The Air In There
Written by: Herbert Krabel
Date: Thu Jan 14 2010
These days we are confronted by all kinds of charges in our life, including having to pay for air at a gas station. But now it seems that some bike shops have stepped up to the plate to also charge for air. Will some shops soon ask for cash for using the rest room?
My friend Sebastian Moll who lives in NYC recently posted a picture on his facebook page that showed a $0.50 charge for air in a bike shop and that sounded quite interesting. When I inquired further about the shop in question, Moll said, “Most of the big shops in NY don’t do that, but many of the smaller shops charge for air indeed.”
Hopefully that isn’t the slippery slope more bike shops will be getting on before too long. Getting air should be a good will gesture from that local corner bike shop and that among a few other things should convince customers to come back to that shop and not buy online instead. It is tough for a customer to build up a relationship with a store when they are getting nickel and dimed to death. But maybe in some cases relationships are not desired.
"We don’t charge for air at SBR, but I can see why a mom and pop shop would do it. In NY it is all about convenience and you can choose to pay for air right there or go another 10 blocks and get it at that place for free," said Christophe Vandaele, the owner of SBR Multisport in New York City. "But surely these shops who do charge for air can come up with something more creative than that to make that extra money."
The Toga bike store on 110 West End Ave in New York has an air hose outside and pumps available for customers inside, and they don’t ask for money for air either. "It’s not worth charging for air, and you just can’t charge people for everything," said manager Philip Svercl of Toga Bikes. "After all, when people come inside the store to get their tires filled up they might also realize that they need something else in the store and spend their money then."
Of course the opposite is true too. Why should a bike shop give a customer free air and water etc, when those customers buy all their goods online elsewhere?
Also, do we as consumers expect too much? Do we expect to get discounts and freebies even when it is not warranted?
My friend Sebastian Moll who lives in NYC recently posted a picture on his facebook page that showed a $0.50 charge for air in a bike shop and that sounded quite interesting. When I inquired further about the shop in question, Moll said, “Most of the big shops in NY don’t do that, but many of the smaller shops charge for air indeed.”
Hopefully that isn’t the slippery slope more bike shops will be getting on before too long. Getting air should be a good will gesture from that local corner bike shop and that among a few other things should convince customers to come back to that shop and not buy online instead. It is tough for a customer to build up a relationship with a store when they are getting nickel and dimed to death. But maybe in some cases relationships are not desired.
"We don’t charge for air at SBR, but I can see why a mom and pop shop would do it. In NY it is all about convenience and you can choose to pay for air right there or go another 10 blocks and get it at that place for free," said Christophe Vandaele, the owner of SBR Multisport in New York City. "But surely these shops who do charge for air can come up with something more creative than that to make that extra money."
The Toga bike store on 110 West End Ave in New York has an air hose outside and pumps available for customers inside, and they don’t ask for money for air either. "It’s not worth charging for air, and you just can’t charge people for everything," said manager Philip Svercl of Toga Bikes. "After all, when people come inside the store to get their tires filled up they might also realize that they need something else in the store and spend their money then."
Of course the opposite is true too. Why should a bike shop give a customer free air and water etc, when those customers buy all their goods online elsewhere?
Also, do we as consumers expect too much? Do we expect to get discounts and freebies even when it is not warranted?
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Comments
Keep the air free
Reviewed by: Guillaume , Jan 19 2010 12:51PM
Bike shops should not charge for customers to fill up their tires... period! in a world where we get nickled and dimed for everything, let's keep this as a gesture of goodwill towards a potential (or existing) client. This to me is the equivalent of being charged for tap water at a restaurant... should not happen! I work for a tri shop in Redondo Beach, CA and I would be very surprised if our owner decided to make money at "the pump". Somehow I know he won't even entertain the idea!
Paying for air
Reviewed by: TriDork, Jan 14 2010 7:46PM
Well, of course there are two sides to this story. bike stores are in business to make money primarily (otherwise they wouldn't charge for anything!). The owner manager has to make a choice of what to charge for a service or product, to stay in business. Providing air, via a compressor or a manual floor pump, costs the store owner some amount of money. How much is open for debate, but there IS some cost involved in providing the air. As a cyclist needing a cycling product or service should expect to pay for it as it has some value to us. If the price is acceptable to us, then we pay, if not, we move on, or do without.
The bike store owner has to decide whether to provide air as a "lost leader" in the hope that the cyclist getting the free air will buy something else as well, at least on average. If the owner feels that they are losing on the lost leader, ie not getting the other sales, then they will likely choose to charge for the lost leader (air in this case) if however, the believe that sales go up, by getting customers into the store for free air, then they will probably continue to give the air away.
In my case, my LBS is strange. The store is very handy to my work, and I ought my commuter bike from there. The owner is great. The main sales guy is complete idiot. He seemingly can't tell the truth to save his life. I can't stand him. However, he seems to like me. I took my bike back for the 2 free services that came with the bike (again, lost leaders, that I took advantage of). Just yesterday, I had need for the front wheel to be trued. It had suddenly, for not apparent reason, got out of true over 3-4 days. I took the wheel in, assuming there would be some charge and I was perfectly willing to pay, as I wanted a true front wheel. When I picked it up, it was nice and true and there was no charge! I even queried and said I was willing to pay. Still no charge.
Sooooo, different stores charge in different ways, presumably to deal with their customers. If they get a lot of people taking free air and not buying anything, then they will probably start charging for air. My LBS happens to have figured their balance sheet differently, as they are still doing well in a relatively expensive downtown location inthis recession. I for one am thankful for their choice to not charge me for trueing. If they start to charge me for air, I think I will get a new LBS.
The bike store owner has to decide whether to provide air as a "lost leader" in the hope that the cyclist getting the free air will buy something else as well, at least on average. If the owner feels that they are losing on the lost leader, ie not getting the other sales, then they will likely choose to charge for the lost leader (air in this case) if however, the believe that sales go up, by getting customers into the store for free air, then they will probably continue to give the air away.
In my case, my LBS is strange. The store is very handy to my work, and I ought my commuter bike from there. The owner is great. The main sales guy is complete idiot. He seemingly can't tell the truth to save his life. I can't stand him. However, he seems to like me. I took my bike back for the 2 free services that came with the bike (again, lost leaders, that I took advantage of). Just yesterday, I had need for the front wheel to be trued. It had suddenly, for not apparent reason, got out of true over 3-4 days. I took the wheel in, assuming there would be some charge and I was perfectly willing to pay, as I wanted a true front wheel. When I picked it up, it was nice and true and there was no charge! I even queried and said I was willing to pay. Still no charge.
Sooooo, different stores charge in different ways, presumably to deal with their customers. If they get a lot of people taking free air and not buying anything, then they will probably start charging for air. My LBS happens to have figured their balance sheet differently, as they are still doing well in a relatively expensive downtown location inthis recession. I for one am thankful for their choice to not charge me for trueing. If they start to charge me for air, I think I will get a new LBS.
Competing with Online Stores
It's not about competing with online stores
Reviewed by: Mark , Jan 14 2010 11:50AM
Good, quick article. Remember, though, stores can never compete with online prices. However, online "stores" can never compete with in-person / try and feel stores. The advantage that a real store has is the opportunity to earn the customer's trust. Once that occurs, most people would rather pay an extra 5%+ to support that local store and the workers they trust. Charging for "Air" is crap, and doesn't promote a good relationship with the customer. You would typically find places like that at amusement parks and tourist areas - areas where you're not likely to see the same customer again. I have not seen an improvement in bike shop customer service and hope this is not the direction the industry is going.
