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Disinterested sales staff & poor service

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  • May 16, 2011 at 3:57 pm #13463
    mr-andrew

    Went to spend some serious money on new pair of shoes.
    Thanks to the shit-tastic staff at both Evans and Cycle Surgery I’ll be buying them online at either Wiggle or CRC.

    Traditional complain that they are being undercut by online stores but they’ve clearly missed the point. I’ll buy online sometimes as it’s convenient, but I’ll generally go to a shop and happily pay a bit extra for good service and advice.

    If people are going to hire surly, disinterested staff I’ll get my advice on the forum and spend my cash online where the overall experience is happier.

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Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • May 23, 2011 at 11:00 am #644055
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    SPAM Naval

    anybody recommend a good LBS
    anybody recommend a good LBS in the north east London/essex area? I live in Woodford. My Scott CR1 is in need of its first service prior to the Etape in July.
    (actually bought it in Evans cos I knew what I wanted and it was close to where I work)

    May 22, 2011 at 7:40 pm #644053
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    yourpaceormine

    Similar service from Evans
    Similar service from Evans (Manchester) – even if I’m desperate for a spare part I’ll walk past.

    May 22, 2011 at 9:55 am #644051
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    KirinChris

    If you’re in south London
    If you’re in south London (Sigma = Wimbledon ???) try Pearsons in Sutton.

    Super LBS – support clubs, employ young riders part time – and if you’re in the ‘Pro’ shop out the back you’ve a good chance of being served by the owners.

    May 22, 2011 at 8:16 am #644049
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    chinchli

    I’ve just walked away from
    I’ve just walked away from Sigma Sport, who seem to have gone out of their way over the last 2 months to stop me spending a serious wedge of cash (for me anyway) on a bike.

    Bad service isn’t limited to the big chains, if I could find someone competent and reliable I would happily send all my business that way, even if I had to pay a little extra.

    May 19, 2011 at 8:34 am #644047
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    mr-andrew

    And to be fair, I have had
    And to be fair, I have had really good service from both chains in other places. Brighton Evans and Kings Cross Cycle Surgery stand out.

    May 19, 2011 at 8:31 am #644045
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    mr-andrew

    Spitalfields. Same as the
    Spitalfields. Same as the Evans.

    May 19, 2011 at 7:48 am #644043
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    litespeeddavemira

    Out of interest, which cycle
    Out of interest, which cycle surgery did you go to?

    May 18, 2011 at 5:13 pm #644041
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    pjay

    If you want a good shoe
    If you want a good shoe fitting in London, as opposed to someone plonking what might be your size in front of you, go to Condor. They will make sure you buy something that actually fits you.

    May 18, 2011 at 4:41 pm #644039
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    mr-andrew

    All the advice seems to be
    All the advice seems to be about the same – find a good LBS. The problem with Evans and their ilk is that they are often ones LBS now days. They’re everywhere.

    @abudhabiChris Oddly enough I only discovered Mosquito bikes in the last day or so as I’ve scoured the web for a decent LBS. And they really are local – about a mile. Can’t believe I overlooked them.

    Already placed the Wiggle order though – I’ve taken a chance on some Lakes – we’ll see how they work out.

    May 18, 2011 at 4:05 pm #644037
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    KirinChris

    If you want to spend serious
    If you want to spend serious money on shoes get some Bonts from Mosquito Bikes in Islington.

    Nice people, lovely shop, fantastic shoes.

    And Wiggle won’t heat mold them for you !

    May 18, 2011 at 8:33 am #644035
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    Martin Thomas

    I know this makes me sound
    I know this makes me sound like a knob, but I can’t let it lie! You’re not complaining about disinterested (ie unbiased, impartial) staff. Your beef is with uninterested (ie couldn’t give a monkey’s) staff.

    There. I’ve said it. Now I can relax again….[and breathe…] Sorry about that.

    I agree with the point though. I guess it’s inevitable when you get beyond a certain size that you’ll start having people working for you who don’t really care very much and might not even know very much. Before Evans went supernova they were a brilliant bike shop – quite similar to the Condor shop today. I used to go there all the time when I lived nearby. Now I often feel like I know more than the people I’m talking to in my local Evans, which is all wrong. Proper LBS FTW!

    May 17, 2011 at 1:26 pm #644033
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    joemmo

    had some poor and indifferent
    had some poor and indifferent service from the local Evans but they’ve got a couple of good staff recently who know their stuff. I prefer the local independent though (M Steels) it still feels like a proper bike shop rather than a cycle retail outlet

    May 17, 2011 at 8:45 am #644031
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    OldRidgeback

    Hmm, had some bad experience
    Hmm, had some bad experience of snotty pups at Evans in the past, but last time I went into the big one at Waterloo I saw someone I know from BMXing who works there and he sorted us out. He took us thru the various helmets my wife was interested in, the various saddles she could get to replace her old and knackered one and a new skate lid for younger son as well. I’ll definitely be going back. And I go to the marvellous Brixton Cycles for this and that on a regular basis too. Nope, you don’t get service like that on the Internet. Yes, you can buy stuff cheap on the Internet but there is no come-back and that can be a big problem in the long run. In a shop if something doesn’t fit or doesn’t work there’s a lot more you can do, or you can be helped with fitting and so on. Buying off the Internet, you deal with it yourself and if you can’t make it work, tough. If you don’t use shops, don’t complain when they’re out of business and you’re stuck with a load of cheap parts you can’t get to work.

    May 17, 2011 at 7:53 am #644029
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    Jon Burrage

    I understand your sentiment
    I understand your sentiment but try and give some independant bike shops a go – they, most likely, would be very happy with the custom, most likely live cycling and its also common for the owner to be in the shop so you will be dealt with by someone who really cares how you are treated as opposed to a major company who, despite best effort, will end up employing numpties simply because of the rate of staff turnover,

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