Long story short, i ended up at Now Bikes and Fitness and had hands down, the best customer service i’ve ever had in my life. I test road bikes for 3 hours and finally found the right bike for me. Their staff is knowledgeable (most do Tri’s and the owner custom builds high end bikes) and not once treated me like an inferior being. I walked out of that store $1800 lighter than when i walked in. And i was more than happy to do it because of the experience I had and On my return visits, have been able to relax, shoot the shiz and drop copious amounts of money.

The Consumer Experience is the #1 most important thing retailers can get right.

Good article.

As the owner of 5 bikes from a full suspension mt. bike to 1950’s racing bike to a homemade doubl- decker, I ride often and spend a lot of money on bikes. I know what I want most of the time and ask thoughtful questions when I don’t.

I try to be patient when some inexperienced bike shop worker gives me a line of b.s., tries to sell me a product I don’t want or says I can order it for you. However, I’m often outraged by some jerk who sees my gut and sizes me up as being unworthy.

Until this changes, I will go to your shop, try on the Sidis for fit and order them online without remorse. I will tolerate you and your crappy service so long as it serves me.

Definitely quite familiar with it. Thanks for pointing it out though. It’s a great case study.

Coasting bicycle design strategy
http://www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=19004998

One of things they focused on was “The purchasing experience - independent bicycle dealers need to learn to engage with a new customer base that may include more women, amateurs, and inexperienced bikers.”

I agree completely, go find another bike shop. The hitch, for me at least, is that in theory there should be more, better bike shops out there due the generally lousy service out there. While every market has standouts at both ends of the spectrum, I suspect something else might be at play, and I think that has a lot to do with 2 things:

1) The economics of bicycle shops: feast/famine cash flow, massive inventory overhead, supplier contract riders (if you carry my bikes, you have to carry my accessories), skilled but underpaid workforce, etc. There isn’t much motivation for management and staff to stay on board over the long term unless they REALLY LOVE bikes. This leads to large disincentives to change the current model. The shops that invest in their staff experience are generally the ones that deliver superior customer experience.

2) The paradox of choice. In speaking with dealers, one of the largest problems they face is the sheer number of makes and models available on the marketplace today. In terms of types, there’s a bike for every day of the week and two on Sunday. With accessories it’s even worse. What ends up happening is that consumers get confused, insist on and then buy the wrong thing. Coupled with some of those nasty economic incentives, this leads to service issues and returns, which fosters the “I told you so” attitude so pervasive among staff. And this is the opportunity to change the human aspects of interaction. Good shops, with good curation, and smart manufacturers, with well managed product portfolios, have made steps in the right direction. I have great relationships with shop staff that have been cultivated over years. It shouldn’t take that long though.

To me, the opportunity for good shops like yours seems to be the fit between a revised model of bike shop economics (there are examples out there) as well as a designed take on the customer experience that takes into account the human element. The human element can turn the best business and experience strategy into something truly transformational (a la Chip Conley). Simply switching shops, as you suggest, is an option, but one that is subject to a high rate of failure given the crowded landscape of sub-par experiences out there.

See this especially in hotel stays - hotels can offer same facilities across the board — but a smile, a useful tip, an easy check out, bending a rule for a customer, prompt service behind the front desk all helps to make the experience that much nicer and makes you want to visit again.

Yep, its the small things that matter

Oddly, some people I know seem to enjoy being punished, and keep going back to the smarmy Trek stores, for example, despite poor quality, rude service. They have awful nice floors, though.