Performance bike opened a new store

Pat said:

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....

I don't have any experience with salespeople in a performance store, but
if they are anything like a couple of people I have dealt with in local
bike shops, I feel for you. I think being that they are a chain store
they probably have even worse, less experienced people working for them.

Ken
--
The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets
old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without
shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:01:41 -0600, Pat typed:

Quoted message said:

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....

I always had good experiences with the shop on Halsted in Chicago. Don't
know about other locations.

Agree with ya on the REI. I prefer them to the LBS's, as I've never
been fed a line of [censored] from the staff. I dealt with a guy that was
pretty new in the cycling department the other night and he admitted
such--he basically said that he needed to consult with a more experienced
staffer so he'd not give me bad information. Straight up.

I don't know if it's the training or trickle down from the attitude in the
corporate office, but REI seems to "get it". Looking at their house brand
of Novara bikes--their bike buyer "gets it" as well.

Pat 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....

if your local REI is not new, then they have a trained sales force.

is your local performance store really a bike shop? Or, are they something
else? I've never been in one, so I'm not sure how to view them. I guess if
you walk into a store with only cycling stuff and bikes, you expect bike
shop. But can you expect to quickly get a sales force of people with
cycling experience?

Give them time....plus, you don't need much support anyhow! 🙂

Roger Zoul said:

if your local REI is not new, then they have a trained sales force.

is your local performance store really a bike shop? Or, are they something
else? I've never been in one, so I'm not sure how to view them. I guess if
you walk into a store with only cycling stuff and bikes, you expect bike
shop. But can you expect to quickly get a sales force of people with
cycling experience?

Give them time....plus, you don't need much support anyhow! 🙂

Odd thing is that Performance is bike-only, while REI is general outdoors
stuff. I have been very happy with my no-longer-really-local REI, and
still would consider taking a repair job I couldn't handle to them. I did
that in the past, and was very satisfied. Oddly, the one time I took such
a repair job to a high-zoot local shop (in Radnor, PA -- those who know
them will understand), I got terrible service.

But the quality of Performance sales/repair people varies with, well, the
people. The one nearest to me is staffed by riders, so they do know what
they are doing.

--

David L. Johnson

If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach
a conclusion. -- George Bernard Shaw

The store near me has been there for about 12 years. When they first
opened they had a lot of great stuff (even bare Italian frames you could
choose from and build up), the sales staff knew the business and the
mechanics were frequently out on the floor helping out.

But about the time of the Nashbar acquisition there was a clear change
in business model - a new manager and new salespeople who truly were
clueless.

What I like about Performance that most shops don't do, is that they
have all their parts and tools and things out where you can see them and
compare them and select for yourself. Chains for example: Performance
has about a dozen different chains, all on display - 8, 9, 10 speed,
cheap, moderate, expensive, quick link or pin, chrome or black. The
other stores I go to ask what kind of chain you want and then go get it
from the secret shelves.

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

Ken C. M. said:

Pat said:

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?

Quoted message said:

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....

I don't have any experience with salespeople in a performance store, but
if they are anything like a couple of people I have dealt with in local
bike shops, I feel for you. I think being that they are a chain store
they probably have even worse, less experienced people working for them.

Ken
--
The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets
old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without
shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

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....

I agree that Performance employees are not well trained, but REI is not much
better these days. Maybe 10 or 20 years ago, the REI clerks knew what they
were talking about. REI is opening so many new stores these days that the
talent/experience level is seriously diluted. My advice is to find a good
owner-operated local bike shop that has career employees instead of part-time
high school kids. Those are the guys that know what they are talking about.

Quoted message said:

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.

Quoted message said:

Who cares about salespeople? Most LBS's here in NJ have rude clueless
indifferent salespeople

That problem is not confined to NJ...... :-(

Quoted message said:

so I'd choose Performance with their excellent
prices and selection anyday. Price and selection are what I care
about

Which is why more and more cyclists are shopping on the internet.

Quoted message said:

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.

Quoted message said:

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

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

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 bullshitting with the
best of them, pushing products they don't understand to consumers who
don't really need them.

--
[email hidden] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html>

Alex Colvin said:

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...

Pat;173519 said:

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: http://www.trianglecycling.com/member.php?userid=28
View this thread: http://www.trianglecycling.com/showthread.php?t=17747

skiffrun said:

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

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

Quoted message said:

skiffrun said:

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.

skiffrun said:

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.

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

SMS said:

Quoted message said:

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.

In article <[email hidden]>, skiffrun

Quoted message said:

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

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

skiffrun said:

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.

--
[email hidden] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Braze your own bicycle frames. See
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/build/build.html>