I believe the big problem (and this is not restricted to bike shops only) is that services providers happily sell merchandise and take our money but do not feel that good service should form part of the process. Most sources I've consulted pointed out that bike shops make very little commission on the bikes (and hence creates no room for price negotiation with bike purchases). As most people (and this is an assumption) buy bikes that cost less than R5,000, my conclusion would be that most bike shops do not worry about providing a good service in this region, as the potential revenue does not justify the effort required/sought by the customer. Furthermore, once you've bought a bike, chances are slim that you'll return to the shop for extended service. As apposed to a vehicle purchase, where your after sales income is almost guaranteed, as you have to take your vehicle to a service group for service. I think that most services have gotten used to the idea that people will buy from them, regardless if one customer gets upset every now and then. My feeling is that if the same amounts of complaints circulate for established bike shops as with online shops (recall Bike Hut? EVERYONE here had something to report; subsequently, their support dwindled quickly), things will definetaly change. Something like a shop rating system on here would make things very interesting - shops earn points / lose points for poor service, bad products sold, poor advice, lack of walk-in interest, etc. aggeneys2010-03-24 04:25:22
