Customer had a problem with our service

02-10-2007, 05:54 PM

Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in for a flat
tire, which she had someone take care of. 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. 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.

He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes anymore,
just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he planned to ride the
same chain until it broke.

(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)

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

02-10-2007, 06:08 PM

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in for
> a flat tire, which she had someone take care of. 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. 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.
>
> He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
> anymore, just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he
> planned to ride the same chain until it broke.
>
> (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)

One cog short of a cluster? :-P

02-10-2007, 06:17 PM

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:Bzvzh.17380$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy. net...
> Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in for a
> flat tire, which she had someone take care of. 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. 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.
>
> He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes anymore,
> just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he planned to ride
> the same chain until it broke.
>
> (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)
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
>
>

At least he won't be RWI (riding while iPod'ing).

02-10-2007, 06:29 PM

Mike Jacoubowsky writes:

> Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in
> for a flat tire, which she had someone take care of. 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. 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.

> He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
> anymore, just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he
> planned to ride the same chain until it broke.

> (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)

I see the same problem here in this forum. When discussing mechanical
items on bicycles, especially with someone like the customer in
question, not using jargon is the best policy. I find using cassette
awkward because whether they are individual sprockets of a cassette is
immaterial. The sprockets wear to a point where they must all be
replaced when the chain is replaced. That's the problem.

The customer may discover his faux pas later and feel embarrassed,
choosing not to come back to this shop where he made these blunders.
Many people revel in assimilating as much bike-jargon as possible to
show they are part of the in group. I notice it while riding, where a
newbie seems to say to himself, now's my chance and shouts "on your
left", as if it made any difference on an empty road.

Jobst Brandt

02-12-2007, 11:28 AM

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote: (clip) Posts like mine tend to flush them into
the open very quickly. :>)
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mike, you have set off a chain reaction.

02-12-2007, 12:27 PM

Curtis L. Russell wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:15:38 GMT, Stephen Harding
> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>
>>Fifteen years ago, buying my Trek 520 at the LBS, the owner (whom
>>I grew to really detest), kept referring to the bike panniers as
>>"panneeyeas" a la French pronunciation.
>
> I'm guessing you don't like how people pronounce 'forte' either.

Your right! I think both versions are now considered correct.

The one that always got me was "err". In High School English
class, we were told it was pronounced "err" not "air".

But again, I believe both pronunciations are considered correct
these days.

SMH

02-12-2007, 12:31 PM

Pat wrote:
>>I have my doubts whether some commercial establishment would
>>laugh themselves silly because someone doesn't know the difference
>>between a "cassette" or "freewheel" and "rear gears". A rather
>>poor business practice I would think.
>
> Re-read the original post. He didn't say he thought it was funny that the
> customer didn't know the difference between a cassette and a freewheel. He
> didn't say they laughed themselves silly. You are interpreting all of that
> into his post. He didn't write what you think he wrote!

What is this, misinterpret posts week on rbm???

Re-read my post!

I doubted any commercial establishment would laugh themselves silly
because a customer didn't know a correct term for something.

It would be bad business at the very best. Mike didn't do that.
I never believed he did.

If I didn't make that clear enough in my original writing, I
hope I'm doing so now.

SMH

02-12-2007, 12:52 PM

In article <_g1Ah.2407$g82.1805@trndny09>,
Stephen Harding <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> Fifteen years ago, buying my Trek 520 at the LBS, the owner (whom
> I grew to really detest), kept referring to the bike panniers as
> "panneeyeas" a la French pronunciation.
>
> Now I can't tell you if the French (who put their stamp on bicycle
> touring as no other nationality has) pronounce "bike bags" in that
> manner or not, but in the USA, I've always heard them referred to
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> as "panneeyers".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's how I say it, too.

It seems many believe the word is etymologically related
to the French "pain" (bread,) and it's just a fancy way
of saying "bread basket."

But I consider it may be more related to the Greek "pan"
(all,) as in "carry-all." Maybe the 'ier' on the end
just makes it look like a French word.

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

02-12-2007, 04:04 PM

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:38:24 -0600, Doc O'Leary wrote:

> In article <eqngl0$k26$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> wrote:
>
>> Doc O'Leary <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>>
>> > So you tend to laugh at people who actually need your services? That is
>> > the oddest customer service I have ever heard of. It is even more
>> > strange that you'd post your poor attitude, seemingly *bragging*, to
>> > Usenet.
>>
>> I've seen the proverbial Clueless Newbie many a time. During my
>> planetarium years we sometimes had people ask us if we closed during
>> cloudy weather. At Bryce Canyon NP we had people ask us (a) who carved
>> all those sculptures and (b) was the canyon lighted at night. At Grand
>> Canyon a guy I know tried and failed to convince one tourist (we called
>> them "dudes," with the old meaning, not the current one) that the canyon
>> does not fill with snow up to the rim in winter. Give me a little time,
>> and I'm sure I can think of more like these.
>> And yes, I'm sure I've asked dumb questions myself in computer shops,
>> at airline ticket counters, or somewhere.
>> To the inititated, things like this will always be funny. The only
>> thing you can do is keep a straight face and answer the newby's question
>> in terms s/he can understand. But if you don't laugh about it later, you
>> ain't human.
>
> You're adding confusion to the issue. A lapse in logic, even one's own,
> can definitely be funny, but that is not the case here. This is a case
> of misunderstood terminology, which can be corrected simply by giving a
> definition. The only humor in the situation is laughing *with* the
> now-corrected customer if they find the misunderstanding funny, and not
> *at* the customer by posting the incident around the world on Usenet.
>

Hmmm, I can see both sides of the picture here, and suffer from the same
kinds of situation behind the counter of a computer Establishment.
If someone clearly doesn't understand some jargon, I immediately backup
and try to give them the information they need in a form they understand.
Some, however, do not seem to comprehend the "basics". Eventually, they
usually grasp what I'm trying to say, except for those who think I'm
trying to rip them off, or those who infrequently, have for some reason,
very firmly grasped the wrong end of the stick, or even the end of a
completely separate stick, and utterly refuse to let go.

Personally, someone who responded with the comment about CDs would in
my opinion fall into the latter camp. I would attempt to clarify what I
meant, but the completely disjointed nature of the reply indicates to
me their inability to use logic in their everyday life.

02-12-2007, 04:21 PM

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:21:30 -0600, Doc O'Leary wrote:

> In article <0fJzh.43289$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy.net> ,
> "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>> Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car repaired, and they tell you that
>> your antenna needs replacement, you would assume they're talking about the
>> television antenna you removed when you got cable 10 years ago? That's close
>> to a perfect analogy of this situation.
>
> Hardly, and it is further distasteful that you're attempting to justify
> your bad behavior. You used a term they did not understand in one
> context, so they tried to make sense of it in the only context they had
> for the term. You might like to laugh at them for it, but in their eyes
> you look just as foolish for trying to change the subject.
>
>> It was difficult to keep from cracking up, BUT WE DID NOT. My point,
>> entirely lost upon some, is that it's wrong to assume that someone's remark
>> about "having problems with your shop" is always an indication that there's
>> a "problem with your shop."
>
> Based upon your *direct* posts here, it is not surprising that people
> would indeed have problems with your shop. Instead of trying to
> convince yourself that *you* are not *possibly* to blame, why not take
> this criticism as constructive and fix your damn shop?
>
>> Don't get defensive, hear the story out and see
>> where it leads. In this case, the person hearing the story (my wife) had no
>> prior experience with this particular customer, who has probably been thrown
>> out of every shop but ours. We try to find ways to take care of people who
>> are not dealing with a full deck (is that simply the wrong way to put it? Is
>> that where some people became offended? Am I not being "PC" enough here?).
>
> From your post, the only obvious thing missing from their "deck" is an
> exhaustive glossary of bicycling terminology. My assumption would be
> that is precisely the type of people you should *expect* to get as
> customers for relatively simple repairs. My inclination would be to
> educate them more than laugh at them, but I suppose if you filled up
> their "deck" they wouldn't be so funny to you.
>
>> There's a lesson for many of us there. Don't assume that someone else's
>> world works quite the same as your own.
>
> Seems mostly to be a lesson for you. Seems like you haven't learned it.
>

I would guess you haven't worked in retail before? Like the OP tried to
make plain, some people JUST DON"T GET IT. They are incapable of applying
logic to their everyday life. The only response is to nod politely and
find some way of getting them out of the store, quickly. i am fortunate
in that my boss has given me permission in extreme cases, to refund the
money and ban the idiot. Hasn't happened, yet.

If I didn't know what a "cassette" was, and someone said that to me in
that case, my response would be "what?" or maybe look puzzled, which would
I am sure, have resulted in the explanation required. I would NOT have
jumped from the subject of bicycles to music storage formats because of
the similarity of terminology.