Saturday, September 20, 2008

On local businesses and customer service.

I bought my bike in January from a shop called Cycle Logic, on Hillsborough Street here in Raleigh. I stopped by there first and rode the Raleigh Venture. It has push buttons gears, a super comfy seat. It's a great bike. They would even throw in all the proverbial bells and whistles too, like a helmet, lock, water bottle, patch kit, extra tube, etc. The price was right. Sadly, the owner of the shop is a complete jerk. I went to REI and tried a couple more bikes in the same price range. They did not compare. The seats weren't comfortable, they had the twist shifters, and nothing extra was included. I bought the Raleigh bike. I didn't feel good about it. I feel like making a purchase in this shop validates his behavior.

I had to take my bike in for service today. It's not downshifting between 5, 4, and 3. The front brake is too mushy too. The owner helped me today. I told him about the front brake. His response made me feel like he thinks I'm stupid. If one year free service was not included in the purchase of the bike, I'd go someplace else. I am all about giving my business to a small, local shop. Even if REI is a "co-op" it's still corporate. The guy who owns Cycle Logic is such a dick that he makes it hard to want to give him my business. Once I get my bike back, I'm going to All Star. They are nice people.

2 comments:

FoxyMoron said...

How hard is it to just be nice to people? I try to shop locally as much as I can, but there are several businesses in town where the "service" borders on rudeness. How come they don't get that friendliness and willingness cause people to come back to them?

Meg said...

It's crazy, isn't it? I am willing to pay a little more to support a local business. His loss, right? I'll spend my money someplace else!