Performance bike opened a new store - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-31-2007, 07:32 PM

>And then hired salespeople who appear to know nothing about cycling! WTF? I
>tried talking about the "virtues" of Cytomax vs. Endurox and drew completely
>blank stares. I asked about Camelbaks with the same result...but the kicker
>was when I went to talk socks. Socks! How can you not know about cycling
>socks?

OK, socks I understand. But I don't do Cytomax or Endurox, and couldn't
say much about camelbacks either. It's true that I'm not a real cyclist,
but I am a commuter and a tourist. There's more than one kind of cyclist.

>I can go to the shelf, pick up the product, and read the tag along with the
>best of them. That's not good enough for a prospective salesperson. This
>sort of product cluelessness does not exist at REI. Maybe I'm spoiled in my
>expectations....

Probably. They may have had to hire novices, in which case, you can let
someone else bring them up to speed.

--
mac the naïf

01-31-2007, 08:11 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> And then hired salespeople who appear to know nothing about cycling! WTF? I
> tried talking about the "virtues" of Cytomax vs. Endurox and drew completely
> blank stares. I asked about Camelbaks with the same result...but the kicker
> was when I went to talk socks. Socks! How can you not know about cycling
> socks?

Did you try talking to them about anything actually related to bicycles?
Say bikes, or components, or brake pads?

I confess I've only been riding for 30-some years, and it's been a while
since I rode even 10,000 miles in a year, but all I could tell you about
Cytomax or Endurox is that they both taste foul to me. Couldn't really
tell you anything about cycling socks, I've never owned any.

Anyway, I'm sure they can brush up on industry hype reading Buycycling
when store traffic gets slow, and soon they'll be bull****ting with the
best of them, pushing products they don't understand to consumers who
don't really need them.

--
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html>

02-01-2007, 05:06 AM

On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 04:32:24 +0000 (UTC), Alex Colvin
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>OK, socks I understand. But I don't do Cytomax or Endurox, and couldn't
>say much about camelbacks either. It's true that I'm not a real cyclist,
>but I am a commuter and a tourist. There's more than one kind of cyclist.

But if you were hired to work at a bike shop, think you might be able
to get up to speed fairly quickly?

OTOH, if a person is a good salesperson, why sell bikes? You get more
selling at the local hi-fi and auto stereo place. Having done the
books for a few, a good high end auto stereo salesperson makes more
money than the average bike shop manager. You'd need to want to be
around bikes a lot to make it a career.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

02-01-2007, 07:48 AM

Pat;173519 Wrote:
> And then hired salespeople who appear to know nothing about cycling!
> WTF? I
> tried talking about the "virtues" of Cytomax vs. Endurox and drew
> completely
> blank stares. I asked about Camelbaks with the same result...but the
> kicker
> was when I went to talk socks. Socks! How can you not know about
> cycling
> socks?
>
> I can go to the shelf, pick up the product, and read the tag along with
> the
> best of them. That's not good enough for a prospective salesperson.
> This
> sort of product cluelessness does not exist at REI. Maybe I'm spoiled
> in my
> expectations....

In the 15 years my wife & I have been occasionally visiting Performance
in CH, last year was the first a "sales person" actually acknowledged
our existence and tried to help us. It was so unique, I searched out
the manager to give kudus to young man.

Re: REI. Other than the mechanic at charity events, I have yet to see
any REI associate in the cycle area, let alone knowledgeable. On the
other hand, for hiking / camping, has been great.

Let's face it, pick your favorite store, isn't the service dependent
upon who the staff happens to be a particular day? Is the manager
there that day? Does the person have a pre-existing relationship with
you? Has the staff person learned over time your shopping / looking
preferences? Some do; some never get it.

--
skiffrun
------------------------------------------------------------------------
skiffrun's Profile: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
View this thread: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

02-01-2007, 08:10 AM

skiffrun <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au> writes:

> Re: REI. Other than the mechanic at charity events, I have yet to see
> any REI associate in the cycle area, let alone knowledgeable. On the
> other hand, for hiking / camping, has been great.

I like REI because on Ride Your Bike to Work Day they send a
mechanic to the local train station, who is willing to give
advice, answer questions, and make minor adjustments on your bike
while you wait for the train.
--
"But hey, the fact that I have better taste than anybody else in the
universe is just something I have to live with. It's not easy being
me."
--Linus Torvalds

02-01-2007, 09:08 AM

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:10:39 -0800, Ben Pfaff typed:

> skiffrun <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au> writes:
>
>> Re: REI. Other than the mechanic at charity events, I have yet to see
>> any REI associate in the cycle area, let alone knowledgeable. On the
>> other hand, for hiking / camping, has been great.
>
> I like REI because on Ride Your Bike to Work Day they send a
> mechanic to the local train station, who is willing to give
> advice, answer questions, and make minor adjustments on your bike
> while you wait for the train.

They seem to be involved in a lot of cycling events around here as well.
The folks they send are always wonderful ambassadors for the company.
Conversely, the local shops usually send a group riders from whatever team
they sponsor to "escort" us on charity rides. They invariably behave like
weenies.

Hmmm, my decision to go to REI in lieu of a locally owned shop is making
me feel less and less guilty. Looks like they're a pretty cool company,
despite their bigness.

02-01-2007, 09:46 AM

skiffrun wrote:
>
> Re: REI. Other than the mechanic at charity events, I have yet to see
> any REI associate in the cycle area, let alone knowledgeable. On the
> other hand, for hiking / camping, has been great.
>
>

I live in a large metro area and that is a pretty good description of my
local REI. Their prices on complete bikes were pretty reasonable, but
if I were in the market and could wait around, I'd just wait for the
seasonal sales at my local bike shop rather than buying a bike from a
chain store.

02-01-2007, 11:59 AM

REI is good too but closest is in PA and their mail order prices are a
bit high. I would be in heaven if I lived near a Nashbar store!!
Supergo was great and everytime I'm in CA I am so jealous of the good
shops they have there. There are a few good shops in NJ but price and
selection cannot compare toPerformance

On Jan 31, 6:18 pm, SMS <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> > Who cares about salespeople? Most LBS's here in NJ have rude clueless
> > indifferent salespeople so I'd choose Performance with their excellent
> > prices and selection anyday. Price and selection are what I care
> > about
>
> REI also has a very good selection of accessories at good prices too.
> The bicycle department employees at REI are very knowledgeable, at least
> at the REI closest to me (San Jose/Saratoga). REI also has a very good
> selection of bicycles, including touring bicycles. Most of the bicycle
> shops around where I live no longer carry a wide selection of bicycles.
>
> The other big plus about REI and Performance is that they have good
> hours. You can actually go to these stores after work, or on Sunday,
> when many bicycle shops are closed.

02-01-2007, 05:06 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au>, skiffrun
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au> wrote:

> In the 15 years my wife & I have been occasionally visiting Performance
> in CH, last year was the first a "sales person" actually acknowledged
> our existence and tried to help us.

That was generally my experience at that store as well. The new Cary
store, on the other hand, has a much better atmosphere in regard to
service.

Dan

02-02-2007, 08:10 PM

In article <eptabn$q5a$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:10:39 -0800, Ben Pfaff typed:
>
> > skiffrun <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au> writes:
> >
> >> Re: REI. Other than the mechanic at charity events, I have yet to see
> >> any REI associate in the cycle area, let alone knowledgeable. On the
> >> other hand, for hiking / camping, has been great.
> >
> > I like REI because on Ride Your Bike to Work Day they send a
> > mechanic to the local train station, who is willing to give
> > advice, answer questions, and make minor adjustments on your bike
> > while you wait for the train.
>
> They seem to be involved in a lot of cycling events around here as well.
> The folks they send are always wonderful ambassadors for the company.

REI also gives lots of money in grants to various recreation and
conservation projects. But, unlike many companies that give grants,
they don't accept grant applications. They take suggestions from their
employees only, for organizations those employees are active in and know
well.

--
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html>