Our customers are great. We love having the best customers in the area. People who are passionate about what they do and want to maximize their enjoyment of cycling and share that enthusiasm with others as well as introduce new comers to the sport. Our customers have many choices and we appreciate them selecting us to help them with their needs.
Retail business is an interesting way to spend the day. It's never boring. We are usually busy and see all types of requests and sometimes see problems that have no solution while being presented by someone wanting an answer 'right now'. Yesterday we were busy in the shop and missed greeting a customer and helping them out. Unfortunately he was in the store for under five minutes and we hadn't greeted him yet. We strive for better and fell short in this instance. This customer very clearly let us know that he didn't appreciate our lack of responsiveness to his presence. As he headed out the door he yelled a couple of things about our lack of service and his disappointment, that we were losing business etc. We were a little stunned at his outburst but at the same time we were trying to finish what we were in the middle of to try and attend to his needs. He was correct, we were slower than we should have been in acknowledging his needs and his expectations were not met. In retail it is truly impossible to be all things to all people.
Today is another day and I just had another experience that makes us appreciate our customers even more. Tanna had some work done on her bike a month ago and was going through her credit card statement and realized we had undercharged her repair by $100.00. That's a good chunk of money for both her and us. She came in today with her repair ticket, explained what she thought we had done wrong and asked to pay the full balance of her repair. I shouldn't be surprised. I am very appreciative. At the same time the contrast in transactions in two days was kind of shocking. Most people are honest and appreciative. Frequently, people set courtesy aside when they are upset.
In any case, thanks to our customers of all types. There are those we haven't been able to help but we appreciate them letting us have the opportunity. There are those who view our transactions as part of a relationship and wish to make sure both parties are happy with our interactions. This post is just kind of a feel-good note to say thanks to those who give us the chance to do what we love to do. The Discount Tire photo is from an ad than ran in 1975 showing a little old lady who wasn't satisfied with her purchase throwing a tire through the front window of the store. Thanks for not taking things that far.
