| | Re: Customer had a problem with our service
> So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies,
> other employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows well
> enough to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a global news
> group to ensure a wide swath of potential customers would see it.
>
> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
> sure he's playing with a full deck.
The problem is that I know a lot more about the situation than I felt
comfortable putting into the initial piece, and wasn't considering that my
editing was going to play the way it did. The person in question is one who
isn't even allowed in any other shop in the area; he's been literally thrown
out because he's beyond difficult to deal with. But because he gets around
on a bike, we do what we can for him. If someone actually uses a bike for
commuting, that person fits into a different category in terms of how
quickly we'll get something done (what we'll put aside to get him or her
back on the road) and our tolerance for rudeness etc.
But I really didn't want it to become a discussion of people with, sorry,
but there's not a better way to say it, less than a full deck, coming into a
bike shop. We are beyond tolerant of such people; that's the way I was
brought up. Yet I still thought it was an interesting story that this person
thought we were a terrible bike shop because we told him his bike needed
work (his chain is so stretched that yes, it actually *will* break soon, and
he could get seriously hurt) and that he believes it doesn't, that we're out
to get his money. That provided, TO ME, the background to carry the story a
bit further, in a way that shows he's not quite all there.
Will I share such a story again? Probably. I'm about as transparent as they
come, for good and bad. If what I wear on my sleeve is offensive to some,
I'd rather they know that out front than have me dance around a life of
trying to be 100% politically correct and more concerned with how I appear
than who I am. A strategy that's worked pretty well for the past 27 years.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
"Cathy Kearns" <cathy_kearns@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news AGAh.44640$Gr2.4582@newssvr21.news.prodigy.n et...
>
> <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1171388027.481426.20740@q2g2000cwa.googlegrou ps.com...
>> On Feb 13, 10:49 am, Doc O'Leary <droleary.use...@1q2007.subsume.com>
>> wrote:
>>> And, again, please
>>> explain to me how it is better to laugh at them behind their back on a
>>> global forum?
>>
>> The customer is not hurt in any way by this discussion. He doesn't
>> know about it. His name was never mentioned. In fact, the city he
>> lives in was never mentioned. He's completely anonymous, so he's
>> unharmed in any way.
>
> I think if anyone was harmed in this story it would be Chain Reaction.
> There are folks on this forum, myself included, that know where the Chain
> Reaction stores are, and have even been customers. (My husband bought his
> carbon fiber road bike there, and many, many accessories.) However, it's
> an area with many a local bike shop for competition. I don't know of any
> other ones that post customer stories on this newsgroup.
>
> Let's look how this story came off to me. A guy comes into the shop to
> have his flat tire fixed. I'd make an assumption that this customer isn't
> likely to know a ton about bikes, as fixing tires isn't that hard. He
> mentions to the shop owner's wife that he feels the service people are
> trying to take advantage of his naivety by pushing for unneeded parts.
> The wife of the owner responds by dazzling the guy with techno jargon, and
> for those not thinking cassette was techno jargon, look up cassette in
> your dictionary. See bike parts mentioned in there anywhere? Now in my
> mind, it doesn't really matter what the customer said after that, that's
> just clueless customer service. What really doesn't help is the shop
> owner thinks it's a cute story because "this particular customer is
> playing with less than a full deck, so we try to be nice, but it was very
> difficult to keep from cracking up in this case."
>
> So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies,
> other employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows well
> enough to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a global news
> group to ensure a wide swath of potential customers would see it.
>
> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
> sure he's playing with a full deck.
>
>
>
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