"The boys from Zipp and SRAM will be at our shop this Thursday to offer a great chance to demo some wheels and discuss all the latest toys!"
"Clif Bar will be joining us for our Thursday Night Group Ride tonight at 6pm. Possible swag and goodies before the ride leaves."
As many of you are aware I am a raving fan of my local bicycle shop--but more than that, I am a huge evangelist for superior customer service through creating an engaging customer experience.
Nearly two years ago now, I took off for Florida from Indiana on a 1033 mile trek with my next door neighbor. Two men in their 40's, having never done this before; going for causes such as cancer and literacy. We decided to take this trip to challenge ourselves, to step out of our comfort zone, both of us athletes back in our day--Coaching youth sports and doing Insanity on my part and he racquetball and over 40 baseball league today.
I have overseen major events and worked alongside many great companies when handling events such as Super Bowl, Indianapolis 500, Notre Dame football, Iron-Man events, Indiana State Fair and so on--I have worked over Labor Day weekend, July 4th, Memorial Day, Christmas day, Easter and other holidays with previous company's that depended on those day to bring in a huge percentage of their yearly income. I have worked alongside young men and women whom sacrificed those holidays for the good of the company--having known those days were apart of doing business. I have dealt with young college grads, as well as hired freshman students, giving them a real taste of what a big person job feels like.
I love and enjoy the rubixcube--I have never solved it once in my life---but I had it in my house as a teenager, always trying my best to solve it.....That is what customer service is to me. It is the art and craft of never giving up on a customer, never once taking them for granted---as well as staff and that is where my story begins.
Leadership to me is one whom does not need to have a name badge that says owner---a badge that says I am in charge....Leadership is a quality that is in all of us.Some of us are aware of this trait, others need to transformed through positive leadership. Leadership principles and qualities is what I saw at my local bicycle shop. Boldness, servant-hood, character and so on.
Excellent customer service, which creates a positive customer-store relationship is one with a staff that is cheered on by the store owner to get into the thick of it. A owner who encourages and solidifies leadership values and ethics of good character has a booming business and that is what I found at my local bicycle shop......
It is not only here--it is ALL over the world; bike shops are the local farmers market--they are connecting with us through passion, bond, knowledge of product, no robots, no pushing and shoving with staff, people whom get out of the seat to say hello---people who are happy to be there and are happy to see you--people willing to share their story to encourage you to ride a bike, to buy a TT bike or upgrade to a biker MTB.
The pictures above, as well as the quotes are from my local bicycle shop.....They are giving customers a taste and an experience of more than just money exchanging hands---the shop is connecting with the community of riders. They are educating customers, riders, commuters with nutrition and what is new in the world of cycling---two times a week they have 200+ riders out and about hitting the pavement, creating a customer interaction that is out of this world---it is not just a Black Friday event, it is an every week event the store provides its customers.....it is not a back-to-school sale we see, or a Super Bowl add generating traffic to come in the store---they are truly displaying customer-store interaction to the 100000th power...
Good customer service is in HIGH DEMAND---we want it so bad we will drive hours out of our way to get it.....Bike shops are doing this and we in business can learn from them---go to your local shop this weekend and see what I am talking about---look up your local shop and read reviews, read the paper and see what rides and events are taking place for charity and leisure.
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