Bike shops...<facepalm>

[PhilipV]

 

 

 

 

I believe many Hubbers have had the same experience.

 

 

 

This happened to me last year when I got into cycling. Went to Mavricks in Somerset West and got a similar cold experience.

 

 

 

As I was a budget shopper they had no interest in me.

 

 

 

Went to Sportsman Warehouse (remember' date=' I was a noob), was completely ignored again even though my budget was in their "top-of-the-range".

 

 

 

 

 

Ended up at Williams. Got treated like a king from the beginning. Everything was explained in detail twice, by the mechanic Ben and then owner Keith. They repeated this process with my wife.

 

 

 

So, I ended up buying a Giant Rock (basic hardtail, 8spd, V-Brakes). For the same price "elsewhere" I could have gotten at least Disc-Brakes with a different brand, but I would never have gotten service.

 

 

 

Also Williams was not prepared to sell problems and pointed out the reasons why I should avoid certain features in my price range with regards to quality & safety.[/quote']

 

 

Funny how experiences differ per customer.

I have never recieved bad service from Mavericks, not since like 2002. Back then I was a laaitie and would browse in their shop without buying anything and still they were always helpfull. Williamn learned everything about bike shops from Malan, but he is doing well for himself.

 

Bikemonster, what store was the one with the helpful info?

I moved to Durbanville recently and I'm still looking for a new favourite LBS.

 

[Pappa Bear]

Williams is tops!  I live in Pretoria and buy from Williams in the Cape.

[traaidmark]

dirt-rider, did almost three weeks of research into the brand I wanted to buy, and what I could get for the coin. Was always going to use the LBS in question as I have always bought my bikes there, always supported them and never had issues with them before. Until I purchased this bike. Even though it is a manufacturer issue, they are handling it really badly, no calls, no updates NOTHING.

 

 

 

Even while this nastiness was happening I supported them, was patient and supportive.

 

 

 

I never said the bike I bought was useless, well... I am... Lol. But that's because the one I bought is defective, not because the brand is sh*tty, or any of the other ones are bad. It's just broken, and yes, I feel I am well within my rights to want to have it fixed and working, especially if I have only been able to actually ride it a few times.

 

 

 

How is this me being stupid? Or a brain surgeon? Do I just have to suck it up? Just accept that it's how I am going to be treated, and like it? Really?

 

 

[Bouchie]

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