Does anyone else get nervous when they go into bike shops?

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nickyboy

Norven Mankey
[QUOTE 3454072, member: 45"]Except that in Halfords it's often difficult to tempt the monkey out of the back room. I might try bananas next time.[/QUOTE]

Go to Tesco first to get the bananas

There is a big market for people interested in buying bikes and bike related stuff. Whilst lots of CCers are fine to talk about the finer points of Bottom Bracket specs and the likes, a lot of cyclists are not. For them, the LBS is a bit of a nightmare. Somewhat like the experience of going into the ironmongers of old; crammed full of stuff in a haphazard way, some geezer who's been there since forever who knows everything about everything but isn't used to dealing with customers who know nothing. These customers like to go to Decathlon, pick up a trolley, choose stuff well labelled in nice rows, go to checkout and pay.

The challenge for LBS owners is how to get a slice of this action

It's analogous to the situation at B&Q. Stuff there is often more expensive than going to the plumber's merchants or the like. But people go there because it is an unintimidating environment and there's some well-trained retired guy who can offer advice if you need it
 

Pikey

Waiting for the turbo to kick in...
Location
Wiltshire
So glad this thread is here!!

I don't normally feel nervous, but for some reason, when going to Planet X the other day to look for a tt bike I was properly bricking it.

I think it was the realisation that I wasn't one of the young 'uns in there and that I might start to be classified as a veteran soon. Plus I've only done two club tts (but freaking love it) and felt like a proper noob.

Also with the amount of festive Guinness I've been putting away, I didn't feel I looked the part either :laugh:

But still, I lied about my 10 mile pb to the sales guy and got one anyway :dance:
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
Go to Tesco first to get the bananas

There is a big market for people interested in buying bikes and bike related stuff. Whilst lots of CCers are fine to talk about the finer points of Bottom Bracket specs and the likes, a lot of cyclists are not. For them, the LBS is a bit of a nightmare. Somewhat like the experience of going into the ironmongers of old; crammed full of stuff in a haphazard way, some geezer who's been there since forever who knows everything about everything but isn't used to dealing with customers who know nothing. These customers like to go to Decathlon, pick up a trolley, choose stuff well labelled in nice rows, go to checkout and pay.

The challenge for LBS owners is how to get a slice of this action

It's analogous to the situation at B&Q. Stuff there is often more expensive than going to the plumber's merchants or the like. But people go there because it is an unintimidating environment and there's some well-trained retired guy who can offer advice if you need it
Bob Warners is still like that, luckily John knows where everything is though (its the only place he's ever worked and although he is past retirement age he carries on in his 'one person' shop, just don't expect him to stock much in the way of post 1970 technology. :biggrin:)
 

BrynCP

Über Member
Location
Hull
First time I went in an LBS I wanted their assistance as I had no idea what I was looking at. And all three I went into talked me through the options they had, then left me to it.

The one I finally bought my bike at and have gone to since, you have to "queue" for attention as it's usually pretty busy!

Compare that to when I was buying my car, the forecourts were empty and the salesmen descended upon you immediately. The first I went to I had to walk out, I told him I was just looking, he demanded to know how much I had to spend, told him money was not an issue and I just wanted the right car at the right price and I would have a look around - second demand to know how much money I had, same answer, third demand - I walked out! The next place wasn't much better; the clothes I was wearing must have given him an impression of how much money I had so he took me to a badly scratched corsa and said it was a bargain.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
Go into a builders merchant for 3x2 slabs....you wont see any body...you absolutely wont get asked "what ya after mate if you park next to 3x2 slabs"... but once you have struggled to load your van a nice young man will appear and ask if you need help," if only you'd be here 10 min ago"
Bike shops are much better ..I like bike shops ,a lot
 

stephec

Legendary Member
Location
Bolton
It's analogous to the situation at B&Q. Stuff there is often more expensive than going to the plumber's merchants or the like. But people go there because it is an unintimidating environment and there's some well-trained retired guy who can offer advice if you need it

Your local builders merchants sound similar to mine, is this how they treat non trade customers?

 

Hill Wimp

Fair weathered,fair minded but easily persuaded.
I'm allergic to sales people. I don't mind the initial interchange but no means no and if they push beyond that I just give them a cheeky death stare and they leave me alone lol

^ i need to practice that death stare :laugh:

Actually LBS sales people are pretty good but i am always afraid going in there because of how much i may come out with :shy:
 

marknotgeorge

Hol den Vorschlaghammer!
Location
Derby.
I tend to get nervous in bike shops, just like in all shops where you tend to get more interaction than in a supermarket, but then I suffer from social anxiety. I don't go in often enough to develop a rapport, generally because I rarely have the cash to make meaningful purchases.
 
How much attention is too much is down to both the salesman and you. What I may regard as too much is perfectly acceptable for some.It is a balancing act between being pushy and losing a sale due to lack of attention.
Restaurants are the same with their staff, the best one we use have staff that just seem to appear when needed but otherwise leave you alone to enjoy your meal.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Went in to a bike shop and asked to see a focus road bike. they young guy took a cannondale down from the rack and said this is the bike you really want.I walked out
I was talking to somebody over Christmas who had been in a phone shop a few days earlier to look at Samsung phones.

A shop assistant came over and announced that all phones except for iPhones were "cheap, nasty crap". He was told that those opinions were not wanted, Samsungs were, but he would not shut up - iPhone, Apple, blah blah blah.

In the end, the customer called the shop manager over and told him to shut the Apple fanboi up or he would leave the shop and never return. He STILL wouldn't stop, so the manager physically pushed him to the other side of the shop and told him to stay there. Apparently, he could still be heard in the distance going on and on about iPhones. The manager said that he was a total fanatic ... :wacko:
 

Ganymede

Veteran
Location
Rural Kent
I tend to get nervous in bike shops, just like in all shops where you tend to get more interaction than in a supermarket, but then I suffer from social anxiety. I don't go in often enough to develop a rapport, generally because I rarely have the cash to make meaningful purchases.
I've learned better as I've got older - and one of the things is to be really upfront. Arrive, go to the sales desk, or be approached, and say: "I feel a bit bad that I might not buy anything at all but I'd like to get familiar with what's available", or "I'm just dipping my toe in and wanted to see what you sell" - then you prepare the ground for having to say at the end "thank you, that was helpful, I will come back when I've thought about it". I'm not underestimating how hard it can be to say those things though!
 
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