Designing a shop from the walls out... Thoughts on layout?

[Clancy]

John Barnett spoke some about the future of bike shops and what he said made a lot of sense. Basically he believes, strongly, that the future for bike shops - that want to make money and stay in business- is in service, not sales. With the internet, many bike companies selling direct, etc., for a shop to turn a profit they must emphasize service. He believes a bike shop should flip its layout to where the service department is in the front of the store, sales in the back. Makes sense in today's market.

If I opened a shop today, the service department would be in the front and out in the open, the customer would walk through it to get to sales. A counter and stand in the center facing the door, to take bikes in, ring customers up. That counter would be set up to stock typical service items, tubes, gels, impulses items. On either side would be a work area separated from the walk aisle by a half wall/counter. This would mean those areas always have to be presentable and professional. But presentable and professional is how every work area should be if a bike shop - in today's market - wants to bring in and retain customers.

Mark up on bikes is next to nil, and although there's money in parts it's hard for a shop to keep a big inventory, plus compete with on line sales. There's real money in service.

Just some thoughts.

[bitpuddle]

I'm not sure I can contribute constructively to the question, but it seems a little odd to me to ask about the "ultimate" shop and to get a bunch of answers about a mechanics workstation.

Maybe that is what you were asking for, but when I imagine the ultimate shop, I think about the customers' perspective. What is the overall feel of the shop? How to bring in (big-spending) enthusiasts but still be welcoming to more casual riders. How to work in spaces for classes. How to have a useful selection of clothing and accessories that people need. How to structure a shop to encourage return customers. That sort of thing.