I once complained of price gouging at my local bike shop, City Bikes in Adams Morgan. I related a story about buying a bike lock there shortly after someone got capped. On a Sunday morning. Across the street from the store. Unknowingly at the time, the guy who "helped" me pick out a lock and seemed annoyed with me for asking him questions had just sutured the victim. I just thought he was being a jackass. My bad. But more importantly, I thought the $70 price tag on my lock was a little steep. And it was. I could've purchased the same lock online for $30 less. Needless to say, I vowed never to return. Of course, as with most promises I make, I failed. Except this time I'm glad.I really didn't mean to go back, but my bike, Baguette, had left me with little choice. See, I was ridin' drizzly home yesterday night when my derailleur decided to f*ck up again, resulting in the chain popping off the chainstay and yadda, yadda, yadda (I've explained it all before). After cursing the world a little too loudly, I realized City Bikes was just a few yards away and since Baguette has made it a habit to continually fail me (she's such a bitch), I decided to walk her over to the shop. Plus, I didn't want to get all dirty messing with the chain. And I'm lazy. And mechanically retarded.
But thank gods for City Bikes. I thought I'd have to leave her overnight, but they fixed my sh*t up in about five minutes. And either I grossly overestimated Baguette's problems, or I got a sweet discount because whatever they did (they explained it and I immediately forgot) only cost $5. Or maybe the store's employees are magicians. You know, like David Blaine, but with tricks that don't suck. (Seriously, David, "Dive of Death"? You mean, Dive of Douche? ZING!)
Even more pleasing, the service at City Bikes all came with a nice nugget of attitude-filled honesty, which I love. Said the mechanic, "We adjusted your derailleurs and filled your tires with air, yadda, yadda, yadda, but, um, your bike is a piece of sh*t." OK, so he didn't really call ol' Baguette un petit morceau de merde, but he did give me some useful (although rather unsolicited) advice about what repairs I may want to think about in the future (i.e. total bike replacement). They're good mechanics and good salesmen.
Anysucker, City Bikes managed to brighten an otherwise very dreary day and for that The Very Discerning Anti DC Eagle of Freedom gives them two talons up. Baguette and I have never been happier.
He discerns hard for his money.
5 comments:
Good to hear they helped, but the staff is still fairly obnoxious and the store is geared more towards those willing to spend $900+ for a bike.
He discerns hard for the money... So he better do it RIGHT!
Pun intended, anon?
Oh! I didn't even catch that pun! That is gold! "Geared..."
And yes, I think anon is right. They did let me know that my bike is cheap and not awesome. They also didn't buy my counter-argument of "She gets me where I need to be." One of them said, "Well, what if you want to bike to Pittsburgh?" Then one of the other customers stole my retort: "Why in hell would you want to go to Pittsburgh?"
But overall, I can't complain. Baguette is operating phenomenally now after that $5 investment. So, I love 'em.
http://spokesetc.com/ is a really good store, but they are in VA so I dunno how often you'd go there. I've been to the one in Belle Haven several times.
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