That's a drag. I special order things at my LBS (Tommy's Bikes in McMinnville). It's always weird, and sometimes I have to share my online research (New Shimano Nexus cogs fit old Sturmey and Sachs IG hubs), but they tell me how long it will be and why, and when it comes it's either about the same as buying it online with shipping, or cheaper.
I've never been asked for any money up front. Philip On Jan 7, 6:10 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > Yes, possibly... > > I contacted SRAM and talked to someone in product support and had a very > good experience (other than their not sending it to me). Couldn't say more > than that.... > > Anyway, I called up the shop today and owner picks up. > > Me: are the parts in? > Him: No, probably another week. > Me: Another week...? > Him: (silence) > Me: You did order them, right? > Him: Yes, I ordered them Tuesday. They should be in next Thursday. > > So at that point I could have bitched about how he said it would be in three > Thursdays ago and how that really wouldn't have been possible if indeed he > ordered it just two days ago rather than the four weeks ago when I first > asked him to order them and he said they would be there in one week > (Thursday) when in fact that Thursday passed three times already with me > contacting him twice to see if they were in and never at any time did he say > that in fact he didn't order those parts as opposed to the SRAM parts which > indeed he did say he did not order yet as he was busy. > > Instead I said "OK, guess I'll be in next Thursday." > > Let's hope at least the order gets done right. I'm not holding my breath. > > > > On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 5:21 PM, EricP <ericpl...@aol.com> wrote: > > David, > > > Could be that whomever the LBS has to deal with at SRAM is a > > P.I.T.A. Not condoning the "uh, didn't order it yet" attitude, but > > it _might_ explain the reluctance to order. And, yes, QBP did have a > > screwed up shipping schedule during the holidays. I had some stuff on > > order Jim (my LBS) had to call me to tell me the delivery would be > > late. > > > Guess I should count my blessings that Hiawatha Cyclery is my LBS and > > QBP is close by. Never have problems with special orders. Although > > am constantly amazed at how many companies don't want to deal with > > shops. > > > Eric Platt > > St. Paul, MN > > > On Jan 7, 4:26 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 2:14 PM, Seth Vidal <skvi...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 5:12 PM, beth h <periwinkle...@yahoo.com> > > wrote: > > > > > I'm sorry it's so hard to special order stuff through your local > > shop. > > > > > I've similar experiences as a customer and do sympathize. > > > > > > As the lead buyer at our shop, I can tell you that if a shop is left > > > > > holding the bag too many times on a non-stock part they can't easily > > > > > sell to someone else, they may become more skittish about special > > > > > orders in general, and orders for non-stock items in particular. > > > > > > We do our best to manage special orders where I work, but we make > > sure > > > > > the customer is committed by asking for half down, advising that we > > > > > give no refunds on non-stock items, and advising that delivery times > > > > > are usually beyond the control of one small retailer (we estimate > > 7-10 > > > > > days unless they want to pay for expedited shipping). > > > > > > We also advise the customer that if an order will not fulfill our > > > > > minimum required dollar amount to place an order from a distributor > > we > > > > > may have to wait until we have enough other stuff to order from that > > > > > distributor before placing the order. This is a reality for a small > > > > > retailer; we just don't have the buying power of a mail-order house > > > > > and we are often required to educate customers to that effect. > > > > > These last two paragraphs are the critical bits. > > > > > If you're upfront about ALL of that and give reasonable expectations > > > > and keep communication up then any pissed off customer is unreasonably > > > > pissed off. > > > > > I've just found that a lot of LBSes are rotten at communication and > > > > managing expectations. > > > > > -sv > > > > > -- > > > > Beth, Jim, et al: I 100% sympathize with the potential hassle of > > ordering > > > parts. I understand waiting till the shop can get their minimum to avoid > > > shipping. I get it, really. Buuuuut, I'm still the guy with cash in > > hand, > > > trying desperately hard to throw that cash in their general direction. > > $40 > > > for the bars, $25 for the shifter, and $5 for rinky-dinky SRAM IGH part. > > > NOT a lot of money, so I don't expect them to jump up and get it > > tomorrow. > > > > But he said "Next Thursday." Then when Next Thursday came around and I > > find > > > out they haven't even picked up the phone to call SRAM... Now it's four > > > weeks since I placed the original order. Maybe it's in, maybe it's not. > > > They haven't bothered to call me and give me a heads up. That's not the > > > retail business. That's having a hobby of owning a bike shop. > > > > -- > > > Cheers, > > > David > > > Redlands, CA > > > > "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > > > wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > > > scientist guy- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > Cheers, > David > Redlands, CA > > "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > scientist guy
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
