I personally understand Scott Brown’s interest in getting to know bicycles from inside a bike shop as I did much the same thing myself for 5 months after completing my PhD. It was a great learning experience about bicycles and the industry, but I was again reminded that I don’t really enjoy working in a retail setting. I did however get to know and watch an almost magical salesman at work, teasing out what customers were looking for and making them comfortable allowing themselves to pay more than they initially wanted. Not coincidentally, this was the guy who owned the shop.
I did learn what I considered to be a good joke at the time, somewhat capturing the difficulties encountered by most bike shops which rely on a hopefully strong seasonal trade in the summer months:
Q: How do you make $100,000 with a bike shop?
A: Start with $200,000…
I personally understand Scott Brown’s interest in getting to know bicycles from inside a bike shop as I did much the same thing myself for 5 months after completing my PhD. It was a great learning experience about bicycles and the industry, but I was again reminded that I don’t really enjoy working in a retail setting. I did however get to know and watch an almost magical salesman at work, teasing out what customers were looking for and making them comfortable allowing themselves to pay more than they initially wanted. Not coincidentally, this was the guy who owned the shop.
I did learn what I considered to be a good joke at the time, somewhat capturing the difficulties encountered by most bike shops which rely on a hopefully strong seasonal trade in the summer months: