Customer had a problem with our service - Page 4

02-14-2007, 12:11 PM

"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.
>

Any bike rider who is so stupid to not know the difference between a bicycle
drive train cassette and a musical media needs to be laughed at. They are
a joke to begin with, that's one of the problems with today's society, we're
raising a bunch of idiots, and then defending their right to be an idiot.

02-14-2007, 12:11 PM

On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:18:27 -0800, "Bill Sornson" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
wrote:

>It was a funny little story about someone not knowing what a bike cassette
>was -- just like those computer tech service stories about people using
>their CD trays as coffee cup holders or looking for their Any Key.

going OT: I see the "Any Key" as different. There was only ONE key
that would work on our mainframe terminals, the ENTER key, as it sent
the previous characters to mainframe. The message was inappropriate
for our terminals. Any colour provided its black.

02-14-2007, 12:52 PM

>
> 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.

Wrong!

"He was then telling her he's had some problems with our shop, specifically
that we had previously recommended his chain be replaced because it was
worn. "

What on earth is there in this sentence that tells you he thought they were
taking advantage of his naivety by pushing for unneeded parts? She only told
him his chain was worn. This is NOT "unneeded parts." It is one part--a
chain.

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.

"She explained to him that we recommend replacing chains when worn because
if you let them go on too long,
they wear out your cassette."

This is not "dazzling with techno jargon." Would you have had her say, "If
you ride with a badly worn chain it will wear our your "whatchamacallit"?
Do you prefer your doctor to say, "You have a problem with your hoohah---so
that he won't use "technical jargon" on you?

> See bike parts mentioned in there anywhere?

Yes! She was explaining to him what a worn chain (bicycle part!) would do to
another bicycle part. She wasn't talking about avocados.

>
> 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.

It's a funny, harmless story. You need to get a sense of humor. He didn't
put down the guy's name, his city, his description---the guy is anonymous.
How on earth is the customer going to be affected?

> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
> sure he's playing with a full deck.

I KNOW you're not playing with a full deck. Your deck has a chip on its
shoulder.

Pat in TX
>
>
>

02-14-2007, 01:02 PM

> Any bike rider who is so stupid to not know the difference between a
> bicycle
> drive train cassette and a musical media needs to be laughed at. They
> are a joke to begin with, that's one of the problems with today's society,
> we're raising a bunch of idiots, and then defending their right to be an
> idiot.

Even more, she is blaming Mike for even mentioning it in a strictly
anonymous way. He was bending over backward not to identify the customer and
yet she insinuates it's all Mike's fault. I don't even know Mike, but I
thought it was funny, too.

Do you ever watch Carlos Mencia? He has this saying, "Deet da dee!" when
someone does something really dumb. Jeff Foxworthy has a saying, too. His
is "Here's your sign!"

Here's an example: I am getting bothered by phone calls from a doctor's
office telling me "Joshua" is due for an appointment. I keep getting these
messages on my answering machine. Finally, one day I happened to get a
message that said that she was calling from Dr. ....'s office about Joshua's
appointment. I got out the phone book and found the number and called her
right back. I said, "I want you to stop calling my house about Joshua having
an appointment on February 2. Joshua does not live here and I am tired of
getting these calls." She said, "I'll look into it, but you'll have to tell
me Joshua's last name first." Deet Da Dee!

>
>

02-14-2007, 01:02 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
"Pat" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> 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.
>
>
> "She explained to him that we recommend replacing chains when worn because
> if you let them go on too long,
> they wear out your cassette."
>
> This is not "dazzling with techno jargon."

I have to agree. "Cassette" is plain English, and it
is the appropriate name of a certain bicycle component.

"Corncob" is jargon.

> Would you have had her say, "If
> you ride with a badly worn chain it will wear our your "whatchamacallit"?
> Do you prefer your doctor to say, "You have a problem with your hoohah---so
> that he won't use "technical jargon" on you?

I wish I had money coming out the wazoo. If that happened,
I don't think I'd seek medical help immediately.
Maybe it's a wazoo-al retentive thing.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

02-14-2007, 01:08 PM

>> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
>> sure he's playing with a full deck.
>
> I KNOW you're not playing with a full deck. Your deck has a chip on its
> shoulder.

That is not true; Cathy is simply reading things from a different
perspective. It simply illustrates how normal, different people can view
something entirely... differently. Life would be pretty boring otherwise.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

02-14-2007, 03:11 PM

"di" <di9999@cox.net> wrote in message
news

VKAh.191792$qy.156037@newsfe16.lga...
>
> Any bike rider who is so stupid to not know the difference between a
> bicycle drive train cassette and a musical media needs to be laughed at.
> They are a joke to begin with, that's one of the problems with today's
> society, we're raising a bunch of idiots, and then defending their right
> to be an idiot.

Ah, if only the world worked that way. You see, most people who know that a
bike has a cassette also already own a bike. I'm not that familiar with
bike shop economics, but I'm betting they make lots of money off of selling
bikes to people that don't already have a bike. I suspect if they limited
their customers to those that could pass a "name that part" test first they
would all go bankrupt. I don't think Mike meant to make his shop sound like
it was only open to the bicycle elite that know some bikes have parts called
cassettes. That's why I was surprised it was written that way.

02-14-2007, 03:29 PM

"Cathy Kearns" <cathy_kearns@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:YyNAh.14811$O02.1442@newssvr11.news.prodigy.n et...
>
> "di" <di9999@cox.net> wrote in message
> news

VKAh.191792$qy.156037@newsfe16.lga...
>>
>> Any bike rider who is so stupid to not know the difference between a
>> bicycle drive train cassette and a musical media needs to be laughed at.
>> They are a joke to begin with, that's one of the problems with today's
>> society, we're raising a bunch of idiots, and then defending their right
>> to be an idiot.
>
> Ah, if only the world worked that way. You see, most people who know that
> a bike has a cassette also already own a bike. I'm not that familiar with
> bike shop economics, but I'm betting they make lots of money off of
> selling bikes to people that don't already have a bike. I suspect if they
> limited their customers to those that could pass a "name that part" test
> first they would all go bankrupt. I don't think Mike meant to make his
> shop sound like it was only open to the bicycle elite that know some bikes
> have parts called cassettes. That's why I was surprised it was written
> that way.
>
The way I read the post was this guy had a bike, he was getting it repaired.
I thought it was a very funny story, and didn't feel any sorrow for the
idiot who was being laughed at.

02-14-2007, 06:02 PM

In article <YyNAh.14811$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy.net >,
"Cathy Kearns" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> Ah, if only the world worked that way. You see, most people who know that a
> bike has a cassette also already own a bike.

The customer in this instance already owns a bike,
and apparently has done for quite some time.
Long enough to wear the hell out of his chain, anyways.

> I'm not that familiar with
> bike shop economics, but I'm betting they make lots of money off of selling
> bikes to people that don't already have a bike.

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if most bike shops' profits
come from after-sales transactions.

> I suspect if they limited
> their customers to those that could pass a "name that part" test first they
> would all go bankrupt.

A Service Provider has certain duties. But so does
a customer. Customers should feel free to ask questions
about the service she or he is requesting. And the Service
Provider should answer those questions, sometimes even before
they're asked. This particular customer pre-empted and
dismissed such communication.

Maybe in the 24th Century, customers will be able to enter
a shop on a conveyor belt, and get exactly what they
want without having to utter a word or lift a finger.
Anyways, in this case the customer got what he wanted --
he got his flat fixed, and as far as we know, walked out
satisfied with the service he got.

> I don't think Mike meant to make his shop sound like
> it was only open to the bicycle elite that know some bikes have parts called
> cassettes. That's why I was surprised it was written that way.

I guess when talking about the public to the public,
it's gonna rub some of the public the wrong way.

If, further on down the road, this customer wipes out
because his chain busted, I guess Mike will be taken
to task for that, too. Ya can't win. Certain customers
make sure of that, for some obscure (to me) reason.
I guess some folks just have to make everything a contest.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

02-15-2007, 06:26 AM

Cathy Kearns wrote:
> "di" <di9999@cox.net> wrote in message
> news

VKAh.191792$qy.156037@newsfe16.lga...
>> Any bike rider who is so stupid to not know the difference between a
>> bicycle drive train cassette and a musical media needs to be laughed at.
>> They are a joke to begin with, that's one of the problems with today's
>> society, we're raising a bunch of idiots, and then defending their right
>> to be an idiot.
>
> Ah, if only the world worked that way. You see, most people who know that a
> bike has a cassette also already own a bike. I'm not that familiar with
> bike shop economics, but I'm betting they make lots of money off of selling
> bikes to people that don't already have a bike. I suspect if they limited
> their customers to those that could pass a "name that part" test first they
> would all go bankrupt. I don't think Mike meant to make his shop sound like
> it was only open to the bicycle elite that know some bikes have parts called
> cassettes. That's why I was surprised it was written that way.

Cathy, I'm glad you learned a new term this week (cassette), but I think
even you would do a double-take if somebody behind the counter of a bike
shop tried to link replacing a chain to your need to replace your stereo
equipment. Wouldn't it be obvious that there was a disconnect in your
conversation?

Pat