Am I asking too much from a high-end LBS?

Triathlon Forum
1

So I have a fitting done on January 31 at a high-end LBS, with the understanding that the fitter (who is also the manager of the LBS) will spec out an Elite T-Class with certain components (assuming it will fit), and I’ll look for other frames that seem interesting, forward to him, and he’ll see if they will fit, too. I send him info on the Argon18 Mercury and the P2K two days later. I paid for the fitting; the cost will be subtracted from a frame purchase, if any.

Ten days pass, and I finally get email from him with some incorrect (threaded instead of threadless fork, stem, & headset) information. I email him back that day wondering about the fork, and about the two other frames I suggested.

Eight days more pass (yesterday), and I call the shop. He took the day off (so he could work on Saturday, I’m told), so I leave a message with my phone numbers, asking that he give me a call at work tomorrow (today).

This afternoon, I get email from him (not a phone call), indicating that Elite had told him the fork was threaded (is this believable?) and this response to my question about the other frames: “I’m sure we could get the Argon and the Cervelo to work, however, I can not get those bikes. Your best bet for those manufacturers is
mailorder.” Not a warm feeling that the bikes would fit according to the measurements he took.

Of course, my first TT is now only 6 weeks away.

Am I asking too much from a LBS at which I might drop close to $3000?

I then went to cervelo.com, looked for a dealer “near” me, picked one (Knapp’s in Lawrenceville, NJ), called 'em up, spoke to the owner (who apparently just finished the Serotta fitting school, or whatever they call it), who took the fit numbers I had, asked me a couple of questions, and said he’d call me back within 30 minutes. A few minutes later he called back with another question; he then called back about 15 minutes later, having spoken to Cervelo about the availability of the P2K (about a month for delivery of the frame).

Quite the contrast in treatment. Add to that the price of the two frames ($1850 for the Elite vs. $1299 for the P2K), and I think I know where I’ll take my business.

Ken Lehner

2

ken. look at the bright side. the first guy COULD have just said to you " yeah buddy, it just so happens either one of those two bikes will fit you just perfect" without so much as bothering to even look at your measurements - assuming he could get either bike in a size which would appropriate for you.

of course, the second guy might have done just that on the p2k, too. :slight_smile:

my understanding is that a roadie to philly to see the freindly man at elite is quite the intensive experience. a custom bike for you from the man himself is the outcome. new jersey is close to philly, no?

3

Well, people may not like this answer, but my guess (and it is only a guess) is he may be practicing battlefield triage.

He is putting his energy into customers who will generate cashflow in a more streamlined, less labor intensive manner.

I know that you don;t like the sound of this, and on behlf of the industry (as if I am their self apponted spokesperson?) I apologize. But let me acquaint you with the realities of what many dealers face:

All winter we tried to get people into the store when it was quiet to fit them, research their equipment and get their bikes ordered, built and sized. Largely, they ignore us until the tax refunds come back and the first 40 degree sunny day hits.

When the damn breaks and every customer comes in at once they come in with a sense of urgency and desperation. They have heard something about component shortages, they know things will be hard to get. They want it now.

Sometimes, those expectations are unreasonable. They simply can’t be met. Also, customers can develop a tendency to go from place to place to get the answer they want to hear- even if it isn’t true. (“Oh yeah, I can have a Felt B2 for you by Firday…”).

As a result, a dealer with a lot of invoices to pay during spring and a lot of bikes to sell defaults to the easiest way to generate cash quickly. It is natural selection. If he can choose betwen a customer willing to spend $3K and requires 4 hours of service or a customer with $#K who requires 9 hours of service he will default to the 4 hour customer first so he can prosecute a contact with another 4 hour customer with the additional 4 hours.

It is a battle for time and money and the clock is ticking toward winter.

Is that good customer service. No, not always, especially from the customer’s perspective. Is it reality? Regretably, sometimes it is reality in some dealers.

4

Tom,

Thanks for the insight. If I’m not generating cashflow for him in the manner he would like, then he won’t get my cash flowing. And judging by his lack of responsiveness, spending nearly $3000 on a bike through his shop isn’t meaningful enough for the courtesy of a prompt reply. I suspect that I won’t be taking any more of his valuable time.

As a matter of fact, I had my first fitting by the owner of the shop in November, with the idea being that she’d set up some bikes for me to try on the road. I was expecting the Serotta size cycle experience, but she put me on my road bike and tweaked that position. On either one or two subsequent weekends, I tried to arrange to ride on the road, but she was not available (why she couldn’t set up a bike, I don’t know). Then winter set in here in the East, making the roads unrideable for the most part. Then I had surgery the day before Xmas. After surgery, I suggested riding indoors and having the fitter check out how I looked on the bike. Nothing came of that, so I went in for another fitting, this time more explicitly for my TT position, which brings me to the beginning of my story $138 poorer.

I didn’t have a sense of urgency three weeks ago, knowing that they don’t have even a single Elite in stock, but taking 10 days to figure out if the bike that they happen to sell would match my measurements seems excessive. Now I have a sense of urgency.

The second dealer might be blowing smoke about the one month lead time on a P2K, I don’t know. If he is following what you said, I’d think he might have picked a shorter lead time!

Ken Lehner

5

As a result, a dealer with a lot of invoices to pay during spring and a lot of bikes to sell defaults to the easiest way to generate cash quickly. It is natural selection. If he can choose betwen a customer willing to spend $3K and requires 4 hours of service or a customer with $#K who requires 9 hours of service he will default to the 4 hour customer first so he can prosecute a contact with another 4 hour customer with the additional 4 hours.

I suppose that’s fair enough, so long as the dealer in question doesn’t subsequently get all whiny when the labor intensive customer goes on-line and posts on a forum about his ( perceived ) bad experience. ( That’s not directed at you Tom )

7

Cars aren’t seasonal.

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Tom D. and Larry CA seem dead on to me. I gave up on LBS for everything except dropping by to pick up some chain lube or tubes. I just about blew coffee out of my nose reading the thread a couple days ago about what people expected their LBS to do for a standard maintenance. Either they’re smoking something or their LBS’s are all far better than any option I’ve got. Around here, the LBS option ranges from your experience (and Tom D’s explanation) at the best end. The bottom end is literally criminal.