Friendly Email from the Bike Shop... [Archive]

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oldguy00

01-11-2011, 06:48 PM

Editing because shouldn't vent here......

Pete Serotta

01-11-2011, 07:01 PM

Sounds like the seller is the one who is in most err here. I would suggest putting a reverse or stop on your credit card and also send the frame back if it was not as depicted in for sale and that is the basis you bought on,

The dealer is caught in the middle and it sounds like he packed and shipped what was provided to him.

Secondly why does the frame need a new fork or seatposts?

The Seller is liable to you for the sale between you and him.

Sorry for your troubles.

The Credit Card stop payment is what I would suggest until you are satisfied with purchase from seller.

I would also get an inspection from a local dealer in CANADA (of the frame mainly, and fork if you keep them) Good luck
PETE

oldguy00

01-11-2011, 07:05 PM

Pete, feel free to delete thread.......decided I shouldn't be venting here about this....
It was just typical of the attitude I experience when I have dealings with LBS's....

oldpotatoe

01-12-2011, 07:51 AM

Pete, feel free to delete thread.......decided I shouldn't be venting here about this....
It was just typical of the attitude I experience when I have dealings with LBS's....

How about 'this LBS'. not with LBS'...small point from a LBS owner-

Pete Serotta

01-12-2011, 07:57 AM

Nothing was done "negative" by you. The thread was pure ok and I and others have had similar problems with some non LBS sellers.. See what Steve posted in CLASSIFIED section.

PETE

Pete, feel free to delete thread.......decided I shouldn't be venting here about this....
It was just typical of the attitude I experience when I have dealings with LBS's....

oldguy00

01-12-2011, 08:15 AM

How about 'this LBS'. not with LBS'...small point from a LBS owner-

I don't typically like to stereotype...
But the majority of LBS's I've dealt with seem to have ego's and attitudes.
I realize there ARE good shops out there, I just haven't found them...

rePhil

01-12-2011, 10:01 AM

Peter,I have been to your shop, and you indeed have an "attitude". Your shop has a GREAT attitude / vibe. First thing I heard when I walked through your door was you and a customer sharing a laugh, next was an employee on the phone saying "yea, we got that in stock"
As I have said before, how many people would not only know the part number of a 8 speed Campy pawl spring, but have one in stock, and mail it to me N/C. I wish I lived closer.

How about 'this LBS'. not with LBS'...small point from a LBS owner-

drewski

01-12-2011, 10:09 AM

Peter,I have been to your shop, and you indeed have an "attitude". Your shop has a GREAT attitude / vibe. First thing I heard when I walked through your door was you and a customer sharing a laugh, next was an employee on the phone saying "yea, we got that in stock"
As I have said before, how many people would not only know the part number of a 8 speed Campy pawl spring, but have one in stock, and mail it to me N/C. I wish I lived closer.

What shop can you be found at Pete? I am always looking for small
campy parts.

djg

01-12-2011, 11:37 AM

I don't typically like to stereotype...
But the majority of LBS's I've dealt with seem to have ego's and attitudes.
I realize there ARE good shops out there, I just haven't found them...

I've been in shops where this is characteristic. And I can even think of shops I like, where it's not characteristic, but where one or two guys do their best to push it that way.

OTOH, I can think of several shops in the DC area that have always treated me right.

xjoex

01-12-2011, 04:45 PM

What shop can you be found at Pete? I am always looking for small campy parts.

Pete works/owns Vecchios http://vecchios.com/ It is an amazing shop with high end gear and bikes.

When I lived in Boulder it was a pleasure to shop there. Plus he sold me his old truing stand for a song.

-Joe

oldpotatoe

01-13-2011, 08:02 AM

Peter,I have been to your shop, and you indeed have an "attitude". Your shop has a GREAT attitude / vibe. First thing I heard when I walked through your door was you and a customer sharing a laugh, next was an employee on the phone saying "yea, we got that in stock"
As I have said before, how many people would not only know the part number of a 8 speed Campy pawl spring, but have one in stock, and mail it to me N/C. I wish I lived closer.

Many thanks, we tryin'.....

New website up this Friday(hope so!)...1 year anniversary of getting rid of my lying, thieving biz partner.

http://www.vecchios.com

AngryScientist

01-13-2011, 08:07 AM

Many thanks, we tryin'.....

New website up this Friday(hope so!)...1 year anniversary of getting rid of my lying, thieving biz partner.

http://www.vecchios.com

keep up the good work, you're one of the "good fellas". :beer:

rugbysecondrow

01-13-2011, 08:24 AM

Peter,I have been to your shop, and you indeed have an "attitude". Your shop has a GREAT attitude / vibe. First thing I heard when I walked through your door was you and a customer sharing a laugh, next was an employee on the phone saying "yea, we got that in stock"
As I have said before, how many people would not only know the part number of a 8 speed Campy pawl spring, but have one in stock, and mail it to me N/C. I wish I lived closer.

Major props to Pete. Helped me out with a Campy part I needed. Easy to work with and prompt.

Cheers and much success to you!

Paul

forrestw

01-13-2011, 09:05 AM

Editing because shouldn't vent here......

I'd be glad to see you put back whatever you were venting, as the only context I have to go by is the content in the replies.

So responding to those rather than your post ...

Yeah bike shops with 'attitude' can be a problem or an attraction. My first experience with this was ca '82 at the Bicycle Exchange, Cambridge (which afaik has no connection to the shop of the same name near Porter Sq). I was interested in racing and was very much put off by the cocky SOB who told me that unless I could sprint to 40 mph *in any gear* 4 times in a row, I was wasting my time thinking about it. (I don't in retrospect regret giving up on the idea.)

FF to 2006, wanting to build aerobic fitness for rock climbing, I decided to take up triathlon. I hopped over to the closest LBS (International Bicycle) for advice on how to refit my '83 Peugeot to get through a race on a budget. The f*ckwit behind the counter glibly decreed that there was no sense doing anything on that bike and opined that I needed to spend a minimum of $1200 on a new ride. Since then I go to a shop that's a 4 mile ride from home that gives me good service, imx is most likely to have or be able to quickly order the parts that I need and has relatively relaxed attitude. I'll occasionally pickup a minor part at that closest LBS but they'll never see any real money from me, while my preferred shop has sold me a Serotta frame and several thousand $ of gear ('06 was a tight budget year, the Peugeot continued to serve well as a daily ride).

FF to last week. Teammates were griping at a team meeting about how they're treated by our primary sponsor (LBS), major complaint being attitude behind the counter, secondary being failure to provide best parts at best prices. I happen to know how some of the shop folks regard triathletes vs road racers and am sadly aware that our biking skills on average are not up to snuff. Nonetheless as a grassroots team in a field that's known for welcoming slow and fast 'competitors' the shop management finds we provide them with adequate exposure to potential customers and the extra services and moderate discounts we get make the vast majority of our members happy with the deal.

BumbleBeeDave

01-13-2011, 10:03 AM

FF to last week. Teammates were griping at a team meeting about how they're treated by our primary sponsor (LBS), major complaint being attitude behind the counter, secondary being failure to provide best parts at best prices. I happen to know how some of the shop folks regard triathletes vs road racers and am sadly aware that our biking skills on average are not up to snuff. Nonetheless as a grassroots team in a field that's known for welcoming slow and fast 'competitors' the shop management finds we provide them with adequate exposure to potential customers and the extra services and moderate discounts we get make the vast majority of our members happy with the deal.

. . . the shop would have an interest in being nice to team members and the owner might be willing to discuss the issue. No matter what your team member's racing skills, part of the sponsorship deal should be that they would be serving as ambassadors for the shop. Hard to expect them to be motivted to do that if they are PO's at the shop . . .

BBD

veggieburger

01-13-2011, 10:17 AM

Pete works/owns Vecchios http://vecchios.com/ It is an amazing shop with high end gear and bikes.

When I lived in Boulder it was a pleasure to shop there. Plus he sold me his old truing stand for a song.

-Joe

Yowza - love the look of the shop, and the "Colorado" script on their jerseys is clever. All the best.

JMerring

01-13-2011, 10:23 AM

Problem isn't just limited to bike shops. Brick and mortar golf and photography stores feel the exact same way to me. I've been playing golf since before I can remember and my earliest memories of golf shops are places filled with arrogant, unwelcoming salespeople. As I became a better, more experienced golfer, I also became more adept at dealing with their 'tude; nowadays, however, I buy 99% of my equipment online. Much as I enjoy visiting bike stores, all too often I get the same unwarm, unfuzzies from the people behind the counter. I have found a new Atlanta bike store that is the complete opposite and will use it or the internet exclusively; it happens to be a shlep for me and there are numerous, closer stores that will never see my $$. The worst I've experienced, though, is a local and supposedly reputable camera store; needless to say, all my camera $$ will be spent at B&H because they really get it on the customer service front. All in all, I have seen a general and quite precipitous decline in customer service in far too many establishments where the customer really ought to be, but isn't, the king.

BobbyJones

01-13-2011, 10:33 AM

well, some of the problem that I've encountered at "specialty" shops is that the staff would much rather be doing that "specialty" as a living instead of being a salesperson.

Just because someone is a) good at at something or b) knowledgeable about something doesn't make them a great salesperson or even a people person.

GregL

01-13-2011, 11:19 AM

Problem isn't just limited to bike shops. Brick and mortar golf and photography stores feel the exact same way to me.
Add ski shops to the list. Went into one last month looking for XC ski gear for my daughter. Asked an employee for assistance. He told me they didn't sell XC ski gear. I then pointed him to the large display of XC ski gear at the front of the store... Needless to stay, I didn't make a purchase at that establishment.

- Greg

parris

01-13-2011, 03:58 PM

I may be wrong but I've seen sketchy c.s. at many different retailers. I think that any of us can think of an activity that we enjoy and draw a parallel to what many experience at their lbs.

One of the earlier posters I think hit the nail squarely on the head when he stated that many people in these shops would rather be out doing the activity instead of selling the gear to go do that activity.

What seems to be lost on poor shops that cater to any activity is that the people who walk through the front door are choosing to walk in and maybe drop a large amount of money unlike when that same person heads to the market or other location to purchase food, clothing, etc.

I've seen in some shops where the people behind the counter come off as being nice initially but after a fairly short time it's easy to detect a bit of a snarky (sp) edge which is a turn off.

It's unfortunate that this seems to be more the norm than not for I'm sure that many of these people just don't "get it" to everyone's loss.

Pete Serotta

01-13-2011, 04:45 PM

where customer in #1.

Some I personally know of are

Signature Cycle in NYC and Greenwich Conn
Cyclesport in Parkridge NJ
The Serotta Dealer in Chicago
Wheat Ridge in Colorado
Fit Werx in VT
LIBERTY CYCLE in ASHEVILLE NC

I am sure there are more but am willing to bet some WINE that there are far more good shots than bad.

I can not wait to be out in COLO is JUNE and I will then stop in Vecchios and will bet they are right up there with the group that has the Customer as #1,

PETE

oldpotatoe

01-13-2011, 05:37 PM

oldguy00

01-13-2011, 06:05 PM

......
One of the earlier posters I think hit the nail squarely on the head when he stated that many people in these shops would rather be out doing the activity instead of selling the gear to go do that activity.
......

For the record, some of the worst customer experiences I've had is when it is the LBS -owner- that is 'behind the counter'.. :crap:
Again, I know there are some really good shops. I just seem to hit the bad ones...