What do you want from a modern LBS?

[lucco]

I just want milk that tastes like real milk!

All I look for in a LBS is,

-At least one or two mechanics who can service forks and suspension (on top of everything else)

-A few small discounts if you're a regular customer. Even if it's only a few dollars it's nice to get a bit off.

-Not worried about price matching on-line stores at all if the above are covered.

I've recently decided to give my LBS the flick. This is due to the owner/best mechanic never being in the shop any more and the second mechanic being a rude flog of a bloke. When the owner worked on the bikes I loved the place; now this bloke does everything, they've lost me.

 

[Broken Bones89]

I'm a local Toowoomba rider and I can tell you all that up until Jonny opened his shop the LBS scene sucked dog shit, unless you drove a BMW, shaved your ballsack and drank mini lattes (quote from the man himself) they weren't interested in you. When you have to put up with cocks like that it's no wonder bike shops are dying out.
For example just around the corner from his shop is the Spesh dealer, I walked in the a couple weeks ago to enquire about a commuter bike. After waiting 15 minutes for them to even notice I was in the store one of them waltzes up to me and asks if he can help, all I can say is once he discovered I only had $400 to spend the already minimal entheusiasm went out the window. wanker
fast forward to last week when I go in, take the usual 15 minutes to get noticed, and tell them I'm wanting to look at a carbon Demo well the prick nearly fell over himself trying to usher me to the computer to show me models and prices all the while apologising profusely for making me wait. I say again, Wanker.

On the other hand we have Jonny Sprockets, the second you walk in you feel welcome, he always has a smile on his face and he bends over backwards to help people out even if that means having to butcher parts off bikes he has on the showroom floor or even his personal bikes. No matter how busy he is you get acnowleged the second you walk in the door and you're pretty much on first name terms within a couple visits.
When it comes to club events Jonny is there giving away free stuff and having a laugh with everyone, something you never see from any of the other shops.

That my friends is what makes an exceptional bike shop and really it's not that hard, look after your customers and they'll look after you. If i'm getting good service and made to feel welcome I'm more than happy to cough up the extra dosh rather than buy online.

 

[driftking]

I'm a local Toowoomba rider and I can tell you all that up until Jonny opened his shop the LBS scene sucked dog shit, unless you drove a BMW, shaved your ballsack and drank mini lattes (quote from the man himself) they weren't interested in you. When you have to put up with cocks like that it's no wonder bike shops are dying out.
For example just around the corner from his shop is the Spesh dealer, I walked in the a couple weeks ago to enquire about a commuter bike. After waiting 15 minutes for them to even notice I was in the store one of them waltzes up to me and asks if he can help, all I can say is once he discovered I only had $400 to spend the already minimal entheusiasm went out the window. wanker
fast forward to last week when I go in, take the usual 15 minutes to get noticed, and tell them I'm wanting to look at a carbon Demo well the prick nearly fell over himself trying to usher me to the computer to show me models and prices all the while apologising profusely for making me wait. I say again, Wanker.

On the other hand we have Jonny Sprockets, the second you walk in you feel welcome, he always has a smile on his face and he bends over backwards to help people out even if that means having to butcher parts off bikes he has on the showroom floor or even his personal bikes. No matter how busy he is you get acnowleged the second you walk in the door and you're pretty much on first name terms within a couple visits.
When it comes to club events Jonny is there giving away free stuff and having a laugh with everyone, something you never see from any of the other shops.

That my friends is what makes an exceptional bike shop and really it's not that hard, look after your customers and they'll look after you. If i'm getting good service and made to feel welcome I'm more than happy to cough up the extra dosh rather than buy online.

If you're bored one arvo go in and tell him you want to look at a carbon demo with a custom build. Once he shows you and you bombard them with questions and ums and arrs proceed to say "thanks for that", When has asks if you will be back or buying simply say "I said I wanted to look at them not buy one, my wi fi was down"

 

[harmonix1234]

On the other hand we have Jonny Sprockets, the second you walk in you feel welcome, he always has a smile on his face and he bends over backwards to help people out even if that means having to butcher parts off bikes he has on the showroom floor or even his personal bikes. No matter how busy he is you get acnowleged the second you walk in the door and you're pretty much on first name terms within a couple visits.
When it comes to club events Jonny is there giving away free stuff and having a laugh with everyone, something you never see from any of the other shops.

That my friends is what makes an exceptional bike shop and really it's not that hard, look after your customers and they'll look after you. If i'm getting good service and made to feel welcome I'm more than happy to cough up the extra dosh rather than buy online.

That's awesome.
I wanna buy my stuff from Jonny.

 

[Bermshot]

Plugs for a LBS that ticks all the boxes? Yup I have to give +1 for TBSM, both online and in store.

 

[mothy]

"What do you want from an LBS?"

What do you want from an LBS?

Not the service I received today at Bike Addiction ....

First, when you walk in they assign you a surveillance team ... (because all blokes with beards and a day off are most clearly shoplifters)

Then, they follow you around the store "arranging stock", while not offering even a "G'day, can I help you with anything?"

Finally, when you say thanks when your leaving, you get the "piss-off-you-didn't-buy-a-team-carbon-pinnarello-you-infidel" attitude from the surveillance team/sales persons....

I really couldn't belive how rude that shop is ....

If Bike Addiction think they'll be getting my business shortly, when I get my new forks, brakes, wheel-set and rear shock - then they would be halucinating.... (not that they appeared to have stock of forks, brakes, mtb wheel-sets or rear shocks anyway)


Bike Addiction rating:

Service: -2/10 (They wouldn't help out if you were on fire)
Price: 3/10 (Badly Expensive! Even compared to expensive shops...)
Range: 2/10 (Remined me of Kmart with Pinnarello section)

Overall: DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND AVOID THIS SHOP UNLESS YOU ARE HAPPY TO BE OVERCHARGED AND TREATED LIKE AN A$$HOLE!

 

[aanon]

I want a bike shop i can . . . . . . .
Walk into drunk in my jocks with a pint in one hand and scotch in the other whilst scoffing pizza and dropping bits of it on the floor, occasionaly swearing.
Like i do when i shop at CRC:happy:

 

[wotsis]

I've been living overseas for the last decade so my perspective on what a good LBS should be is skewed.

My local stores have weird stuff that makes them interesting to walk into and temps me to buy stuff (even if a lot of it is impractically expensive). Elka shocks, BOS forks, Bike Fridays with their weird cargo cases, Bromptons, Profile hubs with 200+ points of engagement, Antidote downhill frames from the Czech Republic with custom builds, 2013 Santa Cruz carbon V10s, and a range of Rolhoff internal hubs. And many stores here have an interesting selection of secondhand gear to rummage through that ranges from crappy seatposts or saddles through to disc brakes and dual crown forks.

The last couple of times I've been back to Sydney, visiting bike stores has been massively disappointing.

Sydney stores seem to either be tiny and have bugger all stock, or they are big and still not carry anything that cannot be found outside of one or two manufacturers' online catalogues. I walked along Clarence Street, which now seems to be home to one store that sells everything out of the stock Giant catalog, a Specialised Concept Store, and one store that was a freakin' cafe surrounded by the occasional Euro carbon road frame. Booring.

I'll probably live in Sydney again in the not too distant future. I'd love to find a store that carried obscure, high end gear crammed into a jumbled mess that's interesting to browse through, but guess there's probably something really messed up about distribution channels in Oz that preclude stores from carrying an interesting variety of stock, so I'd probably settle for mechanical competence for suspension. Most people in stores have been friendly, it's just the stock that's dull.

 

[mothy]

I want a bike shop i can . . . . . . .
Walk into drunk in my jocks with a pint in one hand and scotch in the other whilst scoffing pizza and dropping bits of it on the floor, occasionaly swearing.
Like i do when i shop at CRC:happy:

I have a bike shop I can . . . .

walk into, be greated with a simple "g'day, hows the bike running?", walk around and look at things (without putting my pizza-fingers all over them), and when I walk out they say "See ya next time" . . . .

How hard is that?

When I replaced the front rotor at the above LBS, they did the install on the spot - no charge for labour! I was very impressed.

However, I do like the concept of CRC doing a 30 minute turn around and free install with caliper tuning etc. for only $35 more than I paid at the LBS ...

LBS's like the one I bought my rotor from deserve support !!!

Arrogant shops might just as well shut their doors.

 

[piggy pie]

I'm a local Toowoomba rider and I can tell you all that up until Jonny opened his shop the LBS scene sucked dog shit, unless you drove a BMW, shaved your ballsack and drank mini lattes (quote from the man himself) they weren't interested in you. When you have to put up with cocks like that it's no wonder bike shops are dying out.
For example just around the corner from his shop is the Spesh dealer, I walked in the a couple weeks ago to enquire about a commuter bike. After waiting 15 minutes for them to even notice I was in the store one of them waltzes up to me and asks if he can help, all I can say is once he discovered I only had $400 to spend the already minimal entheusiasm went out the window. wanker
fast forward to last week when I go in, take the usual 15 minutes to get noticed, and tell them I'm wanting to look at a carbon Demo well the prick nearly fell over himself trying to usher me to the computer to show me models and prices all the while apologising profusely for making me wait. I say again, Wanker.

On the other hand we have Jonny Sprockets, the second you walk in you feel welcome, he always has a smile on his face and he bends over backwards to help people out even if that means having to butcher parts off bikes he has on the showroom floor or even his personal bikes. No matter how busy he is you get acnowleged the second you walk in the door and you're pretty much on first name terms within a couple visits.
When it comes to club events Jonny is there giving away free stuff and having a laugh with everyone, something you never see from any of the other shops.

That my friends is what makes an exceptional bike shop and really it's not that hard, look after your customers and they'll look after you. If i'm getting good service and made to feel welcome I'm more than happy to cough up the extra dosh rather than buy online.

just moved to toowoomba and had to have a look at sprockets after this write up, guess what, its true. probably the only shop in toowooomba with a friendly person serving, puck me even the newsagent "hartleys" found it to hard to even say "be with you shortly" whilst chatting to a friend,no way would i buy from some mong like that, same at the giant dealer in the same street. shop owners you need to realise that we are your masters not the other way around:lol:

 

[piggy pie]

there was a thread possibly on rotoburn about some bikeshop putting rotting prawns or similar inside "whinging customers" frames, ever consider that they may be complaining because you are a pack of knobs who couldnt hold a shitstick let alone a bike tool, do it to me and you would be the rotten prawn on the ground complaining to the coppers:tape:

 

[Sparko]

Friendly helpful service that just isn't for show to snatch your money. Most folk who work in bike shops know it all, the difference is that some actually want to share correct knowledge. Others try to pull the wool. If you get a genuine smile your in the right place.

 

[mothy]

This is the exact attiude of poor LBS staff

Yes, you are crazy. It is insulting to have some A-hole walk into your shop with a brand new part they bought elsewhere and ask you to fit it. Most shops will but will charge you more for the service than they would've had you bought it there. The shop I worked at in BC would fit any part for free if you bought it from us, we'd charge like hell if it was from the Internet and politely let the customer know that we fit stuff for free. If you expect to waste someone's time by asking for info and then shopping elsewhere, you should also be expecting to be treated badly.

1) Why is it insulting to have "some A-hole" (a.k.a the customer) walk into your bike shop, and ask for help with installing a part onto their bike? And why would you rip them off for labour charges?

2) Did it make you feel like a hero *working-in-a-BC-bike-shop*? Further, does working in a BC bike shop justify being a rip off and a jerk to customers?

3) Did you piss all over those customers for asking you questions?

4) And, did you only do a good job servicing your friends bikes, or did you treat everybodys bike like sh!t equally?

Hey Reubs, guess what? Customers pay shops bills. Treat enough customers badly (as you seem to think is your right) and see how well your LBS/employer turns out eventually....

Attitudes like yours really sell CRC, Wiggle and Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance ....

 

[driftking]

Friendly helpful service that just isn't for show to snatch your money. Most folk who work in bike shops know it all, the difference is that some actually want to share correct knowledge. Others try to pull the wool. If you get a genuine smile your in the right place.

A good sales persons knows how to make a fake smile look genuine.

I don't work in a bike store and I too used to wonder why not just fit the part, I don't see a issue with buying a part elsewhere and getting it fitted, You are making money from fitting the part so get over it, its profit, just because someone doesn't use you for 100% of stuff doesn't mean you should turn them away, that's just poor business in term of cash flow and adapting to new ways these days.

However I also see the other side, If someone else sourced a part from somewhere else and than wanted me to do the leg work for installing it I think it would be a bigger issue if the part was purchased overseas, an overseas purchase it pretty much a kick in the balls for local stores. You are supporting the exact thing that is bringing them down. Refusing to instal parts bought overseas is completely acceptable in my books, If the item was purchased in Australia I think there may be cause for some argument there, while your business is not getting all the profit the item is still purchased in aus supporting our market and than you are getting money from the installation of that part. Ideal no, but profit is better than a lose and the money is still in our economy and sector.

I would hope if I owned a LBS that I would have a great working dialogue with customers and do the following
-Someone finds a store in Australia with a lower price that the customer would ask me if i could price match, If so do it
-If I cannot price match Id think ok well look buy it from there and I will install it for you obviously for a fee.
-If however you go overseas than I will not install the part.

profit is profit as is money in our economy and market over here. as long as its not an overseas part than fair game. If you cant price match or compete with most of your parts than there is obviously something wrong with your prices, whether store issue or somewhere else along the import line, most stores I see tend to have some parts higher priced than others and others at a lower prices depending on there agreements and what they get for what price. If you're so overly priced nothing can be price matched than maybe they need to either lower the profit margin or renegotiate their current wholesale payments.

M2C given I dont own a store taken with a pretty big grain of salt.

 

[frensham]

A good sales persons knows how to make a fake smile look genuine.

I don't work in a bike store and I too used to wonder why not just fit the part, I don't see a issue with buying a part elsewhere and getting it fitted, You are making money from fitting the part so get over it, its profit, just because someone doesn't use you for 100% of stuff doesn't mean you should turn them away, that's just poor business in term of cash flow and adapting to new ways these days.

However I also see the other side, If someone else sourced a part from somewhere else and than wanted me to do the leg work for installing it I think it would be a bigger issue if the part was purchased overseas, an overseas purchase it pretty much a kick in the balls for local stores. You are supporting the exact thing that is bringing them down. Refusing to instal parts bought overseas is completely acceptable in my books, If the item was purchased in Australia I think there may be cause for some argument there, while your business is not getting all the profit the item is still purchased in aus supporting our market and than you are getting money from the installation of that part. Ideal no, but profit is better than a lose and the money is still in our economy and sector.

I would hope if I owned a LBS that I would have a great working dialogue with customers and do the following
-Someone finds a store in Australia with a lower price that the customer would ask me if i could price match, If so do it
-If I cannot price match Id think ok well look buy it from there and I will install it for you obviously for a fee.
-If however you go overseas than I will not install the part.

profit is profit as is money in our economy and market over here. as long as its not an overseas part than fair game. If you cant price match or compete with most of your parts than there is obviously something wrong with your prices, whether store issue or somewhere else along the import line, most stores I see tend to have some parts higher priced than others and others at a lower prices depending on there agreements and what they get for what price. If you're so overly priced nothing can be price matched than maybe they need to either lower the profit margin or renegotiate their current wholesale payments.

M2C given I dont own a store taken with a pretty big grain of salt.

If you owned a store with that attitude you wouldn't own it for very long.

 

[beardi]

1) Why is it insulting to have "some A-hole" (a.k.a the customer) walk into your bike shop, and ask for help with installing a part onto their bike? And why would you rip them off for labour charges?

2) Did it make you feel like a hero *working-in-a-BC-bike-shop*? Further, does working in a BC bike shop justify being a rip off and a jerk to customers?

3) Did you piss all over those customers for asking you questions?

4) And, did you only do a good job servicing your friends bikes, or did you treat everybodys bike like sh!t equally?

Hey Reubs, guess what? Customers pay shops bills. Treat enough customers badly (as you seem to think is your right) and see how well your LBS/employer turns out eventually....

Attitudes like yours really sell CRC, Wiggle and Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance ....

For what it's worth Reubs worked on my bike plenty of times in BC and you'll never hear any complaints from me about the shop or it's service. If there were more like than in Aus we'd be laughing!

 

[Big JD]

bike store staff are not customer service elite.

bitching about customer service here is of no value. If you dont get the service you expect from a bike shop - either lower your expectations, go elsewhere or tell them what you want/need.

there is nothing wrong with calling it how you see it. If you get something serviced and you arent happy with the service - take it back and get them to make it right. Be firm in what you are asking for and there is nothing wrong with asking for the best price they can do.

dont expect bike store staff to make you a better person if you are vague, miserable, unhelpful, lack social skills, crap in the sack or unhappy. toughen up, and invest in dialogue with people - you never have to take what you are given in this world - if you dont like something, change it.

how are they going to know their service is sub-parr if you dont tell them - warning (check your expectations first).

 

[milly76]

It's about doing the little things right. My LBS is a smaller shop in a regional area. To a certain extent they have a captive market however that ultimately breeds complacency and laziness. Bike shops as a whole need to create a better experience for the customer and let's be honest this problems is not exclusive to the LBS. You talk to any retailer and the biggest challenge is getting the right employees.

To often clothing and accessories etc are not price marked. The change roo is the toilet complete with porno mags on the floor. The general appearance of the stock is appalling, you touch one bike and 16 others fall over like dominos.

The LBS needs to create a point of difference and provide a better experience for the customer. The retail landscape has changed and to many smaller bike shops are falling behind. I drive 40 mins past my local to a shop that provides excellent service and appears to be making a genuine effort to offer a point of difference over other shops.

 

[piggy pie]

For what it's worth Reubs worked on my bike plenty of times in BC and you'll never hear any complaints from me about the shop or it's service. If there were more like than in Aus we'd be laughing!

but you must of purchased the bike from the shop he worked at or lets face it "why should i give this customer good service, they did not not let me profit from his bike purchase". why is it ok to bag the overseas purchase but not bag the person who got their stuff elsewhere in the country. why defend someone who obviously wont defend their own words.

 

[piggy pie]

i have said this before, shops can buy from crc, even after tax a bikeshop could halve the cost of things like forks and such. not that hard to work out really.