May I ask why this bike is of interest to you? Ans. Because I’m doing a tri on Saturday and my buddy has one.
I would guess that most of the people who walk in your door either have no idea what bike to buy, or are basing their views on what their friend (or Lance) is riding, along with a couple of hours of reading bike reviews on the web. IMHO, asking customers to qualify why they want “Bike X” is part of the service you are providing.
As for the experts, most will probably enjoy going in depth about the pros and cons of their selection. If at the end the customer does not agree with you, that’s his choice, not yours, and you should have no problems with selling the bike. As a Michigan bike store owner has said; “You take the risk, you reap the rewards or you suffer the consequences”
Last time in a bike store I told the guys that I wanted a Cervelo P2K. I told them the size and what wheels I wanted. I let the guys measure my inseam and dang, I was right about the size. They asked me about another type of wheel and I responded with a firm “no”. At one point they even asked me if I had also thought about brand XX bike, to which I responded firmly, "I’m here to buy a P2K.
The customer may not be always right,but if I walk into your store, in my mind I AM RIGHT, at least unless you can show me to my satisfaction a logical reason as to why my choice isn’t the bestfor me. Of course I don’t make purchases unless Ive done a lot of research before hand. But I am willing to listen to what you say. You’d probably be very frustrated with me as a customer becaus I would take your options, go and research them and then come back with more questions. It would probably mean four more visits to your store plus comparison shopping before I made up my mind when you could have just sold me the P2K in the first place like I asked.
I know where you’re coming from though. There must be lots of people who are set in their choice and aren’t aware that there may be better options for them.
On the other hand, I don’t really understand the first type of customer who puts blind faith in the sales personnel. In your case they’re lucky because you know what you’re doing, but that may not necesarily be the case at the shop around the corner.
I agree with the common thread here of be willingly to sell him what he wants but gently offer to give him a fitting first.
The problem is that I don’t trust anyone at any LBS to help me with anything tri related. (I’m in the Houston area) I end up going to Bike Barn, telling them exactly what I want, and getting great service. These guys know how to setup a road bike, they appear to be great mechanics, and they have wonderful customer service. Unfortunately, they don’t know a thing about tri. I’ve tried the local tri specific LBS and I wouldn’t trust them to tune up my bike let alone fit me for one.
I’ve been burned enough to be wary of any LBS. You may well find customers that just aren’t going to trust you until you’ve proven yourself to them.
Its no wonder retailers like the “open minded” customers; they are easy to deal with and generally feed our egos by affirming our status as an expert. These customers are a joy. On the other hand when those tech-weenie, spoke sniffing, know it alls come through our door and make our lives difficult by requesting every little thing they saw on the internet, retailers eyes roll back in their heads and they reluctantly go an service them. Do the names sound harsh? well every retailer has used them, we all know who we are. No matter how great the customer service, how experienced or mature the staff, there seems to be something irksome about the know-it-all customer. It is not surprising that this happens. When people who dedicate their lives to serving people in a sport, becoming experts in a field are made to feel that their knowledge is unnecessary they get bummed out. How a retailer deals with the situation separates the professionals from the amateurs.
The first thing to do is to stop making assumptions. For instance the original taxonomy of customers is loaded with them, as dichotomies typically are. Lets take customer 1, we assume that they a)open minded, b)easy to fit. Just because a customer asked you for your opinion doesn’t mean that they automatically value it. How many times have you walked into a shop and played “dumb” to evaluate the staff. You might give them your suggestions, and they may politely say they’ll think about it and then go and buy it at another shop. People get second opinions from doctors all the time, they do it with bikes too. Many times the ‘easy’ type 1 customers don’t voluntarily offer all the information necessary to make a satisfied customer. In my experience fitting hockey skates, there are always those customers who just won’t tell you if they don’t like the skate. Just because a customer listened to you does not mean that they will be satisfied. More often customer satisfaction is based on how well the retailer listens to the customer. They type two customer comes in the same varieties as type 1, they just aren’t asking your opinion. They might know nothing, and they might know more than you. They might have had a fit somewhere else, they might assume that you are going to fit them. The only way you find out is to ask.
The only real difference between those two types of customers, beside how they make you feel, is what they are asking you to do. It is incredibly important that you always do what they ask. If the person asks to be fitted to a bike you don’t start by selling them clothing, you start by fitting them to a bike. If someone comes in and asks you to order something, you start the sales process with an order. First rule of retail is if the customer makes a request, you fulfill it. A customers request for an order should always be followed by an order, not a questioning of the customers choice. This might mean that you only pull out the order form, all you need to do is demonstrate that you are listening to their request. At that point you are free to ask the customer any questions you like as long as they don’t begin with why. Questions like, “would you like to be fitted to this bike before I order it?” “This is a great bike, have you had a chance to ride it?” or the bike shop standby of “Where do you like to ride?” All of the previous questions get you valuable information without questioning the customers choice. Essentially you are interrupting the order process with the initial stage of the sales process. Once you think you have enough information you ask permission to present a different product. If the customer says yes, which they almost always will, go on and let your stores service shine.
This is of course assuming that the type 2 customer in question was looking for the wrong bike. Heck that 6’4" customer looking for the 54cm bike, may have been replacing his brothers bike that he ran over with his suburban. If you listen to him and treat him respectfully he may come back and get a bike for himself
As a fellow Houstonian, I appreciate your frustration. Webster Cycles would be my suggestion. Great people to work with and a terrific mechanic. Sorry for the SPAM, but I trust these guys.
BikeBarn service is great, but don’t care for the feeling that I have better product knowledge than the sales floor guys. Stay warm this weekend!!! I asked about TriBikes once, and was told they could order a Hilo, that was their response… no other inquiries or suggestions, just “we can order a Trek Hiko.”
Best of Luck and let me know if you open your own bike shop! Probably the only way to get better product knowledge, fit, and service. Too bad we’re the “Fatest City!” and couldn’t support a truly great Tri-LBS.
Tom, I’m glad you posted this thread also. This and other threads are helping educate me in the joys and perils of the bike biz. I’m four years from retiring from the Marine Corps and I intend to go into either tri-shop or tri-coaching biz. Either way I want to spend my days running my yap about something I really love. (I don’t really enjoy discussing how to kill the enemy. Its my duty)
This is as good a proxy for actually working in a shop as I can find for right now. Lots of knowlegeable people on both sides of the fence…
Whenever a customer came in, I would listen to what he/she said. Then I would ask questions to find out what kind of riding he was doing. I would show them a few bikes that I felt were appropriate for them, and if they asked for something specific, I would how them that. I would explain the pros and cons of all the bikes I had shown- I never show a lot of bikes, only a few lest they confuse them. I would let then test ride. I would tell them which bike I felt was best for them, explain how I was going to get a commission on any bike I sold them, how they would be properly fitted, and then I would tell them to think about and call me when they were ready.
I report, they decide. I have told guys that the bike was too big for them even if they wanted to have a 58cm like their buddy, but I would tell them I would sell it to them anyway if they wanted it. I have had guys bring back bikes, and I would say I told you so, then I would work them a trade in deal- how I got one of mine cheaply. I am honest, but I cannot make up somebody buy something if they have their heart set on something else. All I can do is try to guide them. Again, they decide.
