Palomar01

I suffered my first road flat in many years. Something slashed my front Continental Ultra-Road and I could not inflate it up to pressure without popping the inner tube. Time for a replacement.

So I went to my local LBS, it's a Performance Bike store. I go there a lot and really enjoy shopping there except for when this one salesguy is there. He sort of rubs me the wrong way because he seems a little disconnected--I mean he doesn't listen and tries to recommend something to me that just is not what I am looking for, as opposed to helping me. He also strikes me as being impatient and lazy. As soon as I walked in I saw this guy and tried to avoid him. I was looking to replace my Conti Ultra-Road in size 700x23c. I found the Ultra-Roads but all they had on display were 700x25c's, even though the rack said "700x23c".

I had to ask the guy I didn't like since there was nobody else available. I wanted to know if they had any 700x23c's in back of the store. This guy's response was, "Did you look in the racks?". Of course I did! All they had were 700x25c's and I already told him that (he does not listen). He proceeded to take a look himself and could not find one in the racks. Then he said to me, "What's wrong with the 25c? There is hardly any difference between it and the 23c and it should work fine."

Huh?

I told him my bike came with a 23c and I don't want to put a 25c tire up front and still have a 23c out back!

The salesguy then yells out to another co-worker if that other guy knew if they had 23c's out back! His co-worker yelled back and told him to go back and look! He does then came out and tells me they had nothing. The store manager then told him they do have 23c's in folding. Being a noob, I asked this salesguy what is the difference between the wired and a folding? I kind of knew the answer but I wanted him to explain it to me. His answer: "One has wire the other does not." WTF?

Talk about stating the obvious! At that point they guy seemd annoyed and I just told him thanks and walked away.

Is it just me or is this guy just a complete tool and doesn't really want to help?

liquefied

Yeah, he's a jackass. So what?

heavyMetal

IMHO, occasionally you will find a knowledgeable employee at Performance. Sometimes not.

DataJunkie

The same holds true for many stores (bikes or otherwise).
Go elsewhere.

DannoXYZ 

i usually look for the shaved legs.

desertdork

Not all salespeople have solid working concepts of people skills, effective communication and good customer service in general. Whether that makes them "tools," you decide.

You could simply ask another employee to help you, couldn't you? You visit the shop to do business, and this employee has previously shown that he's incapable of providing the level of service you expect. Just because the guy works there doesn't mean you have to allow yourself to be annoyed by him.

Have you thought about communicating your thoughts to the manager? If the employee is so poor at helping customers that some (such as yourself) are willing to skip the purchase, he's not doing anyone a favor. Mgmt is the party responsible for this guy working there, and they should be made aware. Telling the mgr that you really enjoy shopping there but refuse to be assisted by "Tim" should be enough to invite some discussion...if the mgr is receptive to customer feedback.

So, if you want to fix this aggravation, take the issue to someone that can do something about it (the mgr). Soliciting agreement from others on an internet forum won't change anything.

mugatu

there are tools everywhere, sometimes they are co-workers, sometimes they're in a lbs, sometimes they're in the mirror

DenisMenchov

So don't shop there. You know you can order online too.

Bah Humbug

I'd find a real LBS.

Waves77

Wired have a wire in the bead, those are the ones that hang from the wall since they don't fold (at least not easily). Folding ones are folded over in smaller boxes, they are generally lighter too.

coasting 

the guy is a tool. like the kid who tried to sell me a 9 speed pin for a 10 speed chain. nice one.

NTSing

Hold on let me check the magic 8 ball,

all signs point to yes.

urbanknight

I worked at a bike shop once, and the salespeople openly admitted to knowing next to nothing about bikes. They BS'ed half of their answers to customers, then came back to us mechanics to ask advice on upgrading their own bike... and offer us food or drinks to put it on for them.

Palomar01

Yeah that's too bad.

Most of the guys in that LBS are actually quite knowledgeable and very helpful and friendly. I guess I just went in there at the wrong time.

dekindy

Suffering flats is a lot more aggravating than an occasional encounter with a bad sales person. Some people have real troubles to write about.

Bah Humbug

And what about the poor people who are cruelly ignored by those elite roadies?

garysol1 

the guy sounds like a dick but his answers were not far off of correct......
23c vs 25c-not much performance difference but the 25 will ride nicer.
Wire vs folding......He was spot on. Folding tires fold for compactness and sometimes less weight....

dcbikeguy

HTFU son. What, you need some real problems?

crhilton

Be rude back. Next time you see him say "you're a tool, I'd like to talk to someone who's not useless."

Sounds like his co-workers will get a laugh out of it .

Kai Winters

I would tell the manager about my experience.
I would also be more interested in how the manager responds than the salesperson. The manager sets the tone.
Then depending on how things went I may go off on the manager or thank him/her for their interest.

robertkat

Sounds like a typical salesman. A really nice LBS I frequent just got a guy like that. I just go ask the mechanics for help. One the other hand I have to agree that the extra 2mm makes a huge difference.

*ducks*

rufvelo

He was right about the 25 up front, in fact he should have insisted you install either a 25 or 28 since the front is all that really matters except in a TT where you're better off with a 19 or 21. Even amongst revolutionaries and over centuries, the motto has been. i.e. 'give me good front tire + good front brakes or give me death!'

Unless you're usually carrying the folding in your shorts or want a real folding (a tubular) there is no difference...i.e.'one has a wire'..

Doohickie

Regardless of the sales guy, this is my basic beef with Performance. They will have 172 kinds of tires in stock, just not the one I want.

mobike_moexcite

my LBS isn't local at all, the closest one is a 50 minute drive and that is taking the freeway. If I don't like the answer I get from one guy I ask another person. Sometimes you will get the same answer but one might not be from a "tool". I don't have time to come back whenever I please. The country sucks!

socalrider

If it's the Performance in Fountain Valley go 2 doors down to the other bike shop in that area..