Bike shop

[paturoa]

all cheap and easy ideas realy

Big sign "saying dump your gear here and have a wander around", oh and somewhere to dump my gear.

Big sign saying "Toilet here", and keep it clean

Big Sign saying "wash your visor here" and ...

Don't piss me off with pretend sale / cheap items with big fluro prices on them. If its genuinely for sale then make it a bargan and let me know how much I'm saving over normal retail.

Have a tool shadow board that I can leave my gloves or helmit as a bond so that you'll get your tool back as I play with my bike outside (fittting the accessory I just bought?)

Have a big sign saying "wash your hands here" and keep it clean.

[The_Dover]

Hire a GOOD barista?

It's a fucking bike shop. Get a coffee machine.

[LaggCity]

Have Her working in sales

[imdying]

Have Her working in sales

Seconded!


(It's a big twin thing )

[crazybigal]

Be open on sundays!!!! no bike shops in wellington are, i think its a pact they have so no one makes any sales and they can all go riding!

Have a girls section, stuff they like and even girls mags and crap they are into. i get about 10min and then we have to leave cos she is board! then i have to wait around in every womens clothing store all day!!! not cool!

[Lou Girardin]

Seriously though, I would not go to a bike shop that's like Coutts, Continentals or any snooty, up-themselves 'high end' car dealers.
I want to talk to people who look like they love bikes and riding.
And I might be alone thinking this, but if I want a coffee, drying room, casual sex boudoir, I'll go home.

[The_Dover]

And I might be alone thinking this, but if I want a coffee, drying room, casual sex boudoir, I'll go home.

Yeah, I'd go to Lou's house too if I wanted that.

[marty]

i thought you already did!

[marty]

im shocked that nobody has mentioned a Dunkin Donuts on site....

it's a bike shop, not a cop shop.....

[thesedays]

I love my RS250 but I hate having to wait weeks for minor parts to arrive on the slow boat from China. I just think that if people take on master agencies for various brands ~ then they should at least commit to holding some stock of minor replacement parts like cables, air filters etc.
Sometimes its easier just to 'google' and import direct via courier mail! I can't help but wonder how many shops loose good business and custom in this way.

[Lou Girardin]

Yeah, I'd go to Lou's house too if I wanted that.

No sweat, same deal as before. The Gixxer for 10 minutes with the cat. (You can have a choice of three)
Make it an MV and you can have a threesome.

[placidfemme]

I think a lot good points have been brought up, personally I wouldn't bother going into a shop that specialized in bikes I don't ride and have no interest in riding. Also a super swanky looking bike shop (for example that place across the road from Mt Eden Motorcycles... poncy place, ponsy looking sales guys, flash bikes and the "you can't afford to buy anything in here... so we won't even bother asking if you need help" type attitude (talking from experience here). So personally I wouldn't be coming into your shop... but if I did.... here are the items I think would be great for a new bike shop:

1. Wide range of Female gear (Jackets, pants, boots, gloves, graggin Jeans, helmets and all that in SMALLER sizes...)
2. Bike pick up and drop off
3. Courtesy bikes while yours is been fixed/serviced/whatever... From 250cc upwards...
4. Open late/weekends
5. Friendly, helpful staff
6. Good website WITH prices, constantly updated... maybe even an on-line buying section and newsletter... perhaps even a club to join so when a sale is on, club members get to get first dibs... then the public...
7. Tools for basic home bike repairs

And my favourite:

Maybe specialize in importing and installing specialized stunt parts for bikes/street fighters. (That way when they crash/drop the bike they'll come back to you to fix them...)

Good luck anyway!

[Str8 Jacket]

1. Wide range of Female gear (Jackets, pants, boots, gloves, graggin Jeans, helmets and all that in SMALLER sizes...)

I second that! Alot of shops have a very small range of female gear and what they do have is always waaay to big for me, so frustrating!

[placidfemme]

I second that! Alot of shops have a very small range of female gear and what they do have is always waaay to big for me, so frustrating!

Yeah its a pain in the butt... Even with Helmets, I wear an extra small, and I've been shopping for a helmet I like for ages, and only this week did I find one that I liked and they had it in an XS. Same with gloves, even an small in mens sizes have space left at the finger tips that creep up and are uncomfortable when you ride...

I don't think a lounge/reception area is that nessesary, neither is a TV playing races/stunts etc... I'd rather walk into a place that looks kinda "less-loved" like city Motorcyle Wreckers, and have nowhere to sit and drink tea/coffee or watch TV and have GREAT friendly service, then a flash reception area and shitty service

[The Stranger:Me]

According to what I've seen on here;
You need to serve customers instantly, unless they don't want to be served instantly. You won't be told this, you should know.
You should have demos of every bike on the market. Preferably in all colours so that they can check their look in shop windows on their three day test ride.
You should not have any profit margin.
You should allow everyone to try gear for at least two weeks before buying.
You will need to be open 24/7, in case someone needs a widget for the 1955
James at 3.00AM Sunday
You should have a cafe/drying room, plus a room for sex in case your staff (who are all Hooters graduates) are overcome with lust for the next spotty L plater who screams up in a cloud of flying engine parts.
Don't forget the cafe with the award winning Barrista. (Free cafe that is.)
Good Luck.
PS Gizza job?

PPS How are you going to squeeze the franchises out of existing dealers?

Sums it up well.

What a waste of space, you would think that the original poster would have been able to work this one out for themselves really.