The stupidest thing you've heard at a bike shop...

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

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Seven1816
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:44 am
Location: HK

by Seven1816

I bought a Ridley Fenix SL Disc online, and the bike arrived with a broken STI lever, the online store sent out a replacement lever but I didn't have Shimano bleed kit, only SRAM. So I took the bike to a local bike shop, I called beforehand to make an appointment, the proprietors son gave me an estimate for the job and required time. I cycled over to the shop, with only the rear brake system in action, only for them to say " You cannot bleed Shimano brake systems, they are sealed." I shook my head and went nextdoor, who tried to help but almost put DOT fluid into the system..........

Ended up doing it myself.

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FIJIGabe
Posts: 2241
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:07 pm
Location: The Lone Star State

by FIJIGabe

dgasmd wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:57 am
avispa wrote:Let me guess... was this at a Miami , FL bike shop? Most of them have the attitude...
No, It! Wasn’t Miami. I’ve been to the usual suspects there too and can see why you thought it was though!!
I would venture a guess of a shop either in Naples (more than an hour away, though) or WPB. In my experience, there's enough Campag used in high-end bikes in Miami that most shops there are familiar with the products.

by Weenie


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bilwit
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Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:49 am
Location: Seattle, WA

by bilwit

I overheard a customer attempting to humblebrag about seeing Team Sky members at Majorca and the Sales rep at the shop had to ask what any of that was.

OJ
Posts: 877
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:25 pm
Location: Winterpeg

by OJ

Me: Happy New Year, I’m looking for a new road bike to replace my old Cervelo R3. Thinking Carbon, Ultegra, maybe discs and maybe even carbon wheels.
Sales Rep: Oh yeah? Well here I have a Norco Search in your size.
Me: Very cool, but I cover gravel grinding duties on my CX bike. Looking for a road bike with the specs I mentioned.
Rep: Norco Search is a really fast bike. I rode out to X and back (approximately 30km) much faster on Search than anything before and I hit this gravel/dirt path at the end.
Me: Very very cool my dude. Now this road bike I’m looking to purchase...
Rep: here’s some Norco Searches (all alu frame, I think Tiagra or similar groupos). These can hit gravel roads you could NEVER ride on a road bike.
Me: OK...Norco Search sounds very extremely cool whip. I’ll look into that a bit more (walks out the door texting another LBS about new bike options).

Like...I understand you have a favourite bike, but maybe listen what the customer is looking for.
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velomane
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Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2004 1:44 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

by velomane

Hey OJ what shop were you in?

OJ
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Location: Winterpeg

by OJ

Let me just say it was any shop in the city. Or any shop except one.
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velomane
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Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2004 1:44 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

by velomane

I know how you feel. Good luck in your quest.

TheKaiser
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Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

OJ wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:17 pm
Like...I understand you have a favourite bike, but maybe listen what the customer is looking for.
The first shop I worked in, as a barely legal teen, the owner bestowed upon me the directive to tell the customer your suggestion once, and then sell them whatever the hell they think they want. He'd learned that rule from the owner of the first bike shop he'd worked in and was passing that on to me. Sometimes, that leads to a customer walking out the door with a product that we (in our WW built ivory towers) think is genuinely inferior or unsuited to their needs. Sometimes (as in your case), the kid/guy/person in the shop is genuinely poorly/less well informed, and the better end result is reached by aquiesing to the "consumer's" desires. Either way, at some point one needs to accept that the job of a retail store is to serve the will of the consumer and, if the retailer is unable (for whatever reason) to influence it to the better end, then they need to sell them what they want or lose that business.

TheKaiser
Posts: 653
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

dgasmd wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:57 am
avispa wrote:Let me guess... was this at a Miami , FL bike shop? Most of them have the attitude...
No, It! Wasn’t Miami. I’ve been to the usual suspects there too and can see why you thought it was though!!
Given that you know South Florida shops, do you have any suggestions for the Gulf Coast? I spend a month or so at our place in Sarasota every Winter but haven't really established any shop ties down there. The traffic is crazy so I mostly head inland and ride gravel or multi-use paths, but would welcome any suggestions.

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

your BMC TimeMachine is not coming till Feb (ordered black friday)
2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
2018 BMC TImeMachine Road
2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
2023 Pivot E-Vault - completed project, full Xplr package

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tarmackev
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Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

Cannot believe this thread is dormant. It’s a gem.
I do think customers often expect shop employees to know everything.
I could have dealt with any road issues, groupsets, wheel building, tubs, disc brakes or anything else.
If a customer started quizzing me on Fox shocks or DH MTB’s I was clueless.
I don’t know any employee I ever worked with in any bike shop who knew about all sides of cycling.

Some of these examples are really bad but some I would give a pass. Personally I never tried to blag it, I’d just get somebody who knew.

Also it great reading back from the original posts in 08. Think I started reading here in 06-07.
There was definitely more knowledge back then.


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tarmackev
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Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

53x12 wrote:
Tinea Pedis wrote:"I've called in sick and taken today off work, but just need a few things so I can go for a 50km detox ride later this afternoon"

Poor form.
And now only a few years later this is a “mental health day”.
Taken by people to keep themselves from being overly stressed.


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tarmackev
Posts: 899
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:59 pm

by tarmackev

Es-Ram
Trek Mondeo
Specialized Our Les
Why Lee Here
Gee aunt
Es-Ram Four Chè
Scott So la Ché
WTB Velocipricator
The last one was me, I never connected the Jurassic park dots and in the late 90’s went in to a shop asking for Velocipricator tyres, the guy in the shop didn’t even laugh. He just gave me the tyres. It was months later when I saw it written down and realised it was Velociraptor and named after the feisty dinosaur.

I did two bike fitting courses at a bike shop in Amersham UK. A truly lovely couple who really knew their stuff but they insisted on calling Cervelo Shuvelo. It baffled me, there was the Cervelo Test team in world tour. Surely they’d heard the correct pronunciation.

Many more than I’ve forgotten.

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HammerTime2
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Location: Wherever there's a mountain beckoning to be climbed

by HammerTime2

tarmackev wrote:
Mon Nov 09, 2020 12:14 pm
53x12 wrote:
Tinea Pedis wrote:"I've called in sick and taken today off work, but just need a few things so I can go for a 50km detox ride later this afternoon"

Poor form.
And now only a few years later this is a “mental health day”.
Taken by people to keep themselves from being overly stressed.


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Tinea Pedis forgot to mention uploading the detox ride to Strava, so that someone could bring it to the boss's attention.

BTW, TP (supplemented by me just now) was describing what happened to an illustrious poster (not me or him) on this forum, I believe somewhere in an island country/kingdom in the northwest of Europe. Career Darwin Award eligible.

Dude was seeking sympathy on this forum for his very unreasonable boss firing him.

by Weenie


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victorperezab
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Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 11:33 am

by victorperezab

I work in a bikeshop since 2018, and since last summer we opened a smaller sister-shop to the main one and I'm the only one working on it.
Not saying stupid things is one of my main concerns when dealing with customers. And yes, I know this sounds silly, but I've been a customer for many years before starting working in the industry and over here many employees pretend they know about almost anything even if they don't even ride and are into cycling themselves.
If they come asking me about a subject/part/brand I don't know of, I'm never gonna fake it. Instead I will just say that I'm not informed enough in that particular matter, will have to check it, etc

However, people who come to any LBS convinced that whoever is in there *must* know everything about every aspect of the sport are really lacking some empathy & common sense IMO
:D https://www.strava.com/athletes/2218901
Loving life in Málaga, Spain.

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