A middle-aged couple came in a few days ago. The guy asks us for mountain
bikes, but is asking for something specific. He eyes me a little funny and
pauses for a moment, considering whether or not it would offend me with what
he was about to say, and then followed it up with "and I don't want anything
made in China."
I, of course, mention our Bianchi SASS (which I think is probably built in
Taiwan) to see if he's even remotely interested. I mention the disc brakes
and the single speed.
He follows it up with, "uh... well I'd like to see 21 speeds." Internal
hilarity ensues. Needless to say, after I informed him of how things were
these days, he thanked me for my time and left.
It's admirable, trying to find such a bike. I sometimes look to buy
American (or Euro, but I've never seen), but unfortunately, his request may
never be fulfilled.
Another story:
Today a customer on the phone was dismayed to hear me recommend a Giant
Cypress bicycle for his 4'9" wife. He was under the impression that Giant
was just a step above Huffy. I asked his experience with them, and he said
he had a horrible Giant 15 years ago. I mention the technological advances
and their range of $5000-$250 bikes, plus the fact that they're one of the
world leaders in volume. He was quite receptive.
"$500 is your budget?" I ask. "You have plenty of choices!" By the end of
the phone conversation, he was very pleased and regretted being unable to
meet me since I'd be out of town for the week. I told him we don't work on
commissions and that I hoped they'd find something that fit her well. It
was nice setting a misguided soul back on track...
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training