Why LBS's are dying

[cribbit]

The reading comprehension around here is at an all time low.

My interaction with a shop on the headset thing was all of a phone call asking about price. I'm not stupid enough to vent to the shop itself. My thread here was intended to ask for DIY advice and I idiotically got derailed. There's a huge difference in interacting with employees of a business and goofing off online with other enthusiasts.

If you read my post, they charged me for a spoke they didn't give me. Furthermore I was fine paying $3 for a spoke and said nothing contrary. Confused how you even misread that.

I think that $30-40 for a spoke replacement/truing is perfectly fair. I was surprised that some shops I called quoted $20-30.

The spoke broke at the threads. It fell short of re engaging the old spoke but still had threads left. I specifically said I no longer trusted that spoke, especially if it went short on threads.

To reiterate I'm very careful to be polite, even apologetic, when in a store. No one in retail gets paid enough to put up with the sort of rhetoric I spew online, in person.

[gemship]

Prices are reasonable. You must spend the money and stop being a cheapskate. Ok?

[MaraudingWalrus]

Originally Posted by cribbit

The reading comprehension around here is at an all time low.

Our reading comprehension is fine. Your original post lacked details. You just said the break was at the rim. Didn't indicate what was broken. Could easily have been the spoke nipple rather than the spoke. You didn't actually say which it was.

If you're not complaining about either of these interactions, then why do the two threads exist?

[cribbit]

Originally Posted by gemship

Prices are reasonable. You must spend the money and stop being a cheapskate. Ok?

Originally Posted by MaraudingWalrus

Our reading comprehension is fine. Your original post lacked details. You just said the break was at the rim. Didn't indicate what was broken. Could easily have been the spoke nipple rather than the spoke. You didn't actually say which it was.

If you're not complaining about either of these interactions, then why do the two threads exist?

Around and around we go. I refute and you ignore. If you had actually read anything, you'd have seen exactly what it was - which plenty of other people here did, with little issue.

[grognaak]

It all depends on the bike shop, the mood of who is working there on a given day, and how one acts as a customer.

[zzy]

I bet when this guy walks into a shop everyone cringes. If you always think you know better than the wrench doing the work, DIY or find a better wrench.

If you want to know why LBSs are dying in NYC, go look at current commercial real estate prices. Maybe then you won't cry over a $30 headset install.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by cribbit

Around and around we go. I refute and you ignore. If you had actually read anything, you'd have seen exactly what it was - which plenty of other people here did, with little issue.

Inclined to bet that's not the case.

[gasman]

Okay guys let’s stop picking each other. I just was at the last day of NAHBS , my eyes are glazed from all the beautiful bikes. Don’t ruin my bike buzz.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

/\ maybe that shop is not great. There are a lot of shops in they city, some are good, some are not so good. You gotta find a good one and all will be well.

For wheel builds I would not just take it to any shop. ask around, or here, what a good place for wheel builds are


also this is a misleading thread title, this is not at all why lbs are dying.

I agree..even here in the republic there are crappy bike shops..there are crappy car repair places, crappy vacuum cleaner repair places, crappy watch repair places. I think there are 2 avenues for the OP and the poor work done..
-tell them, show them..and maybe they will improve
-let them continue to be crappy and they will go under

BUT crappy work is crappy work..You're in Brooklyn/Santa Monica? There are a 'few' decent bike shops there, yes?

BTW-I don't get the 'spoke snapped but they used a longer nipple', part..broke at threads? Threads are only 1cm long..if they had a thread remnant, using a longer nipple=future failure. Read a later post..threads broke, they should have replaced the spoke BUT..that means cogset and tire off..but they didn't do that-poor form..

If this place in the very competitive/interweb lashed LBS arena these days hasn't figured out that service=survival..well..

AND I agree...a lot of 'local bike shops', haven't figured that out but to be fair..low unemployment, bike shop wages fairly poor cuz the bike shop is fairly poor..hard to get decent wrenches unless the wrench is the owner...ain't gonna get better, shop's need to get a clue...

-Unique shop themed soft goods
-Service, SERVICE, service.-provide something that can't be obtained while sitting in yer jammies at yer computer..

Did I mention service..

[Mikej]

[QUOTE=cribbit;2514962]Had a spoke snap on a wheel this past week. Luckily several shops in walking distance.

Several shops in walking distance is why the LBS is dying. Guys open LBS's like coffee shops and think a bike store per block is reasonable, then cant understand why nobody likes their coffee.

[makoti]

While I don't understand how it broke at the rim, but was still usable (or why anyone would consider a broken spoke usable, for that matter), from the original post I understood he was charged for something not provided AND charged for work he didn't request. Not sure why that is hard to get. Didn't read through the other thread, it doesn't matter here, except that if a shop is only going to give good service to people they like, the won't be around long.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by cribbit

The reading comprehension around here is at an all time low.

My interaction with a shop on the headset thing was all of a phone call asking about price. I'm not stupid enough to vent to the shop itself. My thread here was intended to ask for DIY advice and I idiotically got derailed. There's a huge difference in interacting with employees of a business and goofing off online with other enthusiasts.

If you read my post, they charged me for a spoke they didn't give me. Furthermore I was fine paying $3 for a spoke and said nothing contrary. Confused how you even misread that.

I think that $30-40 for a spoke replacement/truing is perfectly fair. I was surprised that some shops I called quoted $20-30.

The spoke broke at the threads. It fell short of re engaging the old spoke but still had threads left. I specifically said I no longer trusted that spoke, especially if it went short on threads.

To reiterate I'm very careful to be polite, even apologetic, when in a store. No one in retail gets paid enough to put up with the sort of rhetoric I spew online, in person.

There is a guy named NYCFIXIE on this forum. You two should meet and become friends.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by cribbit

My thread here was intended to ask for DIY advice and I idiotically got derailed.

well, it appears the whole thread is now derailed, and if that was your original intent, the thread title, and content did not appear that way. i'm closing this one, as we're not getting anywhere productive here.