about these for starters:
• Customer club with deals, servicing etc
• Club evenings
• Service plan (regular payments to cover all servicing)
• Running cycle proficiency at local school
• reciprocal deals with other local retailers (get a cake and coffee in the local cafe whilst getting your bike serviced)
• Clean and Lube for fiver
• Scheme leasing quality used kids bikes so you don’t need to buy a new one whenever the kids grow

Not every customer is the same, some people don’t have a clue about bikes, others are experts that just need a random part

I get frustrated when I see local businesses (not just LBS’s) expecting the money to come through their tills without being creative or trying to sell their business to the public.

I would hate to think that people come to my shop because they feel sorry for us and are supporting us out of pity but rather because we have products they want to buy.
I can’t stand poor service and constantly keep on to the guys about how important it is to keep the customer informed about what is/isn’t happening to their order/repair etc.

But one of the lads who we took ob from the car parts trade is constantly amazed at how shit the entire distribution side of the cycle industry is
The cycle industry is just terrible when it comes to service to its customers.

But any bike shop ir retailer who constantly gives poor service and doesn’t look at how the market is changing and how customers are changing will go out of business and at the moment it’s hard for the lbs to go against the industry and not to stock products that are being forced on them

Well said Ben! 😀

Yes if a customer comes in to my workshop with a broken bike that can’t be ridden I try my best to get it fixed as quick as possible.

But you have to bear in mind, 50% of the time I prob have to order the part in due to the customer what’s the same part or to upgrade the part or it’s another “standard”. And if I all ready got a busy/full workshop with bikes that need to be finished to keep other customers happy!

Then you have to take in the time of day and the day it comes in.
If they come in Thursday afternoon after 1600 you can order the part then and there but it WILL NOT get to me till Monday,so that’s 4 days right there! (as I missed Thur order cut off, part get picked/shipped Fri, but courier (99% of them) doesn’t deliver on a Sat so Monday delivery, and THEN depend where you are on the delivery route I might not get the part till late afternoon, so still might not have time to get it fixed in time for Monday! (But then I am often at the workshop till 1930 when busy to get bikes ready as quick as possible)
I tend to find that if you TALK to the customer and explain they are OK about it.

Also not everyone is like all the people on here are, top mechanics that can fix/repair/replace/have the correct tool/know what “standard” that needed for their bike let alone loads of other type of bikes. So need to go somewhere that does. (like taking you car to the garage!)

So please before slagging* off LBS for taking a “more than a few days” just think what day you took the bike/part in to be serviced/fixed.
*if taken in on Monday and not ready by Fri/Sat then MAYBE you can start withthe pitch forks.

To answer the OP: Three days between order and delivery is very unusual. Most of the suppliers I use will offer next day delivery on all orders placed by lunchtime, carriage paid or not. For the record, carriage paid thresholds are mostly between £100 and £200 before VAT.

To further the LBS debate: Next spring I’ll be celebrating 10 years in the trade and when I started it was well worth keeping a couple of XT mechs and cassettes on the shelf. Now they’d be a liability and as cybicle said, keeping the commuters moving is the mainstay of the business. There’s a lot of snobbery in cycling and many’s the time I’ve seen riders on ‘enthusiast level’ bikes look through the window at the hybrids and retros I stock and ride off never to be seen again. If I kept enough bling to tempt them in I’d eventually turn into a museum rather than a shop. I regularly hear stories of other larger local shops quoting three weeks for repairs and wonder how they can get away with that.

So please before slagging* off LBS for taking a “more than a few days” just think what day you took the bike/part in to be serviced/fixed.

I wouldn’t have a problem with that at all. I would however expect to be told, at the beginning, how long the work is expected to take. I would then want to be informed if things change.

Couldn’t agree more with Frank sinatra

Replies to Frank from my own perspective:

franksinatra – Member
I just think a lot of LBS/businesses don’t really have a clue about customer services.

How about they ask you when you need it for? If you say that you want to be riding at the weekend they say fine, but we will need to pay distributor to post it out and re-charge that to you.

It is all about understanding what the customer needs. I am happy to pay a premium if I feel I am getting a premium service. LBS’s can do a lot that online retailers cannot, they just need to think it about it a bit more.

How about these for starters:
• Customer club with deals, servicing etc — Regular coustomers do get better deals but I wouldn’t put out any standard deal as everyone’s different.
• Club evenings — I run the shop on my own, which takes enough of my time
• Service plan (regular payments to cover all servicing) — Servicing and repair costs are too unpredictable to make this work
• Running cycle proficiency at local school — As club evenings
• reciprocal deals with other local retailers (get a cake and coffee in the local cafe whilst getting your bike serviced) — Maybe worth thinking about as the local coffee shop are quieter now Costa has moved into town
• Clean and Lube for fiver — Not really an effective use of my time
• Scheme leasing quality used kids bikes so you don’t need to buy a new one whenever the kids grow — Have you seen how kids treat their bikes?

Why don’t the LBS just order it from wiggle, crc, merlin ect… as it’s pretty much a given it will be delivered within 48hrs.?

A lot of them do to keep the custom, although obviously as a long term strategy it’s not going to work.

Charging a customer more for a part because we don’t have it in stock I wouldn’t dream of it. Just take the hit and ensure the customer is kept up to date with the delivery.
As for other activities from the shop.
How about local dig days support for trail building groups
Put on races and events
Demo days
Celebrate milestones with your shop by offering cake and invite customers to celebrate with you.
Seek funding for local cycle schemes and community project
Run kuds training days
Operate a cycle team
Do weekends away
Stay open late or open early
Ride on Sundays
And you can’t do any of it if you sit behind the counter waiting for the customer to walk in

• Clean and Lube for fiver — Not really an effective use of my time

Fair enough but I would assume that sort of thing would build up customer relationships, even if a loss leader, could pay off in the long run. but if you are already busy then good stuff, you don’t need my armchair expertise!

How about these for starters:

Sounds a lot like a lot of the ideas I had when I was starting out. Experiences I had:

• Customer club with deals, servicing etc

Can work, but only in big numbers – otherwise it’s just lots more hassle to administer. I think I’m still on the STW subscriber list 😉

• Club evenings

I like my evenings. And no-one ever bought anything.

• Service plan (regular payments to cover all servicing)

Price it too low, I lose money. Price it to not lose money, people wince at the price. Trouble is a hub-geared city bike needs very different maintenance to a bashed-about MTB.

• Running cycle proficiency at local school

Did this a few times. Spend all day trying to get the brakes to vaguely work on POS Costco kids bikes, then have parents moan about spending any money because “they’ll only use it for the cycling proficiency”.

• reciprocal deals with other local retailers (get a cake and coffee in the local cafe whilst getting your bike serviced)

I like that idea. If I had a local cafe, might well do that. Problem is it only works with while-you-wait repairs which aren’t the kind of repairs a bike shop wants to be doing.

• Clean and Lube for fiver

You’d have to pay me a lot more than a fiver to clean the kinds of filthy bikes most bike shops have to deal with.

• Scheme leasing quality used kids bikes so you don’t need to buy a new one whenever the kids grow

Some bike recycling places do this (but they don’t need to make a profit) – problem they run into is that the supply of well-made kids bikes is drying up because everyone’s buying cheap modern kids bikes that don’t last long.

The basic, fundamental problem is that the LBS isn’t set up for the needs of the STW rider. Many LBSs do very well serving their customers, but you lot aren’t their core customers.

The basic, fundamental problem is that the LBS isn’t set up for the needs of the STW rider. Many LBSs do very well serving their customers, but you lot aren’t their core customers.

Nail on head time. Makes sense to me.

It’s something I find myself explaining a lot – I have a shop, it’s in a posh area, but I don’t do repairs or sell much in the way of normal parts. People often say that I should start doing normal repairs and parts, but I did the sums (and tried it years ago) and it wouldn’t work.

I’ve got a sign on the door that says “We don’t do normal bike repairs” – doesn’t help much. Thinking of adding “This means you” 😀

franksinatra – Member

The basic, fundamental problem is that the LBS isn’t set up for the needs of the STW rider. Many LBSs do very well serving their customers, but you lot aren’t their core customers.

Nail on head time. Makes sense to me.

+1