How many ladies/women/non-men come on here?

[Chuffy]

Well made point there.

Bloody annoying though if you don't know what you're talking about. How do they ever expect someone to learn if they're not interested unless you already know?

Ta.
With bike shops, the good ones will at least try to explain stuff and if you become a regular then you can strike up a reasonable relationship with the staff (actually, the same goes for vets come think about it). I suspect that some of the gender difference comes down to the fact that there are a lot of girlies (deliberate choice of wording btw) who will simply twitter "oooh, I don't understand anything mechanical, can you pump my tyres up for me?" and pander to stereotype while congratulating themselves on getting a man to perform a menial task for them. I know, I know, they aren't representative, but there's enough of them about to make it more difficult for the rest of you. When the garage asked my ex what type of car she had she told them it was a blue one. Seriously.... Blokes really hate appearing ignorant, so will bullshit at least try to sound like they know what they're talking about. Having said that, most blokes, if sent out to buy any kind of 'girly' requisite (perfume, curtains, sanitary products, washing liquid etc etc) will do the male equivalent of 'I don't understand anything mechanical' while looking gormless and hoping that the (female) sales assistant will help. Thanks guys...

 

[Spinney]

Me woman...

(sadly too old to say 'me girl'!)

I ride for leisure, did my first sportive last weekend (Ryedale Rumble 2) - 15 mins too slow for the Silver! Getting seriously into it, tho' I'll never be fast or good at hills!

 

[Arch]

Ta.
With bike shops, the good ones will at least try to explain stuff and if you become a regular then you can strike up a reasonable relationship with the staff (actually, the same goes for vets come think about it). I suspect that some of the gender difference comes down to the fact that there are a lot of girlies (deliberate choice of wording btw) who will simply twitter "oooh, I don't understand anything mechanical, can you pump my tyres up for me?" and pander to stereotype while congratulating themselves on getting a man to perform a menial task for them. I know, I know, they aren't representative, but there's enough of them about to make it more difficult for the rest of you. When the garage asked my ex what type of car she had she told them it was a blue one. Seriously.... Blokes really hate appearing ignorant, so will bullshit at least try to sound like they know what they're talking about. Having said that, most blokes, if sent out to buy any kind of 'girly' requisite (perfume, curtains, sanitary products, washing liquid etc etc) will do the male equivalent of 'I don't understand anything mechanical' while looking gormless and hoping that the (female) sales assistant will help. Thanks guys...

Well said.

I may have been guilty in the past of letting chaps* do bike stuff for me, but I think in my case it was a) laziness and enjoying watching a chap tinker about enjoying himself tinkering.

*by which I mean personal friends, not bike shop employees

I think with bike shops, there are probably some that happen to be staffed by people who are so into bikes that they can't concieve of someone not understanding - but the same goes for cars, computers, and probably cosmetics (I dunno, I don't buy them) and other stuff. The secret of being a good people person, as opposed to just a good salesman, is understanding your customer's needs and their level of understanding, so you don't blind them with jargon.

 

[HelenD123]

I think with bike shops, there are probably some that happen to be staffed by people who are so into bikes that they can't concieve of someone not understanding - but the same goes for cars, computers, and probably cosmetics (I dunno, I don't buy them) and other stuff. The secret of being a good people person, as opposed to just a good salesman, is understanding your customer's needs and their level of understanding, so you don't blind them with jargon.

The problem with the manager of my LBS is that he's quite shy and isn't actually a good salesman. It's difficult to get him talking and I'm not the most talkative myself so it's often really awkward. I don't know whether he's different with men and/or those who really know their stuff.

 

[summerdays]

My LBS are nice - and know I'm quite thick mechanically speaking. But they don't mind re-explaining things when I haven't understood them the first time around. It did take a while to build up this relationship, though they certainly don't mind chatting whilst they work on your bike.

 

[Chuffy]

Isn't there a bike shop in London which specialises in girly stuff? It would be interesting to know exactly how it differs from a 'normal' shop. I'd like to think there was more to it than just having female sales staff who will help you pick a bike which matches your shoes...

I suspect that bike shop staff tend to be enthusiasts who don't have much/any customer service training. Tattoo shops are another example where you have to work really, really hard to establish a relationship. Given the type of chaps who tend to work in them, that can be very difficult. Trust me, I've got an armful of badly executed rubbish to prove it. I've always wanted to find a good girly tattooist, because I reckon that they would be easier to establish that kind of rapport with but that's just because I tend to find women easier to get on with generally. There just isn't the manly butt-sniffing that goes on when chaps meet other chaps.

 

[Chuffy]

My LBS are nice - and know I'm quite thick mechanically speaking. But they don't mind re-explaining things when I haven't understood them the first time around. It did take a while to build up this relationship, though they certainly don't mind chatting whilst they work on your bike.

I once turned up at my old LBS with a plastic box full of brake bits and a pitiful expression. They didn't laugh at me. Much. The key is that you have to show willing, then most of them will respond sensibly.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

I suspect that bike shop staff tend to be enthusiasts who don't have much/any customer service training.

I think that's it.

And alternately if you go to a less 'local' bike shop, you'll probably have less enthusiasm & knowledge, but possibly more customer service training, which is not what you're after either... *sigh*

 

[Wheeledweenie]

Any women who want to take part in the women discussion thing go here