Every few years I bring a bike to Drexel Hill Cyclery (DHC) for a tune-up, a part, some minor fix. The mechanic there is very knowledgeable, work is done fast. We talk...he's a gear-head, he's a decent sort, a business owner. Well, things changed pretty darn quick. I brought my 17 year old son's bike to him 2 days ago - he needed a new wheel. When we got the bike home, he climbed on to ride to a friend's house - got a couple hundred yards down the road when the wheel folded - the new wheel. I called DHC and asked what could have happened. ""Bring it in, I'll tell you what he did."" ?? When we arrived, he pointed at my son and said ""He knows what happened,"" and went on to accuse my son of lying - that he MUST have done something to cause the wheel to bend and he must not be telling me - though I hadn't said a word he accused us of trying to ""get a new wheel out of me."" Now, since I'm not a high-end customer, maybe he doesn't remember how LONG I've been coming to him for this-and-that. He certainly can't know how many times I've recommended him to cyclists and triathletes as an alternative to the sexy bike shops in the city... All that aside - if I were no one at all and he'd never seen me before, he had no right to treat me and my business that way. I'm so disappointed - I love the local business option to the mega-chain stores. I'll find some other bike shop. I'm not going back to DHC.
Pros: The guy knows his stuff
Cons: Rude and unprofessional
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